Know More Lies

In the latest novel from Chris Gray, Know More Lies, we meet Robbie Howard. 23-year-old Robbie has no job, but he never seems short of a bob or two. This is because he is a streetwise criminal who can talk himself into and out of just about any situation.

The only person in his life who he really cares about is his ailing grandfather who still thinks that Robbie is gainfully employed and is unaware that the job that Robbie has told him about doesn't actually exist.

Robbie tricks an elderly charity shop worker into giving him a very high value donation of clothing from a local famous rock star.

But problems occur when the son of the charity shop volunteer realises what his game is.

What will happen to Robbie and his beloved grandfather, now? Can Robbie put things right before they get too badly out of hand?

Can he fix things?

It's a well-told story about characters the reader comes to care about and clearly draws on the experiences of the author when he worked as a mentor for young people.

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

The Last Generation

The Last Generation is a science fiction novel for young adults from author Miles Bavin.

The earth is dying. Ellie is aware that this year is the most important academic year in her life.

Because this year will be the year when she sits the examination process known as the "Level Twelves."

Those who pass "The Level Twelves" exam will be admitted to the "flight-to-freedom" programme. But what happens to those who take the exam, but fail it?

Ellie cannot hear and she has the ability to read lips as a result and a conversation she witnesses between two teachers makes her wonder what, exactly, is going on.

She begins to think about society, about the "Legion" who are in control of the selection process. What would happen if they introduce stricter, more stringent testing? 

And where are students she used to know but who, for all intents and purposes, have seemingly just disappeared? 

Is there a pattern, here? Ellie thinks there is. But what is it?

She develops a distrust of those around her, especially when a new person arrives on the scene, bringing changes with them.

Ellie wants to save herself, but she also wants to save those who are nearest and dearest to her and to do her best to make sure that humankind also survives.

Can she do this? Can humanity survive? If so, how? Who will save it? 

It's a very cohesive and intelligently told story that is very readable and will be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

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

The Marble Curse

The Marble Curse Emeritus Professor Richard Vincent has made good use of his background as a scientist and consultant cardiologist to bring out a novel aimed at children who enjoy adventure-filled stories.

Joe Raven is a very smart person who is an inventor of small gadgets who have extraordinary powers.

Joe, and his sister Beth, find a mysterious package in their garden. 

Inside they discover a silver bird, a guidebook (which is apparently blank) and a note from "Granelda" who is seeking out their assistance to overcome a vicious curse.

Joe and Beth set out on a special mission to follow the clues that Granelda has left them. 

However, they find themselves transported back to the year 1789 where they become enmeshed with a growing, spreading curse. But who was it who created the curse? Why did they do it? What was the purpose behind it?

Joe and Beth have a limited amount of time to find a way to negate the curse, save the situation and get back home safely. Can they do it? Will they succeed?

It's a rolling gallop of a novel, with a gallimaufry of amazing characters, so good, some indifferent, some utterly wicked.

It is published by The Book Guild at £8.99. 

Pitfalls of Power

In the amusing novel from Peter Spenger, Pitfalls of Power, readers are introduced to Percy Penislow.

From very ordinary beginnings in his native Cornwall, Percy, against all odds, somehow manages to squeak his way into power, becoming Prime Minister.

But that is only the start of his problems. He has a plentiful array of enemies who want to see him  toppled from power and sent back to the West Country with his tail firmly between his legs.

However, his enemies think they have him on the run due to a case of mistaken identity. 

Fortunately Percy has the support of his wife and some very good friends, plus his police protection officer and his communications officer who is so well connected that it's a bit scary!

They all agree that if Percy has a sworn enemy, it's probably Percy!

He embarks on a journey of political and self-discovery as he travels along several avenues, roads and lanes (so to speak) that are populated by a bewildering array of civil servants, fellow politicians    His voyage of self-discovery leads him down many avenues as he’s joined by a cast of civil servants, fellow politicians, journalists and the Downing Street cat.

Can Percy make it through? Will he merely survive or, with the help of his wife, friends and colleagues, actually succeed?

It's published by Matador at £8.99.

Riding Africa

 

Riding Africa is a new book from author and traveller Michael Howard-Kyan.

Michael's family were inveterate travellers and as a child he was lucky to be able to enjoy many holidays in a variety of locations.

So it wasn't surprising that Michael also developed the travelling bug, a need to explore places both near and not so near.

In his early twenties, having qualified as a newly minted surveyor, he took the decision to take some time out, to take a sabbatical time out to set out on an adventure of his own.

And so it was that in 1981 Michael decided to set out on an adventure of a lifetime; a motorcycle trip across Africa.

Ever since his father had bought him a motorbike as his student transport, he had developed a love of motorbiking so a motorcycle trip on the African continent was a natural choice. 

He prepared for his adventure with meticulous detail, finding a certain amount of joy and excitement even in the planning.

He wasn't even sure that he could make it across Africa, even having a bailout plan if things were to go wrong, his bike fail him or whatever. But his faithful mechanical steed did not fail him and, together, they succeeded in their cross continental adventure.

The store is very well told and Michael takes his readers all the way, you are with him when people throw rocks at him, when he is accused of spying, thrown into a police cell, has to deal with a variety of mechanical issues and minor details (!) such a sand dunes that had decided to block roads and the like.

He also met  some nice people, including a very smartly dressed Algerian official who proudly took him for a walk through his gardens of which he was justifiably proud.

He met with fellow adventure travellers and a wide variety of characters as he made his way through Africa.

The book is copiously illustrated with a wide range of photographs and maps.

Michael used his travels to raise money for Oxfam.

It is published by The Book Guild at £19.95 in hardback. 

The Quarant

 

The Quarant is a novel by author Graham Bullen.

He takes his readers back to the year 1348. In January of that year an earthquake and a tsunami have brought devastation upon the city state of Venice.

Malin Le Cordier is a highly successful English maritime trader sails into Venice. He has plans to bring about a coup at the behest of Edward III and Genoa.

He has only a limited period of time to bring the coup about. Can he keep the plot secret from his loved ones, even though this made him feel guilty.

However, things are not quite as simple as he believes, for Venice is a city of intrigue, plots and revenge.

Within Venice there is a very powerful force at work. A force that seeks revenge against Edward III and this powerful force is fully aware of the coup plot and is monitoring Le Cordier's every move.

Will the coup succeed? Or will the plotters meet with a bad end?

It's published by Matador at £9.99. 

Flight Path

 

In Flight Path E J Pepper writes a dramatic and disturbing novel which was the winner of the 2017 Exeter Novel Prize.

We meet Sophie. Sophie's life has apparently been highly successful. She and Miles have had a 30 year long and successful marriage which has produced twin girls.

Sophie and Miles have a wonderful circle of friends and Miles is a highly successful educator.  

But an allegation of sexual abuse against Miles destroys everything.

What should Sophie believe? The allegations against her husband, or the word of her husband?

Is he an innocent abroad or an extremely devious, manipulative predator?

He and his family face the humiliation of Miles' trial. Will he be found guilty or innocent? And even if he is found innocent, would that really matter because, after all, who wins in such a trial?

But what about Sophie? Does she have secrets from Miles that might also bring about the destruction of the marriage?

It's published by Matador at £9.99.  

Your Stools are Safe in Our Hands

Your Stools are Safe in Our Hands is probably a first from author and biomedical scientist and author Edie Watney Judd, a amusing novel set in the world of biomedical laboratories.

It's a satirical comedy written around the subject of the yearly UKAS inspection.

