Our Mutual Friend - the destructive forces of wealth

Our Mutual Friend is a bit of a hard-hitting novel, which was published in episodes from May 1864 to November 1865. It may never had been finished at all if Charles Dickens hadn't survived a rail crash, going back into his carriage afterwards to rescue his manuscript. The central theme of the novel for me is the corrupting power of money ... both for those who have too much, and those who have too little. The main action takes place around John Harmon, who is returning to Britain following the death of his father, to claim his inheritance. However, in order to do so, his father's will has stipulated that he must marry the lowly Bella Wilfer, who just might be nothing more than a gold digger. When a body washed up in the Thames is identified as John Harmon, it means that Mr and Mrs Boffin, Mr Harmon's servants, come into the money instead. They initially try to do good with this unexpected wealth, taking Bella under their wing, and accepting the help of John Rokesmith, who acts as their secretary. But sure enough, the money starts to affect Mr Boffin, who thinks people are out to cheat him ... and indeed some are, including the gloriously slimy Silas Wegg. Bella and Rokesmith become close, but when Mr Boffin finds out about this, he turfs out Rokesmith and Bella leaves, disgusted with the change in Mr Boffin. At the same time, a lawyer falls for a poverty stricken girl, only to be confronted by a dangerous suitor who he is in competition with for her affection. Full of social comment on those who think that social status is the be all and end all of things, and including shocking details of how the poor were treated and kept "in their place" as well as a good smattering of anti-semitism, this is a truly epic novel. Despite the grim scenes, it is also a book about love and hope and that there can be rewards for those who keep their moral compass on the right path. There is much to admire in this book, and whilst there are some overly long and indulgent passages that rammed the point home a little too often, it is a book that is worth perservering with. I especially enjoyed the narration in the audio edition I read, which was delivered for over 30 hours by the glorious Simon Vance.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 832 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.99.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

The Dark Side of the Sun - what the heck ...?

I almost cannot bear to write this post, but here goes ... I am a massive fan of Terry Pratchett, and have read much of his work. It usually makes me laugh out loud and fills me with joy. However, The Dark Side of the Sun failed to do either of those things. Instead, it filled me with irritation and confusion. This is an early work, and sits in the science fiction rather than fantasy fiction camp. Our hero, Dom Sabalos is about to come of age, and become the chairman of an entire planet. However, he feels compelled to find the "Jokers World", the home world of the creators of the Universe. It seems that not everyone is happy with this quest and numerous attempts are made on his life. He miraculously escapes death time and again, and it becomes obvious that something extraordinary is going on. Is it fate, probability maths or the gods? The basic plot is sound, but the execution is too complex - yes, I know discussing the origin of the Universe is not exactly simple, but the characters and ideas are too plentiful and come so thick and fast that it is hard to keep up. There were odd flashes of the incredible writer Pratchett was to become when he hit his stride in the Discworld novels, but this foray felt unfocused and disconnected. I loved Isaac, one of the robots, but apart from that, it was a bit of a slog. A real disappointment for me, but maybe some will find it useful to read this work, with the view that it is interesting to see how the writer developed from this book to produce the great things that were to come.

My STAR rating: TWO.

Length: 235 print pages.
Price I paid: £1.00 charity shop.
Formats available: print; MP3 CD; ebook.

The Alchemist's Secret - surprisingly enjoyable hokum!

Hooray ... after what has felt like a bit of time floating around in the doldrums, I have actually read a book which has managed to keep me gripped throughout and also took me out of myself for a while. The Alchemist's Secret, by Scott Mariani is fast-paced, action-packed and incredibly silly ... but I really enjoyed it. Ben Hope's SAS training and tragic past have led him to a life dedicated to rescuing kidnapped children around the world. It is a tough, lonely life, full of danger and with no room for personal attachments. He is contacted by a prospective client with an unusual proposition ... to find the fabled manuscript written by famed alchemist Fulcanelli, which holds the secret to the "elixir of life" in order to save a dying child. Despite some major reservations, Hope takes the job on. This takes him to France and into the path of American scientist, Dr Roberta Ryder, who, unlike the rest of the scientific community, believes that the study of alchemy is a worthwhile endeavour. Their investigations start to attract some unwanted attention, and the bodies start mounting up. It seems that there are powerful agencies out there who also want to find the secret to eternal life. So the chase is on ... who will be first to find the manuscript, and what will it reveal? Yes, our hero is troubled, and yes, there are some predictable scenarios, and yes, some totally unbelievable baddies (one group of which really irritated me). However, despite all of these flaws, The Alchemist's Secret is a great read. Sharp, taut and full of vim, I found myself going along for the ride once I had well and truly suspended my disbelief! This is the first in a series of books featuring Ben Hope, and if you like things like The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, then this will be right up your street.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 496 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.48 (several years ago on Kindle)
Formats available: print; ebook.

A Possible Life - as long as it's a grim one!

It is a long time since I read a book of short stories, and I started A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks,  whose previous work I have enjoyed, with eager anticipation. However I have been left a little dissatisfied. I somehow found it hard to connect with the characters in each of the five different stories. Each is set in a different time and place, from World War II, to Victorian England, Italy in 2029, nineteenth century France and 1970's California. The main character in each is not at ease with their life, and are striving to make the best of things, or at least endure what's being thrown at them, in the hope that a better future is coming. Sometimes this seems attainable, but more often, it is not. I felt that it was a book about the hard slog that life can be, which I suppose is true for almost everyone on the planet ... it's just that I like books to take me away from the slog, not stick the boot in with such relentless determination. Some have said that each story is linked, but I couldn't see it ... except maybe for the undercurrent of melancholy, which I'm not sure the author was going for. Whilst the writing, as you would expect from Faulks, is beautifully done, I was left feeling a bit down in the dumps. There is very little to lighten the load of the characters and scant  hope on offer. It's a short book, but it took me a ridiculously long time to read, which tells me something! Now, off I go to find something to lift my spirits.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 294 print pages.
Price I paid: zero, borrowed from my husband.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, ebook.

Mansfield Park - a little underwhelmed

So, a Jane Austen novel, on audio format, read by the delicious Juliet Stephenson ... I couldn't have been happier ... unfortunately, this feeling didn't last. Mansfield Park is the story of a family in crisis. We start with three sisters, one of whom marries the wealthy Sir Thomas Bertram, of Mansfield Park, the second is widowed young and attaches herself to her well-heeled sister, and one marries the lowly Mr Price and produces nine children. The Price's are struggling, and Sir Thomas agrees to help by taking on one of the daughters, Fanny, as a companion for his own children and sets up her brother in the navy. Time moves on, and after a shaky start, Fanny finds her feet, forming a particularly close bond with her cousin Edmund. When worldly wise siblings, Henry and Mary Crawford move into the neighbourhood, things get complicated. Henry is an outrageous flirt and toys with the affections of both Bertram sisters, and Mary makes a play for Edmund, though is less enthusiastic when she discovers he is intending to become a clergyman. Fanny Price observes all the goings on, but cannot intervene. When the Crawfords take their leave, Fanny hopes things will go back to normal, despite Edmund pining for Mary. However, the Crawfords just will not stay away from the Bertrams and a scandal is inevitable. I have really enjoyed Jane Austen novels, particularly in audio format, but Mansfield Park just didn't do it for me. I found Fanny to be an insipid heroine, without much spark, and I found it hard to like any of the characters much. I felt the story to be overly long, taking an absolute age for anything to happen. Too many scenes are pretty much the same scene regurgitated again and again. There are moments when I thought, at last, here we go, but then things would just dither about again and left me frustrated. And then, at the end, everything was wrapped up so quickly it felt like the author had got so bored that she just dashed off an ending just to get it finished! I expect I wasn't in the right frame of mind for this book, and if I had read it at another time, my reaction may well have been more generous. It certainly won't put me off Austen, whose writing I hugely admire, but I would not recommend that this would be the first of her work to read.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 400 print pages.
Price I paid: £4.95.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, dramatised audio CD, ebook., CD-ROM.

