Artistic Expressions by Victoria Kaye.

Emma gets a job as a housekeeper for Jethro who has a keen interest in art. Follow Emma in this 186 page romantic fiction.

The blurb supporting this novel is brilliantly written and encourages the reader to explore a very private world. This should be an exciting and sexy read.

I found Artistic Expressions to be a BIG yawn. This novel teased big time and led the reader to believe that the story would improve into a sparkling erotic read. Artistic Expressions did not deliver on its promise. It touched on naked models and dominance/submission role play but that was all a big tease.

This was not an erotic read and there was nothing graphic to excite or offend anyone. For a blurb that clearly sexed up this story, there was actually no sex in this tale, just hints and references, for example…

The sound was familiar, but not familiar enough to immediately allow her to understand its call as she awoke on the morning after a most satisfying love session.

… I took nothing away from Artistic Expressions and feel that I have wasted my time reading this book. People always say “don’t judge a book by its cover” and this applies to this book for all the wrong reasons. Artistic Expressions is a BAD read, so gets the minimum score of 1 star from me.

Artistic Expressions is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.

Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake #2) by Rachel Caine.

 Gwen Proctor has to deal with another message from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal. Follow Gwen as she struggles against her ex-husband and a network called Absalom.

I enjoyed this second book in the Stillhouse Lake series. I loved the linear time frame and that Rachel does not repeat things from book one in the series. The format is different to the first book which is a first person narrative wholly from Gwen’s point of view. Killman Lake has separate chapters in the first person of Gwen, her friend Sam and her children Connor and Lanny. This four spoke format adds to the novel because quite often the reader knows far more than the other three central characters.

I think Killman Creek has a good plot and the workings of the dark web cast further doubts on what exactly is going on. Lots of warning flags are thrown up and it is great fun taking these details onboard as you question how this story is going.

There was plenty of detail to keep me happy and I loved the challenges Gwen took to keep off the grid. It made me chuckle just how many burner phones Gwen has got through in these two books. It also made me smile when in these modern times, Gwen felt naked without a mobile phone and using a printed map was something special. I was amazed at one of the locations used when Rachel writes …

“GPS coordinates,” she tells me. “It maps to a cabin in Bumfuck, Georgia. But you be careful, Gwen.”

I found Killman Creek to be an engaging, entertaining GOOD 4 star read. The pace was good and the story had a nice flow. I did not find any slow or boring parts. There was no padding in this novel so there is no chance of the reader wondering whether to buy book three or not. Count me in for the next book in the Stillhouse Lake series.

Killman Creek was written in 2017 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

2,024 QI Facts To Stop You In Your Tracks by John Lloyd.

This is number seven, the largest and last in the QI Facts Series of books. It follows a popular British television programme called QI.

I am not a fan of the television programme but picked up a copy of this book because it was featured on the Kindle Daily Deal for just 99p. I hoped it would be an interesting read and that I would discover some unusual facts.

I quite liked the format of this book. The 2,024 facts are just a sentence long. If you want background information to a specific fact, then go to the website, put in the page number and a source page will appear. This means the reader can cover all the facts and not be bored with detail they have little or no interest in. I think this was the right publishing decision, otherwise many readers would not finish this book.

I found most of the facts interesting but a lot of them were obvious if you gave the issue a fair amount of thought. Some of the facts were simple trivia and others made me feel “so what?”. 

I did not find this book engrossing. Reading these one sentence facts is fine for a handful of pages but I could not engage with this book like I do with crime/mystery/thriller novels. My reading experience was like watching the adverts broadcast on commercial television. When I finished a regular novel, I would read a small number of pages from this book before progressing onto my next novel.

I consider 2,024 QI Facts to be a coffee-table book. It is an OKAY 3 star read that is fine to pick up for around 15 minutes once a week. I feel it is a book to browse rather than read. It will give you the same pleasure of resolving your curiosity as wading through the Argos catalogue. I am glad I got a copy of this book for just 99p but if I had paid the usual price of £4.68p then I would be very disappointed.

