Against the Odds

Against the Odds is subtitled: Elizabeth Studdert, a life in carving. It tells the fascinating life story of Elizabeth Studdert who is  truly original sculptor.

You might not have heard of Elizabeth Studdert I certainly hadn't, but this book, by her sister, author and journalist, Caroline Studdert, sets out to correct this bewildering paradox, a sculptor who is both highly gifted yet, relatively unknowing.

The story of Elizabeth Studdert, from the slightly "regal" Waterford aristocratic society (the family were not actually viewed as fitting in, being 'outsiders') to her marriage to a Roman Catholic which was considered by some as less than suitable, the complications that an Anglo-Irish heritage could bring, to the financial problems that she faced and the problematic relationship with her mother, the book looks at the various difficulties that Elizabeth overcame in order to be what she wanted to be, a sculptor.

The examples of Elizabeth's works in a variety of materials from soapstone to alabaster, to wood, metal and resins are truly remarkable. And they are from sizes tiny to titanic, one might say.

They show a fluidity in style and form that means each piece of art is imbued with its own living soul, raw emotions radiate from every piece.

Some of the sculptures the viewer might want to become, some of the sculptures the viewer may very well feel they already are.

I'd love to own a piece of art from Elizabeth Studdert. The next best thing, however,is a copy of this hardback book from Matador, at a very reasonable £15.00.

You can learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her website, here:- http://www.elizabethstuddert.co.uk/index.html

Courtier in the Royal House of Stuart

Courtier in the Royal House of Stuart this is an exciting historical novel from Leslie Hatton

It tells the story of an orphan boy called Toby Bennet who survives life in the back streets of the Black Friars area of London.

At the age of ten Toby saved the life of the Prince of Wales who was under attack from a maniac with a knife.

The Prince decides that he will reward Toby by bringing him into the royal household. The Prince arranges his education and promises the life of a courtier within the royal household. The House of Stuart.

But Oliver Cromwell has come to prominence and has wrought terrible destruction and caused terrible chaos the length and breadth of the kingdom.

When the king is taken prisoner and put on trial for treason, the prince must flee for his life, abandoning his country.

He spends the next twelve years exiled with his mother or his sister whom is Princess Mary of Orange either in Paris or Holland.

And all the while, loyal Toby is with him. There is romance for Toby, with a young lady's-in-waiting for Princess Mary

But there are several attempts to bring about the premature death of Toby and Toby learns that he is being pursued by a ruthless and secret adversary, someone who holds a dreadful secret and who wishes to see Toby dead.

But who is this person? And what is the secret that they hold?

It's a riproaring historical thriller from The Book Guild at £9.99.

The Madness Locker

The Madness Locker is a debut novel from the pen of E. J. Russell.

It's Christmas Day, 1986 and a corpse has been discovered in a wheelie bin in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia.

The remains are those of a widow who was 70 years of age.

The police swiftly go into action and launch a detailed and very intensive investigation, but despite their very best efforts, they fail to identify any potential suspects or a potential motive for the killing.

They find no clues, no forensic evidence and so reluctantly the police decide to file it as a cold case.

However, perhaps the police wee looking in the wrong places for clues to the murder?

E. J. Russell looks back to a time when, fifty years previously, the whole world had been in flames as innocent people were sent to places like Auschwitz merely because the Nazi Third Reich either did not like their political vies, their mental incapacity, their race or just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A young girl is arrested along with her family, they are forced to travel to Auschwitz on a three-day journey in a railway wagon. On arrival she is separated from her parents who she never sees again.

After years of suffering forced hard labour, near starvation and punishments "just because" the Russian army sweeps into Poland and she, along with the other pitiful survivors of Auschwitz are liberated.

After she recovers she believes that she knows who she blames for the loss of her parents and the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of her tormentors.

She sets out on a journey to track them down and to bring them to some form of justice.

Is there a link between her search for retributive justice and the corpse that was found in the wheelie bin?

If so, how did her nemesis track her down? And how and why did she have to die? How was she killed?

The beginning of this fictionalised account is a real event that took place in 2006 when a corpse was discovered in similar circumstances to those described in this novel.

It's a compelling and exciting thriller and worth every penny of the £9.99 price set by the publisher, Matador.

It will make a very good beach companion for the holidaymaking reader.

Memories of Now

Memories of Now is set in the wintertime. 

Seven old university friends have gathered together in a country hotel in Scotland.

They dine, they drink, they take walks. They reminisce.

They find themselves facing up to a number of issues from their shared and not shared pasts, they debate, they argue and they bicker as only old friends can who share a history of 35 years of lives lived.

Lives lived well and perhaps not quite so well as intended or hoped for.

As the snow falls on the Scottish countryside some of the friends learn truths that they would rather have not known.

They learn with considerable pain that things they thought they had always known as great truths were, all long, really nothing more than, at worst, great lies, or, at the very best, false assumptions or merely misunderstandings. And that what once tasted good now tasted sour.

Tajalli Keshavarz has written a very important book that is melancholic and which shines a strong beam of sunlight into the lives of seven old friends and lovers. And, after all, don't they say that sunlight is the best disinfectant?

 It's published by Matador at £10.00 and will be available from 28th July. 

Waves Aligning

Waves Aligning is a debut novel from African author Adaora O.

Having grown up in Nigeria Adaora O. brings to her readers a compelling and captivating novel that reveals what it is like to be a female growing up in a repressive environment in modern day Africa, which perhaps is not quite as modern as one might suppose.

The protagonist, Chinny, learns as she grows up that life doesn't just give you what you want or what you deserve. Especially if you are living in Eastern Nigeria and you are a female.

Her parents are hard working, yet not by any means describable as wealthy. They must make a choice. Who will they spend their meagre financial resources on educating in school? Chinny or her brother? Her brother who is entirely indifferent about the opportunities that education would provide. Yet Chinny was enthusiastic about education, so the inevitable decision to fund the education of her brother was even harder on Chinny.

But she has the friendship of Ejiofor to help her make it through her life as she meets with betrayal, poor health and tragedies and the looming spectre of a marriage she doesn't welcome and doesn't even want.