Some of it is fiction, some of it is fact and some is probably faction, a combination of fact and fiction!

Paperwork, the job would be great, without all that paperwork, but UKAS needs to see the paperwork for their inspection visit.

Marvel at the presentations, learn about the values of the laboratory, and the strange, interesting and sometimes utterly bizarre colleagues that occupy the laboratory and UKAS.

The book is educational and amusing. 

As well as being a biochemist, Edie Watney Judd is a published author and a member of the Society of Authors.

It's published by Matador at £7.99.

Penguin Beach

 

In Penguin Beach by Lawrence Prestidge we meet Clyde. Clyde is a penguin. And he absolutely being a penguin!

He is the main attraction at Penguin Beach, which is a centrepiece at London Zoo.

None of the visitors can resist the strutting, posing star of the penguin show, Clyde.

But then disaster strikes for Clyde! Because now, there's a new penguin on the block, Diego, who has come to London from Spain.

Diego leaps, jumps and back-flips and the visitors just love him. But why are the other penguins also impressed by Diego?

This is Clyde's Penguin Beach! He works hard to regain centre spot and to drive Diego out of the limelight and out of Penguin Beach for good!

However, Clyde realises that he has gone too far and he has inadvertently put Diego's life in danger. So it's up to Clyde and his penguin friends to find Diego and bring him back to safety. Or will a variety of gorillas, snakes and the bad guys thwart them?

It's another great book for children from Oxfordshire's Lawrence Prestidge, with fantastic illustrations from G. William.

It's published by Matador at £7.99.  

Self Enquiry

 

Self Enquiry A Testimony is the personal testimony of Michael  J. Vincent in which he explores a "profound, radical and powerful practice with a simple message."

Michael uses stories from his life to show how all of our experiences (from the trivial to the intense) can become a deep resource for us to draw from in our search for the truth of life.

He shows how the practice of self enquiry can dampen the anxieties, doubts and fears that impact upon our lives.

He shows his readers how we can  move forward to peacefulness, fulfilment and positive actions.

He points out that there is no doctrine, there's not a belief system, nor is it a crutch, a mask or a sticking plaster. 

He reveals that self enquiry is, instead a way to help you believe in yourself.

Michael J. Vincent is an author and an artist and a qualified Reiki therapist.

The book is published by Matador at £8.99. 

Poleaxed

In the novel Poleaxed Peter Tyrer, emeritus professor of community psychiatry at Imperial College, London, takes his readers back to 1967.

An ordinary English town is hit with an extremely unusual event, as people suddenly start to fall victim of a mysterious illness, poleaxed and many of the victims die.

What is causing the disease? Virus? Bacterium? Poison? None of the experts knew and leading medical experts had started to argue amongst themselves.

However, an anthropology student who has recovered from the disease and two junior doctor combine forces to learn what is causing the disease.

Eventually the three realise that the ailment really only has the most severe impact on those who are suffering from severe anxiety.

They believe they have found the cause and they believe they have found the sollution. But have they correctly identified the cause? And if they have, will their sollution work? Or are they too late?

It is a pacey, exciting read which is solidly based in realistic scientific knowledge.

And it was written before COVID-19 became known.

It is published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

And the Sea Darkened

And the Sea Darkened is a debut thriller from new author Vicki Lloyd, who has an MA in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University.

The novel begins with a sound, or an absence of sound, that awakens farmer Magnus Bostock. He quickly dons his clothing, takes his shotgun and leaves the family farmhouse to discover what had disturbed his slumbers.

He finds something that no farmer would like to discover. But that's only the beginning of the problems for Magnus, his brother Nick and the rest of the islanders.

A young academic called Jasmine arrives on the island, she believes that if she can discover an ancient journal, that is hidden somewhere on the island, she will be able to uncover the cause of the killings. But can she? Is she putting herself in mortal danger?

Is there really a link with the past that has brought a curse down upon the family of the Bostocks?

Can Magnus and Nick, who are usually feuding with each other, discover the truth before it is far too late?

This is a thrilling read, created by someone who truly knows their craft.

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

 

Baghlan Boy

Baghlan Boy is a novel from Michael Crowley.

When he is just eleven years old, a strike from a drone destroys Farood Abali's family home in Afghanistan's Baghlan Province.

It kills his father and leaves Farood and his older brother, alone as the sole survivors.

His brother takes the family's flock of sheep and sells them, using the money to pay a shadowy 'agent' to take Farood to the West. He hopes that, eventually, Farood would be able to return with wealth to free them from their poverty.

The journey that Farood takes is a harsh one, he endures pain and suffering as he traverses Pakistan, Iran and Turkey kept in the boots of cars, or forced to hide in cellars and in trailers.

But by the time he is 19, Farood is incarcerated in an English jail, imprisoned, or so he claims, for a crime which he is innocent of.

But could Farood escape from his imprisonment? And if he could, what would he do? What could he do?

This is a remarkable novel which is an intelligent look at how and why people become refugees in our modern world.

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

I'm Fine, Thanks

I'm Fine, Thanks is a fictionalised account of a very moving memoir from Chris Doveton.

It's the prime of their lives for Chris and Anne. They are enjoying life in general and are especially enjoying their loving, vibrant marriage. 

But then tragedy strikes them as Anne is diagnosed as suffering from a rare but fatal genetic disease. For a decade the couple bravely shoulder this burden alone, keeping it a secret.

Following Anne's death Chris becomes a victim of a crushing grief. 

He learns that if he is to cope with his wife's death, he must rid himself of his "stiff upper lip" attitude. 

He becomes able to express his loss by opening up to people and learning that it's OK to cry and that often, "I'm Fine, Thanks" isn't a suitable answer.

Chris embraces therapy that saves his life and he finds himself able to reactivate his religious faith and to find love, again.

It's a moving book and an important one.

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

Leicester Rocks

In Leicester Rocks by Mike Hatfield, we meet Leicester's Stan Booker. 

It's 2015 (that's the year, not the time)  and we meet Stan Booker. Stan's having one of those: "Where did it all go wrong moments?" in his life.

He's in his mid-fifties, he doesn't have a job, doesn't have a wife (well, not since the divorce at any rate) and he really thinks that his desire to achieve rock God status as a guitarist will not come to fruition.

But! Along comes his lifelong friend Phil and all bets are off. Or on, perhaps?

Because Phil and he are about to start their own business and Mike forms a rock band called Leicester Rocks.

He also becomes romantically involved with  twice-divorced Mandy.

He knows that there's about as much chance of the band hitting the big time as there is for his team Leicester City winning the Premier League. another of his pipe dreams.

But what if the star is ascending for both Leicester Rocks and Leicester City? Can both stay the distance? Or will love and loyalties be tested to or beyond destruction?

It's a lively feelgood romp of a story and is published by Matador at £9.99.   

A Healing Place

In his new book A Healing Place, author Dermod Judge shares with his readers his very personal quest to find his healing place or places.

He points out that we are all born into a large world. And that for all but a privileged few, it's a cruel world.

He also acknowledges that he was born into a privileged family in Ireland, in a modest house in a desirable part of Dublin.

However, he goes on to explain that even the most privileged amongst us can still receive wounds that require a healing place to which we can retire to while we wait for the wounds to heal or for the hurt to fade.

We learn what he was able to learn. That some books are considered dangerous. Including the Bible, which as a child and a troubled teen, he wasn't allowed to read on his own. There wasn't even a Bible in the family home. He realised that he had to have the scriptures filtered through teachers and clerics for him.

