Murder in the Fourth Round

As a weapon of murder, golf clubs are not an entirely unknown choice. But  a sharpened wooden golf tee, coated with a rare but extremely deadly native Colombian toxin? That has to be a first.

And this is the startling opening premise of the novel "Murder in the Fourth Round" by retired High Court judge Ian Simpson who, upon retirement, moved from judging murder cases to writing about murder cases as a successful crime novelist.

"Before Ballesteros signed his winning score card he was dead" has to be one of the most significant lines in the history of murder novels through the ages.

But who was dead? Tony Spencer.

Who would want him dead and dead in such an extravagant and gaudy fashion?

The police and the courts knew. Or rather, they thought they did. After all, didn't the try and jail the killer, Peter Waldron, a partner of solicitor Tony Spencer in the firm L & P Campbell, Solicitors?

But now, after 31 years, Waldron, dying of pancreatic cancer, is to be released on compassionate grounds.

But then, after the murder of a political activist, DI Flick Fortune begins an investigation which has a group of solicitors as the target. The solicitors had dubbed themselves "The Jolly Boys" and as well as focussing on them,  the investigation is taking a fresh look at the murder of Tony Spencer back in 1984.

She is assisted by DS Baggo (Bagawath) Chandavarkar.

However, trouble -of sorts- comes their way with the arrival of a nemesis from her past, former DI Noel Osborne (formerly of the Met and otherwise described as Inspector No) who has been hired to overturn the conviction of Peter Waldron.

He manages to stir the pot more than a little and to the chagrin of some and the interest of others, the result is that decades-hidden crimes are brought out into the light and suddenly all is not as it seems and events suddenly gather pace as things seem to slip out of control.

So, who did murder Tony Spencer, if it wasn't his fellow solicitor, Peter Waldron?

And why, exactly, did someone -with access to the deadly toxin Batrachotoxin- decide that Tony Spencer deserved death in such a dramatic and theatrical fashion?

This is a real page turner of a crime thriller. I am pleased that Ian Simpson has been brought to my attention. I'll look out for his name in future.

The book is published by Matador at £7.99 and is out now. You can buy it at the That's Books and Entertainments bookshop which you will find here:-https://goo.gl/Ltov34.

It's book number 4 in the Flick and Baggo murder mystery series.

The Hotel Life of Brian

Although published by The Book Guild Publishing as a collection of short stories, Brian Wilson's new book "The Hotel Life of Brian" is a gathering together of a series of events that actually took place during his hotel industry career.

He joined the hotel industry back in 1964, after obtaining a range of suitable qualifications from college.

Over the next 25 years he worked in a variety of positions in a variety of establishments.

Eventually he was promoted to the head heights of hotel management where he was the manager of a large hotel with 170 bedrooms and the facilities to cater for 900 people.

After this Brian decided to escape from the world of corporate hotels, deciding, instead, to run his own somewhat smaller country inn.

He then moved back to the city where he owned and operated a 15 bedroom hotel in the heart of the city. A hotel he ran successfully for three years.

From the Oxford Brookes University he gained membership of the prestigious Institute of Hospitality.

He then spent the remaining years of his career working in academia, spending seven years lecturing on hotel industry management, with the last 13 years as a College Senior Manager.

Read the book and learn about what it takes to thrive, or even just survive, in the hotel and catering industry.

Read about the perils of a badly placed fusebox, why an apron ended up covered with a pound of butter, the perils of cooking steaks with coke, what happens when a colleague miscalculates the time it would take to hard boil an egg, apparently 40 hours was not the answer he should have got, why an office looked like it had been ransacked, when it hadn't been, how a complicated order from a party from the BBC caused a slip-up and how a group of very audacious thieves managed to escape with a load of... well, I don't want to give too much away, so suffice to say that you will find that sad and sorrowful tale toward the latter portion of the book.

The book is also well-illustrated with a collection of highly amusing cartoons. And all for a snip at just £8.99.

It's available from 28th May and can be pre-ordered at our own bookshop, which you will find here https://goo.gl/tn8Kiq.

Of Human Telling

Of Human Telling is the latest novel from Tanya van Hasselt.

It puts under the microscope several homes, several affluent outwardly successful  homes,  where the family members within them, parents and children, can become strangers.

This is the second novel about Wharton, the first being All Desires Known.

Wharton is a typical English town, famed for its public school and the fact that it attracts people hungering for the middle class values that the town projects.