Once Bitten - not hugely thrilling!

Full moon is when the crazies come out to play, so Jamie Beaverbook knows he's going to be busy. He is a police psychologist employed to assess the sanity of unusual suspects before they are interviewed. When Jamie is asked to consult on a beautiful young looking girl, who was found in an alley crouched over a dead man, with blood smeared on her mouth, he is intrigued. He confirms her sanity, but is perplexed by the evidence surrounding her. There is no such thing as a vampire .... or is there? After her release, Jamie starts to dig into the world of the magnetic Terry Ferriman. Needless to say, he falls for her, and she seems to fall for him. But what will happen when he finds out the truth, and is the world prepared to hear it? Once Bitten is an interesting take on a vampire thriller, with some different interpretations of what a vampire could actually be (no garlic will save you in this version!), which I liked. However, the actual thriller element wasn't all that thrilling, and the romance was a bit too predictable. Stephen Leather is an excellent author, but this particular story didn't grab me in the way that his other work often does. It felt a bit rushed and predictable, and I wasn't excited by, or felt any warmth for any of the characters. It is a quick read and not very taxing, so a good book to read if you are travelling or just want something light to while away a few hours.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 240 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.74.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.

Dark Fire - murder and mayhem Tudor stylee!

It is the summer of 1540, and London is a hot, sticky and downright dangerous place. Matthew Shardlake is trying his best to keep his legal practice going, now that he is out of favour with his former paymaster, Thomas Cromwell. However, when he becomes involved in defending a young woman accused of murdering her cousin, the king's chief minister offers some help ... in return for a favour of his own. Although unwilling to get embroiled in the political machinations of Henry VIII's court once again, Shardlake is drawn into the search for the secret of Dark Fire ... a legendary substance that can destroy anything in its path. Shardlake is commissioned to investigate the brutal murders of the alchemists who had persuaded Cromwell that they had the formula and could deliver it to him. With their deaths, the formula has gone missing. Time is of the essence, as the king is expecting Cromwell to deliver this weapon to him in just a few days time. Things do not start well, and the body count starts to rise as Shardlake tries to juggle both cases. The pressure is on, for if he fails, many lives are at stake ... including his own. This is the second book in The Shardlake Series, written by C.J. Sansom, and it is an absolutely fantastic sequel. The reader is thrust into the sights and smells of Tudor England at a time when paranoia and betrayal were as common as the plague. Whilst most people wouldn't want to have lived during those times, it is enjoyable to visit them from time to time between the covers of a book. The characters are intriguing and rounded. The dialogue is sharp and often witty. And there are so many red herrings and wrong turns down very dangerous alleys that the reader's interest is maintained right to the end. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed by this book ... except that it comes to an end. But there is light at the end of the tunnel .... with four more books in the series to enjoy.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 581 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.00, borrowed from my husband.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download, audio CD; ebook.

The Mangle Street Murders - a punt that paid off!

Don't you just love it when a complete punt on a book written by an author you've never heard of pays off. I am pleased to report that this has been my experience with The Mangle Street Murders, by M.R.C. Kasasian. Set in 1880s London, Sidney Grice, London's most famous personal detective and rampant tea-drinker, has become the guardian of his god daughter, March Middleton. He begrudgingly welcomes her into his home, but doesn't particularly like what he sees. And as far as March is concerned, the feeling is entirely mutual! He is set in his ways, opinionated, critical and unbending in his feelings of superiority to everyone else, particularly women. She is smart, sensitive and determined. Needless to say, their relationship does not get off to a good start, and it is almost a relief to them both when Sidney is called out by Inspector Pound to interview a man suspected of murdering his wife in the bloodiest of fashions. He is convinced of his guilt, but March is not. When she persuades her guardian to investigate further, she tags along and together they follow the twists and turns of what is a great plot. This is a book that really does keep you guessing and where nothing is as it seems. Lots of clues are revealed that seem to lead one way only for them to end up leading somewhere else. The back story to both lead characters is only partially revealed and leaves you wanting more. They are often at loggerheads, giving the author plenty of opportunity to give the reader incredibly entertaining and spiky exchanges. As the body count mounts (it is a crime thriller after all), and the blood starts to flow, there is still an immense amount of humour to keep things from getting too dark. The audio edition I read was presented exceptionally well by Emma Gregory, who I thought brought the correct level of vigour to this Victorian romp. The author has created an interesting and entertaining crime-fighting duo and it comes as no surprise that this book is just the first of their adventures in The Gower Street Detective Series. This could be the start of a beautiful relationship!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 336 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.92.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; unabridged audio CD; ebook.

Sweet Caress: The Many Lives of Amory Clay - not always so sweet!

When she was eleven, Amory Clay's father returned from the trenches of the First World War. But his experiences had broken him, and he was no longer the father who used to stand on his head just to amuse his family. Never was this more obvious than when he came to her school to take her out on a trip, and then drove the car into a lake in an attempted suicide. They both survived the ordeal and it may have been this event which triggered Amory to live her life to the full, which she definitely goes on to do. She loves photography and, despite all opposition, sets out to become a professional photographer with the help of her Uncle Greville. This profession takes her to 1920's Berlin, 1930's New York, the blackshirt riots in London and then, as a war photographer, to the Second World War. The reader gets to view her life while she is reflecting upon them as she compiles a journal during 1977. In her memoir, she relates the most intimate moments in an unflinching and unsentimental way - the way I imagine a photojournalist of the time would indeed take a picture - you shoot what's there, nothing more, nothing less. This, for me, sometimes made it hard for me to like Amor, but I did warm to her in the end. We hear about her lovers, the near-death experiences she had trying to get the shots she needed, and also her family. We also get a bit of the Vietnam War thrown in for good measure, almost as a last hurrah for a much older Amory. Sweet Caress: The Many Lives of Amory Clay is by no means a perfect book and I have to admit that I wasn't totally convinced by the ending. You do get to see much of the main events of the 20th Century through the lens of a female photographer, which is different, but at the same time, not totally believable that this one character would get to be there at all those crucial moments. Don't get me wrong, William Boyd is a tremendous author, and many of the passages were a joy to read, but for me, there were not enough of these to really make me gush about this book. I wish I'd liked it more!

