Night Shelter

Former lawyer and nine book novelist Gil Hogg has brought in Night Shelter a harrowing tail of drugs, prostitution, homelessness, murder and corruption in both high and low places.

Jimmy Morton is a supervisor at the Night Shelter which is at the heart of this story. It provides some respite for the homeless people of central London.

Jimmy finds himself inadvertently involved in the murder of a local prostitute called Eva, who was found dead in a tenement in Butcher's Row,

The Night Shelter's director and a guest of his, one Arnold Catesby decided to have a bit of a boys' night out. Of the kind of boys' night out that involves a booze and drug-fuelled sex party at an adjacent pub, which, coincidentally (or not?) took place not very far from where Eva's body was discovered.

Onto the scene comes Chief Inspector Dan Hamish from Scotland Yard. He's out to look after his own back and he is perhaps a little too cynical.

He learns that Eva was also at the party, but it's his belief that Catesby and his ilk are too well protected to touch.

However, he interrogates the members of the group individually and they all reassure CI Hamish that they all have solid insurance.

What do they mean by the terms "solid" and "insurance"?

And what might happen when the policy comes due?

This is a very intelligently written and very believable gritty thriller which can be bought here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

The Reaper Calls Time

This is the final installment in the boxing-inspired crime series by former boxer and boxing trainer Gary Tulley.

Again, we meet Ronnie Callaghan, a retired professional boxer who runs a boxing gym and who also has a sideline in market trading.

He lives a pretty good, comfortable life, but all of this is put in jeopardy when an unwelcome blast from the past threatens everything.

For Paul Rossetti, a "plastic gangster" has returned and he is demanding to take over the rights to his father's criminal empire.

And he also wants to take out Ronnie to put right the wrong that he believes Ronnie did to his family.

But exactly who can Ronnie Trust? And who, for that matter, can Rossetti trust?

And who will win out in this gritty, no holds barred thriller of a novel?

It's published by Matador at £8.99 and can be purchased here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

The Legacy of Crystal Island

The Legacy of Crystal Island is a new fantasy novel from Colleen O'Flaherty-Hilder.

It's set during the next century and it follows the story of Orla, a princess who is 14 years old. Orla has undergone a special seven-year initiation process.

This has taken place on an island that is enchanted and protected by a magical crystal fortress. The rest of the world is in a bad way, it is decaying rapidly, ruined by greedy rulers who are set on amassing great wealth for themselves whilst perpetuating an aura of fear for their unwilling subjects.

Orla is a descendant of the Crystalanders, who were the Guardians of Eternal Wisdom. It is their task to ensure that balance is maintained throughout the entirety of the cosmos.

In the very early days of the story of mankind, they were able to besow the Gifts of Creation upon mankind, thus helping to transform the primal fear that is within  all humans, tempering it with Crystaland Wisdom.

But after thousands of years the primal fear beings to reassert itself, causing a degeneration within mankind.

It is the destiny of Orla to work with mankind to reawaken the Crystaland Wisdom that it deep within the body of all people, to help transform the hatred and conflict that bedevils humankind.

Orla must undergo rigorous training before she is equipped for her role.

It is an interesting novel and draws on the author's deep knowledge and understanding of physics, spirituality and emotional programming.

It is published by Matador at £8.99.

It can be purchased here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Ghostly Witnesses

Ghostly Witnesses is the debut novel from author James. L. Williams.

P.C. Vic Holland has recently undergone a personal tragedy that very nearly took his career as a police officer away from him.

His sure fire advancement to the post of sergeant was now almost certain never to happen and he was still struggling to settle in to a new role at Clapfield where, for no reason that he could easily discern, he had earned the scorn and hatred of his new sergeant, sergeant Proudfoot.

On his way home and thinking of the fish and chip supper he would treat himself to (he really should do something to get himself back into shape) he came across two criminals who had broken into a shop, set fire to it and knocked a pregnant woman and her husband to the floor, Vic gives chase to the criminal duo and he soon realises the folly of his action as they attempt to take his life.

At the last second his life is saved by a stranger who appears just in the nick of time. However, according to the police records the man who fortuitously turned up to save his life was dead and has been so for the past two years.

