Two Bullets in Sarajevo

The book, Two Bullets in Sarajevo, is a novelisation by historian and author D. Lawrence-Young of the tragic events that caused the world to be tipped into not one but two world wars.

It tells the story of Princip, a poor student who became wrapped up in the machinations of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist organisation who had dreams of gaining freedom from Austria.

The emperor of Austria, Franz Josef has made a determination that there is on way that he could accede to these demands.

So he decides to offer a show of the strength of the empire and dispatches his nephew, Archduke Franz Ferdinand to make an official visit to Sarajevo.

Princip and his cronies decide to murder, in cold blood, the Archduke. And his wife, who in modern parlance, would be considered collateral damage.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The book barely touches upon the Great War, itself. It asks a question that seems to be all too often overlooked in the histories of those turbulent and dreadful times.

The question it asks is: "But what about the personalities behind this bald act of political murder?"

What were the members of the Black Hand like? Did they really think the assassin through?

And what of the apparently unbending Austrian rulers, the hidebound military leaders, the Serbians like Princip and his fellow revolutionaries in the Black Hand?  What really motived these people, these Serbian nationalists?

And what about Archduke Franz Ferdinand, often dismissed as a stuffed shirt who would have himself sewn into his military uniforms, it is often claimed?

For far from being the stuffed shirt that he is often portrayed as, Two Bullets in Sarajevo portrays a different side to him, a romantic side that led him to marry, against all Austrian royal court protocols, the woman of his dreams, his beautiful fiancée, Sophie Chotek?

The book is published by Matador at £8.99 and works well as a work of fiction and as a primer for anyone who is a student of that time period and who wants to try to understand what happened then, 100 years ago, that set the world on fire.

It's available through the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop. You'll locate this just to the right hand side of this book review.

King Garnet Stories

The King Garnet Stories are tales about King Garnet told to us by author Marianne Parry and charmingly illustrated by David Hill.

The book is a collection of three stories about King Garnet, his lovely wife Queen Amanda and their good friend, a fellow King, King Grundle.

King Garnet loves all of the subjects who live within his Kingdom. Which is good, because all of his subjects love him, back!

But one morning, something isn't quite right... Something strange has happened! Because, overnight, King Garnet's legs had grown!

At first, King Garnet did not mind this one little bit! After all, who wouldn't want to be just that bit taller?

But soon poor King Garnet realised that his legs were continuing to grow, becoming longer and longer!

As the days pass by, they become so long that they were so long that they reached the bedroom door and then even went half way down the palace's grand staircase!

It soon became clear that someone had cast a spell on King Garnet to cause his legs to continue to grow longer and longer!

But who would even do such a thing to a king who was so well-loved by everyone in his kingdom?

And would his legs ever go back to their normal size?

You can also read about what happened when the King pretended he could not speak and when King Grundle was tricked into declaring war!

These stories are designed for children aged 5 to 7 and they are charmingly told and equally charmingly illustrated.

The book is idea for reading out to children and for sharing between adults and kids!

It costs £8.99 and can be purchased via the That's Books and Entertainment online bookshop. the link to which you will find to the right hand side of this book review.

High Heatherton

High Heatherton is a historic novel by Sussex author Judith Thomson.

Set in the turbulent times of the 17th Century,  it follows the fortunes of Philip Devalle, who is the younger son of an Earl.

Unfortunately for Philip he is left without a penny piece when his older brother, unfortunately declared insane and incarcerated within the tender mercies of Bedlam hospital, inherits the family estate, High Heatherton.

Philip has been serving in the army of the French and when he returns to Britain he has one aim, to obtain High Heatherton for himself.

Philip Devalle has a potentially very able ally in the form of Lord Shaftesbury.  His Lordship is  man of many and varied talents, including the ability to create stratagems and craft plots so his promises to Philip Devalle to use his influences with the law courts to help him regain  High Heatherton were not beyond the boundaries of possibility.

But there's a rather large price attached to the help proffered by Lord Shaftsbury. For he demands, in return, that Philip Devalle assists him in a plot to place the illegitimate son of King Charles, the Duke of Monmouth, on the throne. For Shaftesbury is convinced that he could easily manipulate him, once he were placed on the throne of England.

But Philip Devalle has enemies in England, enemies who mean him harm. So he must treat them with caution and to keep as far away from them as he can. Especially as he is aware that the plot he is engaged in is treason. And the penalty for treason was an ignominious death by being hung, drawn and quartered.

He realises, in his attempts to regain what he has lost, to his mind, unfairly, that he has managed to get himself very deeply into a plot that could cost him his life.

But could he extricate himself from the situation and get what he prized?

The book is based on the real and tumultuous events of the Monmouth rebellion and is published by Matador at £9.99 and is an ideal real for lovers of historic fiction.

You can order it now at the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, which you will find to the right-hand side of this book review.

Pariah

Pariah is a début novel from R. S. Bristowe, an author from the Eastern county of Leicestershire.

It tells the story of Eddie Boyle. Life has some amusing little tricks it plays upon us, from time-to-time.

In Eddie's case the trick is that by the time he is in line to receive it, the title Tenth Marquess of Exwick as without any value or worth at all! Or so Eddie is led to believe.