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 465 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.92.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest - food, family and friendship

I have found Kitchens of the Great Midwest a hard book to categorise. At the beginning, it seems to be about a food loving chef whose wife leaves him, literally, holding the baby. He determines to bring his beautiful daughter up by himself, without bad-mouthing her mother ... but just as you are settling into this, the chef dies! What? Where's this going thought I. We then find out what happens to the baby ... one Eva Thorvald ... throughout the remainder of the book, by following a disparate and seemingly unconnected set of characters whose lives intersect with Eva. Each of these stories is perfectly drawn and apparently independent, so much so that you start to wonder what the heck they have got to do with the story. But somewhere down the line, up pops Eva, sometimes in person, and sometimes just in conversation. Whilst Eva features in all these "chapters", the absolute core to the book and the glue which binds them altogether is food. In fact, so important is the food element, that there is a liberal sprinkling of the recipes written out in full of the dishes cooked by the various characters. It is a study of the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people ... of whom one thing is common to all ... how important food is to our identity. We really are the food we cook and the food we eat. In this, his first novel, J. Ryan Stradal has given us what feels like a personal and enjoyable read, and I might just be trying some of those enticing recipes that got my taste buds tingling in anticipation!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 400 print pages.

Price I paid: £0.00 for the ebook which was on an offer at the time.

Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Monsters Of Men- fantastic finale to a triumphant trilogy

I kept putting off reading this, the last instalment of the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness, partly because I didn't want it to actually end, but mostly because I had experienced the first two parts in audio format and I'd now got the last book in print. I was worried that the characters wouldn't be as clearly defined in the print edition, and also that the main feature of the "noise" in people's heads would somehow not be as effective. I shouldn't have worried. From the very first sentence, I was back  in the thick of things on New World, where the controlling nutter that is Mayor Prentiss seems to be getting exactly what he wants ... ALL OUT WAR! The book picks up where the last one finished ... Todd is desperately trying to keep the Mayor under some semblance of control, and Viola is racing to intercept the army Mistress Coyle has gathered, but over the horizon comes a legion of the indigenous Spackle ... seemingly intent on ridding their home of the invading humans. Despite their best intentions, battle commences, and it is a brutal one. Finally, talks commence, and peace is on the cards .... but when 1017, the Spackle slave Todd released in the previous book seems bent on his singular revenge, mutual destruction is once again on the cards. Can Todd and Viola live long enough to restore peace and finally be with one another, or will Mayor Prentiss use his ever-increasing powers of control to destroy everything and everyone? And can humanity ever get to grips with being able to hear each others thought all the time? Monsters of Men keeps the pulse racing and the reader guessing until the very end. There are breath-taking sequences and the action is relentless. It's not often I'm so involved in a book that my heart almost breaks! Although shocking, exhilarating and full of foreboding about the immense stupidity of war, this is, at its core, a story of loyalty, love and hope in a world where those things are in short supply. I urge you to take the plunge and read the whole trilogy. My only criticism was going to be that there is no more ... but I have found out that there is a short story called Snowscape which, I believe, provides a well needed coda! Now, where can I get it from ...?

My STAR rating: FIVE (unsurprisingly!)

Length: 603 print pages.
Price I paid: 50p.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

One Good Turn - it's not all fun and frolics at the Edinburgh Festival

Jackson Brodie, ex-army, ex-police and ex-private detective is at the Edinburgh Festival with his paramour, Julia. She is an actress, and is in rehearsal for what could possibly be the world's worst play! While Julia is so engrossed, Jackson is at a loose end, and is starting to fear that not all is well with their relationship. While mooching about, he becomes embroiled in an incident which leads him down a very dangerous path. There are several plots all going on at the same time, involving the author of gentle crime novels, missing bodies, dodgy Russians and a fraudulent property developer. As Brodie keeps finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, the police are wondering whether he is an unlucky witness, an investigate colleague, or a suspect. There is so much going on in One Good Turn, that the reader could become a little bit lost if they don't keep their wits about them. However, this is a very satisfying read, balancing a thrilling mystery with the everyday drama of people struggling to make a relationship work. Kate Atkinson weaves all these things together with aplomb. The reader is kept very much on their toes, with twists and turns stacking up ... and we are kept wondering about the significance of the Russian Dolls! Sprinkled with humour, there is much to enjoy about this second outing for Jackson Brodie, and with a bit of a cliff-hanger for an ending with regard to his private life, I am sure it won't be long before I succumb to the next instalment!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 544 print pages.
Price I paid: free (borrowed from library as an ebook).
Formats available: print; abridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Summer Knight - you really don't want Faeries at the bottom of your garden!

Harry Dresden, Chicago's very own crime fighting wizard is back for his fourth adventure in Summer Knight. And this time, it's very, VERY personal. We find Harry in a bit of a slump ... he's broke, has no work and is spending all his time trying to find a cure for his girlfriend, who was infected by the Red Court of Vampires in the last book. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he is called before the White Court of Wizards to answer charges of murder, which, if proven will mean his execution! Into this mix come the Faeries, a notoriously tricky bunch of creatures who have a knack of getting exactly what they want at everyone else's expense. The Winter Queen "hires" Harry to find out who murdered the Summer Knight - the Summer Queen's right-hand man - and clear her own name in the process. It's an offer he cannot refuse and he gets to work, enlisting help along the way from Chicago PD's Murphy (his very human friend) and the Alphas (the local werewolf pack). Harry gets himself, and those around him, into a series of increasingly dangerous scrapes as he works the case while trying to stay alive ... oh, and then there's the small matter of saving the world as we know it! The action comes thick and fast as do the surprises and witty dialogue. More of Harry's back story is revealed, which helps to create a more rounded character. Author Jim Butcher has certainly hit his stride with this series and these books are becoming a guilty pleasure for me ... combining crime and fantasy fiction in a most satisfying way. I thoroughly enjoyed the audio edition,  which is excellently narrated by James Marsters, who brings a world weary sarcasm to the proceedings that hit just the right note. Roll on book number five!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 448 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.84.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; unabridged MP3; ebook.