This, he concluded, was that because books (such as the Bible) are considered as dangerous because these books had the very dangerous power to change the world.

This is why libraries are always burned and ransacked by the iron men.

In his book he shares a unique and very interesting series of insights into the human situation, drawing upon the combined wisdom of artists, writers, architects, naturalists and thinkers. But not, interestingly enough, not Nietzsche. (You'll find out why when you read the book.)

This is an amazing and invigorating book, which you will be able to use as a guidebook to your own healing places.

It's written with warmth, wit, wisdom and more than a dash of élan. 

There's also a section of notes for further reading. Or as Dermod puts it: "These notes add an embarrassing whiff of scholarship to this work which is no more than the product of a good library, Google and a mind and memory as capacious as a whore's handbag."

You need this book, because it's rather like a chat with the author over a pint of Guinness, Smithwick's Irish ale, or a drop of Irish single malt.

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

Nomad Girl

Nomad Girl by Niema Ash is her memoir of life in the fast lane of the swinging sixties and toward more recent times.

A childhood dream of Canadian-born Niema was to travel the world as a genuine child of the sixties, this is exactly what she did.

During her travels round the world, basically from Montreal to Morocco and all points between, she met and became friends with people such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, bluesman John Lee Hooker and the Dalai Lama and had a whole host of adventures some planned but many not.

Whilst traveling across Africa (by hitchhiking) she and her partner Shimon realised that they were expecting a baby, so they returned to her home city of Montreal where they opened The Finjan, a folk and blues club that also served as a coffee house.

And then the adventures really began. There was motherhood, she gave birth to her daughter Ronit. Life with her new family, Shimon, Ronit and herself. But there was something else, something more that Niema needed.

The book is filled with characters that you will already have heard of, Diana Dors and The Bee Gees to name only two, but you'll also learn about characters that probably won't be known to you, such as Pistol Pete, Sonny and Brownie, and many more besides.

Niema introduces you to family, friends and lovers in this enthralling and honest account.

It makes for a remarkable read, although I can't help feeling that the absence of any photographs (save for two modern images on the front a and back covers) is a regrettable one.

The book is published by Matador at £13.99.

Born Together The Story of Conjoined Twins

Born Together The Story of Conjoined Twins is a book by Doctor Michael L. Cox.

In his book Dr Cox takes a detailed and very sensitive look at this very difficult subject.

He looks at the ethics of the birth of conjoined twins. For example could it ever be justified to sacrifice the life of one twin so that the other could live?

Whilst he was an obstetrics and gynaecology specialist at the George Elliot Hospital in Nuneaton, two sets of  were born under his care, which stimulated his interest in this field of medicine, resulting in this very fascinating and eminently readable book.

Dr Cox looks at cases that are still a part of common culture like Change and Eng Bunker.

There are other cases that are less well-known which he draws attention to; Millie and Christine McKoy, born in North Carolina in 1851. Their story is a sad one, as they were born into slavery and were sold as circus exhibits. However, a trip to England was used as an opportunity to reunite them with their mother.

Then there is the case of Sardinia's Ritta and Christina Parodi who were born in Marcy 1829. 

They had double upper bodies, but only one lower body. Sadly they died at eight months of age.

Other cases covered include Myrtle Corbin of Tennessee, who had one upper body and two lower bodies, which was the reason why Myrtle had only one name, unlike most other conjoined twins.

After earning $450 a week, a phenomenal sum of money in the 19th century, she married a Doctor Clinton Bicknell when she was 19.

Readers will learn about Mina and Minnie Finley (a confusing choice of names for conjoined twins one  might think) there was Laloo the India boy, tragically killed in a train crash, Jean Libbera of Rome, the Tocci brothers, Rosa and Josefa Blazek, Daisy and Violet Hilton of England, born in 1908, Simplicio and Lucio Dodiop of the Philippines, also born in 1908, Mary and Margaret Gibb born in Massachusetts in 1912.

Amongst other stories is the heart-breaking case of Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova, born in 1950's Moscow. It has to be said that they were not treated particularly well by the Communist government.

There are a number of modern cases in many of which Dr Cox discusses the medical procedures employed.

He also makes mention of a very rare case of conjoined triplets in Italy in 1831, during which the Doctor decided to amputate two of the heads during the birth. 

Dr Cox covers the known causes of conjoined twins, but in a way that is very readable.

He also mentions Ambrose Pare, the chief surgeon to Charles IX and Henri III and William Smellie (1697 to 1762 who, in his book, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Midwifery covered what he described as "twins and monsters."

Even astrology has been mentioned as a factor, at least by Leslie Fiedler.

There have also been epidemics of conjoined twin births, possibly resulting from environmental factors, genetic factors or random chance.

There are also historical conjoined twins such as Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst who were born in 1100 in the Kentish village of Biddenden. The plague twins of Kingston Upon Hull, the Scottish brothers of the 1500s, the girls of Worms in Germany on 1495, etc.

He also covers fictional accounts of conjoined twins from the writings of Mark Twain, Brian Aldis, Irvine Walsh, Alexandre Dumas. He also covers dramas, radio, stage, TV and cinema, including The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy.

This book is a fascinating read for the layman, the medical student and nurses and doctors who might have to help parents cope with a conjoined birth.

It is published by The Book Guild at £10.99.

Sorry about the hiatus

 Sorry about the hiatus in publishing book reviews. This is because my wife and I were both fell victim to the Coronavirus which laid us both up for a while.

However, we are recovering and book reviews will commence being published very soon.

Walking Football Imrove Your Life

There are two wonderful types of exercise, walking and football.

What if someone could combine the two together? In actual fact. that has already happened. And in his book Walking Football Improve Your Life Tom Moran explains it all and how you can get involved with the new sports hit, walking football.

Tom lives in Middlesex and is a Walking Football player himself, for Barnet. In fact he is also a member of the WFA (Walking Football Association) England over-60s international squad.

Walking Football is thundering across the landscape of Britain and beyond, with some 1,200 clubs, an estimated involvement of 40,000 players and international teams being formed globally.

It is aimed at people who are 50s plus, who want to continue being involved in football, or who just want a way to keep fit or to become more fit. Perhaps they are recovering from a heart attack, surgery or just want a gentle and comparatively easy way to burn off some calories.

The NHS is now involved and medical professionals are prescribing Walking Football and other community-based health activities, so it's receiving more publicity amongst the general public.

In his book Tom introduces his readers to the concept of Walking Football, how you might be able to get involved, what to do when you get involved and what you can expect from it and what can be expected of you.

Tom also covers the rules and regulations of Walking Football and some information about the sport's governing body, the WFA.

He also includes anecdotes from a wide range of other Walking Football players including Sid Tobias, who can still play a good game at 84, Keith who is 67, Kevin who first heard about Walking Football from a friend from Portugal and Paul Murtagh who had his football career cruelly cut short before it had even began, when he had a severe knee injury at age 15.

Tom also includes tips on how to play the game and also features a very useful list of teams from around the UK including the Birmingham WFC, the Bury Relics and AFC Blackpool Senior Seasiders.

Got an older family member in your life who you think could benefit from getting involved in Walking Football? Then this book will make a first rate Christmas present for them.

It's published by The Book Guild at £7.99.

The Lodge

Got a horror fiction fan that you need to buy a Christmas present for? Then you should buy them Chris Coppel's new horror novel The Lodge.

There's a remote hunting lodge in the hills of the Sottish Highlands. It's the Christmas holidays and there has been a report of an accidental death at the Lodge, so the local police, in the form of a young constable, PC Andrew Whiting, from the nearest police station is called out to the lodge to make preliminary enquiries.

