tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83430390700250684922024-03-12T22:56:10.060+00:00bookshowBook reviews with different studio guests each weekshowhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.comBlogger1164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-78825317915704181092016-10-24T13:43:00.001+01:002016-10-24T13:43:12.217+01:00Claire Douglas – Local Girl Missing<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">review by showhost oct 2016</span></b><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Author of ‘The sisters’. If you liked the Ice Cream
Girls, I think you will like this one. It has a similar theme – 2 girls
who are school friends grow up in a small seaside town. Both have secrets
& tragedy that they know and share about each other.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Franki & Sophie were childhood friends but Sophie
disappeared one night and wasn’t seen again, she was presumed dead but no body
was found. Out of the blue one day Sophies brother rings Franki, who now
has a successful career in London.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He needs Franki to come back to help him solve the mystery
of his sisters murder, as now a body part has been found.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Franki befriends Sophie when her family come to the
town. Franki is from a wealthy family who run a local hotel.
Sophies family is just her mum and her brother and struggle to make ends
meet. Franki is idolised by her dad but envies the warmth that Sophie has
from her family unit.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Franki attracts all the boys with her looks and buxom figure
whereas Sophie is considered the ugly duckling. Franki goes to boarding
school at 16, Sophie goes to university but 3 years later they meet up again in
their home town and Sophie has changed from the ugly duckling to a beautiful
swan. Franki becomes jealous.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back to the present and someone is sending Franki letters
threatening to expose her secret. Sophie and Franki knew what happened
when a boy was killed when they were 16 but did Sophie tell anyone before she
died? Franki begins to have sightings of her dead friend and hears a baby
crying at night when there is only an old lady sharing the building.
Someone is playing with her mind.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A lot of the story was predictable, although a slight twist
at the end. It kept me reading but I’m not sure if I’d rush to read
another of this author.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-4375849577515815742016-10-24T13:42:00.000+01:002016-10-24T13:42:03.510+01:00Tom Winship – The Opposite of Mercy
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">review by showhost oct 2016</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">VAL McDermid describes it as an intense, gripping, scary,
thriller.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hmm, I would say thriller yes. if you like Tom Wood you will like this. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The story is set in England, present day. Ex soldier Paul Curtis is approached by an
old friend’s father who asks him to be an undercover bodyguard for his son,
Chris. He wants Paul to discreetly organise a chance meeting which would renew
their friendship. The fathers
involvement has to remain secret as the father and son are estranged. In return Paul would be paid handsomely and
housed in a nice pad in Camden. Chris,
lives in Camden with his Asian girlfriend Lara, who is also known to Paul as
the three of them were childhood friends.
What Paul isn’t told is that Lara’s brother, Pasha Durrani is involved
in organised crime who have links with a terrorist network in Pakistan. Pasha has an arranged marriage organised for
Lara, which she was unaware of, and he wants Chris out of her life. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Andy Mc call works for the London special branch, they
have been following Pasha and bugged his house and car. They want him for drug
dealing and property laundering, they know he is linked with the terrorist
group. They are unaware of Paul becoming
involved but they are aware of the mounting anger happening between brother and
sister, once Pasha has told Lara of his plans, and escalating violence. Pasha needs the marriage to happen to get his
property deal done, his life is at stake.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had to re-read the first few pages to begin with as it
wasn’t capturing my attention but once in I got going there were chapters which
gripped. But for me the ending spoilt
it. Fight scenes don't read very well for me, especially over 50 pages of it at
the end with lots of steps and a boat house which was at the top of a
cliff..... How do you get a boat up there?
The writer should be setting the scene with words for you to imagine and
a boat house, to me, conjures up a place nearly level with the sea so to
suddenly have the villains and heroes running up and down cliff steps didn’t
fit my image.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I think it deserves to be read if you like
thrillers/action books based in UK.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-86377022518914836412016-10-13T19:51:00.003+01:002016-10-13T19:51:53.612+01:00BA Paris - Behind Closed Doors
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">review by showhost</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I really can’t make up my mind about this book. Although it was a kind of psychological
thriller it was really frustrating, I really wanted Grace to do something more &
stop being so pathetic – take them down to the basement. I may be being really
harsh but thought there was some other way of dealing with it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Also the ending was a little weak bearing in mind the
excellent forensic work that can be done would find hairs etc from Grace &
her paintings. Too many but & whys
for the end.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Grace is in what appears to be a perfect marriage with
Jack. They seem to adore each other,
Jack is a perfect husband – too perfect.
He never leaves her side, she never has coffee with her friends unless
Jack is there. She gives up her job and
stays at home. Getting the picture? Yes a controlling abusive husband.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Grace also has a sister with mental problems, Millie. Millie is in a home being paid for by
Jack. Millie is due to join Grace in
their new home when she is 18. Jack has
prepared a room for Millie but not the kind of room she was hoping for.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Grace needs to do something before this time, she can’t have
Millie put in that sort of danger. But
she is foiled by Jack everytime she tries to shout for help. He has told people she is mentally unstable
and sent her parents to New Zealand.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t get why he chose her anyway? It was all too simple
and contrite – nowhere near as good as Claire Mackintosh (or even Girl on a
Train). </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<br /></div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-37006622171140852572016-10-13T19:49:00.000+01:002016-10-13T19:49:13.712+01:00Sabine Durrant - Lie With Me
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">review by showhost oct 2016</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I couldn’t decide which category to put this book in so I
looked up the meaning of some genres:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Suspense Thrillers are characterized and defined by the
moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement,
surprise, anticipation</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> and anxiety. Successful examples of thrillers are the films of
Alfred Hitchcock. NO def not suspense or excitement</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Psychological Thriller</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> is a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)" title="Thriller (genre)"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">thriller</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> story which emphasizes the abnormal </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyche_(psychology)" title="Psyche (psychology)"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">psychological states</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of its characters. </span><b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Psychological
thrillers often incorporate elements of and overlap with </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_fiction" title="Mystery fiction"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">mystery</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama_film" title="Drama film"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">drama</span></a></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_film" title="Action film"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">action</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_film" title="Horror film"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">horror</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.