The Hare With Amber Eyes - a slow burner

Some books grip you from the very first paragraph and others are slow burners. The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance definitely sits in the latter category. When the author,  Edmund De Waal, inherits 264 netsuke from his great uncle Iggy, he becomes curious as to how this collection found its way into his life. As he starts to trace their history, his investigations reveal the lives of the owners too ... and so an inheritance of objects becomes an inheritance of his family. And what a family ... his ancestors were the Ephrussi family - who originally came from the Ukraine but found fortune in wheat and later banking in Odessa. They spread out to Paris, Vienna and Tokyo. Their wealth allowed them to indulge in beautiful things, and so the netsuke collection was born. Over the course of a tumultuous century, which saw an explosion of anti-semitism, this Jewish family went from the highest high, to the lowest low, having to up sticks and leave everything behind to escape with their lives. The story of how the netsuke collection was preserved is amazing. As one of the world's leading ceramic artists, the author unsurprisingly imparts the intrinsic beauty of the netsuke to the reader with great skill, a skill which carries over into his descriptions of place and time. We are on the same journey as the author, following each and every discovery which opens the door a little more into the lives, loves and troubles of his ancestors. The reader cannot help but be drawn into the Ephrussi family dramas as they unfold. The story becomes so absorbing that as you go further and further into it, you find it harder and harder to put down. It seemed to take me ages to get going, but once I was a third of the way through, I was hooked. I can heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves history, family or art.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 354 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.20 from a church fete.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Kafka on the Shore - charmed and bewildered in equal measures

I have been putting off this blog in order to try and decide what I really think about Kafka on the Shore ... and even though it's a week since I finished it, I'm still debating it in my head. This, I suspect, is a good sign, in that the book is certainly staying with me ... unlike some others I could mention! It is certainly a novel that makes the reader work hard, REALLY hard. Set in present day Japan, we think we are journeying with 15-year-old Kafka Tamura, who is in the act of running away from home where he has been miserable and unloved by everyone, especially his father. But then, we come across the reporting of, and investigation into, a school outing during the 2nd World War, where a class of young children fall unconscious in the forest on a field trip. Mysteriously, all of whom wake up unharmed except for one boy whose life will never be the same again. We switch back to the present and follow the progress of Kafka as he tries to find his sister and mother who left when he was four, and about whom his father has made a terrible prophesy. Alongside this, we meet Nakata, an old man who is not very bright but who can speak to cats, and uses this unusual ability to make a little bit of money finding lost cats for their owners. Nakata, it turns out, is the boy from the forest. The lives of these two characters becomes intertwined, although they never actually meet. Will Kafka find his mother and sister, and if so, can he stop the prophesy from coming true ... but more worryingly, does he want to stop it from coming true? Haruki Murakami has created magical passages that are a joy to read - I particularly loved Nakata and all that he did. However, there are also sections that are tough going in terms of both subject matter and style. There are sequences of philosophical meanderings that I sometimes felt were a bit laborious, but then anyone who has been reading these blogs knows I'm an action-oriented girl at heart! And while I wanted to root for Kafka, and I often did, I also wanted to slap him, and slap him hard! I could not quite believe some of the things he did and it left me disappointed on the odd occasion. As the book progresses, it becomes increasingly surreal and if you fight this, you may become both disorientated and disgruntled. I very nearly did, but made a conscious decision to let myself go with the flow to see where we ended up. My personal preference would have been for a more definitive ending ... but maybe that is why the book has stayed with me, as I ponder what happened next to the characters that I had invested such a long time with. Certainly a challenging book, but worth the effort.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 505 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.99.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Child of the Mist - nothing to tax the mind too much

I have been a bit poorly for the last week or so, which has meant that my levels of concentration have been a bit on the low side. And so I found myself plumping for a historical romance that I hoped would be entertaining but which wouldn't require too much energy. I found Child of the Mist, by Kathleen Morgan, to be such a book! Anne is the eldest daughter of the Chief of the MacGregor Clan who have been involved in a bitter feud with the Campbell Clan for many years. Anne is a healer, and as such is in danger of being burned as a witch. She almost comes to grief one day, but is saved by a handsome Campbell and returned to her home. After yet another raid, and in an effort to end the feud and save his Clan, Anne's father comes up with a proposal to handfast his daughter to Niall, the son and named successor of the Campbell Chief. Of course, Naill turns out to be the self-same man who had previously saved her. Things do not go smoothly, as there is a traitor is in the midst of the Campbells, who is determined to take power for himself and keep the feud going. The budding relationship between Anne and Niall is beset with misunderstandings, prejudice and pride. Will they ever get together and will the traitor be discovered and dealt with ... I think we all know the answer to that one! I did, kind of, enjoy this book, which is light and packed with incident. It is incredibly predictable and the characters are ones that we have all seen before, and some of the dialogue is totally unbelievable, as well as wierdly trying to be Scottish ... verra, verra being a prime example. It is the first of a series of books, and I won't be seeking them out, unless maybe I am really ill again and just need something to take my mind off things without having to strain myself in anyway shape or form. There are better historical romances out there - anything by Jean Plaidy for instance - that I'd seek out before diving into the mist once again.

My STaR rating: TWO.

Length: 336 print pages.
Price I paid: free.
Formats available: print; ebook.

One Shot - Jack Reacher in fine fettle!

For some reason of late, I have become a bit of a slow reader. I never seem to find the time to have a really good run at a book ... there are always other things to do! Then, at night, snuggled up in bed, I reach for my latest tome, then only manage a couple of pages before I slump into dreamland. So, that explains the blogging gap between my last review and One Shot, by Lee Child. This is the ninth outing for ex-military policeman, Jack Reacher, and this is the book they based the Jack Reacher film on, which starred Tom Cruise. We open with an apparent random shooting which leaves five dead on the street. The sniper leaves behind such a wealth of evidence that he is quickly picked up and charged. He says almost nothing except "Get Jack Reacher for me." Of course, Reacher being Reacher, he is not an easy man to find. However, when he sees a news report about the shooting and recognises the name of the man accused, he heads to the scene and presents himself as a witness for the prosecution. He and the accused man have a past! And so begins an investigation which blows apart what was supposed to be a "slam dunk" of a case. It is not clear who can be trusted and Reacher has to fight against his desire to see this man finally brought to justice for his past crimes and his overriding search for the truth! As usual, the action goes along at breakneck speed leaving plenty of casualties in its wake. This is a book that hits you squarely between the eyes and leaves you a little dazed from start to finish ... but in a totally enjoyable way. It is brutal at times, but Reacher is a compelling character in which intelligence and street smarts are delicately balanced with his basic instinct for survival at almost any cost. It's always best to remember that he never gives up, and that if you cross him, you do so at your peril! There are plenty more Reacher books to dive into, and it won't be long before I don my swimming costume once again and take the plunge.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 496 print pages.
Price I paid: Free, borrowed from local library as an ebook.
Formats available: print; abridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Dr No - Bond vs Giant Squid!

Bond is back from the dead! At the end of his previous adventure, Bond had been poisoned and it looked like it was lights out for 007. Apparently, Ian Fleming had indeed planned to kill him off, but the world wanted more. And so, Bond made an almost miraculous recovery and is put back on duty in what M thinks should be an easy case of finding one of their missing employees in Jamaica. However, far from a nice holiday in the sun, Bond discovers that there is something very wrong going on. He ends up on a small island owned by the eponymous Dr No, which purports to be a highly profitable guano producer, but that, of course, is a front for something far more deadly. Bond is really put through the mill and ends up doing battle with a giant squid ... those suckers get everywhere! As is usually the case, the book is full of details ranging from the author's beloved Jamaican landscape to the types of guns and the food and drink consumed. Oh, and the love interest is a capable local girl (Honeychile) who inevitably falls under his spell, which I can only put down to his pheromones, which must be strong enough to fell elephants, because he seems almost devoid of charm in this outing. If you are a fan of James Bond, you will love this, but if you haven't read any of the previous books, I wouldn't start with this one, which I feel lacked a little something. Overall I would say this is a good holiday reading ... there's plenty going on but you don't have to tax your brain too much.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 336 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from library as an ebook.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; audio CD; ebook.