It seems that her life is a series of waves, constantly washing away her ambitions and dreams. Yet what might happen should the waves align? Will Chinny attain her dream of being able to sleep for as long as she wants?

This book is compelling, well-written and is a remarkable debut novel from an author I want to see more from.

It's published by Matador at £10.49 and should be in the suitcase of people who want an intelligent read to accompany them on their holidays. 

When Turtles Come Home

When Turtles Come Home is a wonderful memoir of the very rich and interesting life of Victoria Hoffarth.

Born in the Philippines Victoria's memoir is described as "thought-provoking" and that description only scratches the surface of this wonderful memoir.

What was it like to have to accompany a sick brother from the Philippines to New York City for him to visit some of the world's top consultants?

What was it like to work as a Kelly Girl for $2.50 an hour in hard but boring jobs during the 1960s? Actually, Victoria describes this part of her life in such a way that the reader understands that this was a happy part of her life as she learned to think like a native New Yorker. Though some of the lessons (such as how to behave when robbed in broad daylight by a gang of robbers whilst on a shopping trip) did impact her in negative ways. Though these were all part of the process of changing her from an adolescent into a somewhat brash and confidant adult.

The book touches on a variety of fascinating asides such as the story of Vicky Drake who hit on the unique idea of posing nude for her campaign posters for her 1968 attempt to become president of  Stanford University. She only just failed to win the election.

Victoria spent the next three decades gaining various degrees and a PhD, travelling to and from the Philippines to the USA and back, to Germany, the UK and also Canada.

She touches on the dreadful corruption of the Philippine government under the Marcos regimen and the dreadful problems caused when she had to inform the new hires in her government department that they no longer had jobs because Mrs Marcos decided that she needed the entire budget of their department to fund an extravagant shopping trip to New York city.

She touches on some issues that are general, globalism, liberalism, government corruption and the like, but also of more personal issues such as the devastating impact dementia can have on the family as well as the person diagnosed with dementia and how rules and regulations can make such issues even harder to bear and much more difficult to cope with.

The book is very well illustrated with a wide range of coloured photographs and images.

It's published by Matador at £12.99. 

Something to Tell You

Something to Tell You is the latest novel from David Edwards, who is a bestselling writer.

It's a Speculative Fiction novel and it tells the incredible story of what happens when the planet Earth comes under bombardment from a Higgs Boson particle storm.

This is the story of two families, that of Bert Leinster and his best friend Sam Murray.

The Central Control of the World Council declares that the only way for humanity to survive is for everyone to start living deep under the surface of the planet, where they will be protected by something called The Envelope.

The CCOW cajoles and persuades humanity to hide deep beneath the ground, but Bert is not so certain about the viability of this idea, but how can one man stand against the CCOW can challenge them? Bert certainly cannot do so, but he also cannot grasp why it is only himself who can see that the idea of the CCOW for everyone to have to love deep underground is a lie. And why lie about something like this?

However, it all changes for Bert when he meets Lily. Who, although a very definite her, is also a very definite real live plant. Who becomes his enemy as he fights to save humanity.

But can he save humanity? And if he can, or even if he can't, who or what is he trying to save it from?

And what happens next?

This is a very thought provoking book and is available in hardback from Matador at a very modest £9.99. A must for the holiday suitcase, I'd think.

Ronnie and Hilda's Romance

Ronnie and Hilda's Romance is a book about the romance of Ronnie and Hilda.

Ronnie and Hilda Williams met, completely by chance, in Lancashire in 1945, when they were both just 21 years of age.

This was when Ronnie as on home leave after taking part in some of the most harrowing and difficult campaigns of the Second World War, in Italy.

The romance of Ronnie and Hilda is told by their daughter Wendy Williams who used over 250 of the letters that were passed between the couple as the basis for this most moving love story.

Fully aware that Ronnie would be called upon to return to active service they took the decision to become engaged after knowing each other for less than a fortnight. Ten day, to be exact.

Until Ronnie's demob two years later in 1947, their letters were the main way the young couple used to learn about each other and to get to know one another.

It's filled with wonderful family anecdotes, humorous and serious and it is a warm and very human story.

It's also copiously illustrated with some lovely photographs.

You will also learn what films they watched, what they read, what they listened to and you'll also read the incredible story of Mr Bundle.

The book makes a lively read and is all the better for knowing that the people within its pages were all very real. Well, with the exception of Mr Bundle. And if you pay your £12.99 for the book, you'll learn all about the real people and the very charming story of the fictional Mr Bundle, too!

The book is published by Matador.

None So Blind

It's the year 499 and None So Blind a new novel from Xenon. Set in the Gea, a country that is united in an ethnic, linguistic and cultural sense, but is disunited by politics

There are 15 states that are independent of each other, and the history of Gea has been a long story of warfare between them. And also the nations that surround Gea.

But for the preceding 25 years Troia has brought the independent states into an Empire that is quite formidable.

But the current Emperor is not very good at being an Emperor. He is weak, inept and not very effective. People are becoming dissatisfied with his rule and people jockey for position as the stench of betrayal fills the air of the Empire.

There are plots against the Emperor and Diomedes, who is a swordmaster who is beyond the first blush of youth (to put it kindly)  is charged with the task of trying to unpick a viable plot against the Emperor. Diomedes is, however, a complex man and he is struggling with feelings of unrequited love for a woman who is, and things are getting a little complicated, here, the wife of a good friend, the life of whom is at risk.

It's an historical fantasy novel (the first in a series) which is set within a historical fantasy, which owes much to Classical Greek history.

The novel is extremely well-written and it takes you into the action from the first paragraph and will be a good read for people who like their fantasy to be heavy on factual possibilities and doing away with flying dragons and the like.

It's published by Matador at £9.99 and will make a great holiday read.

Between the Immensities

Between the Immensities is a new novel from Dorothy Davy, who was born in Bootle (which is near Liverpool) and who now lives in New Zealand where she practices as a CBT psychologist.

Dorothy uses not only her training but also her Scouse with to make this a most enjoyable and heart-warming read.

