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Sunday 20 September 2015

Who Will Be Your Judge

Who Will Be Your Judge is a new novel by Edie Watney Judd.

Who Will Be Your Judge tells the powerful and tragic stories of two brothers.

It begins in the midst of World War Two and continues down through time to 1960s gangland London.

It is a historical mystery thriller that traces the lives of Billy and Richard, of how they were evacuated from London during the Blitz.

What should have been shelter from the Nazi bombs in the care of the House of Nazareth saw them under the "care" of some vicious nuns.

Desperate to leave their violent and tyrannical 'prison'  they make their way back to their London home.

But the war delivers them a cruel blow when it takes the lives of both of their parents.

They are again taken into the care of Barnardo's until fate deals them another savage blow and they are split apart again, this time by adoption.

Richard is taken into a family that rigorously enforces strict Victorian-style rules, Billy goes to live with a couple who live in the heart of the East End of London. They are poor and, until they adopted Billy, without children.

Billy has a constant dream, to become a professional boxer, yet this, too, is taken away from him when he develops epilepsy, which bars him from the sport that he loved.

He becomes bitter and slides into a life of crime, beginning to become involved in smash and grab raids as a way to escape the poverty that has dogged him all his life.

After working his way up through the ranks, Billy eventually becomes the owner of a club in the West End.

Richard, who became a priest, attempts to reason with his brother to attempt to get him to leave his life of crime.

But suddenly a letter is found. A letter that contains an old secret that has the power to change everything not only for Billy but for Richard, too.

The book is published on 28 September 28 by Matador at £14.99 and will make a super present.

It is available from the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop on the righthand side of the site.

Agincourt 1415

Agincourt 1415 is a novel that tells the story of the famed battle of Agincourt.

It tells it in the format of a graphic novel.

The author is Will Gill and the artist is Graeme Howard.

The historical consultant is Anne Curry.

The book tells, in accurate detail, the true story of Agincourt, of how a simple mistake by the leaders of the French forces put the French at a distinct disadvantage even before the battle had begun.

How the deadly and accurate bow work of the English and Welsh archers decimated the flower of the French Knightly classes in their dozens.

It a;sp tells how treachery against the chivalric values of the Medieval times tainted, for some people, the victory of King Henry V over his French rival.

Will Gill was already knowledgeable about  the battle of Agincourt, but Will and Graeme undertook meticulous research under the expert guidance of Professor Anne Curry, who is the world's leading expert on the battle of Agincourt which makes this book highly accurate.

Professor Curry has written the introduction to the book.

It costs £9.99 and will be available well before Christmas, as it is due to be published by Troubador on 25 October.

This book is a "must buy" present and, in my opinion, at least three copies should be in every school and college library.

It will be available via the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop which is on the righthand side of the site.

An Eye for a Tooth and a Limb for an Eye

An Eye for a Tooth and a Limb for an Eye is the latest crime novel by Eleanor Berry.

It is a taut psychological thriller that explores what happens when someone, apparently a perfectly ordinary, normal someone, is suddenly pushed beyond their limits.

Rhoda Buckleshott is a bright and fashionable young English teacher at a private school based in London's West End.

The unloveable and vile headmistress, Mrs Beddington, has, for reasons of reverse snobbery and innate nastiness, has decided to sack Rhoda without any warning.

Rhoda decides that she will have her revenge on Miss Beddington and so she launches a campaign of revenge on Mrs Beddington, swearing to destroy her.

It begins in a fairly minor way, but it progresses and the acts of revenge against Mrs Beddington become harsher, more cruel and more outrageously outlandish with every step.

Rhoda's need for revenge against Mrs Beddington becomes an  all consuming mania. Things begin to spiral out of control, and as a result of the impact of her growing reign of terror, fault lines begin to develop in the psyche of Rhoda.

Is she going mad?

When will the revenge cease? Or will it?

This book is a godsends for those who enjoy books that are seriously written, yet with the black humour of the author shining through on just about every page.