Warriors of the Storm - bring on the shield wall

The deeply flawed Lord Uhtred of Bebbanberg is back in Warriors of the Storm, the 9th book in The Last Kingdom series. My favourite pagan warrior may be starting to feel his age as his body aches and he is definitely getting slower, but his cunning mind and burning ambition remain undiminished. The book opens with Uhtred still holding Mercia on behalf of his former lover, and daughter of King Alfred, Aethelflaed. However, a formidable opponent gets the jump on him in the form of Ragnall Ivarson, a fierce Northman who has joined forces with the Irish and is making a bid for the kingdom. Despite the threat, neither Aethelflaed, nor her brother Edward (ruler of Wessex) seem to want to take their forces north to confront him. Uhtred grows increasingly frustrated, and decides to take action when he hears that his daughter, who is married to Ragnall's brother, is in peril. And we all know by now that when Uhtred gets the bit between his teeth there is going to be a shield wall and plenty of blood ... This was the first of this series that I have read in audio format, and I was a little worried that the voices of the characters I already had in my head might not match the narrators interpretation of them, but my fears were unfounded. Excellent work by Matt Bates brought the story to life and in no way interfered with "my" characters .... which is just as it should be. This latest instalment is a superb addition to the series. Bernard Cornwell is a writer who deserves all the plaudits he receives. Great characters. Breakneck action sequences. Entertaining dialogue. Oh, and a bit of history too. Highly recommended to anyone who likes their heroes fierce, loyal, and a little bit bonkers too! It should come as no great surprise to anyone who has been reading this blog that Warriors of the Storm was a winner for me! Roll on the next adventure, which is titled The Flame Bearer and is due to be published in October 2016.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 368 print pages.
Price I paid: zero, borrowed from library via OneClickAudio.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; preloaded digital audio player; ebook.

Company of Liars - when the plague is not the biggest threat!

It is 1348 and panic hits the people of England when the first victims of the plague are reported to have arrived on its shores. In a bid to get ahead of the killer disease, our narrator, Camelot heads north. He is a seller of "relics" of the saints to those willing to part with ready cash to ward off evil with their power. As he travels, he unwillingly seems to pick up an unlikely group of companions who find themselves travelling together for mutual protection. There are Venetian musicians Rodrigo and Jofre, Cygnus, a one-armed storyteller, the painter Osmond and his wife Adela who is with child, Zophiel the conjuror, and the midwife Pleasance who is accompanied by the strange, white-haired child, Narigorm. The action moves along with great pace and there are many twists and turns that keep the reader both gripped and guessing. When the company's numbers start to dwindle, relentlessly pursued by a lone wolf, everyone starts to get a bit jumpy, and suspicions and accusations start to break the company apart. Will anyone make it out alive, and will anyone be able to keep their deepest, darkest secret to themselves? I really, really enjoyed this book, assisted by the fine narration of David Thorpe in the audio edition. Company of Liars is a book that you want to keep reading even though you really know you should get some sleep! The author, Karen Maitland, brings to life the desperation of the Middle Ages where life was short and often miserable, and populates it with fascinating and sympathetic characters. There is so much going on, but all of the characters and action is woven together with such exceptional skill that the epic nature of the story still feels very human and personal. Superb storytelling, and I will certainly be seeking out other work by this author.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 592 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.92.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Case Histories - why has it taken me so long to read this?

Case Histories features Jackson Brodie, ex army, ex policeman and ex husband, who is a private detective in Cambridge, England. It's been an unusually hot summer and lethargy has set in ... though that may have something to do with the infected root canal inhabiting his mouth! As if from nowhere, three cold cases fall into his lap - a missing child, an unsolved murder and the tracing of a long lost niece. Jackson tries to tackle all three inbetween trips to the dentist, time spent with his daughter, fights with his ex-wife and avoiding premature death at the hands of an unknown assassin. The central character created by author Kate Atkinson is multi-layered, and as we follow his work, we find out more and more about him and cannot help but start to care about what happens to him. There is such a lot going on both in the present and in the past with both the cases and his personal life that you have to keep on your toes and concentrate. It's a book that really benefits from having the tme to have a good run at, if you know what I mean. However, it is SO worth the effort. The different cases are woven together with great skill and a lightness of touch which makes the book ebb and flow with pleasing results. To say I enjoyed it is an understatement, and I feel ridiculously stupid for not venturing into Jackson Brodie's world much, much sooner.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 432 print pages
Price I paid: Free, borrowed as an ebook from the library.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio CD; ebook.

The Long Funeral of Mr White - sweet novella

I spied this novella through BookBub, a service I subscribe to that sends you a daily email with offers on ebooks. The Long Funeral of Mr White was free but had got great reviews so I thought ... hey, a nice bit of holday reading for me at no cost ... bargain! And WHAT a bargain. This is the thoroughly enjoyable story of Mr White, who, upon reaching his 70th birthday feels the hand of the Grim Reaper resting on his shoulder. A wealthy man, he lives by himself in a grand old house. He has pretty much always had his own way and, as in life, he does not want to leave anything to chance in his death. Thus, he plans all the arrangements for his funeral, making a list of everything he requires in great detail. But what about his final words ... who will record them ... such a man as he should have his last ever words recorded for posterity! He advertises for someone to do that very job, which would involve following him around wherever he goes with a notebook. With too many applicants to choose from, he picks three people completely at random. And so we follow Mr White as he tries to find his perfect companion for the rest of his life. This is a touching and sweet tale with a lot of heart, taking the reader on a journey to discover what's really important in a man's life. I really enjoyed this book by an author new to me. I will definitely be looking out for more by author, Eugenio Prados. Well worth a read, with the added bonus that it won't take up too much of your time, but will nevertheless linger in the memory.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: very short.
Price I paid: Free.
Formats available: ebook only.

Sharpe's Revenge - peace looms, but is Sharpe ready?

It is 1814, and the many battles between the British/Spanish armies and the French have definitely taken their toll on troops and citizens alike. Napoleon is rumoured to have surrendered, but without confirmation, Major Richard Sharpe heads into one final and bloody battle at Toulouse. With each battle, Sharpe has become more nervous and superstitious. As if this wasn't bad enough, all is not well in the love department as his new wife Jane has gone back to Britain on bad terms, disgusted that Sharpe's pride and lust for revenge has resulted in him becoming engaged in a duel. Needless to say he comes through both the duel and the battle, only to find that he is up on charges for stealing a vast amount of gold ... charges trumped up by his old adversary, Pierre Ducos. He sets out to clear his name by trying to find Henri Lassan, a Frenchman who knows the truth - but when he is killed, guess who is blamed! Sharpe is determined to bring Ducos to justice, one way or the other, and clear his name and get back home ... but by that time, is there anything to go back home for ...? Once again, Bernard Cornwell has produced a great read, with big themes - life, love, death, honour - and huge action set pieces. It's all there and it's exceptionally enjoyable. The author has had time to fill out his main characters and there are some great scenes between Sharpe, Harper and Frederickson that are so touching that they are lovely to behold. I know this series is drawing to an end (this is book 19), but I really don't want it to. I can heartily recommend Sharpe's Revenge to anyone seeking adventure, great characters and a bit of history thrown in for good measure.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 348 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.50.
Formats available: print; audio CD; abridged audio download; unabridged audio download; ebook.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood - a bit odd!