Psychologist Doctor Katherine Moore has spent the best part of four decades living and working in New Zealand.

But her life is set to change, yet again as she has finally bowed to the combined pressures from her sisters to return Liverpool (or more specifically, Bootle in Liverpool) to care for their elderly mother who is dying of terminal cancer.

Katherine moves into the council flat that is her mother's. Yet something does seem right. The "lovely gentle Liverpool mammy" that she knew has been replaced with someone far more negative and curmudgeonly.

Her various attempts to cope with her mother's attitude seems to cause her family no end of amusement.

But Katherine has tools at her disposal that her family member do not have. After all, isn't Katherine a trained and highly experienced Doctor of Psychology? Surely she can put her training an expertise of many long years of practice to the job of getting back into meaningful communication with her mother?

Gradually things between them and within the wider family start to change and suddenly family life is flipped in ways that probably couldn't have been expected.

Eventually mother and daughter get their stuff together and learn to love each other again and to become a formidable team. But who had been the thief amongst them? Surely not one of their own?

If you read this moving, truthful book, here's a fair warning, there will be tears in your eyes before the end.

What makes the book all the more interesting is that it is based on true events that shook the rational, scientific beliefs of Dr Davy to the core.

Its published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

Re-Tyred

Re-Tyred is an amazing memoir from author and retired university lecturer, Sara McMurry.

After she took her retirement she decided that she would become a voluntary teacher in India.

She brings to the page her experiences as a volunteer teacher in parts of rural India and also on the streets of Kolkata.

She takes her readers on an amazing journey from a small shop in the town of Jaisalmer in the desert region of north-west India, and where the shopkeeper gave her a philosophical fillip and a new take on the rest of her life. And, incidentally, inspired the title of the book.

She learned why there are so many vegetarian restaurants in Kerela, was moved by the plight of the disabled beggars who live in the shadow of the Taj Mahal, marvelled at the chaos that is rush hour in big Indian cities, visited poor people in not only the cities and towns but also the rural areas, too.

She learned that even the poor were more than willing to work, turning their hands to anything they could do, selling trinkets, postcards or cleaning shoes.

She also noted that amidst the great poverty there also exists great wealth, too, hovels where the poor lived and opulent palatial accommodations for the wealthy and the very rich.

And she met children who were eager to learn to improve themselves.

The book is well-written an illustrated with line drawn maps and some extremely good colour photographs.

It's a wonderful book which I can highly recommend.

It's published by Matador at £12.00.

Rain Town

Rain Town is a amusing, yet adventurous novel by Andy Donaldson. It's about a man called Sidney Rain. Sidney Rain is a normal sort of a bloke, who has a normal sort of a job, who, quite naturally, lives in a normal sort of a town.

However, that's not all there is to Sidney Rain, for Sidney Rain is, for all his apparently normal traits, a superhero, too. Well, at least he likes to dress up as one and lives out his fantasy life.

However, things aren't going all that well, he is gaining weight, about to lose his job and somehow he isn't feeling too super to be honest.

His son Stanley Rain is aged 12 and he, too, is an ordinary sort of a boy, with ordinary friends who all attend the same, fairly ordinary, school in town.

However, a local business mogul is set to take over the school and it is set to change. And not for the better.

However, Stanley and his schoolmates are not going to allow that to happen, at least not without putting up a bit of a fight!

But then a mystery takes place. There's a theft and Stanley and his friends need to turn detective in order to save their school.

But Sidney is fired from his job and he needs some help, too!

But then a mysterious group of superhero crime fighters turn up and they aren't going to take the situation lying down!

This is a fun read and though it's aimed at children, adults will also enjoy it, too.

It's published by Matador at £8.99.

Footsteps Into the Light

Footsteps Into the Light is a new book from Geoff Thomas which serves as a spiritual "Manual of Life."

It takes a refreshing and new look at some old questions that have faced humanity down through the ages. Questions such as Who am I? Why are we here? Where did we come from? Where will we be going?

It's written in a remarkably fluid and readable style from a Christian point of view, though it also gives a nod to all other faiths and to those who hold to no particular faith at all.

He takes his readers through the miracle of our apparently ordinary day-to-day lives and to the spiritual journey that goes beyond this mortal life.

It's published by Matador at £12.99.

A Candle for the Atlantic

A Candle for the Atlantic is an absolutely riveting memoir of her nautical adventure of a lifetime.

Back in 1992 Casualty Staff Nurse Rosie Redway met and fell in love with the love of her life in Whitby Harbour.

However the love of her life was called Helga Maria and she was a two-masted schooner.

With very limited experience of sailing at sea Rosie decided to join the mixed crew of seven of the Helga Maria as a medic and deckhand for a very exciting six month voyage.

They crossed the Atlantic following the course set by Christopher Columbus in 1492, facing mountainous waves and storms as they fought against the elements. However, they were also able to enjoy good, sunny weather at times.

The return journey from Newfoundland was dogged with problems including total engine failure which put the boat at risk as it was forced to drift, helplessly, in the teeth of severe northerly gale force winds and monstrous seas that threatened to send the boat to the bottom of the sea.

But Rosie had total faith in the Helga Maria and her captain, but could they get the crew safely back home?

It's a fantastic account of a voyage of discovery in more ways than one and it is illustrated throughout with some stunning photographs taken on the voyages.

It's published by The Book Guild at a very modest £9.99 and makes ideal reading for lovers of memoirs, specially those set at sea.

The Paper Chase

The Paper Chase is a new thriller from Ron Welling.

Harry Stone had sent Claire Watts to spy on a competitor of his, Rick Austen.

Claire has spun Rick a story about her past, a past which, for several reasons, she doesn't want Rick to know about. Including Harry Stone.

However, Harry Stone has a nasty habit of still being there and he is very angry.

Stone had owned a lovely mansion, Arrow Hall, but it had been burnt to the ground and, as a result, the pass codes for his secret Panamanian bank accounts had been lost, apparently for ever.

But Claire isn't too sure about that and, as a result, she decides to poke around in the burnt out ruins of Arrow Hall to find the codes. Because if she can, she believes these would act as an insurance policy against Stone blabbing about what he knows of her past.