As he drives toward the lodge he finds himself driving through an ever-worsening blizzard. 

When he reaches the Lodge he finds himself trapped there along with the surviving guests. But for how long would any of them survive? Was the death really as accidental as it had first appeared? Or was it a deliberate act of malice? And if that was the case, how many more of the residents of the Lodge would be killed before the culmination of the hellish nightmare that was to befall them?

But who or what was targeting the residents of the Lodge? What if the hunted animals had decided to return and seek a bloody, violent revenge? If so, how could they undertake their brutal vengeance?

This is a truly bloodthirsty book, so will be a real hit with the horror thriller fan in your life.

It's published by Matador at £9.99.

The Mersey Estuary a Travel Guide

 The Mersey Estuary a Travel Guide is a wonderful new book from Kevin Sene.

When people think of the Mersey Estuary it often brings to mind The Mersey Tunnel, the ferry, the iconic Liverpool waterfront and the Liver Building.

But as Kevin shows his readers in his book there is so much more to the Mersey Estuary than that. All 30+ miles of it.

You will learn of places to visit in Cheshire, Widnes, Warrington, Liverpool, Birkenhead, Port Sunlight including the museum and the Lady Lever Art Galley.

There are many museums to visit including the International Slavery Museum, the Merseyside Maritime Museum, the National Waterways Museum, Birkenhead Priory and many more throughout the area.

There are nature reserves, plus places for birdwatching, working canals, country walks, National Trust properties and coastal resorts such as New Brighton. 

Plus shopping from Liverpool's famous shopping quarters to traditional markets. Also a bewildering range of places to dine at.

The reader will also find guided walks and cycle routes throughout the area in this wonderful book.

The book is well illustrated with photographs and maps.

From how to travel in the area to the amazing superlambanas, from Fiddler's Ferry to the iconic Liver Building, there's just about everything in this amazing book which will make a stunning and very welcome Christmas gift.

It's published by Matador at £19.99.

The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man is the latest historical novel from Andree Rushton.

The author takes their readers to Castignac which is a gorgeous farmhouse in South-West France. It's been turned into a holiday home for a group of British holidaymakers.

The idyllic situation was brought to an abrupt and tragic end with the totally unexpected death of Ian, one of the members of the group.

This has overwhelmed the once happy associations that the surviving members of the group fwlt for Castignac and they take the decision to sell the house.

But group member Tessa has an uneasy feeling that there is more to the situation that they know and she is determined to try to learn more to uncover any secrets that she somehow senses are hidden beneath the surface.

How is the present day linked with the past? What does the story of a previous inhabitant of the farmhouse have to do with the present day situation?

It appears that one person does have all the answers that Tessa is seeking. But he has secrets of his own. Can Tessa learn what she needs to learn about what happened at the farmhouse?

This is a very intelligently written novel which will be enjoyed by people who like reading good fiction. (Put it in their stocking this Christmas!)

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

Crooked

In Crooked we meet someone who believes that, at the age of 16, she is headed toward great things. As an extremely successful con artist.

Ashia "Ash" Cox looks to have it all, she's good at her chosen career as a career criminal con artist and things are going well for her, her crew and her family.

That is until Harry Holmes, something of a big wig in the world of professional criminals, comes in to touch with Ash and her family. And he ruthlessly destroys all that Ash holds dear.

But Ash is not going to take this lying down. She manages to form an alliance with another con artist by the name of Esther Crook. 

She's a legend amongst others of the fraternity, known for her ability to pull more than the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting marks.

Esther is more than willing to assist Ash because she has her own reasons to wish for harm to fall upon Harry Holmes and his cronies. 

Ultimately Esther puts together a new crew with Ash at the heart of it. However, as the con progresses they feel that they are in a pincer movement with the law on one side and other criminals on the other.

As their plan progresses toward its fruition they begin to have some misgivings and uneasy feelings. Who is masterminding the situation? Who is really pulling the con? Who can they trust?

It's a riveting, pulse-quickening story about some anti-heroes that you will come to admire and, perhaps, love.

It's written by published author and Creative Writing Degree owning Bronwen John and will make a great Christmas gift this year.

It's from Matador at £9.99.

Almost Human

 A new science fiction novel is always welcome, especially if one has a science fiction fan to buy a Christmas present for.

The new science fiction novel from author H. C. Denham, Almost Human, has been published (coincidentally) just in time for Christmas.

What would happen, what could happen, if scientists decide that they should start creating robots that are more than human? Robots that are fully rational (more so than humans) but which (who?) are smarter, better loooking and have empathy built in?

The Universal Robotics Corporation is working to use robots to green a desert area. 

UCR decides to it's time yo experiment with interactions between the robots and humans who are working on the greening project.

The male participants think that all is going well and have no problems. But an agronomist with the project, Stella Mayfield, is not so sure and she has misgivings about what is happening.

Seven years later  Stella has returned to the UK and she notices that these humanoid robots are apparently everywhere.

Her misgivings return to haunt her. What exactly were they up to? What were they capable of? Could they be trusted to interact with humans in ways that were always of benefit for the humans?

It's a well-written and very intelligent book that takes a deep look at what such a society might actually be like. Fans of Isaac Asimov's books featuring robots will really enjoy this book, too.  

It's published by Matador at £8.99.

Holiday Shorts

 

In Holiday Shorts author Garfield Collins presents his readers with a collection of stories that are very special because they are carefully crafted to provide the maximum amount of information and entertainment in the most compact amount of words possible, but without losing any of the zest of the plots and story ideas through the medium of what is called 'flash fiction.' Another term used is bite-sized fiction.

In 130 stories readers are introduced to the story of a girl and a pearl necklace (read more about the importance of this story in his preface to his book).

Learn what happened to Carol in Coffee Pacifica, what happened when Gerry met Shelley, how Felix was introduced to the concept of Serendipity by his walkabout uncle Jim.

Find out how an article in New Scientist caused a reversal in the smooth running of the space time continuum, but in a good way.

And learn about Rocco and how he established his Fiction Factory. And how his concepts came back to really give him a very factual boot up the rear.

It's described as being perfect for the busy reader, which is true. It's also perfect for the reader who loves good, entertaining and innovative fiction.

It's well over 330 pages of great fiction and will make the perfect Christmas present for the bookwork in your life.

It is published by Matador at £8.99.

Successful Key Account Management

Are you looking for an ideal and much-welcomed Christmas gift for the business to business (b2b) sales account person in your life? Or maybe you are in b2b sales and want a little bit of self-gifting this year?

Well, look no further, because David Hughes' book Successful Key Account Management is the book that you need.

David Hughes writes with all the knowledge and experience that four decades at the very top of being a Senior Key Account Manager in b2b sales, covering chemicals and plastics in industrial sales.

If you are a new accounts manager this book will be an absolutely outstanding primer for your career; and if you are somewhat of an old hand in the field you, too, will find much that is of value within the pages of this remarkable book.

It's a very well planned book and is nicely set out so that all the information that you will require is at your fingertips.

What will you learn? Why you need customers, best practices in Key Account Management, how to cope with and manage time, what exactly sales is, health and safety and why it is not just confined to people who work in dangerous factory environments but also covers sales professionals no matter where they are working. The author also raises the important but often misunderstood issue of mental health and stress.

There's one very important lesson that he states "Nothing we do at work is worth getting hurt for."