The Mystery of Edwin Drood, is the last book written by the prolific and well loved author, Charles Dickens. Unfortunately, he died before he had finished it. I'd heard great things about it nonetheless and was ready to give it a go. Edwin Drood is a young man who lives in the Cathedral City of Cloisterham, under the guidance of his Uncle, John Jasper. He seems destined to marry the twittering Rosa until the Landless siblings come on the scene. They bring a certain mystery and spice to the locale. Edwin and Rosa come to the conclusion that whilst they are the very best of friends, they shouldn't marry. Happy with their decision, they head off to tell people. Soon after, on Christmas Eve, Edwin disappears. When some of his belongings turn up, the assumption is that he has been murdered. Suspicion falls on Neville Landless, but he is cleared of any wrongdoing. So far, so good. However, what then followed in the book left me completely cold and a tad bewildered. John Jasper declares his love for Rosa, and she flees Cloisterham. There is much toing and froing to London and back, and we find out that Jasper is an opium addict. When his supplier follows him back to Cloisterham, we can only assume that she is up to no good ... but at this point, the book finishes. It could have been the narration of the audio edition that I read, but I was much confused by who was who and what they were doing and whether they were really relevant to the story, or just an aside. The story didn't flow for me and I was left feeling confused, frustrated and disappointed. I wasn't even that bothered that it was left "unfinished", because by the time it did, I couldn't care less! I have enjoyed previous works by Mr Dickens and I will not be put off by this unsatisfying work.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 400 print pages.
Price I paid: £3.86.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

A Funeral For An Owl - touching tale of friendship

A Funeral For An Owl opens with the unexpected and shocking stabbing of a teacher in the school playground on the last day of the summer term. As Jim Stevens lies bleeding, fellow teacher Ayisha comes to his aid along with one of the pupils, a boy called Shamayal, who seems to be treating Mr Stevens more as a friend than a teacher. After the initial shock, and with Jim in hospital, Ayisha discovers that the strict rules of conduct that apply to teacher/pupil relationships have been broken by Jim, who, we learn in flashback, has taken Shamayal under his wing. Ayisha likes Jim, and doesn't want to get him into trouble so sits on this information, but when Jim asks her to look out for Shamayal, she is torn between her friend and colleague and The Rules. Into this, we also find out about Jim's difficult upbringing, and how he found solace by becoming a serious bird watcher - something that led him into a traumatic experience when he happens upon the troubled Aimee, a girl who becomes a firm friend over a few weeks, only to suddenly disappear amidst rumour and scandal. The story is teased out in a very satisfactory way and the characters are likeable, if not always believable. There are touching moments and a dash of humour too. I found myself rooting for the main protagonists through all their troubles and the fact that I cared what happened to them speaks volumes. This is a story about how intensely you feel about things when young, and how some of us can overcome the troubles of our past and others cannot. I would recommend this book to you, and I will definitely look out for more books by the author, Jane Davis, who has produced a story that lingers in your subconscious long after you have finished it.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 384 print pages.
Price I paid: Free (it was on offer at the time)
Formats available: print; ebook.

The Hanging Garden - It all gets very personal for Rebus

After what feels like a long time, I am back in the world of Detective Inspector John Rebus. In The Hanging Garden, the ninth outing for our troubled hero, the action opens with Rebus having a night out with his daughter Sammy. Once they part, he goes to work on a stake out to try and get evidence against local hoodlum Tommy Telford, but it all goes to pot when there is a vicious assault. In hospital with the victim, Rebus stumbles upon a hit and run case ... his daughter Sammy! We now go slightly back in time to when Rebus starts an investigation into a man who could be a WWII war criminal. Around the same time he comes across Candice, a Bosnian who has got herself caught up in prostitution via a Chechen gangster. Rebus tries to help but fails. Pockets of violence start to take place as there seems to be a power play between Telford (egged on by the Chechen) and Big Ger Cafferty (despite the latter being in prison) and as we catch up to the day his daughter is run down, Rebus is wondering whether this was no accident, but was someone warning him off. Is it the war criminal, or one of the gangland bosses? And how can he possibly keep all these balls in the air AND keep off the booze? As usual, Ian Rankin has written a compelling and gritty novel set amongst the shadows of Edinburgh. With each book, we find out a little more about DI Rebus and how he came to be the man he is today, which is great for any reader following the series in order. Things can get a little confusing from time to time as there are a heck of a lot of characters (some Japanese Yakuzu members are thrown in here for good measure in this book), but you always want to keep turning that page to find out how Rebus will foil the baddies in the end. Definitely one to recommend, but as always, not for those of a delicate disposition due to the violence.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 411 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.00 (borrowed from my husband).
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

The Wise Man's Fear - immersive and exceptionally pleasing!

This book is the second part of The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss, and I was not sure it would live up to its predecessor (The Name of the Wind) which I absolutely loved. However, I was NOT, I repeat, NOT disappointed. This is a great follow up and we continue the format of the previous book in that we have two narratives - the first is in the present, with events taking place in a tavern run by Kvothe, who is a "legend in his own lifetime". The other narrative is where we find out how and why Kvothe became that legend as he relates his life story to The Chronicler. The Wise Man's Fear picks up where we left off, with our hero continuing his life at the university, rubbing up against his arch enemy, Ambrose, and also spending as much time with the love of his life, Denna. He has successfully got himself into The Naming class with the eccentric professor Elodin, but becomes frustrated when he feels he's not learning anything. Continually getting into some kind of trouble, usually due to his feud with Ambrose, and always battling against not having enough money, he is given the opportunity to take a gap year and try his hand at securing a patron in the form of The Mayor of Severen. Kvothe saves his life, finds him a wife and then heads up a force to tackle a deadly set of bandits. During this adventure, he crosses paths with one of the mysterious Chandrians, who killed his family. He also falls into the Fae world and learns the ways of a man, so to speak, with the dazzling Fae seductress, Felurian. She makes him a shead (a cloak that will become vital to his legend). He also trains with the Adem, an intriguing people who I'm pretty sure were inspired by the Samurai. Here he learns skills that will benefit him in a very short space of time. Finally, Kvothe gets back to the university with no more money troubles and catches up with his friends and begins his studies once more. But trouble is brewing ... There is so much going on in this book that I could go on and on, but I won't. It was as enjoyable as the first, although for me, the section in the Fae world went on a little bit too long. We are already seeing aspects of how this young teenager is fast becoming the central figure of tales of adventure and daring do. There is plenty of action, but also plenty of time to reflect and a good deal of scene setting. As before, the excellent Rupert Degas who narrated the audio version I read was fantastic and I could listen to him all day. Yes, this book is a long one, but it's worth the time. Roll on part three ... which isn't out yet, but will definitely be a book that I will hunt down when it is released!