FORGET THE ACTION AND HORROR</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">ANOTHER DEFINITION: a suspenseful movie or <b>book</b>
emphasizing the <b>psychology</b> of its characters rather than the plot; this
sub-genre of <b>thriller</b> movie or <b>book</b>. In a <b>psychological
thriller</b>, the characters are exposed to danger on a mental level rather
than a physical one.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So think
Psychological genre</span><b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">: </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_fiction" title="Mystery fiction"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">mystery</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama_film" title="Drama film"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">drama</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,</span></b></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">characters are exposed to danger on a
mental level rather than a physical one.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The main character is Paul and you won’t like him but then you
aren’t supposed to. He is self-centred, egotistical, sponging womaniser,
with shallow feelings. He is a failed author who thinks his next book is
round the corner. He sold one book when he was at uni, 20 odd years ago
(not many copies though) and lived off the claim ever since. He has
bummed off his friends ever since. In fact as the story begins he is
living in a flat belonging to a friend who has gone travelling for a year
plus. He meets an old student friend Alex, quite by chance, in a
bookstore. They chat and Alex invites him to dinner. Paul
goes because he will get a free meal and drink all night (even though he didn’t
like Alex very much).</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At the meal Paul is introduced to Alice, who’s husband died a
year or two ago and Alex’s family. Alice isn’t Pauls usual type and
especially as she has 2 teenage children with normal teenage attitudes who Paul
doesn’t like. But Alice flirts with him a little.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Paul gets in touch with her a week or so later and is invited to
dinner with her. Her house is decent enough and Paul imagines if he plays
his cards right may get invited to come and stay. She talks a lot about
the final holiday she, Alex and family will make to a Greek island where they
have had a leased holiday home for years. But things are changing as the land
has been sold to developers. Whilst out there they will carry on with
their ‘help find Jasmine’ campaign. Jasmine went missing when they were
out there 10 years ago. They often meet up with her parents on the
anniversary of her disappearance. In fact Paul was out there too about 10
years ago but he was too drunk to remember it.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Paul decides he would like to be invited as it would be a cheap
holiday and may give him the chance to finally win Alice over with his charms.
Paul has to look for cheap travel, due to his shortage of money, but can’t tell
Alice as he feels he has to impress her and Alex’s family. So starts his
improvisation of the truth and his demise.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It isn’t an action packed, roller coasting twisting plot.
More a slow simmer, which slowly bubbles as time goes on with some predictable
paths. The family, in the beginning, reminded me a little of the
Durrells, once the plot went to Greece. I would say if you liked Girl on
the Train you would like this one, it’s got the same pace of plot with </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">an undercurrent of
tension and sense of growing unease. I did find myself thinking ‘but
would these events have all fell neatly into place in the real world’, was it
too contrived?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
enjoyed the novel and have recommended it to others who I know like slowly
unfolding books, not those who like fast paced thrillers.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-45162872575642550622016-10-13T19:44:00.001+01:002016-10-13T19:44:03.529+01:00Belinda Bauer The Shut Eye
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">review by showhost oct 2016</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is another psychological thriller genre book. It
kept me reading and the idea was good.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anna and her husband James live in a flat next to the
garage where James works, with a couple of illegal immigrants and a tight
fisted, unlikeable boss. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Most mornings Anna could be seen cleaning the 5
footprints of her young son which are the last sign of him since his
disappearance a few weeks ago. James had left the door open on his way to work
and little Daniel had gone out and walked </span><span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">in the
freshly poured cement of the garage next door where her husband works</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> . Anna
has gone into melt down and just spend her days polishing those foot
prints. Plus everything in her house is
scrubbed clean of germs. Gone is the
loving, happy, carefree woman James married.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Abrasvie cop DI John marvel had been working on the case
of a missing 12 yr old girl Edie and they had even paid for the help of a local
psychic (even though he totally dissed the concept of being able to talk to the
dead) but she still hasn't been found, just her bike. The fact that he can’t solve the case haunts
him.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anna, crazy lady as people call her, goes to the local
church to listen to a psychic session, to ask if he could find Daniel. The psychic tells Anna he can't help
her. At the hall she meets Sandra who is
looking for her missing dog, and hands Anna one of the photos she's handing
round of her dog. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But when Anna gets home and she looks at the picture she
starts to see and feel things.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">DI Marvel is asked by his boss to help his wife find
their missing dog, much to his disgust, but does on proviso he can open up the
Edie case.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The narrative is also broken by Edie as we slowly find out
what happened to her and where she is and her thoughts as she is kept prisoner.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It's an interesting concept and all the characters are
well drawn (</span><span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">the parents of the missing children, the police, the psychic,
the perp, the police). </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The only thing I was a little disappointed
with was the ending, I found it a little confusing and left questions.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I would read another by this author.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I </b></span></div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-76419520139906204792016-10-13T19:42:00.000+01:002016-10-13T19:42:06.376+01:00Gordon John Thomson - Gotha<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>review written and read live on bookshow 13th Oct 2016 by Brian Lowen</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Another great story from
GJT that covers the two world wars.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The title refers to a
large bomber built by the Germans in WW1 that was going to terrorise Londoners
by bringing the first blitz to the great city. It could fly higher than the
British fighters and carry several high explosive bombs.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We have to remember that
this was back in the time when aircraft were still in their infancy and this
biplane bomber could only fly at 75 mph but was still a great threat to the
poorly defended people of England. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I had never heard of this
aircraft so had to look it up but it did exist and did bomb London and other
cities in the south east during the first world war.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Our hero though is Captain
James Buckingham who is recuperating after being severely injured in the battle
of Delville wood. The Minister of Munitions, Winston Churchill, hears of
Buckingham’s expertise in aircraft design from his work before the war and
brings him into his office to advise on this new threat and how England could
be protected against it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">However, the story starts
off in 1940, in the midst of the blitz in London when a young WAAF officer is
trapped in a street near St Pauls as fire bombs rain down. She is rescued by a
strange enigmatic man called Max who drags her into a cellar, but they become
trapped in there by falling masonry.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The story then oscillates
from war to war and we gradually learn of the strange connection between the
two events. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Meanwhile, back in 1917,
James Buckingham meets and falls in love with Daisy Skellern who is a beautiful
music hall entertainer. When she is brutally murdered he is accused of her
murder and has to hide away with the help of Daisy’s young dresser, Amy,<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> until he can work out who was the murderer. He gets
involved with a German spy ring operating in London and has some narrow escapes
with his life, but Amy proves a great help to him in his search for justice. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">During all that is going
on in 1917 we keep going forward to see how our trapped pair are faring and
this is when we gradually realise the connection between the two events, one in
each war. GJT shows his great skill as a story teller as he gradually reveals
the secrets of the two couples.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A great page turner this,
full of interest and excitement, that keeps you enthralled the whole way
through.</span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-30032190293364129302016-10-13T19:39:00.002+01:002016-10-13T19:39:30.911+01:00Robert Galbraith - Career of Evil
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">review written and read live on bookshow 13th Oct 2016 by Brian Lowen</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This is the third novel by
the creator of the Harry Potter books, J K Rowling, writing under her new
pseudonym and it is another great story featuring the erasable Private
Detective,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Cormoran Strike and his
beautiful young sidekick, Robin Ellacott.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Strike has a certain
reputation having already solved two high profile murders before the Police
could, This means that he is not given much help from the police in his cases
but his work load has increased as his reputation grew.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This is all about to
change though when a mysterious parcel is delivered to Robin at their office.
