The Seventh Train

The Seventh Train is the second novel from author Jackie Carreira.

It's a novelisation of her successful and award-winning play of the same name.

Elizabeth has decided to organise a railway trip . The fact that a passenger had decided to hurl themselves in front of a train, thus delaying Elizabeth's journey and of all other travellers that February Day, was perhaps a sign of things to come.

She was travelling alone. But unknown to her she was not travelling alone, or rather not as alone as she thought she was.

There was the woman selling coffee in the buffet who just loved to pigeonhole her customers, the found book that Elizabeth was trying to read, the train driver who had driven the train that a rather polite young man had stepped in front of, the young man had died, instantly. His problems were over, but the problems of the train driver were only just beginning.

On her journey she meets a wide variety of people, some who seem to be harmless, some who appear to be utterly barking mad. But as any seasoned rail traveller can tell you, it's not always easy to tell them apart and some of the apparently harmless ones are really troublesome.

And there are some people who seem intent on committing the ultimate rail travelling sin, trying to make other passengers think.

And what, exactly, is a seventh trainer? Is Elizabeth one of these? Does she want to be? Or not?

It's a quirky novel that contains humour, yet also some genuine pathos, too.

But who, exactly, was ms Mabel Heep?

It's published by Matador at £8.99. Maybe you should take it on your next train journey?

Me? I Kill People

Me? I Kill People is a debut crime novel from author Alan Jacobs.

Giles Penshurt is a wealthy man. However, Giles has obtained his wealth in a somewhat unconventional way. He obtained his wealth by killing people for money.

An apparently harmless computer nerd Giles had become a contract killer almost by accident. He found that he had an aptitude for murder but tried to ensure that he only ever killed people who deserved to die.

Although Giles is very careful the police realise that there is a contract killer on the lose and they are making every effort to find out who the killer is and to trap him and arrest him. Something that Giles just does want to happen to him for obvious reasons.

There's one particular police officer, Hazel Frazer, who is hot on his trail.

Matters become complicated when Hazel discovers his identity, but falls in love with him.

Giles manages to elude the police and flees to Brazil to hopefully avoid extradition.

Will Hazel's love for Giles prove her undoing? Will she be able to perform her duty in bringing Giles to justice or will she falter due to the call of her heart?

Or will Giles' life as a computer nerd and contract killer all come crashing down around his unprotected head?

This is a complex yet highly enjoyable thriller.

It's priced at a very reasonable £7.99 and is published by Matador. It'll be packed in many suitcases this summer, I think.

Flames of Obscurity

Flames of Obscurity is a fantasy thriller written by Elliot Spencer. It's set somewhere that is very like modern day Britain, but not quite.

Edward Sherborne has recently been elected as the Prime Minister of Anglony. 

His chief armed forces officer reveals to the new Prime Minister that all is not well in Anglony, that there is a mysterious and secretive sect that goes by the name of The Chancery. And he points out that he, not the Prime Minister, is the person who wields the power.

And, perhaps, worse, there are three traitors within the establishment who are known as the Rose, The Bird and The Dragon.

The Chancery have taken a risky decision, they have arranged the kidnapping of his young daughter as a way to attempt to force him to abide by their agenda. Which calls upon him to murder three people that The Chancery have decreed as traitors.

Prime Minister Sherborne has to come up with a solution. Can he destroy these enemies of the state and thus make sure his daughter is released safe and unharmed?

But then in a shocking turn of events he quickly learns of the true identity of the traitor known as The Rose which makes his question all of his beliefs.

The Prime Minister is desperate to save the life of his daughter. But who can he trust? His wife? His friend, Andrew MacPherson? Jane Banks, his Secretary of State? 

The Prime Minister also wants revenge against those responsible for kidnapping his daughter. But can he pull it off? And if so, how?

 

Bopping in Ballymalloy

Bopping in Ballymalloy is the third novel from Irish author, Dermod Judge.

The story is set the Ireland of the 1950s. And two people accidentally met up. Curly, who was fleeing hid failed career as a dancer in New York and Mary who is attempting to escape from the crushing boredom of Ballymalloy in the far West of Ireland.