Of the 2,024 one sentence facts, here are the 3 facts I found the most interesting and unusual…

Scurryfunge is to tidy up quickly before visitors arrive.

The hands of a human foetus touching the walls of the womb causes the fingerprints to form.

A pluviophile is someone who loves rainy days.

2,024 QI Facts is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2018.

Safe Word Not Required by Cheri Verset.

 Tressa finds a flower with a note attached on her desk at work. Who is it from and what does the note state? Join Tressa on her erotic journey in this short 27 page story.

This book gets off to a very good and descriptive start. Tressa travels to her workplace as a passenger on the number 7 bus. At the moment in the UK face masks MUST be worn when using public transport due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Bus and coach drivers always wonder about the detail of what their passengers are wearing. In over 40 years in the industry I have never thought of one of my passengers wearing one of those!

The story continues and although it involves adult content, it ticks ALL the consent boxes and will not offend anyone. This short story is all fantasy and is simply a fun read that will brighten up anyone’s day. I think this book will appeal to both genders and I consider it to be a GOOD 4 star read.

Safe Word Not Required is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.

63GTHxz.jpg (Basement of Doom) by Mike Leon.

Mike is a computer hacker who is trying to access photos stored in the cloud. Mikes strikes lucky and downloads some images in this 11 page short story.

I found this short story quite run-of-the-mill. Mike builds the tension at a steady pace until it reaches a surprise ending. I found this an easy coffee break-time read which hits the spot as a refreshing distraction. This little Kindle story was an OKAY 3 star read, not unlike reading the free Metro newspaper to see if anything new is of interest.

63GTHxz.jpg was written in 2014 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

CoWorkers by Jade Lane.

 Jade got a job in a call centre and kept a journal of her CoWorkers. In this short 32 page book, Jade shares how she found the people she worked alongside.

I found CoWorkers to be a light, jolly read with a nice dry sense of humour. It was not a glamorous job as Jade explains…

My very first impression was that I didn’t feel like I was at an office. I felt like I had arrived at the Biggest Loser Ranch. Yes. They were all overweight.

… Jade makes colourful descriptions of her CoWorkers personalities and all the things they did that wound Jade up. This all makes for an amusing read and has the same vibe as the popular Netflix television series called Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I found CoWorkers to be OKAY 3 star read and I am pleased that Jade has put her workplace memories in the public domain. Readers can enjoy it for what it is, a glimpse behind closed doors and Jade can call up anecdotes to use in parties for years to come. The best bit of this short book is rather funny and I can imagine a stand up comedian using something like this in their set…

Becky was undeniably frumpy. I’m not sure if it was the frizzy hair that was down to her butt, the lady mustache, or the floral dresses that she paired with athletic sneakers that made her so. But this is exactly what 

she was. She was the quintessential example of someone who was obsessed with clearance racks, bought whatever the heck was on sale, but had absolutely zero fashion sense.

… I could not read this section out aloud to my wife of 29 years because she only wears flat shoes and is the queen of the clearance rack.

CoWorkers was written in 2014 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake #1) by Rachel Caine.

 Gina Royal returns home to discover her husband has an unusual hobby. The police are called and her husband ends up in prison. Gina tries to make a new life for herself and her children but with the power of the internet, trolls and vigilantes want to track her down.

Stillhouse Lake is a modern tale of stalking and trolls. This novel is from the point of view of an innocent victim of internet and telephone abuse. This is a serious global problem and Rachel has made a thriller out of it.

I enjoyed reading Stillhouse Lake and loved its format, a first person narrative with a linear time frame. I loved the strong character development of Gina and her two children. I loved the rural setting and all the steps Gina took to hide her past. I liked the plot and how it made suspicions about all the people living close to Stillhouse Lake.

I found this novel an entertaining and interesting read. It is similar to many “cabin-by-the-lake” films but is still a solid GOOD 4 star read.