But Eddie soon receives a phone call from a vicar in Cambridgeshire. It concerns a mysterious and ancient treasure, rumoured to be "priceless" of the Fen Tigers.

Eddie decides to pay a visit to this mysterious clergyman and he arrives in the village of Herne Fen.

Eddie picks up on the fact that something is bothering the locals, worrying them, perhaps? Because their behaviour is more than a little disconcerting, to Eddie's way of thinking.

But then, and before Eddie has the chance to learn more about the village of Herne Fen, the vicar vanishes.

This is treated by the local police as a simple missing person enquiry (even though the disappearance of a Church of England clergyman is hardly a run-of-the-mill experience) but soon it becomes a murder enquiry.

But there's something happening, something that is very unpleasant as the case quickly widens to cover not only a recent spate of murders but also to a number of much older murders.

Soon Eddie Boyle is on the trail of the search of the priceless and ancient treasure of the Fen Tigers. And the trail is littered with mutilated corpses and sheer terror.

Will Eddie reach the end of the trail and find the ancient treasure? Or will he reach the end of the trail, another victim of the ruthless killers who are stalking the ancient fenlands of Eastern England?

This book is published by Matador at £8.99 and is available from the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, just to the right of this review.

La Petite Mort

La Petite Mort is a novel by Eli Wilde.But it is not actually a novel. It is far, far more than that.

It tell the story of a talented young poet called Rufus Hobster.

Well, actually, that's not entirely truthful. That bit about Rufus Hobster being a talented young poet.

For not only is Rufus Hobster a talented poet, he is also a vampire, so the state of being youthful or otherwise is really of no significance as far as he is concerned.

Through La Petite Mort Rufus tells the story of his early life when first he was introduced into vampirism.

Yet this is not a standard book about a poet (who just happens to be a vampire) it is written by the eminently talented Eli Wilde who wrote poetry in the voice of Rufus Hobster throughout this truly remarkable book.

These Gothic poems are probably some of the most compelling lines of modern poetry that I have ever read. Anywhere, at any time.

They are moving, frightening, bewildering, intoxicating, dream-laden, of another world of another time, from a different realm where a dog lies weeping for its slain master as a vampire feasts on his blood, of death too early, of death delayed.

It is published by Matador at £7.99 and is available for purchase at the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, a little to the right of this book review.

You should buy this book. But if you do, be prepared to carry these poems with you in your heart for a little while to come...

And do please check the bookshop for other collections of poetry by Eli Wilde.

The Adventures of Rodney Fluffychops

The Adventures of Rodney Fluffychops tells the amazing and utterly charming story of Rodney Fluffychops and his new best mate, Spike.

Rodney Fluffychops is a delightful and incredibly nosy cat and Spike is a hedgehog who loves nothing better than going out and picking up some litter to make his home more tidy.

Together the two friends have some absolutely wonderful adventures.

The book is beautifully illustrated -there's even a map that shows you all of the big world that Rodney lives in!- and illustrations of not only Rodney and Spike, and of their friends the rabbits who live in the Garden Centre that's not far from Rodney's home.

The book is designed to be read to and by children aged 3 to 5 years of age and their parents, grandparents and their older siblings.

And Rodney is a real cat, who does really live with Mr and Mrs C in the village, not far from the Garden Centre.

This book is written by Mr C, aka Mr F. Compton and illustrated by artist Rianna "Dolly" Aguilar.

It's published by Matador at £6.99 and is available at the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop which is, as ever, just a little to the right of this book review.

I can't recommend this charming book enough.

Get a Life

Get a Life is the fourth novel by author Don Snuggs.

There's a purpose behind the novel, it is intended to assist the reader to begin to question ingrained, routine ways of thinking.

It tells the story of Fiona.

Fiona is the daughter of a prosperous businessman and his wife.

Fiona was brought up during and after the beginning of the Second World War, when, for her, life was increasingly good as her family became more and more prosperous.

Her faith and her beliefs were inculcated within her by her parents and her mentors. But even so, Fiona had a desire and a need to question what it was that she was being taught.

Whilst still in her teenage years, a series of terrible disasters befell our heroine.

Her boyfriend, who she loved very much, died in an accident.

And then she was kidnapped by a criminal gang and held hostage. During her illegal incarceration she was raped and became pregnant as a result.

She struggles with conflicting emotions and ideas, based on what she had been taught whilst growing up.

Should she proceed with the pregnancy or not? She eventually decides to go through with the pregnancy, but that she should put the child up for adoption, which she does.

Throughout the following years she continues with her life as best she can. She attends university where she majors in business studies.

Her father too soon and Fiona takes the decision to turn her considerable talents to joining the family business.

She marries and is able to make a fresh start. Only for her oldest son from this marriage to decide to indulge in a notorious and high-profile affair with a woman who is older than he is.

This results in heartache and misery all round and brings with it the potential for disaster not only for her son but also for the entire family.

What should Fiona do? Gather up the determination to re-start her life all over again?

The book is intended to be an uplifting novel strength and success despite adversity and heartbreak along the way.

It is published by Matador in paperback at £9.99 and can be purchased from the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, on the right hand side of this review.