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 1000 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.84.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; MP3 CD; ebook.

Gone Girl - not sure what all the fuss was about!

It seems an absolute AGE since I posted anything and this has been down to two large books, one of which I have finally finished. Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, has been a huge best seller and has also been made into a film, so I was looking forward to getting stuck into it. However, it does not live up to the hype. It started well enough with Nick Dunne coming home to find his house in disarray and Amy, his wife of 5 years, missing. When the crime scene is dissected and neighbours and friends interviewed, it turns out that all has not been rosy within the marriage of late. Suspicion soon falls upon Nick that he has murdered her and disposed of the body. As Nick tries to defend himself against the police, the press and the public, more damning evidence turns up. But is Amy dead, and if she is, who did it? The narrative is almost like a diary, switching between the present day for Nick and the past for Amy. I felt this was a clever device at first but it did get a bit tedious, although maybe that was because both central characters were thoroughly unlikeable. In fact, there were very few likeable characters throughout. I found it slow going and was becoming a bit demoralised by the nastyness both in the language and situations and was seriously contemplating giving up when, halfway through the book, there was a great twist and the plot lurched forward, giving me some hope. Yes, I thought, at last we have finally got going. But no, it soon descended back into the totally unbelievable, distasteful and flaccid exposition of the previous chapters. ARGH! This book could have been a slick thriller, but it just ground on and on. So much effort for such little reward ... I am actually struggling to remember exactly how this book ended, which just about sums it up!

My STAR rating: TWO.

Length: 512 print pages (felt like twice that!)
Price I paid: 99p
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden - bright and breezy

For fans of Jonas Jonasson, who gave us The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window and Disappeared, this is a chance to sit back and let a master story teller take you on another long and involved journey that ultimately ends in deep satisfaction. In The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden, we follow the life of Nombeko Mayeki, a poor girl from the slums of Soweto who is determined to use her brain and make her life better. Unfortunately, it seems that the world has other ideas when she is run over by a drunken engineer. She survives, but in the South Africa of the 1970's, she is blamed for the accident and is sent to work for the engineer as a cleaner. It turns out that despite his complete incompetence, this man is in charge of South Africa's nuclear bomb project. When Nombeko demonstrates her capacity for learning, she outstrips the capabilities of everyone around her, and ends up keeping the project on track just enough to keep herself alive. When seven bombs are made instead of six, Nombeko does everything she can to avoid the extra one falling into the wrong hands ... foiling Mossad along the way and ending up in Sweden ... with the bomb. Surrounded by incompetent people that seem to gravitate towards her, she is thwarted at almost every turn to resolve the situation. Along the way she grapples with anarchists, prime ministers, the King of Sweden and she also falls in love. This is an epic tale, full of humour and observations on the human condition in all its ridiculousness, and it is a joy to read. The situations are ludicrous and the people all need some serious help, but you can't help but be glad that you have spent some time in their company. Let yourself go along for the ride and you won't be disappointed.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 421 print pages.
Price I paid: Borrowed from my brother.
Formats available: print; audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.

From Russia With Love - a real cliff hanger!

I think this might be my favourite James Bond book to date. This may come as a bit of a surprise, particularly because our hero doesn't really make an appearance in From Russia With Love until about a quarter of the way through! Instead, in the opening chapters of this fifth outing for Bond, we follow the fortunes of Red Grant, a man who discovers that not only is he good at killing people, but he positively revels in it. The only place where he can find as much of this work as he can get is with SMERSH - the Russian organisation that is out to kill all foreign spies. Determined to cut the British Secret Service down to size, SMERSH get their best people to come up with a plan to rid them of their best and most famous spy (yes, Mr Bond) in the most public and embarrassing manner they can come up with. Enter a chess master who comes up with the plan, and the gloriously disgusting Rosa Klebb to implement it using Red Grant as her assassin of choice. So then, what could possibly be the best way to entice Bond into a compromising position ... well, a beautiful girl (Tatiana) bearing gifts (a Spektor cypher machine) who claims that she wishes to defect. Finally, Bond enters the action, happy to have something to do. Off to Turkey we go for the rendezvous and it is from this point on that the pace really picks up and we get to see Bond in all his glory. The characterisations in this book are great, both heroes and villains, and there are some thrilling action sequences, especially on the Orient Express. Will Bond get the girl? Will he get the cypher machine? And will he escape from the evil clutches of SMERSH? Ian Fleming produced a great book that is tense, excellently paced and ends on a complete cliff hanger ... if you only ever read one Bond book, this is the one! I can highly recommend the audio version narrated by Toby Stephens who does a fabulous job ... is he the only actor to have played a Bond villain (on film) as well as Bond himself?

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 384 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.92.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Life: Keith Richards - not as exciting as you might think!

I had heard really good reviews about the autobiography of Keith Richards, so I took the plunge and bought it on audio format as part of a buy one, get one for free deal. It started well, dealing with Keith's childhood and how tough things were growing up in post-war Britain. There are great passages about his parents, his schooldays and the music that influenced him back then, and which still does today. Also, the birth of the Rolling Stones and their very early days is a great read too. However, I found myself becoming completely bored by the endless sections about Keith's drug taking ... as well as the conveyor belt of "chicks" that he, and the rest of the band indulged in while on the road. I know that these things are very "rock and roll" and Keith has a well-deserved reputation for the former, but I found them to be the least interesting thing about him! Luckily these passages are interspersed with titbits about how various songs and albums came into being, and the tricks of the trade he learnt from others about playing the guitar the way he does. The process that Keith and Mick Jagger went through to produce such amazing songs as Jumping Jack Flash, Angie, etc, is fascinating. I wanted more of that and less of the rock and roll lifestyle which started to feel empty and soulless for all those involved or affected by it. One good thing about these sections are that Keith doesn't hold back on listing the casualties of this lifestyle as he goes along, nor about how grim it often is. Keith does quit the drugs (hoorah), but not the epic drinking (boo!), and works hard at his marriage and fatherhood and also trying to keep the Stone's together through some sticky years when the relationship between Mick and the rest of the band were incredibly strained. So then, Life, by Keith Richards, is a no-nonsense, warts and all autobiography in which I think you can really hear the author's voice ... and nowhere is this more true than in the last section of the audio edition where Keith takes over from Johnny Depp to narrate his own story.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 640 print pages.
Price I paid: £3.99.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

The Innocent - post-war Berlin

Leonard Marnham (The Innocent) is an employee of the Post Office who is shipped out to West Berlin shortly after the second world war. He is excited to be away from his hum drum existence back in Britain and finds his new surroundings strangely exciting, despite the bomb damage. He is put to work on a joint US/British task force to tap a specific Soviet communication line. His guide to the work and to Berlin is Bob Glass, an American extrovert who is hot on security, but also likes to have a good time. When Leonard falls in love with an attractive German girl, he thinks that life can't get any better ... but of course, things don't last. There are too many recent wounds and people cannot let them go. This is part spy story and part love story. The reader is taken on a journey with Leonard as his innocence is slowly but surely stripped away, and you are never sure whether he will ever recover this. It took me quite a while to get into this book, but I'm not sure why. It is well written and feels well researched. The writing is tight and some of the descriptions, particularly of the state of the apartments, really evokes the sense of time and place. I think I just didn't connect with the main character for some reason, but I'm sure that that is just me. Ian McEwan rarely lets the reader down, and this is no exception, and this novel left me joining in Leonard's feelings of  bewilderment and unease and there are parts that seem to be staying with me, which is usually a good sign! Not always a comfortable read, it is still worth the effort.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 245 print pages.
Price I paid: £1 from second hand shop.
Formats: print; unabridged audio cassette; unabridged audio download; ebook.

