Ozzy & Izzy The Ospreys

Ozzy & Izzy The Ospreys is a wonderful book that is handsomely illustrated and, as one might suspect from the title, tells the compelling story of two Ospreys, Ozzy & Izzy.

Written by Paul Philip Gaunt and illustrated by Matija Sandric, it tells the story of how Ozzy migrates between Senegal on Africa's west coast and Rutland in the English Midlands.

It was in Rutland that Ozzy met Izzy.

It's the wonderful story of their 6,000 mile courtship, where they delight visitors to Rutland Water with their displays of aerial prowess and fishing abilities as they work hard to keep their growing family fed as they prepare their children for their return ship to far off Senegal.

It's an incredibly moving and very well told story and is aimed at children and young adults aged between 7 to 13, though I can see many older people and parents equally enjoying this charming book.

It's published by The Book Guild at £6.99.

The Perils of a Literary Life

The Perils of a Literary Life is a novel from the pen of Jennifer Weeks.

What happens when your grip on reality begins to falter?

It's a romantic tale set amongst the Yorkshire Dales, yet it also moves into thriller territory, too.

Alice is tired with being kept under the influence of her twin sister, who is just a shade too possessive for Alive's liking.

So Alice moves to the Dales where she can live a perfect life in a beautiful little cottage while she works as a teacher.

She meets William, the nephew of her ageing neighbour. William is an actor and a bit of a dish, so Alice quickly falls for his charming ways.

Alice soon realises that she is totally in love with William. They are, she thinks, perfect for each other. They are, in fact, soul mates.

However, she finds something out about William. She hears a furious row between William and his uncle, her elderly neighbour, concerning the heavy debts that William has amassed due to his gambling addiction.

Not long after the uncle falls to his death on the crags not far from the cottage. She is immediately suspicious of William. Did his uncle fall, or did William push him to his death?

And when William's aunt Annie becomes ill, Alice is convinced that William has poisoned her to shut her up about his uncle's murder. Alice begins to fear that his next victim will be her, Alice!

But exactly how far from reality might Alice have strayed? Can she believe anything, any more? Can she believe herself?

This is a thought provoking novel which raises some very interesting points about the perils of a literary life.

It is published by Matador at £8.99.

The Woman With The Red Hair

The Woman With The Red Hair is a debut novel from Clive Tuckett.

Harry Frobisher, along with many other young men, had suffered badly during the Great War. He was traumatised and left sightless.

He returns to his family's ancestral home on Bodmin Moor. He feels that he needs to seek reconciliation with William, his brother, after the murder of their parents.

But there has been a second murder on the moors. And not only that, but there have been reported sightings of the apparition of a woman with red hair out on the moors.

Some locals are convinced that is Morag Donaldson, formerly the secretary of Lord and Lady Frobisher, Harry's parents.

After being found guilty of the murders, Morag had been committed to an insane asylum.

The local police find themselves baffled by the case and so it falls to Inspector Edwards of Scotland Yard to come from London to take over the investigation.

His immediate conclusion? That the case was far more complex than the local police had assumed and that the whole investigation needed to be reopened in order for him to establish who had committed the murder and what their motive might have been.

This is an evocative and emotionally charged piece of detective fiction. The irst of many such novels from Clive, it is to be hoped.

It is published by The Book Guild at £9.99.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor is a novel by Mo McDonald.

Way back in the 1980s, Jack Kelly was famous as both as a successful novelist and a celebrity broadcaster.

He had the lifestyle to match, an army of fans and the ability to do, pretty much, whatever he wanted, when he wanted. Life was good.

Now, moving forward to today, his secretary gives him an urgent call. She is warning Jack that a story on social media concerning Jack has gone viral.

It brings to light details of a relationship he had with a woman called Marian Davies, 30 years previously.

Why this? Why now? Especially at a time when Jack is ready for a very important career move, he doesn't want or need even a hint of scandal.

He takes the time to examine his life of the last three decades, looking back to a time that was pre-social media, the last time he had seen Marian, during the time when a celebrity could fairly easy control the narrative of their public persona.

But the question remained: Where had Marian been all these years? And why had she reappeared?

And would there be a price for Jack to pay all these years later?

It's a debut novel and hopefully the first of many novels from Mo.

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

An Urgent Murder

An Urgent Murder is a thrilling detective  novel form Alex Winchester.

A murder had to be performed. And urgently! Should the victim be made to suffer? Perhaps.

And if the blame could be placed on an innocent person? So what?

A murder is undertaken in a home. When the police find the murder weapon (a jar of poison apparently with the fingerprints of the killer on it, the police declare that the case is closed. The nurse (whose fingerprints were those on the bottle) does not admit to the murder, but then she doesn't actually deny it, either.

However, there's one detective who isn't quite so certain about her guilt.

John has had a long and chequered career as a Met detective. His attitude to policing is perhaps a little flexible, but he is surprised when he is teamed up with Alison who is a young officer from the Sussex Police force, who does it all by the book.

There are many twists and turns in this fast paced thriller. Who was the murder victim, really? Why did he have to die?

Can Alison trust John? Can they trust their own police force, or, as they suspect, is there a mole within their organisation feeding information back to a shadowy crime baron?

Can they use their skills and experiences as police detectives to bring the killer to Justice?

And will the killings stop?

Published by Matador at £9.99, this is a must read for all thriller and detective fiction fans.

The Arnolfini Connection

The Arnolfini Connection is a novel from Brenda Turner.

It is a compelling historical novel from the pen of Brenda Turner.

Vilnius is an important city, dear to the people of Lithuania, the capital of which it is.

However, in the first part of the 20th century the city was populated almost completely by non-Lithuanians.

Not surprisingly Lithuanians were very unhappy about this situation and would go to almost any lengths to address this problem. Even if this meant they had to seek the help of outside powers.

Amidst this tense situation a clandestine love affair between two youngsters from two opposing families brought about a reprehensible assault.

Circumstances resulted in their separation between London and Vilnius. they find that circumstances totally outside their control shatter their lives even further, with the advent of the Second World War.

However, the young lovers are linked by a joint passion for a Renaissance painting from the 15th century.

Can this be the key to getting them back together?

The story is very well-written and draws on the family links of Brenda Turner to Vilnius.

It is published by The Book Guild and costs £8.99.

When the Ice Dog Comes

When the Ice Dog Comes is a new book from author P K Bell.

It tells the story of Westie Lady Corrie-Rex Arabella Jayne, in the sequel to Letters to Daddy.

Granpappy has sent a message in the form of the Ice Dog. And so our Westie heroine. She must  discover what fate had befallen her long lost Mammy and Pappy, stolen by dog kidnappers, and never heard from again.

She decides to leave home, trusting the safety of her humoan family to Max the Muckhart Warrior.

But Max is a Westie who is capable - of getting everyone into trouble!

During a family holiday in Scotland he finds the Loch Ness Monster (or does he?) Can Daddy be counted to come to the rescue?

This is a modern, action-packed adventure for children and adults of all ages (it's ideal to read together) and it is charmingly illustrated throughout by Paula Jasper-Osbourne. And the illustrations are specially designed so that you can colour them in!

It's published by Matador at £5.99.