However, Stone has managed to get himself into some strife with a gangland thug and finds himself forced to attempt to launder a quarter of a million in dodgy money.

He tries to do this through a supermarket concern that, unbeknown to him, Rick has a share in. When the operation goes belly up, things start to get very unpleasant indeed as everyone tries to make sure they come out of the situation well ahead of everyone else.

But who would eventually come out on top of the situation? Claire? Harry? Xavier or Rick?

It's a readable thriller published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

One in Four Are Birds

One in Four Are Birds, is a short but dark fantasy novel that explores the terrible impacts of domestic abuse.

It tells the story of local village girl Fiona. Unlike her compatriots who were ordinary girls who would be satisfied with settling down to married life with the ordinary boys of the village, Fiona wanted none of that.

She decided that she wouldn't just settle for the ordinary, she wanted something extraordinary. But sometimes people enter situations that are extraordinarily dreadful.

Fiona finds love with a handsome, dark stranger, the man who would, she felt sure, remove her from her ordinary,  humdrum life.

Her handsome, dark stranger, Sicarus, turns out to be and abusive husband, who can turn into a violent and potentially deadly bird who preys on his wife.

Eventually Fiona plucks up the courage to escape from her abusive husband with her children, but will the abuse stop even if she can make good her escape?

And how can she help other women who are trapped in the same or similar circumstances?

This is a thought provoking novel that uses allegories to examine the plight of abused women, who, statistics show, are one in four of women.

The book is published bu The Book Guild and costs £8.99.

Little Honour

In Little Honour we again meet Gina Gray, Freda her granddaughter and the rather charming DCI David Scott, in this, their sixth novel, all penned by crime writer Penny Freedman.

Gina's doing rather well for herself. Her job is great, her flat (though small)  is really rather perfect for her needs and David Scott is back in her life.

But into each life a little rain must fall and a familial crisis means that her daughter and her husband must come to live with her in her flat.

Following a spate of hate crimes post-Brexit a young Indian woman is murdered by strangulation only a few doors away from Gina's home.

David needs Gina's help with an investigation that means she has to enter the world of a chamber of barristers in Gray's Inn, a Shakespearean production (Measure for Measure) and there's the added complication of a clash with her younger (and more difficult)  daughter.

Freda (now ten) is staying in Kentish countryside in the home of her grandfather and is second wife, where they live in splendid isolation.

Whilst the adults back in London are dealing with their own mysteries, Freda uncovers a mystery of her own, involving a missing canine, which she has to solve by herself.

It's an interesting novel that unravels several disparate mysteries.

Published by Matador at £8.99.

Stoker

It's 1860 and whilst Lord Stoker is wandering amidst the Great Plains of the American West he finds a woman who has survived an absolutely heartless attack. So damaged mentally by her ordeal she had been struck mute.

So Lord Stoker decides that he will take charge of her nd take her to St Louis where he intends to leave he in the care of the authorities there.

But his plans are derailed by the explorer Richard Burton who has a place for Lord Stoker in his mission that has the backing of the British Crown.

Added to this already over-heated stew is the arrival of Buller, Lord Stoker's somewhat hot-headed and brutish brother.

More worryingly there appears on the scene James Maybrick who is not only a blackmailer but a vicious psychotic.

Whilst Lord Stoker attempts to guard the girl he has worn to look after, he finds himself dragged into a maelstrom of lies, violence and depravity.

Can Lord Stoker look after his female charge? Can he protect both her and himself from the bloodbath that is threatening to erupt?

And what, exactly, is happening? Who is the hunter, who is the prey?

It's a gripping novel from the pen of novelist Dick Warburton.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

History of France, Low Countries and Iberia

History of France, Low Countries and Iberia is a fascinating book by Jack J. Kanski in which he takes an interesting and interested look at the history of European statesmen and monarchs.

It's a concise and well-illustrated book that takes his readers through the histories of France, the Low Countries and Iberia.

Readers are provided with vital information about significant events and important individuals all of which played important roles in shaping the histories of those countries.

It employs an easy-to-follow bullet-point format with many interesting illustrations such as maps and paintings, which enables the reader to quickly and readily absorb a great deal of knowledge in a relatively short period of time.

They are not aimed at the academic, however. They are primarily designed for the interested layman. However, there is much to recommend them to academics who will also find the book filled with interesting facts.

It's published by Matador at £19.99. 

Tony Plumb and the Moles of Ellodian

Tony Plumb and the Moles of Ellodian is a debut novel from Devonshire's J. M. Smith.

It draws on her long experiences as a psychotherapist.

We, the readers, are taken through the therapy of a young boy as he attempts to come to terms with his life's story and the decisions of his parents.

We see his family life through his eyes and also through the lens of his multiplicity of fantasies as he struggles to understand things.

We follow him on visits to "Madsville" watch as he tries to dodge chariots filled with thoughts from his past.

Helped, or otherwise, by a social worker who is somewhat unconventional in her approach (rules, it transpires, are not all that much to her) who takes him to a spooky underground facility. Well, that's ms Bendy Leggett for you!

With the assistance of some helpful therapy and the guidance of some good friends, it seems that Tony is able to, eventually, get his stuff together.

But is there one final truth that he must unravel?

This book is aimed at younger readers, but should appeal across all age ranges.

It's published by Matador at £7.99.

Karim, King of England

In his debut novel, Karim, King of England, Baz Wade has written a political thriller.

Set in an alternative reality Karim is the son of a charismatic and stunning English princess and a very rich Arab playboy.

Raised as a Muslim in Dubai, Karim becomes a student at London University where he is to study Politics. He is a talented musician and he joins a band as a guitarist, he finds the singer in the band, Kirsty, a glamorous and popular Scottish activist, alluring and he falls very heavily for her.

However, their Britain is a broken place for their romantic relationship. It's a disunited country, there is violence in the streets, and the institutions and the political structures are damaged, perhaps beyond repair.

Although Karim comes from a wealthy, privileged background there are forces that are beyond him and beyond his ability to influence them. These forces mean Karim cannot follow his chosen career path.

