The Catchpole Curse

The Catchpole Curse is a debut children's book from author Paul Knight.

Ben and Emma are twins and they have the unique bond and communication skills that are common amongst some twins.

Their family has been subjected to The Catchpole Curse for two centuries. The impact of the curse seems about to reach its evil apogee, when the family, once wealthy and now destitute Catchpole family would be forced to sell of their last and post prized possession, their Cornish home.

Whilst exploring, the twins tumble headlong down an ancient abandoned mine shaft on the clifftops not far from their ancestral home.

They find themselves facing the shades of their ancestral twins. Ben and Emma find themselves transported back in time to the early 19th century and become entangled with a gang of ruthless Cornish pirates who force the two children to assist them in their enterprise of smuggling a secret cargo ashore.

But the cargo, they discover, is more than mere barrels of brandy.

Before the gang can enjoy the riches of their enterprise they are ambushed by a force of soldiers who are determined to put an end to their smuggling.

As a result the leader, who believes members of the Catchpole family have betrayed him, brings down a terrible curse upon the family.

But when the twins return to their present time they find themselves involved in a media frenzy.

Faced by a journalist is is only interested in digging up dirt, no matter who gets hurt, by vengeful descendants of the leader of the smugglers, a dangerous armed robber and parents who remain wildly clueless about what is really going on, Ben and Emma are hard pushed to try to make sense the recent events.

All they need to do is to reestablish the family's good name, save their ancestral home and forge a reconciliation with the family that issued the curse that has blighted their family for 200 years.

Can they do it? Children aged 11 to 14 will love to read this book to find out.

It is published by Matador at £8.99 and is available for order from most good bookshops and also online at https://goo.gl/WRfFc7.

Omnipotence

Omnipotence is a debut science fiction novel from author Geoff Gaywood.

The novel is based in our future in about a century or so. Mankind has decided that, if it is to survive, that it must seek out a new home, or homes.

An interstellar mission is established, under the leadership of Arlette Piccard, which is intended to visit a planet on a distant star.

The planet, it is believed, should be capable of sustaining human life and it is the aim of the mission to establish a colony on the planet.

However, the mission is dogged with problems from a violent onboard conspiracy to the unexpected problems of aggressive aliens.

However, Arlette and her crew of settlers are confronted with evidence that all might not be what it seems.

Are events under their control? Or are they under the control and influence of some kind of hidden power which has plans all of its own?

It's a complex and deep novel that exits on several different levels, it's an old-fashioned space adventure, a story of human vanity, of human resourcefulness and of philosophy.

The characterisations of the proponents are all as near enough to perfection as one could hope for and it's quite easy to forget the fact that this is a debut novel. It will be interesting to follow the future career of Geoff Gaywood and see where he will take his readers next.

It's published by Matador at £9.99 in paperback and is available from all good bookshops and online at https://goo.gl/WRfFc7.

A Parcel of Pigs

A Parcel of Pigs is a debut book for children from new author Andrea Prior.

It's filled with quirky poems that are specially written for children aged from 5 to 8.

The poems are accompanied by bright and colourful illustrations which are also by the author.

The poems are great for children to share with adults and they will be able to help them with their reading skills.

The poems are proper poems (meaning that they rhyme!) and are humorous and are designed to provide children and parents (and grandparents, too!) with a highly pleasing and interactive experience that they will remember as a pleasant part of their childhood.

Each poem has a set of questions that are designed to help the children remember what they learn through the poems.

The book is ideal for all children but will, in the reviewer's opinion, be of great help for parents who have taken the decision to educate their own children at home.

It is published by Matador at £8.99 (e-book version £3.99) and can be ordered online at https://goo.gl/Ltov34.

It is to be hoped that this is the first of many such books from Andrea Prior.

Of Human Telling

Of Human Telling is a novel by Tanya van Hasselt,

Jane is nasty. Or rather, Jane believes she is nasty. She bases this belief on the fact that she is jealous of Beth, who is good and nice.

And the fact that she is filled with resentment of Stephen, who is unattainable and so very noble of nature.

As a result Jane becomes deeply involved in her working life as a teacher of music to children that are described as troubled.

Her mother consoles her, although she often provokes her, as do a group of church ladies who are all well-meaning but sometimes problematic.

She is working with Terzo who is a mute girl of six. Terzo's twin was killed by a journalist called Angelo Aranzo, who Jane is both disturbed by and also intrigued by.