There's also a very workable and useful ten point plan, how appraisals should be handled and when they should occur, plus how to negotiate, talking about money and much, much more.

At £14.99 this book should be in the briefcase of every sales professional in the world.

It's published by Matador at £14.99.

No Way Home

In her novel No Way Home author and teacher M S James brings us a remarkable insight on what life was like in the Saudi Arabia of the 1980s.

Kate Thomas leaves the UK with her two children to join her husband who is living and working as an architect in Saudi Arabia.

She finds a job as a teacher in a private school that is intended for expatriate Muslims. To describe the school as "organised" to any degree would have been somewhat unfair as the school was anything but organised.

She finds that her attempts at teaching are somewhat stymied by lunatic administrators and a shortage of lesson materials. As a result she finds it necessary, if she is to actually do any teaching, to use her own imagination to teach her pupils.

There are also other issues for her to contend with, such as quickly learning how to cope with living in Saudi Arabia which, for all its controls, a far more potentially dangerous place than one might suppose.

An invitation to a Saudi wedding takes her by surprise and gives Kate a new insight into the life of the real people of Saudi Arabia.

However, things go disastrously wrong when Kate and her family venture out into the desert and a vicious sandstorm suddenly strikes and whips her tiny daughter away.

A frantic search is instigated. Will they find her, or has she been taken away from her family, buried in the desert sands, or has an even worse fate befallen her? Would they find her? And if so, when and where?

It's a complex and very moving story and is based in part on the experiences of M S James when she lived in Saudi Arabia.

It's published by Matador and costs £9.99. It's going to be in many Christmas stockings this year, I think.

The Woodcarver of Krakow

In her second novel, The Woodcarver of Krakow, Rachel Clare brings to her readers the story of two brothers.

Tadeusz and Jacek Lewandowski are two brother who are bound together by a very firm bond of brotherly affection. 

Their life is disrupted when their father is away with the Polish Army and they lose their mother under tragic circumstances.

As a result they must go and live with their highly skilled woodcarver grandfather in the Tatra Mountains. Their childhood their is idyllic and they are safe and content in the knowledge that they are together and will always be their, one for another.

But that certainty and their idyllic life is brutally smashed to pieces by the arrival of the 1939 alliance of Nazi German and Soviet Union soldiers as they both march into Poland.

Tad has to abandon his studies at university and he must flee for his life across enemy occupied Europe. The passage across Europe is a perilous one, but the lessons of his brother Jacek help him to succeed. Eventually he finds himself in the Lancashire coastal town of Blackpool, where there was a large number of Poles at the Polish Air Force Training Centre, who were loyal to the cause of freeing Poland from Nazi and Soviet occupation.

He joins the Polish Air Force and helps fight against the might of the German armed forces. 

One brother would return, one would not.

This is a remarkably well-research and beautifully written novel that captures in intimate detail the harrowing and sadly true stories of so many families who gave so much and suffered so much during the war to free Poland.

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

It needs to be in the Christmas stocking of anyone who loves a good, well-written piece of historical fiction with a hint of romance.

The Forbidden Zone

In The Forbidden Zone retired mining engineer and author Jon Gliddon bring his readers a story of African diamonds, Nazi smugglers and bloody, violent revenge.

It's set at the very start of World War 2, in the August of 1939, in the diamond-rich Republic of Namibia, previously the German colony of German South West Africa.

In the build-up to the looming conflict, diamonds were in very high demand for the precision manufacture of high tech military equipment. 

The nations of Europe including Britain and Nazi Germany and America and Japan were desperate for diamonds, but due to the previous decade's Great Depression many diamond mines had closed down and diamonds as a consequence were in short supply.

Theft of diamonds and diamond smuggling became more and more prevalent and Great Britain and the Union of South Africa were working to protect their mines and smashing the Nazi smuggling rings who were attempting to supply their Nazi masters with diamonds for the Nazi war effort.

A Cornish mining engineer by the name of Harvey Tremayne is an employee of the largest diamond mining company in the world in South West Africa. He is given the job of stopping a planned attack by Nazi thieves to steal diamonds.

But Harvey has a larger and more personal goal. He seeks revenge against the person who murdered his wife. His search takes him to some extremely dangerous locations and he finds himself drawn into the ambit of the British Secret Service. For they, too, are seeking the same target as Harvey, but for entirely unrelated reasons.

Who was Sidewinder? Had he killed his wife? And what was Sidewinder? What was he hoping to achieve? Could Harvey and his colleagues defeat him and thwart his intentions?

It's a rip-roaring exciting adventure novel with more twists and turns than on Nurburgring's  Nordschleife race track. It's an ideal Christmas gift for lovers of well-written and well researched old school hard-bitten adventure yarns. So, add this to your Christmas gift list!

It's published by The Choir Press at £7.99.

Algernon Arbuthnot Arrives

 

Algernon Arbuthnot Arrives is a wonderful story for children. 

P. G. Bogle tells what happens when a suitcase is opened after their family has arrived back from a cruise on an ocean liner and Luke and Lexi meet Algernon Arbuthnot, who has arrived at their home, with them.

The remarkable thing? Algernon Arbuthnot is a small white mouse who can talk.

He reveals that he has descended from a popular Hollywood movie star, who had been on a Grand Tour of Europe.

The children convince their parents to allow  Algernon Arbuthnot to stay with them (as their pet white mouse) after an interesting first night Luke and Lexi introduce Algernon to their Aunt Rita who has a background in fashion and is able to turn her skills to creating an absolutely stunning wardrobe of clothing for his trip.

So, what on earth could go wrong? Unfortunately quite a lot. In fact, a great deal, because Algernon has the ability to bring chaos and confusion when there was none!

The family join him on the Grand Tour. Algernon boasts about the great and daring deeds of his ancestors, but are they really what happened? 

This is a fantastic present for any child of nine and above, or younger if they are an advanced reader.

It's from Matador at £6.99 and will be ideal for family reading sessions and bedtime stories.

 

Child X

 

In Child X former private investigator and gambler Mick Lee brings his readers a new novel, this time he has penned a psychological thriller.

What happens to a child who kills but who feels absolutely no remorse? Does he deserve a second chance? 

What if there is a second child who did not do anything to prevent a murder, who is offered redemption? What should happen?

The novel opens in 1999 at the cusp of the new millennium. We are introduced to Ray. Ray is a private investigator who is having something of a hard time both professionally and personally. He is addicted to gambling and his debts are dangerously out of control. Why dangerously out of control? Because Ray owes money to some very, very dangerous people who would not hesitate to use violence against him now that he has stretched their already very slim patience beyond breaking point.

However there comes a chance of redemption for Ray from a rather unlikely source. A gangster (a retired gangster, to be more precise) comes to Ray with a business proposition. If Ray will use his experience and resources to find a man, he will pay off all of his gambling debts.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong? But Ray really has no choice in the matter under his current perilous circumstances and he begins to track the man down. He discovers that the man is hiding within a cult that is pretending to be nothing more than an ordinary telemarketing outfit.

The man has employed several different identities over the years but is now enmeshed in a death that means he will become much more visible.

As Ray closes in on the subject of his investigation he finds a dark secret from the man's childhood. However, there is a eerie link to something in Ray's past. 

The story will end badly. But for whom?

It's a rapidly paced, dark novel that will be in the Christmas stockings of many fans of psychological thrillers.

It's published by Matador at £8.99.  

Gethsemane Revisited

In Gethsemane Revisited James Brophy, in his debut novel introduces us to a fairly ordinary young man, Jerome.