What is to happen to and with Karim are beyond anything that he could ever have thought possible.

And the situation results in Karim, King of England. But there are factions who don't like this and will use any means necessary to deal with this.

It's published by Matador at £9.99, though by buying direct from Matador there is a special discounted price of £7.49.

https://www.troubador.co.uk/.

Dealing with Disability

Dealing With Disability is an inspirational new book from Victoria Cairns.

Victoria worked for excess of three decades as a medical statistician for a number of different organisations, but her career was brought to an abrupt end when she contracted Lyme disease.

A subsequent operation resulted in dreadful consequences that led to her becoming disabled.

Victoria has used the knowledge that she gained during her career and her experiences as a newly disabled person to write this very effective and helpful guidebook to provide those who have recently become disabled and their family and close friends with advice and useful hints and tips.

As well as sage, practical advice and personal experiences the book contains many useful references including a list of organisations and groups that provide advice, help and information aimed at disabled people and their families.

You'll read about exercise, treatment and activities, the problems with vulnerability and hypersensitivity, how to avoid negative thoughts and more besides.

This book is published Matador at £8.99. 

It is my opinion that the NHS should give a copy of this book to every nurse and doctor who work with the newly disabled and also to every newly disabled person throughout the country.

Blossom of War

Blossom of War is a debut novel from author May Woodward.

It's a romance novel set against the backdrop of the Crimean War.

The protagonist, a young debutante called Clemance, is thrust into the horrors of war.

But as well as facing the brutal reality of the war, she finds herself dealing with and coping with mysterious events, subterfuges, outright lies and deceitful behaviour.

A man claims to be a returning Crimean War cavalry officer, Aubrey Somerlee of Eardingstowe, Cornet 7460 of the Eleventh Hussars.

But he had last been seen at the dreadful and infamous Charge of the Light Brigade, some 16 years earlier.

Was he really who he claimed to be? Or, as the brother, Sir Richard claimed to be, nothing more than an impostor?

And if he were an impostor, why would he do such a thing?

A romance for fans of historical romances, it's published by Matador at £9.99.

Intervention: The King Pin

Intervention: The King Pin is the first book in what will be an action and thrill packed series of novels from author James Hanford, featuring Harding an MI5 agent and Krane, who is between jobs.

Bob Krane is minding his own business enjoying a well-deserved holiday in Slovakia, when his holiday plans are severely derailed when he is a witness to a murder and the kidnapping of a man and his child.

Realising that he has recognised a master criminal by the name of Burak Demir, Krane tracks them down and manages to come to an arrangement. Krane will assist them in their escape, if Demir surrenders his vast wealth and starts to cooperate with the authorities.

It is with a sense of shock that Demir learns that part of his own network was linked to terrorism, he learns the bitter lesson that his past loyalties were badly misplaced, so he forms a partnership with Krane, MI5 Harding and the British authorities, no matter how unlikely this might have appeared.

Demir, Krane and Harding find themselves working together in order to foil a fiendish international terrorist plot, as they crisscross Europe as they attempt to find out who is behind the plot and to learn what the target is.

But first Harding has some perhaps related matters to resolve. Why are incidents and characters from her past appearing again?

It's an exciting, action-packed story which keeps the read guessing as to what the real story is.

It's published by Matador at £8.99, though it's discounted to £7.19 on the official website. https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/crime-and-thrillers/intervention-the-king-pin/

Facets of Wuthering Heights

In his book Facets of Wuthering Heights Graeme Tytley examines Emily Bronte's masterpiece two centuries after her death.

It is a collection of essays based on a lifetime's study and work of this complex book and its equally complex author.

The essays examine the historical context of the novel but Tytler also demands that the reader pay close attention to the novelist herself.

He wants us, his readers, to develop an understanding of exactly how versatile and gifted she was as a writer.

He points out that she had a masterful way with the creation of the intricate plots that were at the very heart of the novel, the playful inventiveness that she employed to create a myriad of well-drawn characters of almost finite variety that she used to populate the incredible world that she created and crafted.

Not to mention the sparkling brilliance of her writing!

This is an extremely well-researched and well-crafted book of essays on both Emily Bronte and the work that she is most famous for.

It contains many points of which I was not aware and will make an excellent book for students of both the Bronte sisters and of 19th century literature, for that matter.

At only £9.99 this will make a superb present to any literature student.

It's published by Matador.

The Invitation to the Garden

The Invitation to the Garden In this book that was written over a period of a quarter century, Joanna Tulloch takes her readers on a spiritual journey depicted in both prose and poetry.

It describes her struggles as she worked through severe depression and anorexia and attempted to make sense of her faith.

It's a compelling story of self-development and personal growth as she worked her way through the issues that she faced, anorexia as a child and devastatingly difficult depression when she became an adult.

It is sub-titled a mystical journey in five paradoxes and it takes the reader along with Joanna as she accepts the invitation to the garden.

It is a moving and charming book, filled with hard earned insights and beliefs as she found herself on an epic journey of spiritual discovery as she follows the Lord into the beautiful garden.

It's published by Matador at £8.99 and will make a wonderful gift for the person in your life who is struggling and needs some insights to help them along the path of life.

Tadcaster and the Bullies

Tadcaster and the Bullies is a story by Richard Rutherford that carries an important message about bullying.

Tim and Mary meet a small dog in the playground and they are thrilled when their newfound tiny canine friend gives them a very friendly smile!

Unfortunately Tim and Mary are later set upon by two mean bullies, but when things are looking quite bad for them, they are saved by a voice. A mysterious voice that came from nowhere? Or so it seemed to the two children.

Later when the brother and sister are having fun flying their kites, the two mean bullies one again interrupt their fun and Tim accidentally lets the kite's string go, and it starts to fly away. But as quick as a flash their canine friends catches the kite and then shocks them by talking to them!

They agree to keep his secret, after all a talking dog is a rare thing!

After a third incident with the bullies the two siblings find that the little dog has been injured and they take him to the local vet who examines him, including his special vocal chords, and tends to his wounds.

Tim and Mary take the dog home so that he can recuperate and not only does he tell them the amazing story of his life, he also revealed that his name was Tadcaster.