When Robin opens it she is horrified to find that it contains the severed leg
of a young woman. Strike takes care of Robin while he phones the police. It is
obvious to him that someone is trying to ruin him by attacking his Secretary
cum Partner thereby dissuading clients from giving him work.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">He realises that Robin is
in danger and tries to stop her working but she is insistent in continuing as
his partner, as she has now been called by Strike. Her staid <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>Fiancé,
Matthew, whom she is about to marry in a few weeks, has rows with her about the
dangerous work she is involved in, and tries to persuade her, unsuccessfully,
to change her job for a safer occupation.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And so Strike and Robin
try to narrow down the suspects who might have sent the leg as the police do
not seem to be making much progress. Robin makes a mistake in making an
investigation that they have been warned against by the police who have
instructed Strike to keep out of their investigation. Strike is so annoyed with
Robin that he sacks her.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Like the previous two
books in this series the tension builds up to a thrilling climax, just before
Robin’s wedding, and we are wondering if she gets her job back or not.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I do hope there are more
books in this series (available from the Library) as I really enjoy them and
being involved in the changing relationship between Strike and Robin.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-7946880013681615082016-10-13T19:33:00.003+01:002016-10-13T19:33:31.231+01:00Colin Bateman - Shooting Sean <div>
review written and read live on the bookshow by Ro Bennett 13th Oct 2016</div>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This is the first Colin Bateman story I have
actually read. All the others have been audio books on the library One Click
Audio service read by the excellent narrator Stephen Armstrong who has a lovely
soft Irish accent which is a pleasure to listen to. A good narrator makes all
the difference. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This book is called Shooting Sean and is the fourth
Dan Starkey book.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Maverick movie star Sean O'Toole is a type cast
action hero who has left the glamour of Hollywood to direct a film based on an
infamous IRA member, a gangster named the Colonel. Local journalist Dan
Starkey, has been employed to write his biography. It's a job that plunges Dan
into the murky underbelly of the movie business, and from the backstreets of
Belfast to the fleshpots of Amsterdam and the glitz of the Cannes Film
Festival. Along the way a smouldering romance threatens the frequently rocky
balance of his marriage to Patricia while he battles his way through kidnap,
extortion and murder, and all of it liberally sprinkled with Hollywood gold
dust.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This was another compelling read - a tense thriller
full of twists and turns. It has all the elements that I tend to avoid - as
well as the murder and kidnap element there is drowning, torture, drugs,
explosions and the psychotic, cold, vicious cruelty of the Colonel. In many
of his books, Bateman emphasises with contempt, the mindless violence and
ruthlessness of the paramilitary organisations. Getting involved with the
actor and the film soon lead to Starkey once again struggling to both protect
his wife Patricia and her child Little Stevie. However despite the suspense
there is also the cleverness and wit of Dan Starkey which kept me guessing and
laughing out loud right to the end. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Colin Bateman’s
books. His heroes are so flawed. The unnamed man who is the private eye in the
Mystery Man series was totally neurotic and hilariously dysfunctional, his girl
friend Alison’s patience stretched to the limit. And in this series, Dan
Starkey also tends to blunder about making bad situations worse and is equally
rubbish in his relationship with Patricia and her son - I kept thinking, ‘You
are so useless Dan!’ but it kept me chuckling. At other times I was almost
holding my breath wondering how on earth a situation could be resolved and
hoping that it would not go horribly wrong. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I really recommend his books - both the audible and
the hard copy. I thoroughly enjoy them - but I never read them at bedtime - far
too scary! </span></span></div>
</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-7927932726897951522016-10-13T19:32:00.001+01:002016-10-13T19:32:36.512+01:00Denise McLeod - The Dog Behaviourst’s Diary
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
review written and read live on the bookshow by Ro Bennett 13th Oct 2016</div>
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I’m not a dog owner now, although I enjoy dog
sitting occasionally, however my childhood home was rather a menagerie with
assorted animals and a variety of dogs - Spaniels, a Border Collie, a
Boxer. When I had my own family we had mainly German Shepherd dogs - My
favourites being long haired Sabre and especially Zak who was huge, black and
magnificent. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Consequently I am always fascinated by programmes
like the Dog Whisperer and have read many books on dog handling, some better
than others. Some have been heavy going. This book was a delight to
read. I enjoyed every single page and I learnt so much from it. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The book is a collection of case studies and aspects
of dog behaviour and each one was interesting. I was gripped from the very
first story - especially since the dog was called Zak! It was a very dramatic
and traumatic introduction to the book which deals with topics like dogs which
bite people and dogs which are aggressive with other dogs, dogs which suddenly
start to behave erratically or seem unhappy. Like life it is a mixture of
the tragic, sad and humorous. The author is very honest about mistakes she has
made and problems she has encountered. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The author has a good writing style so I felt
emotionally involved in the stories. She seems an extremely warm and caring
person and she is also very frank about her personal life and the affect it had
on her own dogs. She obviously adores dogs and is passionate about their
welfare and helping dogs and owners to have happy, rewarding relationships and
interactions. I think every dog owner would learn something from this book, but
it would appeal to even those who do not have a dog, because the stories are so
interesting. There are some lovely photos as well. I found it a real page
turner and thoroughly recommend it. I was so impressed with it that I not only
bought my won copy to refer to again, but also bought a copy for my daughters.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-83644622775671668342016-10-13T19:30:00.002+01:002016-10-13T19:30:31.155+01:00Lucie whitehouse Bed I Made
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #111111; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">review by showhost</span></span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It
kept me reading but always slightly predictable, another one of those
psychological thrillers.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kate
lives in London as has a good job but she is not in a relationship and neither
is her best friend Helen. They attract
two men one night when they are out drinking and Katie does something out of
character – she has a one night stand with Ricahrd.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her
friend Helen doesn’t like or trust Richard but 18 months later Katie is still
with him.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However
it turns out that </span><span style="color: #111111; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Richard
is a power-hungry psychopath intent on controlling Katie's every move.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When
the story begins Katie has moved to the Isle of Wight for 6 months to get away
from her relationship. It is her first week there when the island is
rocked by the tragic news of Alice who has gone missing in her boat.