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy - a great companion piece

As brilliant as The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was ... and let me assure you that it was ... it did leave some unanswered questions. Queenie Hennessy was the object of the pilgrimage, but who exactly was she, what made her tick, and if Harold had been so important to her, why had she not contacted him for twenty years? In The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, by the ridiculously talented Rachel Joyce, the full story finally emerges. Queenie is in a hospice in Northumberland when she writes to Harold to tell him that she is dying and to thank him for his friendship all those years ago. He decides that he will come to see her, and sets out on foot ... from Devon. As Queenie waits for him to arrive, she tries to write everything down that she's ever wanted to say to Harold. Slowly, but surely, the story of her life is revealed - before, during and after her time working with Harold. There is joy, there is pain, there are laughs and there are tears along the way. She wants to tell the truth, the whole truth, no matter how ugly it may be, and this might be her only chance. Everyone at the hospice is given a boost by tracking Harold's progress through his regular postcards and then the local news bulletins. The residents get so swept up that they agree that no one should die until Harold gets there. The nuns caring for them all bring different things to the hospice, sometimes comfort, sometimes fun, whatever someone needs. There is very much a sense that this is a place to live. Yes, there is the inevitable sorrow as one by one the people Queenie has met there depart this life. You might think that, as Queenie waits for the inevitable, a depressing ending is all that awaits the reader. Do not fear. As she unburdens herself of 20 years of guilt and starts to remember all the good things from her life, she finds her own peace and tranquillity. I highly recommend this book which is about real feelings and real fears, but is not sentimental or cloying. It's like Queenie has written a letter for all of us to learn from, and I for one am grateful it's been shared with the world.

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 384 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from library as an ebook.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

The Enemy - How does Reacher get away with it?

I am a bit of a fan of the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child, and have come to expect a bit of violence in these books. However, I have to say that I found some aspects of The Enemy quite shocking. In this, the eighth outing for Reacher, we go back in time to when Reacher is still a Military Policeman in the US army. It is New Year's Day, 1990. The Berlin Wall has just come down, and the old enemy is tucked up in bed, which means that things will need to change in the army, and not everyone is happy about this. Reacher has suddenly and surprisingly been posted to a new base, and the very next day, a two-star general is found dead in a sleazy motel nearby, apparently of a heart attack. Embarrassing for the military, particularly when the general's briefcase appears to be missing. Reacher heads off to inform the widow, only to find that she has been murdered in her own home. A coincidence? When another soldier is brutally murdered on the base, and Reacher's new boss orders him to put it down as a training accident, all his alarm bells start to ring, and, of course, he ignores those orders. The reader now follows our hero as he sets out to find out what is going on, but does the military really want him to succeed? At the same time, he finds out that his mother is dying and he tries to fit in visits to her in Paris in between his search for the truth. There is intrigue and plenty of action, and while I've got used to the Reacher "moral compass", one particular act by him was almost unbelievable and I am not entirely sure he could have got away with it, or indeed, should have. That said, there is much to admire in this book. The writing is sharp and lean, a bit like Reacher himself. You may not like everything you come across between the covers, but, somehow, you cannot help but keep on reading. The tension keeps on building throughout and when you come to the final page, you may feel a little disappointed. Not by the story itself, but because it's over! But there's always a new adventure for Reacher, with plenty more books in the series to be enjoyed.

STAR RATING: FOUR.

Length: 560 print pages.
Price I paid: Free, borrowed from library as an ebook.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

On the Edge - you will be!

2016 has got off to a cracking start with On the Edge, by Michael Ridpath. The author has categorised this book as one of his "financial thrillers" and it certainly requires a bit of brain power on the part of the reader. It opens with our hero, Alex Calder, on a training exercise in his fighter jet. But things do not go according to plan and he is forced to eject seconds before a crash, injuring his back in the process. Once out of the RAF, Calder becomes a trader in the City and gets his adrenalin shots by gambling with vast sums of money. He earns big both for himself and the firm he works for. But the world of finance is full of men with enormous egos and no social graces. When colleague Jennifer Tan suffers one innuendo too many, she decides to pursue a case of sexual harassment against one such man, and is treated appallingly. When Jen commits suicide, Calder resigns in disgust. One year on, Calder is running a flying school when one of his former colleagues turns up to talk to him about "something big" but then backs off, leaving Calder with hints and inferences but no real detail. Within a week, this man has vanished on a business trip to see the boss of a huge, and controversial, investment fund. With suspicions now raised, Calder heads back into the world of finance to find out what really happened ... You have to keep your wits about you in this book which immerses the reader into the world of global finance and how easy it seems to be to bring a country to it's knees. Do not be put off by this, however, as On the Edge is a real page turner and keeps you guessing and wondering how Calder might, finally, come out on top. The one weakness, from my perspective, was that the female characters were not quite as rounded as the male ones. There was a great opportunity for two of them to have real gumption, but in the end, they were a bit on the fluffy side. Hey ho! I read the audio edition and thoroughly enjoyed the narration by the glorious Sean Barrett (he's one of my favourite narrators and I suspect that this was one of the reasons I bought this book).

STAR RATING: FOUR.

Length: 432 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.99.
Formats available: print (it's out of print but you should be able to get it second hand); unabridged audio download; ebook.

Welcome to 2016

Happy New Year to you all.

I have spent a bit of time thinking about what the theme of this blog will be for 2016. I mulled over a range of options, such as Booker Prize Winners or books translated into English, but then I took a good look at the various shelves, tables and even under the bed, and realised that I STILL have a massive backlog of unread books patiently waiting to be read. I managed to get through a few during 2015, but nowhere near enough. So, this is the year of the BIG CLEAR OUT ... no, wait, that sounds a bit medical ... let's rethink that title ... okay, how about TALES FROM THE NOOKS AND CRANNIES? Yes, that's it. I'm going to read the books that I already have that have been sitting around gathering dust, or using up memory on my kindle or ipod. To give you some kind of an idea, I've got over 60 print books alone that fall into this category ... and don't even ask how many I've got on my kindle! I will not give houseroom to anything else UNLESS one of the dusty tomes is a book that is part of a series and I haven't read the preceding one. First in the pile is The Enemy by Lee Child on my kindle, and On the Edge by Michael Ridpath on my ipod. So here's to 2016, a year when all those books will finally get the opportunity to tell their tales!