Will Tadcaster be able to help Tim and Mary by defeating the two nasty bullies once and for all time?

And you'll be amazed at the outSTANdingly brilliant job that they arranged for him!

It has some lovely line drawings and will be a great book for any family, especially those bothered by bullies, I feel.

Go on, mum! Dad! Buy this book for your children, it's £7.99 from Matador.

Africa From East to West

Africa From East to West is an amazing book in which David Happold, a zoologist, shares with his readers, the story of his travels from the Red Sea all the way across the African continent to the coast of the might Atlantic Ocean.

This is the story of his journey from Massawa which ios on the coast of the Red Sea in Eritrea all the way over to Cape Verde in Senegal in West Africa.

Travel with him through the dry regions of semi-arid terrain which lie to the south of the Sahara desert, plus enjoy detours with David as he ventures to the south and finds himself fascinated by the rain forests and savannas of Western Africa.

You'll appreciate the map of the journey and the photographs that help to illustrate this most fascinating travel book.

The journey was undertaken back in the late 1960s, when Africa was enjoying a period of relative peace.

David travelled by whatever means he found at his disposal, walking, boats, cars, buses and trains.

The book is broken down into separate chapters each one covering a particular and different section of the journey, plus there are additional chapters about a special expedition to a remote volcanic crater in Sudan, plus living and working conditions in Sudan and Nigeria in the 1960s.

It's an ideal book for the armchair traveller or the person who know the area well and wants to go back there in their mind's eye.

It's published by The Book Guild at £10.99.

Gabriel's Journey

Gabriel's Journey tells the story of Gabriel. He awakes in a hospital bed with no memory of how he got there and he cannot understand why he is discharged into the care of a Japanese woman who he doesn't know.

Desperate to learn what happened, to make sense of the situation that he finds himself in, he suspects that the answers he seeks probably lies somewhere in his past, which he feels was probably quite unorthodox, if the dreams that keep happening to him  are truly a reflection of his past life.

His past life was hedonistic and adventure-filled and he sees a past world of different continents, of a lifestyle that brought him in contact with the world of espionage and treachery. 

But will his dreams help to bring him to the truth?

It's a very moving and compelling book as Mary Collis has employed the diaries in which he journalled his extensive travels round the world, of her own brother to form the basis for this book, plus many hours of later talks with her brother, after his diagnosis with Parkinson's disease, several years previously. 

It's a fictionalised account of a story that is, sadly, the truth for many people who have Parkinson's disease and their families and careers.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

Dora Annie

Dora Annie is an interesting look into life in service that many children had to go into even in fairly recent times.

It's a debut book by Patricia Stone and Brian Bone. It's aimed at children but will be enjoyed by everyone with an interest in social history.

It tells the real story of the grandmother of the author, how she began as a young girl and her hard but loving family life, how at the early age of eight she began her working life as a helper and companion to the sickly wife of a farmer.

How she subsequently went into service at the tender age of 14 as a Tweeny Maid, becoming a Nursery Maid and then, ultimately, as a Ladies Maid.

The book also shows her family life, too, so is not all about her working life, fascinating though that was.

It provides real insights into the lives of people like Dora and others like her, who worked in service,  the early starts to the day, making the kitchen ready for the cook and her staff, washing the dishes, family prayers and the reverence she felt for the house in which she worked.

Dora Annie's life was a very interesting one and she ended up travelling to Canada with the family she worked for.

The book is wonderfully illustrated throughout by Lawrence Cornes.

The book is published by Matador at £10.99 and is aimed primarily at children but will be loved by adults, too, especially those with their own family tales of life in service.

This book also needs to be in social history sections of public libraries and in school libraries, too.

The Seven Pillars of Nonsense

The Seven Pillars of Nonsense is a collection of 86 short stories from the outstandingly, err... outstanding, imagination/s of Michael Roselaar.

Some are so short that post-modernists would declare them to be flash fiction. Which is just a way to describe them as being very short stories or in some cases, very, very short stores.

We hear of as dog that doesn't bark, because it does, technically speaking, exist. Though can more than hold its own doggy end up in a conversation. There's moree from Dr Magnus Fell throughout the book, so do please pay attention!

There's Albert the independent scientific adviser, who waxes lyrical (or otherwise) about pogonophra, the restaurant that very commendably specialises in food, there's a murder in Colchester, or is there?

There's quite a lot from Clifford, a man of great erudition and even greater depth of thought, trips to see the window on the world by the wonders of Fenestrology,  the disadvantages of seeking out or worse, finding expert advise and what happens when historians go bad. Well, have you heard of Sidney "the World Wide" Webb? Did you know he never owned a computer? And what about the Fabians?

The interesting thing about this wonderfully bizarre collection of short stories is that they are written at a 45% degree angle to real life. You think you know some of the stories, but you can't actually be certain, it's like you are reading them in a fun house distorting mirror and suddenly realising that you know or think you know the story you are reading.

It's no good. I can't explain any more, but I do know that you'll love these stories as much, if not possibly more, than I have loved them. Especially the play Harry Stophanes and the Birds. And the copious and highly illuminating footnotes. So please buy as many copies as you can for yourself and your family.

 As an aside I think this will make an excellent book to take on holiday with you.

It's published by The Book Guild at a highly reasonably £8.99.

Chrysalis

Chrysalis is a novel from Jeremy Welch.

Sebastian is a man of his times. He is self-absorbed and works a a financier. He his floating through life, not satisfied with his lot, he seems unable to make any positive decisions following a catastrophic error of judgment when he was a young officer serving in the armed forces in the war in Iraq.

Suddenly he finds himself without a job. He turns to Zoe, his former lover, for advice and assistance.

Zoe believes that Sebastian needs to get back in touch with his passion for writing.

As a result of her advice he leaves Britain for Holland where he lives in Amsterdam and makes an effort to finish off the novel that he started, but abandoned, whilst he was a student.

By this method, he thinks, or rather he hopes, he will be able to rekindle his zest for living.