Katie was only talking to her the day before. Alice’s husband Peter seems
to affect Katie in an unnerving way. And
even though she thinks he may have had something to do with his wifes death,
eventually falls for him (Doh!).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
story stays on Isle of Wight but it goes
back to London to the relationship with Richard and what caused Katie to run
away. As we catch up Richard is stalking Katie & sending emails &
txts. You are just waiting For Richard to catch up with her and just know
that when he does her new boyfriend will come to her rescue.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It
did keep me turning the pages (faster sometimes when she was babbling), even
though I knew what was coming and thought Kate was a silly mare. However the author sets the scene of IOW well.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-86398213084996578872016-09-08T18:23:00.004+01:002016-09-08T18:23:34.793+01:00 Simon Becket - Where There’s Smoke by <b>review written by Brian Lowen and read live on bookshow 8th Sept 2016</b><br />
<b> </b><br /><b></b><br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b> </b></b></div>
<b>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Kate Powell owns a
marketing agency and employs three staff.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She has just won a
contract from a large firm to arrange their marketing, but she is not as happy
as she should be. The reason being is that she is a single, independent person
who does not want to enter into a relationship with a man but is desperate for
a baby, especially as she often spends time with her friend Lucy and her happy family
with young children.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She confides in
Lucy that she wants a baby and is thinking of going to a clinic for artificial
insemination. Lucy is horrified and points out all the problems of bringing up
a baby on your own. But Kate is very strong willed and finds an agency where
she can choose her donor. She prefers it this way and advertises for a suitable
donor in some of the professional type magazines.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She only gets one
reply to her advert and when she eventually meets this man she finds that he
would be an excellent donor for her baby and so starts the ball rolling with
the clinic.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Things are
progressing nicely, but after several meetings with her donor she realises that
she is falling in love with him. This leads to them spending a night together
but then things start to go horribly wrong as she finds out that he is not the
man she thought he was. </span><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--></div>
</b><br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This is an unusual
subject for a story but it is dealt with very well and although, as a man, I
thought this was not a book for me, I did get hooked on the story as the
thriller starts to develop until finally reaching a dramatic conclusion.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A great book and a
good read as have been all the other books<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> by Simon
Becket that I have read.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-52289976980553418202016-09-08T18:22:00.001+01:002016-09-08T18:22:14.611+01:00Gordon John Thomson - In Winter’s Grip <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></b></div>
<b>review written by Brian Lowen and read live on bookshow 8th Sept 2016</b>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This is an
historical thriller sent in the period after the Second World War in the
terrible winter of 1947 when Britain was suffering from the after effects of
the war and life was hard going in those days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The story is
centred on Newcastle – on – Tyne where a beautiful young German girl is on
trial for murder. Jack Raisbeck, the owner of a struggling shipyard, where Elsa
worked, is convinced that she is innocent but finds himself helpless as he is
unable to prove her innocence.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jack is physically
scarred facially<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> following the torpedoing of his
destroyer during the war, but he has fallen in love with Elsa. He must,
however, rely on Elsa’s barrister to prove her not guilty.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Alexander
Galbraith, her defence lawyer is doing his best, having been funded by Jack,
but has problems of his own as his wife Virginia has found out that he is
having a homosexual relationship with his young assistant.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jack also has
problems as the murdered Dutch victim was designing a new type of dredger that
Jack’s shipyard is building for a wealthy Dutch shipping magnate and the
project is behind on its completion due to the terrible winter which is causing
the delays. </span><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--></div>
<br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The story is set
over the period of the trial and we get flashbacks that tell us Elsa’s previous
life and the hard times she suffered before getting to England.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A good story with
scenic descriptions of the awful weather conditions and what it was like living
in those times. I enjoyed the book but was not too happy with the ending as I
always like to see a happy ending!</span></div>
<br />
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-80073128387965210162016-09-03T16:43:00.001+01:002016-09-03T16:43:32.870+01:00Jojo Moyes - the Horse Dancer<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> review written and read live on the bookshow by Ro Bennett Aug 2016.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></b><span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">I
started to listen to this book on the library One click audio but ended up
buying it as well. For me it was a gripping and emotional story. I felt really
involved with all the characters and their heartaches, struggles and
successes. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">At
first the reader is introduced to Henri Lachappelle who was a highly talented
horseman who trained at Le Cadre Noir, an exclusive French riding school,
dedicated to the finest horsemanship. I Googled Le Cadre Noir and watched some
Youtube videos of horses performing there and it is amazing. Henri is a grand
father now and caring for his grand daughter Sarah. They are living in a rather
deprived London council estate and in an effort to protect his granddaughter
from the crime that surrounds them, Henri has bought a horse for Sarah. Not any
old pony, but a fantastic Selle Francaise called Boo. He is teaching her all the
skills he acquired fifty years previously. Sarah shares his love for horses and
has inherited his talent. As the story unfolds the reader learns just why Henri
is living in poverty so far from home and as sole carer of his grand daughter.
Then disaster strikes and fourteen-year-old Sarah is left to fend for
herself…</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Enter
successful lawyer Natasha Macauley who is in the process of divorcing her
husband Mac. The situation is strained as they are still having to share a
house. Fate throws Natasha and Sarah together, but a brittle, tense woman and
a lonely, hurt, confused and angry teenager don’t make for a harmonious
relationship. Especially since Sarah appears to be a delinquent who skives off
school, lies, steals and puts herself in hazardous situations in order to
protect a carefully guarded secret. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">I
was drawn into the emotions of this book. My heart was in my mouth as Sarah was
drawn deeper and deeper into a web of petty crime, deception and danger. It
looked more and more unlikely that she would be able to extricate herself
without lasting damage and harm and I was longing for her to tell Natasha what
was going on and ask for help. But Sarah didn’t trust anyone, least of all
exasperated Natasha. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">I
could empathise with Natasha’s sense of betrayal and anger and hurt and her
feeling of being completely out of her depth, not knowing what to do for the
best and feeling totally inadequate and a complete failure despite her best
efforts. The situation looked increasingly hopeless as the wedge between them
kept growing. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">The
book was full of suspense but wasn’t all gloom and doom. There were heart
warming aspects which balanced it and kept me turning the pages. This is the
sort of book that I will remember. Excellent book, highly
recommended! </span></div>
</div>
</div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-59513766936182839512016-09-03T16:42:00.003+01:002016-09-03T16:42:36.192+01:00Geraldine Brooks - The Book Reader<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> review written and read live on the bookshow by Ro Bennett Aug 2016.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">This
is another book I listened to, but this time from the library Borrow Box Audio
service. I bought this book as well. Sometimes the books are light and easy to
listen to but sometimes, as in this case they are more meaty and I like the
printed version to refer to at times. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Mentioning
listening, the only problem I frequently have with audio books are the dire
accents and this book was no exception. The woman’s reading voice was fine but
each time she attempted different accents for different characters it was so
dire I found it intensely irritating and off putting. On more than one occasion
I was tempted to abandon listening and just read the book, but I do like to
listen to something as I do my chores. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Having
had my moan - despite this, it was a good book, the subject was interesting and
it was very well researched. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #323333; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">When
Hanna Heath gets a call in the middle of the night in her Sydney home about a
precious medieval manuscript which has been recovered from the smouldering ruins
of war torn Sarajevo, she knows she is on the brink of the experience of a
lifetime. A renowned book conservator, she must now make her way to Bosnia to
start work on restoring The Sarajevo Haggadah to discover its secrets and piece
together the story of its miraculous survival.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #323333; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The
Sarajevo Haggadah really exists. The Haggadah is the story of the escape of the
Children of Israel from Egypt and is read at the Jewish Passover Seder every
year. This actual illuminated manuscript was produced in Spain in the 14th
century. It is handwritten on bleached calfskin and illuminated in copper and
gold. It opens with 34 pages of illustrations of key scenes in the Bible, from
Creation through to the death of Moses. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #323333; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">There
is much information about it, as well as reproductions of the pictures, on
Google.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #252525; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The
Sarajevo Haggadah has survived many close calls with destruction. Historians
believe that it was taken out of Spain by Spanish Jews who were all expelled by
the Alhambra Decree in 1492. Notes in the margins of the Haggadah indicate that
it surfaced in Italy in the 16th century. It was sold to the National Museum in
Sarajevo in 1894 by a man named Joseph Kohen.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #252525; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">During
World War II, the manuscript was hidden from the Nazis by the Museum's chief
librarian, who at risk to his own life, smuggled the Haggadah out of Sarajevo.