But Jerome is not as ordinary as he might appear at first sight. Because Jerome has a remarkable and very special gift. Jerome can travel back through time.

However, there are certain rules that affect Jerome's adventures. He will never be able to prove to anyone else what he can do, only he can remember his visits and he is unable to change history. 

Obviously his visits to the past mean that anything he does or says has already taken place in the past.

He finds that he can meet historically famous people and ask them questions that he has always desired answers to. 

However, eventually as one would expect, Jerome has a strong need to actually share his secret of being a time traveller with other people. Obviously his family should know of his wonderful gift, right?

So Jerome shares his secret with members of his own family, by telling his brother. But his family are concerned about Jerome's stories of time travelling as they are convinced that he is suffering from some sort of delusional condition.

Are they right? Or is Jerome right? Is he a genuine time traveller or someone who is suffering from a delusional mental disorder?

Jerome realises that he needs to set off one one last time travelling adventure to settle matters once and for all. Is he right? Or is his family right?

It's a stunning debut novel filled with adventures and well told at a rapid pace that keeps the attention of the reader.

The ending is truly stunning and very, very moving but I will not spoil it by letting slip what it is.

The book will make an excellent Christmas gift. It's published by Matador at £10.00.

Hopefully this novel will be the first of many from James Brophy.

Some of Millions

 

In his book Some of Millions Jethro Bor brings together the stories of a number of people from all walks of life who have undergone mental health breakdowns and other mental health issues.

He has carefully collated and edited their stories in a sensitive and constructive fashion. The book also has a forward by Patrick Cockburn.

Jethro is no stranger to the problems brought about by problems with mental health, having suffered with the impact of mental illness for many years himself, he wanted to shine a powerful but friendly light upon the impact of mental health issues on sufferers and their families. It's a sobering fact that at least one in four of us will have to cope with a mental health problem in their lives.

We read of the problems faced by journalist Patrick Cockburn when his art student son became mentally ill when Patrick was reporting on the war in Afghanistan. 

There is the story of Charlotte, who was shocked to be diagnosed as having bipolar disease, because as she points out, she had always considered herself a level-headed person.

We read of the first panic attack suffered by Rebecca in her twenties. The rages she had felt after her parents had divorced when she was seven were to have serious consequences in her adult life.

There's Edward, who had been diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia in 1990. He began talking back to the voices he was hearing, a bad thing to do, he would be told, later.

There's Pic, who became depressed at age eight or thereabouts, who began cutting herself as she became older, something she kept secret until she became married.

There's also cases where the mental illness of others can impact upon family members or close friends. For example Andrew's father committed suicide when Jim was 17, although nobody was quite certain why he had done it. Andrew was stoical about it for the sake of his mother, but later on he became depressed and attempted to take his own life.

The book contains highly relevant and helpful advice from Jim,  who offers sage and helpful advice.

There are some beautiful illustrations throughout the book by people who have been through the mill of life. as it were. 

This book is important as it enables the reader to have a glimpse into the lives of people who suffer from a wide range of mental health issues.

It will make a perfect gift for someone who has mental health issues or for every nurse and doctor in the land, so it deserves to be in Christmas stockings up and down the land. I think mental health professionals might like to order multiple copies for their practices.

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

Perfectly Imperfect Mum

 

Perfectly Imperfect Mum is a new book from mum and author Sheena Tanna-Shah.

It's sub-titled: A Fun and Inspirational Guide for Busy Mums to Staying Mindful and Thriving Amidst the Chaos.

And that's exactly what this jolly and very helpful book is.

As well as being a mother, Sheena is ideally qualified to provide fellow mums (and future mums, too) with her mixture of wise and thoughtful advice because she has a wide variety of expertise. Her skillsets range from being an optometrist, an NLP practitioner, a rapid transformation therapist, a life coach, and a practitioner of mindfulness and meditation. If that wasn't enough, she's also a nutritionist who specialises in vegan nutrition.

So, what will mums (and dads!) learn from this book?

How you can feel calmer in even the most stressful of days, how to help you actually enjoy being a mother, but more importantly stuff you can do to help you get back on track when you are beginning to think that things are getting a bit much for you.

You'll learn coping skills, different ways to deal with difficult situations, how you need to master your thoughts and not let your thoughts master you.

Find out what foods help boost serotonin and dopamine levels in your body (both good for helping you boost your mental health) and other nutritional hints and tips for you and your family.

Learn how not to wave goodbye to your own identity, find out about yoga and other exercises, how to keep in touch with your social circle and how to be a great mum to your children, whilst still  being everything else you want to be.

It's nicely illustrated with fun line drawings.

It's published by The Book Guild at £9.99 and deserves to be in the stocking of every mum, mum to be and grandparents this Christmas.

The Mathematical Murder of Innocence

 

The Mathematical Murder of Innocence is a new courtroom drama, more chilling as it is based on a real miscarriage of justice.

Michael Carter brings us a harrowing case of a mother who, after losing two children to cot deaths, becomes wrongly accused of murdering her infants.

The court case becomes electrified when the judge invites a juror to cross-examine an expert witness, a professor who claims that the chances of a cot death is extremely rare, standing at only one in seventy-two million.

But was that the truth? Was the professor as "expert" as he claimed? Or was it the case that the professor was claiming expert knowledge that was well beyond his purview?

Was it that his knowledge of statistics so badly lacking that he risked accusing an innocent woman of committing murders that were not murders at all?

One field of expertise possessed by the author Michael Carter is that of statistical analysis. He immediately realised that the claim expressed by the expert witness in the trial was, as Michael Carter, opined: "The assassination of statistics."

He began to wonder what would have happened had he been on the jury and able to cross examine the "expert" witness?"

The result is a compelling story that, sadly, is based on a genuine case and a very real blunder that condemned an innocent woman to a living hell.

This book is of interest to more than (like your reviewer) lovers of mystery and "crime" novels. It should be read by every judge, magistrate, solicitor, barrister and legal executive in the country as it shows that sometimes what you are told in a court case might not, by accident, be the truth or correct. And as a result, it should be a Christmas gift for the law person in your life.

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

An Extraordinary Charge Against a Clergyman

 An Extraordinary Charge Against a Clergyman is an excellent account of the fascinating and perhaps bewildering life of the clergyman the Reverend  Edward Muckleston MA by Janet Mackleston.

I was already aware of the Reverend Edward Muckleston and his unusual life so I was intrigued to read this biography of his life.

We learn that he was a self-centred and rather selfish man who behaved in ways that seem, even to modern eyes, to have been antipathetic to his calling and vocation as a priest in the Church of England. 

For example, how was he able to square with his calling and his own conscience the extraordinary fact that he declined to pay his washerwoman, was an inveterate dodger of fares on the railways or that he had deliberately and maliciously damaged the trees owned by a neighbour?

Edward was born into a family of well to do Shropshire landowners. But he managed to lose all of it, resulting in terrible suffering for his own family. Due to his rather unfortunate ways (to put it mildly) he was forced to resign from the parish in Shropshire and he was able to find a position in a smaller parish in the county of Warwickshire.

Despite the fact that he was the parish priest there for nearly 50 years (48 to be exact) he was forced to attend court many times to defend the validity of his appointment to that parish. In fact he died whilst serving as the priest there.

Janet Mackleston (who has a family connection to this story) is a member of the Shropshire Family History Society and was able to piece together his rather extraordinary life using stories from contemporary newspapers and local history archives.

She was surprised about what she found and is able to share this with her readers who will be as intrigued as I was.