However, all might not be what it seems. Families within Wharton have their own, hidden problems, desires and fears.

Hidden homosexuality, a mother who is willing to risk everything, her marriage and the future happiness of her own children, people with dark secrets that they feel unable to reveal to anyone, a small boy who can't or won't speak.

There is also a hidden problem of severe bullying. But when a girl who is a victim of such bullying attempts to kill herself, everyone in Wharton is forced to take stock of who they are and what they have become and to explore the possibility that perhaps even they might bear some responsibility for the sad plight that the girl had found herself in.

This is an extremely well-written and utterly compelling and beguiling novel.

It is published by Matador at £7.99 and can be bought at the That's Books Bookshop https://goo.gl/Ltov34.

The Road to East India

The Road to East India, a Diary of a Journey of a Lifetime, is a book by Devika A. Rosamund.

It was written during Devika's journey, alone, in 1976, when she was just 22 years of age.

Her journey began in England when she left home and arrived in Amsterdam in 1975. She worked hard for several months and saved her money for the beginning of her epic solo journey.

She boarded the once famed "Magic Bus" to Iran, continuing her journey through Afghanistan and Pakistan until she arrived at her destination, India.

Once in India she travelled extensively.

Devika points out that the journey she took would be utterly impossible today due to the changes that have taken place in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The diary is a very well-written, intelligent and witty account of her travels.

It contains some interesting and illuminating comments on Mother Teresa, how she smuggled cloves into Sri Lanka to make some money, a song that she wrote about Sri Lanka, how she found an Ashram where she was able to learn about meditation at the feet of a spiritual master.

She reports that she met much kindness on her journey and made friends wherever she travelled.

Although the book is well worth buying its sparse images, plus a lack of any colour images is somewhat puzzling.

The book is published by Matador at £7.99 and can be bought at the That's Books bookshop at https://goo.gl/Ltov34.

The Keeper of Portals

The Keeper of Portals is a new fantasy novel that uses the concept of a time-slip to provide a highly entertaining story from author V S Nelson.

Martin and his mother are mourning the death of Martin's father and they move inot a gigantic stately home.

Within this stately home they have an encounter with a being who is described as the Keeper of Portals.

He claims that he is the keeper of every portal throughout the entire world. With the exception of one portal, a doorway at the end of Martin's bedroom. A doorway that has been sealed shut for 400 years.

However, when Martin awakes on one subsequent morning he discovers that the door has mysteriously become open and that the Keeper of Portals has vanished.

Marin decides that he will walk through the doorway and immediately meets up with Isabel who is a maid of the house, 400 years ago in the past!

The discover that everything on earth is under the control of a keeper.

They find two keepers who were imprisoned and they find that they now have the ability to travel between different doorways and change their time.

They inadvertently become involved in a fight between two very powerful adversaries, the Keeper of Questions and the master of the house.

But when things from the 21st century begin to intrude into the 17th century, they realise that something has gone wrong with time. And they must confront the Keeper of Questions. Can they defy the Keeper of Questions? Or, like everyone else, will they become prey to his control?

The book takes the reader headfirst into an exciting fantasy world that continues at a breakneck pace right through to the stunning conclusion.

It is published by Matador at £7.99 and although it is aimed at teenage fantasy fans, I feel it is probably going to be a bit of a hit with adults, too.

You can buy it at the That's Books bookshop, here https://goo.gl/Ltov34.

Samson the Super Dog

Samson the Super Dog, Dogs on Duty, is a remarkable book by life saving expert and author Sarah E. Webster, who is also responsible for the colourful and utterly enchanting illustrations.

It tells the story of Samson who learns all there is to know about water safety. In fact he learns so much that he became a canine lifeguard.

He worked as a lifeguard. keeping a watchful, careful eye on the tourists who visited the Cornish resort where he lived and worked.

But one day the area is beset with a terrible, raging storm. Someone is in trouble! Can Samson save the day? Can he save the day?

Read it and find out!

This book is the first in a new series of stories about "Dogs on Duty" that is published by The Book Guild.

It is aimed at Children and is a great book to help teach children about beach and water safety and costs £7.99. It is available to purchase at the That's Books Bookshop at https://goo.gl/Ltov34.

Incidentally the character of Samson is based on a real canine rescue hero call Bilbo, who is a genuine Cornish lifeguard dog. You can learn more about Bilbo at www.bilbosays.com.

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