Stillhouse Lake was written in 2017 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

How to manipulate your mind and kill anxiety by Sergio C. Brown.

This book explores how the mind works and how a reader could manipulate their mind to help anxiety and depression.

I found this book a little disappointing as I feel it lacks focus. Sergio knows his stuff but I did not feel this was an empowering read. I liked his comments on food and chocolate in particular! It kept my interest and I hoped it would get better towards the end. Sadly I found it was a long trip around the houses to get his core ideas across.

I did enjoy his insights into different ways of thinking and understanding how your whole body functions. He was also careful with his language in case a reader may be suicidal. Sergio has lots of ideas to move forward and this could help readers who are at risk,

I found this book an interesting introduction to different ways of thinking but it lacked any WOW! Factor and it’s lack of depth made it a POOR 2 star read.

How to manipulate your mind and kill anxiety is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2020. 

Mind in Depression by Jeugene John.

 This is a short, 14 page book about depression. It is written in an easy going essay style that gets the reader thinking about the problem of depression and how our brains work.

Jeugene has grouped and explored depression into six attitudes that can result in this mental health problem. The Perfectionist, The Worst is yet to come, It’s my fault, Weight on my shoulders, I forgive but don’t forget and Addicted to love. Read through these six triggers of depression and you will gain a quick insight to this condition.

I found this short book a quick and clear read that was very easy to follow and understand. I think Mind in Depression is an OKAY read that gives the reader an introduction to the condition, so gets 3 stars from me.

I think Jeugene has hit the nail on the head when he writes…

There may be many cases or situations, but our brain can find solutions even in the darkest corners of the psyche.

Mind in Depression was written in 2020 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Before I Go by Marie Reyes.

 Michael takes a trip to Mexico with one thing on his mind. Josie also takes a trip to Mexico with one thing on her mind. These two young people meet in a bar and they are not your usual tourist or traveller. Anyway they get talking and become involved in each other’s lives.

I found this thriller very different from the usual boy meets girl. Before I Go is very dark in places and is full of tension, all the way to the end. The character development is good and I loved how Marie got the atmosphere and impressions that visitors form when staying in Mexico. I liked how she explored the “ships that pass in the night” and “passing through” themes that holiday makers share with each other.

I found it very easy to engage with Michael and Josie as they moved around Mexico where everything was new and unexplored to them. The plot was fine and very different from run-of-the-mill thrillers. Where Before I Go really shines is the relationship that developed between Michael and Josie. This is not a tale of a glamorous romantic affair between head turning good looking people but a camaraderie often found between foreigners holidaying abroad, a shared experience.

Although Before I Go is basically a crime thriller, I prefer to consider it as a character driven novel. Michael and Josie both have a very strong purpose to be in Mexico. I was impressed with the quality of Marie’s storytelling and surprised to discover that Before I Go is her debut novel. Marie crafted a great suspense into her novel that lasted to the end. I think Before I Go is a GOOD 4 star read which demonstrates Marie has the talent to become a successful author.

Before I Go is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2020.

Rogue (Marc Dane #5) by James Swallow.

 Follow Marc Dane in another quest against some bad guys with this fifth novel in the series. 

This can be read as a stand-alone simply because characters and incidents from the previous four books are mentioned time and time again throughout Rogue. If you have read the other books, then the repetitive repeating of the back stories is tiresome. 

Many of the old characters return in Rogue and they are looking to cause more trouble. While the previous novels have a good central plot, Rogue is a tale not unlike a turf war between rival drug gangs. There was no hacking or terrorist plot in Rogue and nothing really clever. I was very disappointed that Rogue lacked a unique plot and had no technical WOW! Factor. There was lots of fighting and guns discharged which made for a boring read. Even members of the AK-47 fan club would stifle a yawn. What is a gun first produced over 70 years ago doing in a modern day 2020 thriller?

Previous novels in this series have seen the relationship between Marc Dane and Lucy Keyes develop, slowly but surely. However, in Rogue their relationship does not move on from when they left off in Shadow.

