Killing Faith by Eric Meyer .

This story gets off to a good start...

She lay on her back, spread-eagled on the bed. He knelt over her, and then put his hands around her neck. She closed her eyes, ready for him to lean down and kiss her again. But he didn’t, and the pressure on her neck started to increase. Jesus, it hurt. “Would you ease up? You’re hurting my neck.”
“I know,” he replied. Her eyes flew open. The pleasant, good-looking guy had gone, and what stared down at her was the face of a monster.

...So, we have a killer and as this story unfolds, a serial killer. Meet Gabriel de Sade, our tough New York cop and veteran of the illegal American invasion of Afghanistan. He is the tough no-nonsense cop on the trail of this serial killer who has murdered 2 victims before this novel begins.

Gabriel just starts his investigation when he is joined by FBI Special Agent Faith Ward. From this point onwards this story leaves reality. The start of this book was so good but then the action is so far fetched, it is comical. There is love and plenty of gun-ho action as our hero searches to bring the serial killer to justice. There are many flash backs as Gabriel relates his current investigation to his experiences in Afghanistan.

Killing Faith gives the reader a good insight into the Russian mafia and their use of extreme violence to intimidate their helpers. The ending of this book comes as no surprise because you knew that Gabriel would get the killer in the end.

I will vote this novel 3 stars on Good Reads as it is okay. It fills my daily read requirement but only just. This book was written in 2011 and I downloaded the 267 KB Amazon Kindle version.

Fare dodger strikes unlucky .

Some people will try it on for a free ride. I have no sympathy for these people who are simple criminals trying to steal a free ride. This is not just a revenue loss problem on buses, coaches and trains but you can also get dare-devil fare dodgers on planes too. This is silly because outside of the pressurised passenger cabin their is a lack of oxygen and temperatures drop to minus 60C due to the altitude.

The body of a presumed stowaway was discovered on a British Airways plane that arrived at Heathrow from South Africa on Thursday.

The airline said the unidentified man's body was found in the landing gear bay of a Boeing 747. The hiding place would have exposed the man to temperatures as low as 60C below freezing and oxygen deprivation during the 11-and-a-half-hour flight from Cape Town.

Metropolitan police officers and ambulance staff were called to the airport at 6.25am, and the man was pronounced dead at 7.07am. A police spokesman said: "The death is being treated as non-suspicious. Inquiries are ongoing to establish the man's identity."

Airports Company South Africa, which runs Cape Town international airport, said a man had been spotted scaling its perimeter fence on Wednesday night and heading towards a BA plane preparing for takeoff. It said security officers had searched the airfield in vain.

The BA spokesman said stowaways were a rare occurrence on any passenger aircraft, and there was very little chance of surviving a flight in the landing gear bay. Anyone hiding in the compartment risks being crushed or burned by the wheels after the plane takes off.

Strip billiards and press freedom.

A strange title to this blog post you may think but there is a connection, a royal connection. There are 2 photographs of Prince Harry playing strip billiards in Las Vegas that were published on the American gossip website TMZ . If you look at the Guido Fawkes blog he also publishes the 2 photographs.

The TMZ website is celebrity gossip but Guido Fawkes is a political blogger and he highlights the big problem. Playing billiards naked is not a problem, just a bit of harmless fun between consenting adults. What is not fun is that Clarence House has leaned on all the British press asking them not to republish these photographs.

This restriction by the Palace to restrict press freedom really stinks. Our press must be free to publish what it wants, otherwise it is nothing more than a government mouthpiece. This is a bad day for freedom of speech and the implications affect everyone. You have to draw the line somewhere and if the press are persuaded not to publish some fun party photographs, then the whole public are being treated like mugs. Respect from the public is earned over time and the attitude of both Clarence House and the press leads the public to distrust them.

What else are the press keeping from us?

There are too many gagging orders and other restrictions around. This is a nasty trend and employers are catching on by stopping employees writing about their workplace on social media websites. The net is drawing in and by the press not republishing these 2 photographs, slowly but surely freedom of speech is being eroded.

Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster.

Did Hannah Sheraton start the fire that killed her step-grandfather Justice Fitz Rayburn? Josie Baylor-Bates, a friend of Hannah's mother, defends her daughter.

This story slowly unfolds in the court and with Josie's investigations outside. Very little is said between Hannah and Josie. You are unsure of her guilt and Hannah believes her problems will blow away. You do not develop an empathy for Hannah because she does not co-operate fully with Josie. This crime thriller is basically a court room drama featuring regular court procedures and dialogue between counsels.

