Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

This is the memoir of a Somalia born Dutch politician who made a 10 minute film called Submission with Theo van Gogh. The film caused a stir in Holland and Theo was murdered in November 2004 because of it's criticism of Islam. This book details Ayaan's life from her childhood in Somalia, through years spent in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Holland.

Infidel is a powerful book. It is not a standard memoir of achievements and regrets. It is more than a human interest story. It asks lots of questions about culture, freedom, race, religion and rights. It is frank and open but told with a lot of love and warmth.

I found Infidel a refreshing read. It was not like a diary but more like an educational tour. Through the text I explored how clans in Somlia work and the importance of the family tree. The horrors of Female Genital Mutilation were fully explained…

The man, who was probably an itinerant traditional circumciser from the blacksmith clan, picked up a pair of scissors. With the other hand, he caught hold of the place between my legs and started tweaking it, like Grandma milking a goat. “There it is, there is the kintir,” one of the women said.

Then the scissors went down between my legs and the man cut off my inner labia and clitoris. I heard it, like a butcher snipping the fat off a piece of meat. A piercing pain shot up between my legs, indescribable, and I howled. Then came the sewing; the long, blunt needle clumsily pushed into my bleeding outer labia, my loud and anguished protests, Grandma’s words of comfort and encouragement. “It’s just this once in your life, Ayaan. Be brave, he’s almost finished.” When the sewing was finished, the man cut the thread off with his teeth.

...The oppression of women in Saudi Arabia was discussed. The differences between the cultures of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia were explored. Ayaan writes at great length about the freedoms and how nice the people are living in Holland. There is also a very good analysis of Islam and it's problems explained in a way that non-Muslims can easily understand.

On a lighter note, there are some lovely tales of her grandmother, a woman who had lived a hard life in basic and challenging environments…

My mother, Asha, was born sometime in the early 1940s, along with her identical twin sister, Halimo. My grandmother gave birth to them alone, under a tree. They were her third and fourth children; she was about eighteen, leading her goats and sheep to pasture when she felt the pains. She lay down and bore forth; then she cut the umbilical cords with her knife. A few hours later, she gathered together the goats and sheep and managed to bring the herd home safely before dark, carrying her newborn twins. Nobody was impressed by the exploit; she was only bringing home two more girls.

...Ayaan's writing is very good. I liked the structure of her book, the extensive detail given and her large, descriptive vocabulary. I learned a lot about African cultures and Islam from this book. Infidel is a very moving story and is very well written. Many a moment I had to remind myself that this was someone's real life and NOT a novel. There is a lot of sadness in this book and not just the killings but also the despair within the refugee camps in Kenya.

I found Infidel to be a very good and engrossing read. I agree with her conclusions about Islam and am pleased that although she has received many death threats and has been deported from Holland, she still has the courage to put her opinions and story into the public domain. I can find nothing wrong with this book and vote it the top score of 5 stars for giving me such a fulfilling read. It will also make it easier for me when I encounter Somali passengers on my coach!

Infidel is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2007.

Atom Bomb Angel by Peter James.

This is Peter's second novel that was published in 1982 and was reissued in 2015 featuring a brand new foreword by the author. Atom Bomb Angel is a thriller about terrorists who plan to sabotage Britain's nuclear power stations. Can Max Flynn of MI5 stop their plan?

So what can a book written over 30 years ago offer readers today? Very little, I am afraid. I have enjoyed Peter's other books but I found Atom Bomb Angel to be a big let down. Okay, early on in this novel it is quite cute reading about how things used to be, for example...

In one corner of the state room was a twenty-six-inch Bang and Olufsen colour television set, and next to it was a matching B & O stereo.

The only stitch of clothing on her entire body was a minute bikini bottom, either side of the front of which sprouted thick black tufts of hair.

I caught up with Ethel, the back-marker of the cars, going around Swiss Cottage; Ethel was a brown Morris Ital. I overtook Ethel and sat behind Mavis, a mustard Chrysler Horizon. That's one thing about the security services - they always buy British cars. Anyone worried about being tailed by MI5 can relax if he sees foreign cars behind him. We headed onto the M1, and the traffic was thin. About half a mile ahead, I could see Sheila, a navy Ford Escort.

... But the writing does not shine as it does in Peter's later novels. The plot is poor and dated, more like an old television police drama called The Sweeney. Character development is slim and Max Flynn is a poor man's James Bond. The idealism of the terrorists is not fully explored. Yes, there is action but it is rather comic book and lacks bite. There is nothing clever about this novel and it lacks a WOW! factor. I found it a drag to read. It lacked realism and was frustrating how people popped up in all the right places to help Max Flynn in his quest. What was more puzzling was, bearing in mind how different book publishing was in the 1980's - how did this POOR novel gain a publishing deal?

I was really disappointed with Atom Bomb Angel and was surprised that Pan Books reissued it. Sorry but this POOR read only gets 2 stars from me. There was however one dark, thought provoking idea put forward. What if a radioactive discharge took place and the public was never told?

Atom Bomb Angel has been republished in 2015 and has 323 pages.

All the Blue-Eyed Angels by Jen Blood.

4 people, members of the Payson Church of Tomorrow, died during a fire on 22nd August 1990. Were their deaths an act of mass suicide or murder? Erin saw those flames and 23 years later she decides to uncover the mystery.

Okay, the police did their investigation and ruled it a mass suicide. We all know about religious nutters and how cults work. But the purpose of this novel was to create doubt that it may have been murder. Normally people move on after the event and the police investigation, letting sleeping dogs lay. Erin however, will not move on and so plunges the reader into this mystery.

So I needed to forget about Erin raking up old ground after 23 years and enjoy this novel for what it is. I found Jen Blood very good at planting the seeds of doubt in the reader's mind. The pace was okay and the characters motives were skillfully developed. One of my pet hates is novels that flash back and forth in time. This book keeps flashing back to 1990, which is awkward as the reader is getting information that Erin is blind to. This makes the story a little clumsy but does make you second guess where the plot is going.

I did enjoy the twist and turns along the way with the constant finger pointing. Character development is good and nothing in this story would offend your grandmother. Erin does have the odd kiss but there is no steamy sex. I found this to be a good mystery and although it had it's faults, was still a GOOD read that I will vote 4 stars.

All the blue-eyed angels was written in 2012 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.