I was disappointed with Rogue and I feel James Swallow has damaged his Marc Dane brand by having reduced character development and a shallow plot. If Rogue had been the first novel in the series, I would not have bought and read the others. James plans to publish book 6 next year but I shall not bother as we get enough bangs in the UK from fireworks, I do not wish to read about more discharges from an Avtomat Kalashnikova AK-47. I think Rogue is a POOR read, so it gets 2 stars from me.

Rogue was written in 2020 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Those People by Louise Candlish.

 Number 1 Lowland Way in South London has new people moving in and the other householders along Lowland Way wonder how the newcomers will fit in. 

This British tale of urban life is a character driven drama which could so easily transfer onto television. Each chapter is from the point of view of the existing householders, Sissy at number 2, Ant and Em at number 3, Finn and Tess at number 5 plus Ralph and Naomi at number 7.

I liked the shock the established residents experienced when newbies Jodie and Darren Booth moved into number 1. The newcomers were a little rough, at the lower end of the housing market and openly displayed some anti-social behaviour with no regard for the other households along Lowland Way.

I liked how Louise detailed British culture making the reader feel at home, for example…

Em tailed off, glancing at her phone. It was in her hand, as everyone’s was these days, as if phones were dialysis machines that could not be out of reach without life-threatening consequences.

...Louise developed all her characters with great skill. Every person had their good and bad points. Together each neighbour got on each other’s nerves, for example…

‘Ralph, you open the wine,’ Naomi ordered. ‘I’m going to sit with Libs for a couple of minutes, she’s still a bit queasy. Finn, just walk Daisy home, will you?’ Tired and scratchy, Tess finally lost her cool. ‘Can you please not tell my husband what to do, Naomi! He’s not staff!’

...Those People is a catalogue of neighbourhood friction which builds and builds until tragedy strikes. From the comfort of my own home I found Those People to be a pleasant read as the residents plotted against the newcomers. As the story grew, I could see when it was going. Nice detail concerning the gas cooker taps. The suspense was there and everything unfolded for the residents and the reader. I found Those People to be a GOOD 4 star read that was let down by a poor and unfinished ending.

Those People was written in 2019 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Shadow (Marc Dane #4) by James Swallow.

 Shadow is the fourth book in the Marc Dane series but can be read as a stand-alone. This time Marc Dane and his workmate Lucy Keyes are on the quest to stop a bioweapon being deployed by a far right extremist political group.

Shadow follows on from the other books in this series and is more of the same. More bad guys, more guns and slaughter plus the continuity of previous characters from earlier novels. Having read each book in the series things are all sounding quite familiar. Even with a gap between reading each novel, James will stoke your memory with highlights from earlier books.

James wrote this novel before Covid-19 and it is creepy that the featured bioweapon is a variant developed from the Marburg virus which can be found among fruit bats. Also research has gone into weaponizing the Marburg virus and sadly Dr. Nikolai Ustinov died from the virus after accidentally infecting himself while injecting guinea pigs with the Marburg virus for the Soviet biological weapons program.

I enjoyed reading about the technical skills used within Shadow but again was bored with all the fighting and discharged firearms. However, I found Shadow to be a GOOD 4 star read that reminded me that a terrorist threat could be lurking around every corner of the globe. The relationship between Marc and Lucy has slowly developed with each novel and I wondered if maybe it would become physical until I read…

He lay down next to her and pulled closer, until they were side by side. She didn’t object. Lucy knew as well as he did that the fire wouldn’t be enough to stave off the cold, even out of the wind. They would have to conserve what body heat they could as well. ‘Don’t get handsy,’ she told him. ‘Break your fingers.’

...So maybe next time then!

Shadow was written in 2019 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 3 by Alex Berenson.

 This book gets off to a good start with a technical look at COVID-19 followed by an in depth look at the conspiracy theories surrounding this global pandemic.