Curly has a flashy car, an amazing collection of fantastic swing music and his moves on the dance floor really made an impact on Mary. In short, she is seduced by him.

In 1950s Ireland this situation cannot go unnoticed and Mary suffers considerable shame. In an attempt to ameliorate this situation he has to arrange for her to get the only thing that she really wants, entry into the harsh and unforgiving world of the professional dancer. A world he thought he'd fled from.

Curly works hard to train her as a jazz dancer and he makes sure she is entered into a dance competition that offers her an escape route from Ballymalloy, a ticket out of there!

But how does it work out for these two people? Because there are some people who are not very pleased with the idea of jazz making inroads into the island of Ireland.

But there are some people who think otherwise.

This book is a very well written story, set during a time when things were far simpler when American culture, including music, really did rule the world. And when as Buick in the tight lanes of Ireland was a sight to behold.

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

The Boy From Rod Alley

The Boy From Rod Alley is a account of a childhood of the 1930s.

Author John Loveday was born in 1926. And this is his story.

It's not long since the Great War (which had yet to be renamed as World War 1) and former soldiers are seen riding about on their ex-army bikes, there are many women widowed by the terrible conflict and there are men who, although they returned physically from the Trenches had left something of their psyche behind them. Shell-shocked, they were called.

We learn that a blue bag in a bath of water was the best treatment for a boy who had been stung all over by a swarm of furious wasps, read about a female classmate called Edith who had St Vitus' Dance, plus she who would insist on chewing on her little blackboard until it had all but disappeared and was eventually replaced by the teacher.

There was Mrs Hart who had problems with odoriferous pupils, but Mrs Hart was good for telling her pupils history stories with a local, Norfolk, connection. John remembers her specially as she didn't read these stories from books but recounted them from memory.

He tells us of his family, how angry his father was when the Post Office decided to change the name of their lane from Rod Alley to the "posher" Post Office Terrace. But of course, the residents knew that it was still really called Rod Alley.

The family ere quite well off, as they owned and operated and agricultural engineering workshop and a foundry.

He tells of the local pool, both loved and feared, of the characters of the village, of the houses great and small where the people that he knew lived out their lives.

It's a charming and very well written book. There are no illustrations apart from a charming painting executed by the author on the cover.

The book is published by Matador at £9.99.

A Piddle of Puppies

A Piddle of Puppies You'll be entering an absolutely amazing world of animal rhymes with this second illustrated children's book from Andrea Prior. (You'll find the link to the review of Andrea's previous book, A Parcel of Pigs, here https://thatsbooks.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-parcel-of-pigs.html)

Children aged 5 to 9 (and their adults too, so, please don't be shy!) will absolutely adore this book.

There are odd, interesting and unusual names.

What, exactly would be a mischief of mice? Could you ever see a crossing of zebras? (Well, you can if you read this book!)

What would a shiver of sharks do, let alone look like?

And how could you cope with a piddle of puppies?

The rhymes are equally as good in this book as they were in the previous book and it will be a great book for shared reading.

However, there's a serious side to these books, too. They are designed to help children develop their reasoning skills, their spelling, pronunciation and memory recall, too.

At £8.99 you really cannot afford to miss buying this book.

It's published by Matador.

Princess Areeena and the Crystal Fairies

Princess Areeena and the Crystal Fairies is a book for children and their families that is probably one of the most important books of its kind in recent years. It's aimed at readers aged between 5 to 7.

It's Princess Arebeena's birthday and she is given the task of completing a treasure hunt.

Isabella, her best friend, is accompanying her as they set out on an exciting and thrilling adventure to locate hie missing tiara.

But will she find other things along the journey, too? And if she does, what will they be?

The book is superbly written and is very well illustrated and tells a thrilling tale that all children (and their adults!) will like.

However, there's a serious point to this book, as it is designed to help children have a positive attitude to life and also toward other people and creatures, too.

And shows them that sometimes you just have to be as brave as you can and face up to dangers and difficult situations.Including a lady dragon with purple eye shadow and lipstick!

The book is the first in a new series of books about the Crystal Fairies and it is published by Matador at £6.99. It's ideal for shared reading by parents, grandparents and other assorted adult relatives.