He gave it to a Muslim cleric who hid it under the floorboards of either a
mosque or a Muslim home. In 1992 during the Bosnian War the Haggadah manuscript
survived a museum break-in and it was discovered on the floor during the police
investigation by a local Inspector, with many other items thieves believed were
not valuable. Then it survived in an underground bank vault during the siege of
Sarajevo by Serb forces. To quell rumours that the government had sold the
Haggadah in order to buy weapons, the president of Bosnia presented the
manuscript at a Jewish community Seder in 1995.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #323333; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">This
is an amazing story in itself and obviously fired the imagination of the author.
The history of Derviš Korkut, who saved the book from the Nazis, was told in an
article by Geraldine Brooks in The New Yorker magazine.</span><sup><span style="color: #0645ad; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 6.5pt;">
</span></sup><span style="color: #323333; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The
article also sets out the story of the young Jewish girl, Mira Papo, whom Korkut
and his wife hid from the Nazis as they were acting to save the Haggadah. In a
twist of fate, as an elderly woman in Israel, Mira Papo secured the safety of
Korkut's daughter during the Bosnian war in the 1990s. Altogether the whole
thing is fascinating. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Geraldine
Brooks, was a newspaper correspondent in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war and was
fortunate enough to have witnessed the uncovering of the book in Sarajevo. She
has also done meticulous research on the art of book conservation, and on what
can be deduced about a book's history from microscopic examination, not only of
the parchment and the colours, but also from tiny foreign bodies that have been
trapped in the book. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">In
the story an insect’s wing, a white hair, wine and salt stains were discovered.
Like a detective Hanna proceeds to try and trace the book's earlier history,
moving backwards from the present. What was the significance of these clues?
Which part of the world did the insect come from, and was the white hair human?
Was it cut or plucked? what happened to the silver clasps which were missing,
and why was the Haggadah so lavishly illuminated at a time when Jewish belief
was firmly against illustrations of any kind? </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The
chapters alternate between Hanna's present day life with all its current dramas,
and historical fiction, taking us back through time and concentrating on each
era’s affect on the Haggadah. So it explores the persecution of the Jews in
recent times and back to the Spanish Inquisition, times of terrible turmoil and
upheaval. I could have done without the gory details of the cruelty and
barbarity, but I suppose that is an integral part of the history.
</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">At
the front of the book there is a map which traces the imagined global journey of
the Haggadah. At the back there is an afterword about the author. In Hebrew you
would say ‘Kol haKavod’ - ‘all the honour’. She has written a magnificent book,
a lot of hard work went into researching it and the result is excellent. A copy
of the Sarajevo Haggadah was given to former Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom Tony Blair by the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mustafa Ceric
during the awards ceremony for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation's Faith Shorts
competition in December 2011. The Grand Mufti presented it as a symbol of
interfaith cooperation and respect, while recounting the protection of the
Jewish book by Muslims on two occasions in history.</span></div>
</div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-65049277262754194792016-09-03T16:34:00.002+01:002016-09-03T16:34:16.180+01:00David Baldacci - The Winner<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">review written and read live on bookshow by Brian Lowen Aug 2016 </span><br />
<br /><br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">LuAnn Tyler is
living in abject poverty in an old caravan in Charlottesville in the US with a
young baby and a drunken husband who is out of work.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She works as a
waitress in a truck stop café, keeping her baby under the counter.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She is seen here
by the mysterious Mr Jackson who later makes her an offer she finds hard to
believe. He says that he can make her win the national lottery which this month
has <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>reached $100 million. She is undecided what to do but
then when she comes back home to find her husband has been murdered and the
murderer is still in the caravan, a fight ensues and she ends up killing him.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She is now on the
run from the police and phones Jackson to accept his offer. She buys a lottery
ticket and gives the numbers to Jackson. Then she travels to New York with her
baby, Lisa, all at Jackson’s expense where she wins the lottery. The conditions
that Jackson imposed is that he banks the money and just pays her a substantial
amount each month.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">He will invest the
money over a period of ten years and then pay her the capital back at the end
of that time.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">As
she is on the run from the police, Jackson gets her out of the country and
sends her on a world tour with Lisa and also Charlie, who was originally
appointed by Jackson to look after her in New </span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">York. Jackson
tells her that she must never return to the States but after ten years
continual travelling she is homesick and comes back home, which is when her
troubles really start.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A canny reporter,
Donovan, has been investigating the National Lottery and wants to speak to her,
but luckily she has found a local builder, who was working for her, falls in
love with her, and who decides to help her through her problems. Matthew Riggs
is an ex FBI man also with a troubled past and they both work together to
thwart Jackson who is furious that LuAnn has come back to the States.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Another great
story from David Baldacci that really grips you and holds your attention right
through the book until it reaches its thrilling climax.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Well recommended.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-27520821805453783462016-09-03T16:33:00.001+01:002016-09-03T16:33:05.481+01:00Simon Beckett - Stone Bruises<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]--><br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">review written and read live on bookshow by Brian Lowen Aug 2016 </span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sean is on the
run. We don’t know why or who he is running from but we do gradually learn this
in flashbacks throughout the story.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We meet him as he
is abandoning his battered, blood stained car in the depths of rural France in
the height of the summer heat.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">He takes to the
road and starts walking, hitch hiking lifts, but when he stops for a rest in a
cool wood he steps on a vicious animal trap and cannot move. He calls for help
as he cannot move and feels he is going to die. He sinks into unconsciousness
but then is rescued by the two daughters who live on the farm wherein the wood
is situated. He is taken down to the farm buildings and kept in a dilapidated
barn where he is restored to health, although still having to use a crutch,
because of his crushed leg.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When their Father,
the surly farmer Ahmed finds out he is being kept there he is furious and
demands that Sean do some work to pay for his keep. As Sean struggles to help
on the farm he explores this remote place with its locked gates, run down vineyard
and brooding lake <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and so his adventures begin as he discovers
the horrific secrets of this chilling place. </span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A
great story which I thoroughly enjoyed. The atmosphere of the place is well
portrayed as are the characters on the farm. You </span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">feel nothing much
is happening but it is still a gripping story. Well recommended.</span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-28057341415524013882016-09-03T16:26:00.000+01:002016-09-03T16:26:13.007+01:00Gregory David Roberts - The Mountain shadow <div class="MsoNormal">
review by showhost, sept 2016.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you loved Shantaram you will <u>like</u> this one (my opinion - not as good as Shantaram). It is a massive tome with over 800 pages and in
hardback so no easy read when you are reading in bed. It was lovely to meet up
with old friends like Didier, Abdullah, Karla and of course Shantaram
himself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shantaram, for those who never read it, was based on a true
story of an Australian who broke out of prison and ran to Bombay to hide. He
ended up working and living in the slums and became a non qualified doctor to
those slum dwellers & friend. They call him Lin. He made his money forging
passports working for the mafia (the company). He had so many risky adventures,
police brutality and gang violence plus a stint in Afghanistan that I was amazed
he survived. He also sat in council with the very wise <span class="a-size-base10"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 106%;">Khaderbhai.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this sequel, Lin/Shantaram comes back from a stint away to
find things have changed in the company which was<span class="a-size-base10"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 106%;">
Khaderbhai’s</span></span> and not all to his liking, nor is the new leader
Sanjay. Shantaram is living with Lisa but still in love with Karla whom he has
not seen for 2 years. Karla has married Ranjit. The company is not being run
with the same wisdom or fairmess of play. When a girl and her drug addicted
boyfriend, who are travellers in India, buy some bad drugs, the boyfriend dies.