I found the first two chapters good but then from Chapter 3 which was 40% into this book, all it talked about was the future after COVID-19. So for the last 60% of Unreported Truths, Alex waffled on at great length about remote working and how education may change after COVID-19. I was not interested in his speculation of what may happen after this pandemic. Alex is a journalist and judging by the title of his book, I assumed he would investigate the problems around lockdowns. However, there was absolutely no analysis of lockdowns which makes the reader feel short-changed. Thankfully this short book is a freebie at the moment on the Amazon Kindle.

Overall I found Unreported Truths to be a disappointing POOR 2 star read. Shame really because if Chapter 3 onwards was actually about lockdowns and written in the same quality and style of the first two chapters plus dropped the boring chapters on remote learning and education, then Unreported Truth would have made a good read.

Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 3 is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2020.

Cunk on Everything: The Encyclopedia Philomena by Diane Morgan.

 Diane Morgan regularly appeared as Philomena Cunk on Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe on BBC television. Her character did wonderful pieces of mockumentary to camera in a dead pan manner poking fun at many things. I loved the television programme, so I bought the book. I did not want an audiobook as I do not want somebody wittering on into my ear.

So how does a television programme I loved transfer into a book? 

BRILLIANT, as the whole book is done in character. The personality of Philomena Cunk shines through from the very first word to the last. Diane’s accent and voice rings in your head as you read the words. This is satire at it’s best. The book is formatted as an A to Z of things important to Philomena. She has a lovely bending of the truth and develops conspiracies of things that could be true. Philomena also has great word play, not just misspellings but using the wrong words in an innocent manner. Her character is dim, but nice. She presents an alternative view on history and life.

This book is very British, with numerous cultural and geographical references. Quite often when you read a memoir of a comedian, there are very few jokes throughout the book. Cunk on Everything is VERY different and is like a transcript of a stand-up comedian’s full length stage show. I found this book to be very entertaining and simply a joy to read. This is a quality, satire read. Editing was spot on and there are no wasted words, it is comedy gold. It also makes you think and forces you to refresh your views of society here in the UK.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Cunk on Everything and found it an OUTSTANDING read that gets the top score of 5 stars from me. I highlighted 75 sections of text on my Kindle to use as a quote later, but I do not intend to copytype them all. So here are 5 clips to demonstrate the quality of Diane’s writing....

You might think our closest planet is the Moon. But you’d be wrong. Because our closest planet is Earth. Earth is the science name for the world, so it has two names, like Puff Daddy and everything in Wales.

The Big Bang was where everything started. And to be honest, it’s nice to have something to blame. What was it like? Nobody knows. Because nobody was there to see it. Like Top Gear when it went to Amazon.

Science can’t decide if a carton is a bottle or a box, because it looks like a box but you treat it like a bottle.

David Bowie was a series of different singers from between the years 1969 and 2016. Although it was the same person, like Doctor Who he regenerated every album or so into a new Bowie.

Police try to stop crime - but couldn’t exist without it. If there was no crime, what would they do all day, except putting addresses on bikes with that hammer? If no one’s going to steal those bikes, that’s just decorating, and much harder to justify as a reasonable spending of taxpayers’ money.

Cunk on Everything was written in 2018 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Ghost (Marc Dane #3) by James Swallow.

Ghost is the third book in the Marc Dane series but can be read as a stand-alone. This time our Spooks style hero is working for the Rubicon Group, so he has more opportunity to work alongside Lucy Keyes and maybe more. The bad guys are a group of hackers called Ghost 5 and their extremely powerful software can cripple infrastructure. Marc is on the case to catch these hackers before they launch another attack.

I enjoyed reading Ghost and it is more of the same. The structure is very similar to the previous 2 books, Nomad and Exile. The reader is refreshed with the stories of Marc Dane and Lucy Keyes plus many of the bad guys from Nomad and Exile. Previous naughty boys have a part to play in Ghost. The way this story is told, Marc and Lucy in their day job plus returning baddies makes this novel like Holby City, a popular British television drama/soap opera. But enjoy Ghost for what it is, an easy to follow workplace drama with familiar characters.

