The Hanging Women

The Hanging Women is a mystery novel from John Mead. It's a mystery novel with a difference, for it is set against the backdrop of the Chicago of 1886.

Retired Sheriff Jack Stevens makes a grim discovery, the corpses of two young women, one white, one black, hanging from chains in a warehouse.

The position they are in denotes that their killer had thought them guilty of treachery.

Who were the women? Who had determined that they had to die?

Stevens feels duty bound to participate in the investigation, even though he is formally retired. The case is a convoluted one, and it quickly sucks him into a dangerous world of extremists, notorious street gangs battling for supremacy in Chicago and dubious undercover spies and detectives.

With the infamous Haymarket riots and bombings to contend with along with the actions of the city's largest and most deadly street gang, the Dead Hands, can Stevens track the killers down before things really start to get out of hand?

This is an exciting mystery novel and it is clear that John Mead has researched his subject matter very well and has brought the Chicago of the 1880s to life.

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Lady Frances

Lady Frances is the first detailed biographical account of the life of an extraordinary woman, Lady Frances Balfour, one of the main figures behind the votes for women campaign.

She had been interested in politics from an early age, but was stumped from having any real, meaningful involvement in the world of politics because, as with all women of her generation, she was not allowed to participate in democracy because she did not have the power of the vote.

In 1889 she began campaigning for the rights of women to vote (suffrage) and she was the key lobbyist in the Houses of Parliament.

She battled for the rights of women to be able to obtain work with reasonable incomes, to defend the rights and safety of women lured to London by fraudsters, she joined a variety of government committees to fight for changes in the unfair divorce laws, supporting hospitals for women an,d of course, the right to vote for women.

However, although her role was of vital importance to the movement, Joan B. Huffman came to realise that Lady Frances Balfour was the only leader of the women's suffrage campaign who lacked a biography.

So she undertook detailed research into the life of Lady Frances Balfour to redress this situation by providing her with a very well researched and very well written biography.

The book is also profusely illustrated with photographs and paintings of Lady Frances Balfour, family members, etc.

This book will appeal to historians, people who are interested in learning about feminist history and also the general public.

It is published in hardback at £19.99 and is, in my opinion, a must purchase book for school, universities, colleges and municipal libraries throughout the land, but especially Scotland where Lady Frances Balfour was born.

The Singing Chair and Other Stories

The Singing Chair and Other Stories is a collection of highly entertaining short stories from Herta Maria Moser.

Herta is 94 and lived through many of the great events of the tumultuous past century.

She has drawn on her life experiences to create a collection of short stories that cover a wide range of topics, many which draw up[on her own life experiences.

The title story tells the tale of a businessman who, though well-to-do, suffers from stress. His discovery of a chair with the magical powers to take him to a peaceful, calming universe. But what happened when someone did him a favour? Would the chair be ruined forever? Only time would tell.

There are stories set in the aftermath of the First World War, stories that are humorous, poignant, sad or filled with energy, passion, love and betrayal.

Each story is imbued with the sharp intelligence, wit and veracity of the author who is also an accomplished artist, which might indicate why the stories have such a vividness about them.

The book is published by Matador at £8.99.

My Rich Prince

In his new debut book, My Rich Prince, Dr Okechukwu Michael Mwim offers some timely and highly valuable advice to young adults.

It is a unique book in that it tackles a wide range of subjects that are of great value to young adults and teenagers.

He offers his readership life advice on these issues that he has identified and also offers timely warnings of what they need to look out for.

He examines some issues and points out what matters and what doesn't matter, and how they can work toward the goals of maximising their personal happiness and their life goals.

His advice will help young people when they should say no or yes, why other people don't have to like you, why money shouldn't be ignored, what love is, how to live a good life, and how to avoid mistaking stubbornness for persistence.

It's not an overly long book, and it is written in a clear and concise style.

It's published by Matador at £10.99 and will be a very welcome tool in the toolkit that every teenager and young adult needs to learn how to negotiate thair way through modern life.

Hector's Wheels

Hector's Wheels is a wonderful book for children and adults of all ages.

It is set in the Eastern England town of Norwich, which is the county town of Norfolk, and it features a very special dog called Hector, who is a truly remarkable little dog, a beagle called Hector.

Hector was born with a problem that meant one of his front legs was disabled. It was almost certain that he was doomed to spend his life living in a dogs' home.

But that was not to be the case, because a very special family came along with a very special American made canine wheelchair.

Readers can follow Hector as he faces life with his family as he learns to operate his wheelchair, and to cope with his disability.

You'll follow Hector and his brother Reggie on their many adventures including some dangerous situations involving railway lines, angry workmen and quick flowing rivers. Sometimes rescued by their human companions.

There are some lovely images and illustrations (by Sophie Fletcher) plus a photograph of Hector in his American canine wheelchair that accompany this wonderful and very uplifting story.

It's published by Matador at £7.99 and if your'e looking for a suitable Christmas present for a dog lover, then this is it!

Defence of Europe by Sikh Soldiers in the World Wars

Defence of Europe by Sikh Soldiers in the World Wars is a fascinating and highly important new work by Mohindra SA Chowdhry.

It is a history of the highly significant contribution of Sikh soldiers during both of the Wrold Wars.

His book contains new, groundbreaking research which explores how an alliance with Britain was able to allow Sikhism to spread globally and for Sikhs to step forward as global partners, points out the author.

He begins his work with the exploration of the Sikh revolt against the Mughal Empire.

He showed how this revolutionary movement was able ot show that Sikhs were against the religion of Islam and how Sikhism stood for the key principles of human rights and liberty and freedom for everyone.

It shows how, after first fighting with the British the two warring sides came to realise that the two cultures had many things in common.

Chowdhry points out in his book that the common ground developed into a strong and abiding loyalty. This book points out that the strong bond that developed became a loyal force that gave the British access to the superb fighting abilities of the Sikhs during the two Word Wars.

Chowdhry argues, cogently, that it is the duty of all Sikhs,inspired as they are, by deep-rooted principles of justice and equality to, no matter where they live in the modern world, to become involved in mainstream politics and social matters.

The book is published by Matador at £19.99.

It is a very important book that should be owned by every Sikh and all those who are interested in Indian history and in the history of the two World Wars.