He becomes friendly with someone called Chrysalis,  the unusual and compelling owner of a travelling spiegeltent (a large tent for entertainment purposes) filled with a cast of some very interesting entertainers.

The spiegeltent cast present to him a glimpse pf a life that he desires for himself. But his old problem, the crippling curse of indecision, is the only thing that is holding him back.

However, his normal air of passivity is thrown to one side when he sees that a prostitute is being assaulted and he rushes in to defend her.

This one out of character incident opens up a portal into the seamy underside of Amsterdam and perhaps, in a someone circuitous route, to the pathway to his redemption?

It's a very well written story that makes sense of PTSD, modern life and sex trafficking.

It's published by Matador at £9.99.

Ellen Lives On

In Ellen Lives On, new author Lynda Haddock has written a very important booked aimed at the Young Adult (YA) market.

The novel is not only a debut for Lynda, it is also a first in another and more compelling way. It is probably the first novel (well, the first in a long while) that deals with the concept of the suicide of a parent and the devastating impact it can have on the lives of their children in a sincere and sympathetic way.

It's 19071 and Ellen is fifteen and is going through the usual traumas that afflict all children of that age, which we all went through in one way or another, male or female.

But then, Ellen's life takes a terrible and mindblowingly tragic turn. Her mother commits suicide.

This shatters Ellen's entire life and as a consequence of her mother's suicide, Ellen is forced by circumstances to fave up to sexism and bullying from her thoughtless peers.

Ellen realises that she needs to take matters inot her own hands and she takes flight to London. She eventually becomes involved in a women's rights group.

This gives her the opportunity to grow emotionally, to become braver and to stand up not only for herself but for all women.

The book is published by Matador at £7.99.

Laduma's immersive technology

Shelter Rock

Shelter Rock is an exciting new thriller from M. P. Miles.

The country of South Africa feels that it is beleaguered on all sides during the height of the Apartheid era.

Innocent young Englishman Ralph meets Elanza an heiress who has been made blind due to a disease. Elanza is politically well connected and she is seeking love.

Ralph suddenly realises that he has come across a massive South African secret.

Ralph vanishes whilst walking home in the midst of the continent and the only black secret agent employed by the National Intelligence Service, becomes involved in their lives.

It is the official mission of Angel Rots to use his unique skills to find Ralph. But does he have a hidden agenda? An old score to settle? If so, with whom?

He follows Ralph from Cape Town all the way to Cairo. Ralph always seems to be one step beyond Rots and so Rots begins to question what, exactly, is happening? 

Why is Ralph considered to be worthy of all this attention? What does Ralph know that is so important?

As a good secret agent, Rots knows how to seek out information. But what Rots discovers shocks him to his very core. It's something so huge that his loyalties and his beliefs are challenged. It's a secret that is so big that it could change the course of history.

The novel is well written and well researched. The characters, including minor characters, are all well drawn and depicted as sympathetically as possible.

It is published by Matador at £9.99.
 

The City Grump Rides Out

In The City Grump Rides Out, Stephen Hazell-Smith brings together a wide-ranging collection of articles that he published under the name The City Grump, his regular column in the online pages of Real Business magazine.

The articles are all humorous, highly witty and acerbic, shining a bright light on the business and the political landscape of Great Britain.

The City Grump became well known for exposing and rooting out the bizarre and absurd behaviour of the great and the good who were in control of the institutions of the country.

Over the past nine years he turned his mordant wit on those who, he considered, deserved it.

Hazell-Smith spent well over a quarter of a century working within the City of London, having a variety of careers, including a stockbroker's analyst, chairing a stock-brokerage concern, a PR company that specialised in financial matters and an Exchange.

He is still involved in chairing a range of venture capital trusts and investing his own funds in a number of start-ups.

He criticises the reemergence of Stalinist style leadership in political parties, the possibility that baby boomers are inherently selfish, the good that Margaret Thatcher did when she came into power, how it is knowledge that is, ultimately, a power for corruption, how the Davos elite got things so badly wrong and, in the end, proved to be such an abject failure.

Learn why and when Richard Branson should have started to avoid and shun the spotlight, how and why George Osborne brought shame to the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer and why small is beautiful and big ugly in terms of business.

He also touches on what is wrong with Mrs May, and includes a compelling analysis on all things Brexit and European Union under the chapter £The Brussels Death Star." And why Blockchain might prove to be helpful.

At £12.00 this book is a must have if you feel you might like to know what happened, who did it and what is really happening at the moment.

An Author On Trial

An Author On Trial tells the story of Italian author Giuseppe Jorio.

Have you heard of Italian author Giuseppe Jorio? The probability is that you have not.

And there's a good reason for that for the sub-title of this book is: the story of a forgotten writer.

Written by his son, Luciano Iorio, the book tells the story of how, after he enjoyed considerable success with his debut novel, La Morte di un Uomo (Death of a Man) Jorio's career as a writer was virtually destroyed because he was prosecuted and put on trial no less than five times in the course of six years and eventually found guilty of obscenity for writing his novel Il Fuoco del Mondo (The Fire of the World).

Jorio was the first post-war Italian author to be given such a conviction and, uniquely, the only such author to ever receive a prison sentence.

Using the diaries that his father kept and reading through family letters from the time, Luciano Iorio brings to life the hidden story of what actually happened to his estranged father.

It reveals how biased, bigoted and prejudiced judges aided and abetted by illiberal and bellicose censorship policies (allegedly in order to "defend decency") of the ruling Christian Democrat Party, assisted by the Vatican, decided to make an example of Jorio, even if this meant they would have to twist and misapply the relevant legislation.

The book examines the terrible strains that the five trials and the prison sentence placed not only on Jorio and his work as a novelist but also the terrible strains it placed him other members of his family under, including his own son, Luciano.

As for the book, Il Fuoco del Mondo? it was never published.

It is a moving and illuminating book that pulls no punches as it examines all people involved in the scandal and spares no one, not even Jorio, who, it is acknowledged, had not been without fault.

It is published by Matador at £8.99 and will be a very useful book for anyone with an interest in 20th century literature.

The Magpie Effect

The Magpie Effect is  new guide to help you navigate the twisted and convoluted world of social media.