Ghost is action packed with lots of bombs, guns and fighting. The violence was tedious and the death toll is very, very high. But I really enjoyed the technical Spooks bits. The plot was good and got off to a great start. Anybody being nagged by their energy supplier to upgrade to a smart meter will shudder after reading this enlightening and entertaining book.

I found Ghost to be a glamorous, life in the fast lane, GOOD read that gets 4 stars from me. It also raised a smile along the way when the story reads…

and Madrigal stirred awake on a collapsible pallet in the middle of the derelict office. She blinked at him, for a moment chastely pulling the sleeping bag up to cover her bare chest. When she realised he was alone, she let it fall away and swung her feet out and on to the dusty floor.

… Ghost was written in 2018 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Straight Outta Crawley by Romesh Ranganatham.

Romesh Ranganatham is a British stand-up comedian and television presenter. He was born in Crawley and this is his memoir.

I have enjoyed Romesh’s appearances on many television programmes including Live at the Apollo and Mock the Week plus many chat shows. I like his deadpan humour coupled with his ability to do a whole range of accents.

However, Straight Outta Crawley is a memoir and is a completely different vehicle to his television work. I loved how Romesh told his story in his usual television chat show manner with his trademark shooting off at tangents. I could hear his author’s voice bellowing loudly from the page.

Romesh’s stand-up comedy is good but his memoir is not a transcript of his stage show. If you are looking for humour or jokes to repeat to friends, this is NOT a book for you. Straight Outta Crawley is a story told in the fashion of a first date. Romesh is amusing and frank, for example…

I’ve read enough memoirs to know that people always describe their partner as the most wonderful, funny, intelligent person ever, and I always think it’s because they suspect their other half is going to read it. So, Leesa, if you read this, I was mainly looking at your arse.

My one sadness in my marriage is that I haven’t managed to convert Leesa to hip hop. She hates it. HATES IT. It would have been easier to convert her to Islam.

...Straight Outta Crawley has a good trawl of anecdotes but they are second rate. Romesh comes across as the bloke next door and very ordinary. I found nothing sparkling in his memoir which came across as sharing small talk with fellow dog walkers down our local park. Romesh is simply a normal bloke whose day job entertains loads of people on television. However his memoir leaves me with the impression of ships passing in the night. I found Straight Outta Crawley to be an Okay 3 star read that lacked any surprises or WOW! Factor. Although I love his stand-up comedy, it was sad to read that he has become another victim of abuse and hate mail on social media. I do NOT wish Romesh any bad feelings but I did not enjoy his memoir like I do his stand-up comedy. It was nice to read about the man behind the stand-up routines and my curiosity has been satisfied.

Straight Outta Crawley was written in 2018 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Exile (Marc Dane #2) by James Swallow.

Exile is the second novel in the Marc Dane series but this book can be read as a standalone. Marc has left his job as a forward mission specialist for MI6, the British Security Service. Our behind the scenes hero is now working with the United Nations Division of Nuclear Security investigation team in Croatia. Marc is on high alert and is on the chase to find and disarm a dirty bomb.

I enjoyed reading Exile and found it to be a great piece of escapism. Like the first novel there are plenty of military and technology skills used to both educate and entertain the reader. This time we have the threats posed by fake bombs, real dirty bombs, leftover kit from the cold war and lots of bad guys telling lies. More terrorists than you can shake a stick at, this time Al Shabaab with their Somali pirates. The new thrill for Marc and readers is HAHO - High Altitude High Opening - jumping from an aeroplane at over 30,000 feet!

There is enough backstory threaded into Exile for new readers who have not read Nomad. But the trouble for readers who have read the first book is that Exile is more of the same. Nothing too bad with that as Exile is an entertaining and exciting Spooks style thriller. Once again Marc has his trusty Aladdin’s Cave of a backpack and he chases the bad guys around the world with the help of Lucy Keyes and Rubicon. Lots more guns are discharged with a whole range of ordnance used. Sniper tradecraft is discussed again making the reader into a gun spotter thinking which gun would be best for the kill. Oh yes, Exile has a very high death toll with the relentless slaughter. Even the previous bad guys from The Combine have a role to play in this long story that runs to 496 pages.