Sharantam traces the bad stuff back to the company he works for and it starts to
question his believe in what he is doing. There are also people being brought
into the company who are not good people – one of them a big Irishman Concannon
who puts a 24 hour contract out on Shantaram.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Karla comes back into his life through her husband who is
worried for her safety because of his dodgy business dealings. He wants
Shantaram to protect her from his enemies due to his shifty dealings with
money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shantaram is sent away to Sri Lanka on a business deal. On
his return his girlfriend Lisa is dead – verdict is overdose. Shantaram and
those close to him do not believe it and they vow to find who was with her in
his flat before she dies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hope starts to glimmer for Shantaram and Karla but it is a
very tentative relationship. Karla wants him to give up his dodgy illegal
business and join her in her ligit PI for lost loves business. Their paths
continually cross and unwind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is an awful lot of ‘musing’ of gurus and wise men which
pads out the book. I enjoyed these in the first book as there weren’t that many
and I understood them but felt there was way too much in this sequel plus most of
them I didn’t understand especially the pages on the spiritual talk with
Idriss. But that aside (in fact I skipped some of these pages and didn’t miss a
beat with the story) I really enjoyed the book when things/action happened and
also enjoyed catching up with old characters again and meeting some new ones.
You must read Shantaram first to appreciate this sequel</div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-59632534987435180402016-08-15T13:54:00.004+01:002016-08-15T13:54:43.153+01:00Jenny Blackhurst – How I Lost You<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>review by showhost</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Well she certainly lost me!! Alex Marwood said
‘fast-moving and unputdownable’ – sorry but I don’t agree. Mid to end of the
story I was totally confused as to who was who and actually couldn’t care less
by then, I just wanted it to end. Characters had nicknames which were sometimes
used and sometimes not, the main character Susan or was it Emma was so pathetic
you wanted to slap her. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="a-size-base6"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Susan
Webster was convicted of killing her twelve week old son, Dylan, the verdict was
post natal depression. After serving only three years in a psychiatric hospital
she is out on parole having given herself a new name - Emma Cartwright (which is
hardly referred to in the book). Her best friend is Cassie, also a murderer,
who befriended her whilst she was in prison/hospital and saved her from suicidal
tendencies.. Emma/Susan lives in a small town in Shropshire. with a relatively
small population, in which to hide.</span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"><br /><span class="a-size-base6">Four weeks after her release, certain events have Susan
beginning to believe that Dylan is, in fact, still alive (starts off with a
photo of a four year old boy and on the back the name and dob of her supposed
dead baby). A journalist turns up at her door out of the blue – how did he know
where she lives with this new identity (I’d be worried straight away). She
immediately trusts this journalist Nick, (handsome with muscles of course)
Cassie doesn’t trust the journalist and becomes a little jealous. But other
items of Dylan start to turn up – like his blanket which her dad had, so Susan
thought. Her dad whom she hadn’t spoke to since going in prison. She obviously
turns to Nick and not Cassie for support and help. She goes to see the
solicitor who represented her during her trial as they find evidence which
wasn’t brought up during the trial. Some of the witnesses are gone. Her
solicitor isn’t now the friendly person she was but on the way out she meets one
of the associates of the firm and imagines going on a date with him....( example
of M&B adjectives: "He smells expensive, tailored Armani suit well built,
and his face has been chiselled by a steady hand"). Her house is trashed so she
goes to live in Nicks house. When his house is broken into they go to live in a
Travelodge.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
How did neither her or her husband at the time, take one
last look at their deceased baby child. Your baby is dead – you smothered him.
Oh ok then. I don’t remember doing it but if you say so. There was too many
unbelievable events and the sheer volume of names & nicknames, especially
when it goes back in time to the 90’s was totally confusing. I definitely won’t
read another by this author.</div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-83451228835347766512016-08-15T13:53:00.005+01:002016-08-15T13:53:50.892+01:00Judith Cook - To Brave Every Dangerreview written and read live on bookshow by Ro Bennett, 11/8/2016<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(16, 16, 16); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #101010; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(16, 16, 16); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #101010; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;">
This
is a biography about a woman called Mary Broad who was born into a fishing
family in Fowey in 1765. Life was very tough in Cornwall so she left home to
seek work in Plymouth where she became involved in petty thievery. After being
arrested for highway robbery of a silk bonnet, jewellery, and a few coins, she
was committed by the Mayor of Plymouth, to gaol and then was sentenced to seven
years' transportation to Australia. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(16, 16, 16); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #101010; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(37, 37, 37); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #252525; margin: 0px;">
In
May 1787, when she was only 22 years old, Mary was sent as a prisoner aboard the
ship Charlotte to New South Wales. Mary gave birth on the journey to a baby,
whom she called Charlotte. When she arrived in Australia, she married William
Bryant who was also from Cornwall. Bryant, who had worked as a fisherman, was a
convicted smuggler. He was also on the <i>Charlotte</i> with Mary and they later
had a son, Emanuel, born on 6 May 1790.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(37, 37, 37); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #252525; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(37, 37, 37); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #252525; margin: 0px;">
On
28 March 1791, William and Mary Bryant with the children and six other fellow
prisoners stole the Governor’s six-oared cutter. After a voyage of sixty-six
days, the group reached Kupang on the island of Timor, a journey of 5,000
kilometres. Timor was then under the control of the Dutch. The Bryants and their
crew claimed to be shipwreck survivors. They were later discovered to be British
convicts, apparently after William became drunk and confessed in the process of
bragging. To avoid an international incident they were sent back to Britain to
stand trial. The punishment for escaping from transportation was generally death
and Mary was sent to Newgate jail. I won’t reveal any more details of the
journey back to England or what happened once the prisoners arrived there
because not knowing anything about Mary’s story made the book an absolute page
turner for me. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(37, 37, 37); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #252525; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(37, 37, 37); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #252525; margin: 0px;">
This
was an excellent account, informative and very well researched. Apparently other
fictional books have been written about Mary Bryant as well as a TV movie, plays
and a musical. I can understand that as her story is certainly fascinating and
stirs the imagination. This book is factual but extremely interesting and easy
to read. It describes life in Cornwall at the time, the multiple reasons for the
widespread grinding poverty of the rapidly increasing underclass - a half
starved population living, quote “cheek-by-jowel with conspicuous wealth. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(37, 37, 37); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #252525; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(37, 37, 37); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #252525; margin: 0px;">
It
describes in depth the horrendous prison conditions, the even worse conditions
on board ship and the unbelievable deprivation suffered by the convicts as they
struggled to survive while building everything from scratch - the houses which
they made from wattle and daub collapsed in the strong winds and rain, the
cereal crops rotted, the vegetables failed to thrive while disease and lack of
food decimated the animals. The rations of old salted meat, weevily flour and