The result is that vic suddenly finds himself propelled into the midst of his most intriguing and bizarre case of his entire career.

It's a stunner of a detective novel, with more than a few psychic and paranormal twists and turns right up until the ending.

P C Vic Holland is a wonderfully human police officer and a welcome addition to the ranks of fictional police officers and James L. Williams is a great new writer of detective novels. Let's hope this is the first of many novels by James L. Williams featuring P C Vic Holland.

The book is published by The Book Guild and costs £8.99. You can buy here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Reflections

Reflections is an interesting memoir from Robin Beazley. Interesting because of what Robin's life intersected with and interesting because it is a totally honest memoir. Which is not always the case with autobiographical accounts!

He was born  in Greece to a Greek mother and a Canadian father in 1937. He spent the majority of his life living in Africa where he undertook several different occupations such as a geologist, an  accountant and a liquidator. 

He eventually moved to England in the year 2000.

He and his fourth wife now live in Hertfordshire and Robin is retired.

His childhood was interesting to say the least, growing up in war-torn Athens, living through the Nazi occupation, bombing raids and the like.

He was also interested in discovering the genealogy of his family and he gives candid reflections on his work life, his varied careers. Much of his time in Africa was spent in Zimbabwe.

He animatedly and with great humour describes his romantic relationships and the incidents, some amusing, some enthralling that took place during his professional life.

It's published by the Book Guild at £9.49 and can be purchased at  https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Witch Dust

In Witch Dust we meet Adam and Ophelia, who are the darlings of the entertainment world. Appearances on the Graham Norton Show, Christmas specials and magazine and newspaper features, they are known as Mr and Mrs Magic.

Their daughter Sandra is best described as "long-suffering" in fact, without Murray Silverstone to look after her, it's probably nobody would have sewn labels into her clothes, nobody would have seen her school plays and nobody would have bothered, very much, if she had never seen a dentist ever.

Page 1 contains one of the best lines I have read in a novel: "I've just killed your father."

The story relates how, when the marriage and professional partnership of Mr and Mrs Magic disappears, not in a puff of stage smoke, but with a cloud of adultery ("a chorus girl too far") Sandra suddenly finds a life she never knew she had or that she actually wanted.

From being a part of a family of three, she suddenly finds herself surrounded by a whole passel of family members she never knew existed.

There's the tottering hotel business, a documentary, a hanged maid, ghosts, psychics, journalists and then the situation slides from farce into a potentially very dark tragedy indeed.

And Sandra finds that she isn't fighting to save the income of her family, she's actually fighting for their lives. 

And what did happen to the lion that vanished in mid pounce?

This is an enjoyable and  fast-paced novel from the pen of published author and journalist Marilyn Messik.

It's published by Matador at £7.99 and can be obtained here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Chasing the Sun With Henry

Gary Brockwell's debut novel Chasing the Sun With Henry looks at how tragic circumstances can impact relationships, perhaps not always in the way one might expect.

Eddie Dungiven is a bored close up magician and children's entertainer. In fact, he is not only bored with his professional life, he is bored with his life in general, including his wife Sally.

Sally has two preoccupations in her life. Cleaning their house and flawed and useless 'get rich quick' scams.

To escape Eddie takes his Collie-Springer cross, Henry, for regular walks on a secluded beach.

Things start to change when he happens upon a beautiful woman called Cerys Sindon.

Eddie's relationship with his wife deteriorates still further as her behaviour worsens and becomes even more erratic and troublesome. In fact, it seems that Sally has not been honest with Eddie. But why?

Could he, should he, enter into a relationship with the alluring Cerys?

However, with the unexpected death of the person who Eddie relied on as a father figure in his life causes him to take stock of his life, what his needs are and the needs of others.

As Eddie seeks for answers he approaches medium Ignatius McKenzie for answers to his problems. Some of the answers are deeply personal revelations and have very important implications for not only Eddie but for Cerys, too. In fact, Cerys has a deep secret that she is trying to hide.

It's a very perceptive novel and works well as a good, adult romance story.

It's published by Matador at £8.99 and can be ordered here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.