Hostile Witness is dull, it is not an exciting novel. There are no big surprises, it is drab and it is not a gripping story. There are no likeable characters in this book. I have nothing to recommend in this novel. This book was written in 2004 and I downloaded the 562 KB Amazon Kindle copy. I took nothing away from this book. It was not a reading pleasure but a drag. I think that Hostile Witness is rubbish and I shall be voting it the minimum 1 star on Good Reads as I consider this book one to AVOID. I will not be reading another of Rebecca's books.

Boston Manor Viaduct.

Since April there has been a 7.5 tonne weight restriction on the M4 motorway between Junctions 3 and 2 eastbound and Junction 1 and 3 westbound. This is a result of ongoing repair work at the Boston Manor Viaduct. The diversions in place greatly add to journey times to and from London.

Drivers of buses, coaches and lorries are getting fed up with this restriction, that has gone on for far too long. This section of motorway is very busy and every day thousands of cars thunder along with no restriction. If this bridge is so weak as the warning signs claim, then how can these cars safely cross?

The Department of Transport will not move on this restriction and has sent out a nagging email...

VOSA is working closely with the Met Police and the Highways Agency to identify and take action against road users who do not comply. This action includes the issuing of fixed penalties for vehicles not complying with the weight restriction and reporting repeat offenders to the Traffic Commissioner.

Sarah Bell, Traffic Commissioner said: “I am pleased that the vast majority of bus, coach and freight operators are heeding the 7.5t weight restriction in place on the M4 viaduct. It is disappointing that a few are not, presenting a poor impression of the industry. I have asked the Highways Agency and VOSA to report direct to my office any operators and drivers that appear to be disregarding the clear signs.”

...Why is this work taking so long and is it really necessary to have a 7.5 tonne weight restriction? To make drivers even more hot under the collar is the fact that official London 2012 Olympic vehicles were exempt from this restriction...

* Exemptions apply for LOCOG Olympic coaches, laden and unladen - with a vehicle access and parking permit – which are being allowed to use both carriageways of the M4 between Junction 1 and 3 over the Boston Manor Viaduct.

...This makes no sense at all. VOSA have bent over backwards for people playing games but people who are trying to make a living are threatened with a fixed penalty. What is good for LOCOG should apply to everyone and if this bridge was so weak then LOCOG should have been told to take a jump.

A temporary restriction is understandable for essential work but to allow alleged VIP's access is totally unfair. I am disappointed that the freight and passenger industries have not taken on the government and challenged this weight restriction.

Saffina Desforges Presents... The Kindle Coffee-Break Collection. Volume 1.

This anthology of short stories starts by Saffina Desforges introducing the aim of this book. Readers should be able to read it when they only have maybe 15 minutes to spare. They should be able to get a quick buzz from reading these short, snappy stories. It is the first volume of a series that may grow over the years. I downloaded the 257 KB Amazon Kindle file which was published in 2011. This anthology consists of 9 short stories by different authors. These stories are of varied length and are a variety pack across different genres of novels. Each short story is introduced by Saffina in the style of a compere at a stand up comedy gig. This book also doubles up as a showcase for these 9 authors to get readers interested in their other works. This is a good concept and Saffina means well.

However, this Coffee-Break Collection did not work for me. Although this anthology is a nice idea, it FAILS and I prefer the one big book that really gets you involved with the tale. The brevity of short stories leads to low expectations from the reader. No story was outstanding or made me want to explore more material from that author. Will I bother with Volume 2? No thanks. This book is poor and I suggest you don't bother and give it the miss. I shall vote it only 2 stars on Goodreads because it disappoints the reader in their search for a frequent reading fix.

Setting template of my new blog...

We took it all apart
But I'm wishing I'd stayed
In the back room something I heard you say
We didn't want to call it too early
Now it seems a world away
But I miss the thing, are we ever gonna feel the same?

Standing in the light till it's over
Out of our minds
Someone had to draw a line
We'll be coming back for you one day
We'll be coming back for you one day
I don't even care if I know you
Out of our minds
Got to leave it all behind
We'll be coming back
We'll be coming back for you one day

[Beat break]

You can see it from afar
We were riding that wave
Blinded by the lights, and it's something not great
We didn't want to call it too early
Now it seems a world away
But I miss the thing, are we ever gonna feel the same?

Standing in the light till it's over
Out of our minds
Someone had to draw a line
We'll be coming back for you one day
We'll be coming back for you one day
I don't even care if I know you
Out of our minds
Got to leave it all behind
We'll be coming back for you one day
We'll be coming back for you one day

Gonna rise, gonna fall, getting pulled apart
And we all do it all cause it stole our hearts
Gonna light up the skies, or ignore the stars
And we all do it all cause it stole our hearts

[Beat break]

Standing in the light till it's over
Out of our minds
Someone had to draw a line
We'll be coming back for you one day
We'll be coming back for you one day
I don't even care if I know you
Out of our minds
Got to leave it all behind
We'll be coming back for you one day
We'll be coming back for you one day