Although Exile is clearly more of the same, it is still a GOOD read and gets 4 stars from me. Had it not been for the relentless action, maybe Marc and Lucy could have had a bit of romance but that did not happen.

Exile was written in 2017 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook. 

Nomad (Marc Dane #1) by James Swallow.

 Marc Dane is a forward mission specialist for MI6, the British Security Service. Marc is the ‘bloke in the van’ supporting Operations Team Seven, call sign ‘Nomad’, when things go fatally wrong. Follow Marc in this Spooks style thriller as he helps stop some bad guys and terrorists.

I liked how Marc was a behind the scenes tech guy rather than a gun wielding super-hero. I loved all the technology that was brought into play. I loved all the detail of the equipment and methods used by all the characters, the good guys, the bad guys and even those guys who were just doing their job. There was a surprising range of ordnance used throughout this thriller. Heckler & Koch submachine guns, Mossberg tactical shotguns, Colt M4 assault rifle, Glock 17 semi-automatics to name just a few. Oh and some HMX explosive plus many other types of bombs, large and small.

Nomad is an action packed thriller and with all the bombs and guns going off, there was a very high death toll by the time the battle worn reader got to the last page. I did dislike the slaughter and playstation attitude to gun fights. These gun battles were the least interesting parts of Nomad but with 496 pages there were plenty of pages left for top rate content.

I found the military technology very interesting including all the hi-tech things like drones. I liked how data was analysed and the many hacks that were used, especially the hack used on a vending machine. Men joke about all the junk women carry around in their handbags but Marc had an Aladdin’s Cave in his ‘go-bag’ - a rucksack he carried all around the world in his quest to bring down the bad guys.

The plot was scary although it would not work with girls wearing crop tops in the summer! I found Nomad to be a wonderful piece of escapism that was very entertaining. It covered a lot of ground with lots going on and no dull sections to wade through. The plot was deep enough to maintain my interest throughout. Writing this review and looking back over this story, it was a big long adventure. Some people compare Nomad to I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes but in my opinion this is a far, far better novel. I think Nomad is an OUTSTANDING 5 star read, so good that I am not starting to read the next in the Marc Dane series called Exile.

Nomad was written in 2016 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

 Charlie Gordon is 32 years old and has low intelligence. He is offered an operation to make him smart. Follow Charlie through his progress reports to learn how he got on.

I was put onto this novel when I read Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. She referred to this book time and time again throughout her novel.

Flowers for Algernon is considered by many readers to be a classic and it won the Nebula award in 1967.

This novel was written in 1966 and the language used reflects the time. Books today would never dream of using these words about disability but older readers will have used them daily in all innocence.

I love first person narratives but I thought this novel got off to a poor start because of the phonetic spelling. This was due to Charlie’s low intelligence and he even poked fun at his own ignorance and lack of punctuation. Then I decided to read it “in character” like the nutter on the bus and went with the flow. Following Charlie’s operation he became smart and his writing quality increased to that which you would expect from an award winning book.

I did not think the plot was brilliant, perhaps enough for a 60 minute television drama. This science fiction was sad in places and it is an emotional read. However, I do not feel that it deserves ALL the acclaim many readers have given this book OR to win a book award. I thought this novel was an OKAY 3 star read but certainly NOT a classic that many readers consider it to be. Normally I have plenty to say about a book but this was like reading the FREE Metro newspaper. For my impressions to be limited to “sad in places and it is an emotional read” shows that Flowers for Algernon did NOT rock my boat.

I made highlights on my Kindle as usual and here is the very best and most impressive quote I can give you from the whole book…

How strange it is that people of honest feelings and sensibility, who would not take advantage of a man born without arms or legs or eyes - how such people think nothing of abusing a man born with low intelligence. It infuriated me to remember that not too long ago I - like this boy - had foolishly played the clown.