This book is another of my picks for an ideal Christmas gift.

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

The Story of Warrington

 In his new book The Story of Warrington Bill Cooke takes his readers on an exploration of the town referred to as "The Athens of the North."

Does Warrington warrant such a description? If you read his book, you will learn a great deal about Warrington. 

The RSA claimed in 2015 that Warrington was "the least culturally alive town in England." Was this a fair claim? A valid evaluation? 

It was the RSA's claim that helped encourage historian and philosopher Bill Cooke, a relative newcomer to  the town of Warrington to make a study of Warrington and to find out what he could learn and also share with the world.

Who was it who declared Warrington to be "The Athens of the North?" Why had they formed this conclusion?

What about the history of Warrington? It's architecture? What of the role of Warrington in helping to being a peaceful culmination to the Cold War? What links did it have to the slave trade and to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution?

Written by an academic with a rare gift for writing in as fluid and lucid style, readers will be able to judge for themselves if the RSA had any valid points as Bill Cooke takes his readers through the past and present of Warrington.

Bill Cooke lectures in philosophy and religious studies at Warrington's Priestley College. He's also president of the Warrington Literary and Philosophical Society, and is the convenor of the Warrington Chapter of the Philosophy in Pubs organisation. 

He has published six books in the UK, New Zealand and the USA.

It's published by Matador at £20.00 and will make a neat Christmas gift for people who love Warrington, history and who like to see the truth behind stories in popular culture.

Flowers of Languedoc

In  Flowers of Languedoc Philip Devalle, the half French and half Englishman returns in a new novel form Judith Thomson.

It's the ultimate decade in the tumultuous 17th Century and it is a period of constant battles between the King of England, William and the Sun King of France, Louis XIV.

The situation is especially troubling for Philip Devalle, as it stretches his twin loyalties even further than previously, as his two nations are in mortal combat.

He finds himself wearing of politics and war so he fashions a new plan which he hopes will free him of both.

But the life of Philp Devalle is never easy or simple and there are his enemies who want to see that whatever aspirations, plans or ambitions he has should comer to nought.

His latest arena for his operations are the mountains and sun-kissed slopes of Languedoc. He finds new enemies who wish him harm as he becomes embroiled in the desperate plight of the Huguenots and, of course, there is the struggle for ultimate power of the two Kings to contend with.

However, Philip is a resourceful, brave and clever man who has many loyal friends who will help him to work to secure his inheritance and that of the future of his family. But in the uncertain times can he succeed?

It's published by Matador at £9.99 and is a must buy Christmas present for lovers of historical novels and the works of Judith Thomson.

 

The Golden Calves of Jeroboam

 

The Golden Calves of Jeroboam is another collection of meditations and religious writings and essays from Adrian Leak.

He has an easy style of writing which is known for being witty and to the point. 

Adrian Leak is a retired Anglican priest who now works as a freelance author and writer and in this work he has brought together an eclectic combination of some refreshingly brief and well-crafted pastoral sermons and religious meditations.

He has also included a collection of vivid word portraits of a rich collection of figures from history. Some whom you will probably already be aware of, some whom you could be meeting with for the first time.

This book will make an ideal Chirstmas gift for the religious scholar in your life.

It's published by The Book Guild at £13.00. 

You can purchase this book (his third work) at the Church Bookshop, Waterstone’s, Blackwell’s, Foyles or Amazon. Price £13.99.

Adrian Leak also has a website (from which the above image is from) at https://adrianleak.co.uk/the-golden-calves-of-jeroboam/

Are We Doing the Stelvio Today?

 
Are We Doing The Stelvio Today? is a very compelling account written by biker, blogger and adventurer Martin Smith.

Readers will join Martin on an exhilarating journey through the Alps of France, Switzerland and Italy by motorbike.

Cheadle, Cheshire-based Martin spent his formative years on the rear of his dad's bikes. Eventually he went on to own his own motorbikes, but at some point bikes lost out to cars and he bought his first four wheeled vehicle.

Later on he decided to put right the error of not getting his full motorbike licence and sorted this out in 1991, but it wasn't until several years later that he got around to buying another motorbike.

Several years? Well, 22 years later to be exact, when he decided with grown up children and a highly successful career as an IT consultant, that it was time to take up biking, again. First was a Kawasaki ZX636, which, a year later, was replaced with a BMW S1000RR.

His bike rides gradually became longer, weekend day trips grew into weeks as far afield as the Highlands of Scotland and Martin decided that change was required once again. This time? Sports riding was to be replaced with the life of an adventure bike rider and the BWM was replaced with an R1200GS Triple Black. 

On this bike Martin has seen much of the British Isles and sometimes much further afield.

Martin has blogged about his adventures, helpfully outlining his routes for the assistance of other bikers. Having found his writing wings he progressed to writing articles in specialist magazines. And out of this came his first book. 

Owners of this book will be able to make use of Martin's abilities to create workable and practicable itineraries. They'll also have a damn good read, too as he has a very good, readable style. 

It's £9.99 from The Book Guild and with Lockdown issues currently getting in the way of Christmas present hunting, it's a great stocking filler for the biker in your life. Or it'll make a perfect self present!

The Notorious Third Lord Lucan: An Embattled Life

 In his book The Notorious Third Lord Lucan: An Embattled Life scientist, author and biographer Tom Blaney provides an interesting look on the life of the Third Lord Lucan.

Who was the Third Lord Lucan? And why was he considered to be "notorious"? And why might his life have been viewed as "embattled"?

Blaney's interest in the Third Lord Lucan when he lived in an apartment within Laleham house, which had been the home of the Third Lord Lucan.

Blaney alludes to the more recently famous seventh Lord Lucan, a troubled professional gambler who, after being implicated in the murder of the family nanny and the severe injuries to his wife vanished, never to be seen again.

However the third Lord Lucan is the subject of this book and in a number of ways including his involvement in the Crimean War as an officer, including the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade.

Blaney acknowledges a previous book published in 1953 The Reason Why by Cecil Woodham-Smith. Woodham-Smith points to certain character flaws within the makeup of the third Lord Lucan. In her book she brings attention to the fact that Lord Lucan had a very bad reputation as an absentee landlord in Ireland. With arguably good reason he was known as "the Great Exterminator" due to his actions and inactions as a landowner. He also had a reputation as being an army officer of a less than glorious reputation, especially during the Crimean War.

Lord Lucan's reputation was traduced by the book written by Woodham-Smith and in the 1968 film The Charge of the Light Brigade (based on that book) but was he really as bad as he was portrayed? Detailed and extensive research undertaken by Blaney indicates that the truth is somewhat different to that previous portrayed by Lord Lucan's detractors. 

He has worked hard to provide a more balanced and less hysterical view of the third Lord Lucan. He has drawn a more full and far more accurate picture of Lord Lucan. Yes, as with everyone of us humans, he had flaws but he was not, as Blaney proves admirably, not the monstrous caricature foisted on the public by those who should have known better in your reviewer's opinion.

The book is illustrated with contemporary images and will be much admired by those with a love for history and high quality research.

It is published by Matador in hardback at £20. 

Luck

What would you do if you had the uncanny gift to influence other people? To get them to do your bidding, without them even realising what was happening to them? Or why they were doing what they were doing?

This was the situation facing Daniel in the new thriller from Californian-born author and scriptwriter Chris Coppel, Luck.

Daniel learns that his strange power can be used for good or for ill. As his ability grows in strength, so does Daniel's desire for acceptance and power.