There's also neighbour Kate who is compelled and driven by her OCD rituals which she is able to hide from her unsuspecting husband.

Neither Kate or her husband are able to see the woods for the trees and they are unaware that their daughter is leading a secret life or that their son is facing severe problems of his own.

A schoolgirl is bullied beyond the limits of her ability to endure and so she attempts to kill herself.

It's an interesting and compelling novel that is both dramatic and also sympathetic. It's about the real problems that real people face and how they cope, or in some instances, fail to cope with, the problems of themselves and of those around them.

It is published by Matador at £7.99 and is available through good book retailers and online at https://goo.gl/Ltov34.

Down But Not Out!

In Down But Not Out! readers again meet up with former boxer Ronnie Callaghan, written by retired boxer and trainer Gary Tulley.

In the second part of the Fingerless Gloves trilogy, Ronnie once again comes face to face with his nemesis, the so-called Plastic Gangster, Paul Rossetti.

After an exile of six years, Rossetti is hungry for vengeance.

His hatred for Ronnie has not diminished one  iota, in fact it has grown and developed over time into an unhealthy and dangerous obsession.

He will destroy Ronnie Callaghan, of this he is absolutely certain.

However, he has not counted on the fact that Ronnie and his mentor Siddie Levy are equally certain that Rossetti will not succeed in his avowed aims.

For the pair have plans of their own for Rossetti.Plans that, if they come to fruition, Rossetti will not like one little bit.

This is a gritty and highly realistic novel from someone who is a true master of this genre.

It is published by Matador at £8.99 (£3.99 e-book) and is available via good book retailers and also on line here https://goo.gl/Ltov34.

A life Untold

A Life Untold is the debut novel of Dallaa Moussallati who has finally taken the plunge to write this novel.

Zara comes to in a hospital. She is utterly disorientated. Why is she even in the hospital? But even more worryingly, poor Zara is not able to remember anything about herself or of her life.

Distressingly, nobody can even see her. So what, exactly, is happening to her?

Then she meets the chief assistant of the Angel of Death, a surprisingly pleasant fellow, who explains to Zara that she is dying. But first he must take her back through her life, to see all of the deeds that she committed both the bad ones and the good ones.

She is also permitted to see the impact that she had on the people around her as she had lived her life.

Is this the end of her life or the beginning, instead? And what, exactly, will happen to her in the hereafter?

It's an interesting and thought provoking book from Matador, priced at £8.99 (£3.99 E-book) and is available from all good book retailers and on line at https://goo.gl/Ltov34.

Close Quarters

Retired solicitor and university lecturer Angus McAllister spent a lifetime living in flats in and around the city of Glasgow and built up a wealth of knowledge of the types of people who live in that environment and also of the characters -some larger than life- who inhabit that world.

It would have been a shame to allow all of that rich, eclectic material to go waste, but Angus decided to not allow that to happen, and he drew on that well of knowledge for the inspiration of his murder mystery Close Quarters.

Walter Bain was probably well-named, at least according to his neighbours. 

He was the self-appointed overseer of the tenement block at 13 Oldberry Road, Glasgow.

He had taken upon his own shoulders the mantle of the guardian of what was right and proper for all of the residents of the tenement block. Noise to be kept to a minimum, stairs kept clean at all times (please check the rota for your turn to wash the stairs) wheelie bins to be taken out and brought back at the correct times and into the correct positions, gate to be kept shut, grass cutting rota to be strictly observed and so on and on and on.

So perhaps it was not really all that much of a shock when Walter Bain was found dead in his flat, with his brains smashed in with a fireplace poker.

Who could the killer be? The police were stumped, initially, not due to the lack of a likely suspect but the fact that there was a plethora of potential suspects.All of which could have had a motive to see Walter Bain dead. 

Could it be his wife who claimed to have slept throughout the murder? Or perhaps it was one of his neighbours? Apparently even the more timid seeming neighbours had had their fill of Walter Bain and his rules for domestic living at 13 OLdberry Road. 

Had he caused a neighbour to snap over years of abusive, belittling martinet like behaviour? Or was the murderer someone else, someone from outside the hothouse environment of the tenement?

It was the unenviable task of the police detectives involved to sift through a mountain of evidence and conflicting reports to find out exactly why Walter Bain had to die and who it was who had struck the fatal blows?

The book has a light comedic undertone to it and makes a refreshing and well-written read. It's published by Matador at £8.99 and is available through all good book retailers and online at https://goo.gl/Ltov34.