An entertaining book by a well-established author it costs £9.99 and is available from www.bookguild.co.uk.

It si available from the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop on the righthand side of this site.


Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer


Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer is a new book for children by John Powell.

It's a tough life. Well, it is if you live in a world that is beset by a wide variety of various monsters who are all intent on harrasing the populous and frightening the livestock of the farms.

So, in order to deal with these monsters, you would need a hero, yes?

You need someone who could be made Patron Saint and Minister for the Environment. So, step forward, George.

Unfortunately, George is vertically challenged, poor and the owner of some rusting armour.

However, there is one ting that is very much in George's favour. Whist touring the tyrol one year he discovered a cake which is unlike any other cake in the world. For the recipe to which this cake is made tames monsters.

For the first time in his previously less-than-appealing life, George us wanted and welcomed by everyone, to the extent that he is declared a government minister by King Freddie and his Prime Minister, Merlin

Even though George becomes famous throughout the land, he is still pretty poorly off in financial terms.

But he does succeed in repelling a Scottish invasion, improving relations with France, launching the world's first trades union and becoming involved in the game of cricket.

Although this book is aimed at children 7 and up, the biting social satire and acidic with will please adults of all ages, too!

It is published by www.bookguild.co.uk at £9.;99 and will be an excellent Christmas gift.

It is available from the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop to the right of this site.

The Corruption of Chastity

The Corruption of Chastity is a novel by Frank Westworth and is the second of his Killing Sisters series of novels.

This is an extraordinary novel. Murder and treachery in the desert, a handsome stranger, who might be more than he seems, hooks up with a woman who is definitely more than she seems.

But the question is, what on earthy could happen when a betrayed and ultra hard female contract killer meets up with the one and only J J Stoner, underworld investigator?

This novel is Frank Wentworth at his hardest hitting and best.

It cost £10.99 from www.bookguild.co.uk.

Fans of thriller fiction will welcome this in their Christmas stocking and it's available via the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, to the right of the site.




Marriage, a journey and a Dog

Marriage, a journey and a Dog is a highly entertaining romantic novel by Hampshire author Bremda H. Sedgwick.

Gerry, the husband to Natalie, loves all things sporty.

Gerry is on a cycling tour of France when he meets with an unfortunate, but non-fatal, accident.

Being the good wife that she is, Natalie leaves her ordinary home in the sleepy market town in southern England to collect her wounded husband.

However, all does not go well. In her elderly Fiat, and with Spike (her canine companion)  she heads for France. But once she crosses the English Channel, she realises that she is stumped by her inability to read maps and she becomes, hopelessly, lost.

She finds herself in Paris and, somehow, her inner self is re-awakened. She finds herself looking at the Venus de Milo statue and she wonders if the Goddess of love might be able to assist her by resolving the conflicts that are causing problems within her marriage?

She traverses France, seeing the artistic and cultural wonders of Loire. Cognac, Lourdes and a trans-Pyrenean journey that eventually finds her leaving France and ending up in Barcelona in Spain.

She meets a variety of men, including lorry drivers, buskers, bullfighters and even a glider pilot.

When she meets with Alex on a boat on the river Charente, there's a possibility of an illicit love affair .
She returns home to redundancy from her nothing job, a marriage that is adrift in a sea of difficulties and yet... her journey of self-discovery has not gone unnoticed. Her return is heralded by the media and Natalie realises that nothing need remain the same. She is offered a commission as a journalist to write travel articles about the joys of lone travel.

As her world seems to be falling apart at her 40th birthday party, it becomes clear to Natalie that she now has the opportunity to strike out on a new life path both in terms of her career and also her new found love.

This book is published by Matador at £7.99 and will make an ideal Christmas gift for the lover of romantic novels.

It is available through the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop which is to the right of the site.  

Saturday 19 September 2015

That's Christmas: New Christmas musical in book and CD form

That's Christmas: New Christmas musical in book and CD form: Barry the Penguin's Black and White Christmas is a brand new and fun musical written by Lesley Ross and John-Victor.It is adapted by R...