In his book, experienced life coach  Damien Massias has put together a new guide for us.

He reveals that in his book he aims to help us understand not only social media but our own behaviours when we fall down the rabbit holes of the various brands of social media.

He points out the various pitfalls and erects warning and direction signs to help us make it through the bewildering maze that is modern social media. Such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, etc.

He covers such vital topics as low self-esteem and low self-confidence, how communication skills can be damaged, the dangers of social media reducing everything to a pointless competition, social media and mental health and how social media can reduce people to zombies.

If you are concerned about social media, perhaps you work in the industry? (as does your reviewer) then this book is one for you.

It's published by Matador at £14.99.

Wellness is Easier Than You Think

Wellness is Easier Than You Think is a new book from mindfulness teacher and coach Susie Bailey.

Are you looking to change your lifestyle? Perhaps you have health issues that are impacting on your mind or body that you wish to alleviate?

A trip to the Doctor (if you can get an appointment, that is) is all well and good, but if you can obtain a prescription for a pill or a potion, this might only help you by deadening the symptoms somewhat. They might not deal with the root cause of your ailment.

In this highly readable book Susie Bailey will help you look at the underlying factors that might be at the base of your health issues.

Susie Bailey employs an evidence-based technique that is backed by nutritional and scientific facts.

The book is, basically, a nine step programme to help you deal with your issues.

There are chapters on the importance of looking after the health of your gut, making certain you get good sleep, how you should employ sound nutritional practises, the importance of exercise and how to maintain your relationships with others.

The inspiration for writing this book was Susie's own mother whose health took at turn for the worse in 2014. Not only did the techniques Susie taught her mother help her get rid of anxiety, acid reflux, IBS, tiredness, depression and fibromyalgia, Susie also noticed that, by employing the techniques in her own life, her asthma stopped occurring and she ceased getting frequent colds.

It's a well-written book and is colourful and illustrated and if you want to employ mindfulness in your life, this book is a perfect way to start on that route.

It's published b y Matador at £9.99 and will make an excellent book not only for you but also people in your life who might need a bit of a boost.

You're the froth on My Soy Cappuccino

You're the froth on My Soy Cappuccino is a collection of new poems from Don Behrend.

It's an amusing and less-than-serious examination of modern life.

From courtship 21st century style, to high and not so high technology, selfies, the use or otherwise of social media, and more besides, nothing (well, almost nothing) escapes the careful eye and the pen of Don Behrend.

From the shock of what airport security guards can learn about you, to modern love songs, Jules Verne on the A380, a matter of sartorial confusion at the opera festival, memes and memetics, to Allergy in a Country Churchyard, all subjects are covered in this extremely witty and well-written collection of poems.

It's published  by Matador at £8.99 and if you only buy one book of poems, make this the one. You'll love it.

Finally Woken

What happens if a person wakes up in a hospital bed with all memories of his adult life destroyed by a severe head injury that has caused him to develop retrograde amnesia?

And what would happen if they learn that they are under arrest for the murder of a wife and children that they can't even remember?

Such is the situation that Max Hope finds himself in, in this debut novel from Dean Moynihan.

However, the police are struggling. They can't establish a motive for the murders, the investigation is, at best, somewhat dubious and the defence lawyer is not especially good.

Whilst convalescing from his head injury with the assistance of a psychologist Max tries to regain as many of his memories as he can. And also to learn if and why he committed the murders of his family.

With each session of counselling he learns more of his past, but he finds out that perhaps this knowledge might not be what he was expecting or actually wanting. 

Was he really what he appeared to the outside world, a successful family man? Or was there more to it than that? 

Were the successes more apparent than real? Were the truths of his life more lies than truths? More paranoid than rational?

What happens to Max when he remembers everything? What happens when you really and truly are Finally Woken?

This is a very vivid and haunting debut novel.

It's published by The Book Guild at £9.99 in hardback.

 

The Bone-Setters

The Bone-Setters is a very well researched and extremely well written book on the subject of algebra, which is copiously referenced throughout.

Written by J. F. Riley it is a detailed and fascinating examination of what algebra is, how it originated and how it developed into the branch of mathematics that it is today.

From its origin within  the Indian sub-continent to the Middle East and then to France in the 17th century the story is a fascinating tale of mathematics and religious intolerance and fear of something that was both new and, in the minds of some, potentially dangerous. 

J. F. Riley wrote: "I write the Bone-Setters to resurrect the importance and acknowledgement of Hindu arithmetic, algebra and trigonometry as the origins of modern day maths and to emphasise the debt we ow India for their numbering-system that now underpins the world. Also to reinforce that it was the Muslim sphere that not only developed algebra but also preserved the fountain of the world's knowledge which they left intact in all their great libraries, waiting for the West to re-discover."

It's published by Matador at £16.99 in hardback and is an ideal publication for anyone who is a mathematician who wishes to learn some of the history of algebra.

Forced Landing

Forced Landing the Last Flight of a Viscount is a remarkably well-written account of a true incident that could have ended in disaster, but didn't.

It was meant to be a routine flight, that of a Vicker's Viscount from Santander to Exeter Airport, in Devon.

It was a reliable plane that was coming to the end of its commercial life but that life came to an abrupt and somewhat premature end in a field somewhat short of the runway at Exeter.

As the plane flew toward its destination one by one its four engines died, caused by starvation for aviation fuel. The pilots knew that G-ARBY was not going to make it to the airport so they had to make a "mayday" call to Air Traffic Control.

This is a riveting story of what happened after that mayday call was made. How crew and passengers reacted to a forced landing in a field and how members of the public raced from their homes in order to help the passengers of the doomed plane and of the emergency services who put into play plans that they hope they never have to employ in real life.

Retired Royal Marine Captain Jim Rider has written a real corker of a story. Well researched and well written (with numerous photographs it tells a story of aviation history that deserves to be remembered. It's also copiously referenced, too.

This is a must buy gift for fans of aviation history and flight and it is published by The Book Guild at a very reasonable £8.99.

I think this book will be in the carry on luggage of many holidaymakers this summer. And deservedly so.