How can Daniel achieve his ambitions? He eventually realises that the best vehicle for his ambitions would be the political stage of the United States of America. 

Once he moves into the murky world of politics he soon realises that he no longer needs to concern himself with influencing the few. Now he can begin to unleash his power to influence others to control the minds of the mass population.

However, can he do this without it having any determinantal impact on his own psyche? Is it a gift or is it a curse?

The story begins before Daniel's birth, with the apparent death by suicide of his parents. Why did they do it? Why did they smile at each other at the moment of their deaths? Had they had a premonition? Had a force beyond them dominated their lives to the point of ending them?

This novel is a thrilling and chilling account of what happens when power does not corrupt but utterly destroys. The author uses his skills and experiences with scriptwriting to bring the big screen onto the printed page.

Read this novel and you'll be thinking about it for a very long time.

It's published by Matador at £9.99.

Red / Black

 Red / Black is a debut novel from new author Rachel Atherton-Charvat.

It tells the story of Sarah Hughes. Sarah is a dedicated wife and mother. She loves her husband, she loves her children. But she has another, secret, passion. She is a closet gambler.

Although Sarah's life looks to be idyllic, settled to a nice, comfortable life in leafy Cheltenham with her husband of 20 plus year and her children. But there are secret issues that impacting on Sarah, she has never recovered from the loss of a child killed during a car accident when Sarah was driving the car.

The trauma is revisited upon her when her husband decides to accept a job at a British military base in Germany.

When the family has moved to Germany she finds that her depressive illness has returned. She feels isolated and the problems of the military life worsens her problems and she takes up online gambling, in secret. After all, what harm could it do?

However, as her gambling escalates to a level where it might become a problem for Sarah in more ways than one, she starts to realise that there are problems within her marriage that she had either not noticed or which had been hidden from her. 

Is her husband all that he appeared to be? Can Sarah save herself from her gambling addiction? And what other disasters will impact on her life before the end of this epic tale?

It's a finely crafted novel which examines mental health issues in an intelligent and thoughtful way, yet without losing sight of the compelling interwoven stories.

It's published by Matador at £9.99.

The Unfinished Painting

The Unfinished Painting is a novel from Mercedes Aguirrel. It begins in the era of Victorian England, when a young artist called Alexander Knight is found dead in unusual and violent circumstances.

The story then moves to the present day when Anna Carter, a student of art history who is studying at Cambridge University, finds herself having recurring dreams which link her to events that took place long ago and with an unfinished painting.

How is the past linked with the present day? How can she be linked to the aggressive and bewildered  young man called Lucas who is also troubled by recurring dreams, which also draw him to the museum and its art gallery?

But what about Julian? How was he connected to this series of strange events?

And how would resolution come to them all?

It's a moving and compelling novel which is translated from the Spanish by Richard Buxton.

I hope this is the first of many books from the author.

It is published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

Poetic Justice: Fame

In Poetic Justice: Fame readers once again meet with the ultimate anti-hero, Fran Ray's Randal Forbes.

Forbes believes that his telepathic powers are a gift. In fact he refers to it as "the gift."

But could it all be going wrong? Everything seems fine. After all he has achieved fame as a business entrepreneur and writer.

But the cost to other people has been horrendous, leaving murder victims and shattered lives in his wake.

The police are suspicious of him, but what can they prove?

His relationship with his loyal companion and devoted partner and protector Clive Hargreaves is as strong as ever and there is Forbes' wife to be, Alison Whitaker. Of course, Alinion is blissfully unaware of her fiance's gift. As is everyone else, of course. Or are they?

Because what if there was someone else with a dark power that equalled that of Forbes? Could they be able to stage a challenge to him? But why would they?

And if they did, who could possibly win such a monumental physic battle?

But can Forbes murder and trick his way to victory, again?

This is a gripping and utterly chilling continuation of the Randal Forbes story.

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

Straw Hat

Straw Hat is the second novel from the pen of Sussex-based author John David Harris. You may have already read his novel Beyond the Castle Arch.

The novel tells the story of John and Susan Grant, a married couple who are comfortable in their middle years. Having had to leave their ill daughter at the children's war of St Richard's Hospital, Chichester, they make a decision to visit a local auction room, where they both fall in love with a painting and successfully bid on it.

The painting depicts a young boy who is fishing on the River Arun which is local to the city.

But there was something that they couldn't have known. A link with a dreadful event that occurred many, many decades previously.

When they take the picture back to their farmhouse it becomes increasingly obvious to them that something is dreadfully, horribly wrong.

That their apparently beautiful picture is serving as a portal to past problems and misfortunes that are somehow dragging their .lives into a hellish nightmare.

The story also deals with the concept of a strong and burning unrequited love and how people deal with this type of situation.

It's a moving and poignant story which is very well told and gripping in its own way.

It's published by Matador at £9.99.

The Island of Animaux

Why don't you come down to the Island of Animaux? Because it's a very interesting and weird place.

Milo McGivern shows us an island that is populated by animals who can talk. Most of the animals there have no idea about the world outside their magical island.

Why has t never been found? Because it has the ability to move its location on the Earth on a daily6 basis.

Milo explores the island by way of a series of connected tales set on the island, concerning its amazing inhabitants.

There's Aubrey (who is a turkey) who has the idea to open a zoo. Does that take off? You'll find out when you read the charming stories and enjoy the illustrations by Yulia Somina.

What happens when they meet a vampire? What does Clifford the Platypus get up to?

It's a great book for children and the adults in their lives will enjoy sharing this book.

It's published by Matador at £6.99.

Ordinary Miracles

In Ordinary Miracles, a novel from Martyn Carey, we learn that even wizards need training.

Trainee Wizard Mike Frost has his magical powers suddenly and unexpectedly increased whilst he is at London's Paddington Station where a train has mysteriously crashed fatally, apparently caused by Mike's powers.

As a result he is dispatched to a special training centre in York so that he will be able to control them.

But who or what had used Mike to cause the train to crash? And was Mike correct in his belief that whoever or whatever had been responsible for causing the crash had trailed him to the training centre?

Following another fatal accident, Mike and his friends must work out what is really happening and find out who is behind the deadly incidents and to put a stop to them before they have the opportunity to kill again.

Can they succeed? Will the killings be brought to a stop? Can Mike control the powers behind the killing?

It's a stunning and powerful story very well told by an undoubted master of his craft. It grabs the read from the first paragraph right to the last. I will look out for the name of Martyn Carey in the future.

It's published by Matador at £9.99.

Fatal Revenge

The latest James L. Williams novel, Fatal Revenge, begins with the delivery of a package by a fake delivery man, with a limp.

Sergeant Vic Holland and Natalie, his wife and their two young children are now living a wonderful family life in Canada. And more children are on the way.

Now Vic works for the RCMP and becomes concerned and surprised when his father-in-law, Frank Jardine, a retired RCMP inspector, is able to shred light on a series of as yet unsolved crimes that are linked to England.

Vic goes back to his former beat to obtain the evidence required to solve the cases. But he also uncovers something far more shocking and potentially deadly. For there is a plot to mete revenge out on a number of people, including his own family back home in Canada's Pine Creek Falls.

But who is behind these attacks? And what is the apparent link between the attacks and Vic himself?

Vic must hurry back to Canada to save the lives of his beloved family and his own life, too.

Why was Frank attacked by a bear? And why was Vic's own father killed years previously?

And why was Vic shadowed by a mysterious limping woman on the flight back to Canada?

Would Vic even make it back alive?

It's an exciting and vibrant read of a crime thriller.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99