dried peas had to be cut. Clothes were becoming ragged. Ships bringing new
supplies were wrecked and there was no way to get news of their plight back to
England. Major Ross the Vice Governor who hated the country, the natives, the
marines, the convicts and most of all his staff was loathed by everyone in
return. Discipline was harsh and disease rampant. It was an absolutely wretched
existence and it was no wonder that the Bryants planned an escape, especially
after William had been been punished with a hundred lashes which nearly killed
him. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(37, 37, 37); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #252525; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(37, 37, 37); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #252525; margin: 0px;">
It
is an excellent book brimming with information and suspense - absolutely
gripping and unforgettable. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-21170495293968864052016-08-15T13:52:00.003+01:002016-08-15T13:52:54.711+01:00John Ironmonger - Not Forgetting the Whalereview written and read live on bookshow by Ro Bennett, 11/8/2016<br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(40, 30, 30); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #281e1e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
This
was for me a very unusual and clever novel, a real page turner. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(40, 30, 30); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #281e1e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(40, 30, 30); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #281e1e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
The
story begins with the residents of St Piran, a fictional Cornish village, who
collectively remember and celebrate an event that occurred fifty years
ago.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
At
that time a naked young man was washed up on the back of a whale and deposited
on the beach. He was quickly rescued by the villagers. From the retired village
doctor and the beachcomber, to the priest's flirtatious wife and the romantic
novelist, they take this lost soul into their midst. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #323333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
But
what the villagers don't know is that Joe Haak is a city analyst who has fled
London, fearing he may - inadvertently - have caused a global financial
collapse. Joe is so talented on the share trading floor, that he has managed to
invent Cassie, a computer programme which will predict the rise and fall of the
market. By combing through every piece of financial journalism, every scrap of
knowledge of every last supply chain, and every piece of economic activity in
recorded history, Cassie can anticipate market movements, and forecast share
prices. This of course should be invaluable to his company. However it is after
being led by Cassie into a spectacularly disastrous trade, that a terrified Joe
flees to the remote Cornish fishing village. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(40, 30, 30); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #281e1e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(40, 30, 30); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #281e1e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
Then,
just as he begins to settle down and find some peace, Cassie starts predicting
the end of the world. A global flu pandemic will wreak havoc. Oil supplies will
be cut off and Law and order will break down, millions will die and civilisation
will be back in the Stone Age within a week.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(40, 30, 30); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #281e1e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(16, 16, 16); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
Joe
advises the villagers to save themselves and seal the village off from the rest
of the world before it is too late.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(40, 30, 30); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #281e1e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(40, 30, 30); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #281e1e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
The
narrative weaves between the past and present, London and Cornwall and this
helps build up the tension and suspense as Cassie’s prediction proves to be
accurate. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
As
far fetched as the story might seem, this concept is actually rooted in reality
which is rather scary! Ironmonger consulted Diamond, the scientist whose book
<i>Collapse</i> (2005) examined the rapid decline of civilisations such as that
on Easter Island. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
Based
on this information, John Ironmonger’s description of the intricate mesh of
supply networks on which we all rely is really thought provoking. Just think
about the implications of a world-wide outbreak of severe flu, with billions of
people incapacitated and unable to work and the impact that would have as power
stations closed and produce wasn’t harvested or delivered and petrol stations
had to close and supermarkets ran out of essentials etc. Imagine god forfend
that the Gry didn’t come for weeks!!! </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
The
book however doesn’t focus on the gory details of such an event but upon the
more heartwarming side of human nature - self-sacrifice for the good of many as
opposed to the savage fight for survival of the fittest. As such, it’s a
gentle, uplifting book with warm engaging characters who demonstrate the
inherent goodness and generosity of spirit in us all.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
This
is a book which will stay with me for a long time. </div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-49524977704408656022016-08-15T13:50:00.003+01:002016-08-15T13:50:57.754+01:00Gordon John Thomson - Time and Miss Whiplash<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">review written and read by Brian Lowen live on the bookshow 11th Aug 2016</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</span><br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(note from showhost: to those of you who are expecting a sado-masachist book you will be disappointed!) </span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Having just
finished The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith, featuring a private
detective with a strange name and an attractive assistant, I have now read this
book which features a private detective with a strange name and an attractive
assistant.</span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But there the
similarity ends as Cormoran Strike was a hard up disabled ex-soldier whereas in
this book we have Thomas Time who is quite well off in the private
investigation business with his young, colourful assistant, Sam.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Thomas takes on a
case of looking for the teenage daughter of Digby and Philippa Renfrew who has
absconded from her private school in Dorset.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Thomas starts his
investigation at this school where he meets the domineering headteacher Rachel
Carstairs, who he nicknames Miss Whiplash.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">His enquiries then
lead him to some of London’s sleazy nightclubs and he gets himself involved
with Joey Tully, a gangland boss and also some Russian oligarchs and ends up
being pursued by both sets of criminals who are determined to kill him. </span><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--></div>
</span><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a great
story with plenty of action and several dead bodies <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>but
all rather in James Bond style and I preferred the more down to earth and
believable detective Cormoran Strike.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This is quite a
change from the previous book by GJT that I read which was also set in London,
but in the sixteen hundreds.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br /><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span>showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-79250802257553066092016-08-15T13:47:00.003+01:002016-08-15T13:47:45.722+01:00John Hannavy - Britain’s Industrial Heritage<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="https://img1.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">review written and read by Brian Lowen live on the bookshow 11th Aug 2016</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a book
that I received for my birthday and is described as a Handbook and Gazetteer.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I think it would
make a great present for anyone who is remotely interested in the industrial
past of this country.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It describes in
easy to read text with plenty of accompanying photographs the history of the
following:</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Windmills and
waterwheels and how they provided power to the factories.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Canals are dealt
with, describing their rise and fall and now rising again in popularity as a
leisure industry.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mining is featured
with details of the terrible conditions experienced by the miners seeking seams
of coal and metal ore.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The iron and steel
industry, which is particularly topical at the moment is also explained.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The railways and
there rise and fall following the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Beeching Report and now their rise again with the coming to life of many
heritage railways which are so popular with the public.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Shipbuilding is
really a sad story because as it was once a great industry it has now faded
away and there does not seem to be any recovery. </span><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--></div>
<br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">At the end of the
book is a very useful gazetteer listing all the places that you can visit,
relevant to the industries dealt with in the preceding pages, and brief details
about each.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A good little
hardcover book that is useful to keep as a reference.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a></span></div>
<br />
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-22523641399353206422016-07-09T17:28:00.001+01:002016-07-09T17:28:52.229+01:00ALEX SCARROW – THE CANDLE MAN<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</span></span><div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<div class="nospacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">A VICTORIAN , GRUESOME THRILLER.</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="nospacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">IT STARTS ABOARD THE TITANIC, 1912, IT IS STARTING TO TAKE ON WATER
AFTER HITTING THE ICEBERG. A LADY IN A WHEELCHAIR IS PUSHED INTO THE
DINING ROOM AS THE STEWARD WAITS FOR THE LIFEBOATS TO BECOME AVAILABLE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>IN THERE SHE FINDS AN ELDERLY GENTLEMAN.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>HE HAS A STORY TO TELL, HE KNOWS HE WON’T GET
ON A LIFEBOAT, IT IS WOMEN & CHILDREN FIRST.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="nospacing">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">HIS TALE TAKES PLACE IN WHITECHAPEL IN 1888</span> <span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A MAN IS PAID BY SOME POWERFUL PEOPLE TO MURDER A
WOMAN AND HER CHILD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>UNABLE TO DO THE
DEED ON THE CHILD HE THEN EMPLOYS TWO OF HIS WHORES.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>HE FINDS A LOCKET ON THE WOMAN WITH A PICTURE
OF HERSELF, HER CHILD AND A MAN WHICH HE TAKES, SENSING THAT THIS MAN IN THE
PICTURE IS VERY IMPORTANT AND POSSIBLE BLACKMAIL MONEY IN THE OFFING.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THE PEOPLE WHO PAID THEM TO DO THE ‘JOB’
CANNOT LEAVE ANY LOOSE ENDS SO THEY ARRANGE FOR A HITMAN FROM AMERICA TO COME & TAKE CARE OF THEM AND SO STARTS THE RUMOUR OF JACK THE RIPPER.</span></span><br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">IN
ANOTHER PART OF WHITECHAPEL PROSTITUTE MARY KELLY FINDS A NEARLY DEAD MAN LYING IN THE GUTTER. HE HAS A SATCHEL WITH A VAST AMOUNT OF MONEY IN IT, SHE TAKES THIS AND FLEES. THE MAN WAKES IN HOSPITAL WITH NO MEMORY OF WHO HE IS OR HOW HE GOT THERE. MARY DISCOVERS HIS WHERE ABOUTS AND HIS CONDITION AND FINDS HERSELF INVENTING A LIFE FOR THEM, WITH THOUGHTS OF A POSSIBLY HAPPY FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES, AFTER ALL THIS RICH AMERICAN MAY HAVE MORE WEALTH BACK HOME SHE CAN TAP INTO. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]--><br />
<div class="NoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</span></div>
<div class="nospacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">IT IS A TALE WHICH INVOLVES THE DISCRETION OF YOUNG PRINCE ALBERT, HIS
MISTRESS AND CHILD, AND MURDERED PROSTITUTES.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>CONSPIRACY THEORY AROUND JACK THE RIPPER MURDERS AND TITANIC (BEAR IN
MIND THE TITANIC IS VIRTUALLY NON EXISTANT EXCEPT FOR THE BEGINNING COUPLE OF
PAGES AND THE END).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BEWARE, SOME OF THE
MURDERS ARE QUITE GRAPHIC AND BRUTAL</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
.<br />
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-32586644075304881052016-07-09T17:18:00.002+01:002016-07-09T17:18:53.057+01:00Jasvinda Sanghera - Shame<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>review showhost July 2016.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I feel that everybody should read this book to enlighten
us of the ritual and beliefs of some Asian families. Also to understand the
cruelty & violence that befalls young indain girls who are still forced into
marriage with a stranger at 15. This book is the story of one such girl who had
the courage to break away. This made her an outcast in the Asian community
& brought shame on her family. She was disowned, considered dead, for
most/all of her life. These girls are shown a picture of a man (often a lot
older and living elsewhere in the world) and told they will go out for a few
months to meet and marry him, then he will come into this country as her
husband. They are treated no more than dogs to serve & obey and be punished
when they don’t.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
She had gone from being a virtual prisoner in her own home
to having to cope for herself in the wide hostile world. Her crime was that she
was a woman & had chosen to marry a man of her choice who she loved. She
escaped and ran off with the man, they lived in squalor, they had children, she
fell out of love and met someone else. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
She went on to do adult education courses and set up a
refuge for other women who were either being beaten or forced into marriage. But
her family still would not talk to her or acknowledge her existence. Honour is
more important than happiness.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Although I admired her courage and tenacity I can’t say I
warmed to her when she cheated on her husband. The husband who had stuck by
her, loved her and supported her in the beginning.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
These reviews were written in 2007/8:</div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343039070025068492.post-23219949524654066292016-06-19T15:55:00.001+01:002016-06-19T15:55:09.680+01:00Ann Cleeves - Black Raven<div class="WordSection1">
<div class="MsoPlainText">
Review by showhost </div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
This is by the author of Vera so I wasn't going to read it
but it is actually about another inspector called Perez and is based in the
Shetland islands. <span class="mhrhead"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">This
novel won the Crime Writers' Association Duncan Lawrie Dagger for
2006</span></span>. It has the same easy style that the Vera series has.
Nothing fast, furious or gory. Yes a dead body but a slowly unfolding crime.
</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span class="mhrhead"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Its
New Years eve and 2 girls dare each other to stop by the Shetland home of
elderly Magnus Tait to wish him ‘happy new year’. </span></span>When Fran
Hunter, a single mum, is walking her dog she finds the body of one of these
girls. The girl has been strangled. In this close community it draws suspicion
from all and the finger points to old Magnus. The crime reawakens the Islanders
memory of eight years ago when schoolgirl, Catriona Bruce went missing as Magnus
Tait was one of the last to see her. He was never charged then.
</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
Local inspector Perez is called in to investigate first
the disappearance then the murder. At the annual festival, Helly Aa, in
January, young Cassie goes missing from the crowd. The police are worried that
she will soon be another murder victim. Perez slowly untangles the hidden
community secrets along with an inspector from the mainland. We follow the red
herrings and the mystery through the harsh winter of the shetlands. We also
feel the tension and division which start to split the community (and living
myself in such a community I can see it happening). <span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Perez
is descended from a Spaniard wrecked on the Fair Isles, hence the name. He
still isn’t quite accepted as an islander.</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">I
thought I had guessed the ending & perp but I was wrong. I would definitely
not class this as a psychological thriller as it doesn't have that same 'grip' on the reader</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
showhosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198196408341088423noreply@blogger.com0