Flowers for Algernon was written in 1966 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Murder At The Rocks by Jill Paterson.

 Laurence Harford is found murdered outside his business in Sydney, Australia. Detective Chief Inspector Alistair Fitzjohn is on the case to solve the crime.

This novel is the second in the series but can be read as a stand-alone. Sadly it is very similar to the first novel in the series. Again the novel is split between the police investigating the crime and a family member, this time the victim’s nephew, getting to the bottom of this cosy mystery.

In this pedestrian tale we once again have Alistair Fitzjohn pottering about in his gardening gear and lots of coats being taken off. Oh yes, we have lots of cars pulling away from the curb - funny that, never thought they would be parked in the middle of the road, yet Jill must remind her readers that cars can park along a “kerb”. Thankfully later on Jill reveals that car wheels are fitted with “tyres” rather than those misspelled American rubber things they call tires.

Also like in the first book, The Celtic Dagger, we have the inclusion of dodgy accountants, blackmail and paintings. Again there is plenty of repetition, this time I noticed far too many people asking “Can I help you?” and whenever the police knocked on a door the conversation went “Mr Surname?” and the other person replies “Yes, I’m First Name - Surname” every time it became a bore. Then every single hot drink any character had was “steaming” - good grief Jill, watch out my girl, contents may be hot! Not forgetting there were an awful lot of people who “hovered” in a doorway, thank goodness it was not a typo making the locations clean by being hoovered!

I found Murder At The Rocks to be a disappointing and predictable piece of easy reading that was a POOR dull read. There were no special police skills OR any WOW! Factor. I think the plot was mundane and typical of an afternoon television drama. This was a second rate novel that gets just 2 stars from me.

Murder At The Rocks was written in 2013 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

The Celtic Dagger by Jill Paterson.

 University Professor Alex Wearing is found murdered in his study. Can the police find out who and why somebody killed him?

This cosy mystery is set in Australia. The whole story is quite soft. It is not a regular police procedural but more the quest for the victim’s brother James to find out all that had been going on.

The blurb for this novel on Amazon and Goodreads is very well written and marks this book out to be a gripping read. However, the actual book failed on it’s promise and became a second rate read.

The Celtic Dagger is light reading with nothing cutting edge or unusual happening. This story just rolls along as the mystery unravels, more laid back on the sofa, than edge of your seat.

Two little things niggle and become repetitive, coats are taken off and cars pull away from the curb. Two common everyday actions, no mystery or significance there. Yet again I read about another coat being taken off and another car pulling away from a curb. Strange because Jill was born in Yorkshire, UK and I had to pinch myself with her non-British spelling of kerb.

I found The Celtic Dagger to be a tame, gentle, luke warm, run of the mill mystery that became an OKAY, 3 star read.

The Celtic Dagger was written in 2010 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

The Beautiful Cure by Daniel M. Davis

 The Beautiful Cure explains all the research that has been done so that the reader can understand how the human immune system works. Daniel M. Davis is Professor of Immunology at the University of Manchester, so it is great to get accurate information rather than old wives tales.

I found this to be a very informative and interesting book. It covered in tremendous detail how the immune system works and also how scientists work with all their conflicts, so bad that many can’t stand to be in the same room together.

Daniel leads the reader steadily through the research undertaken through the years in a delicate way so that you learn in a similar way to the scientists of the day. This was a great way for Daniel to write his book because it is accessible to everyone. You do not need to be a medical or scientific person to enjoy and understand this book. I left school at 16 and have nothing to do with health or science. My usual reading genre is crime/mystery/thriller. So why did I buy this book? Okay, it was featured on the Kindle Daily Deal, reduced from £4.99p down to just 99p. With the current coronavirus pandemic I wondered how the human immune system actually worked, having heard so much about herd immunity.

This book blew me away, really firing my imagination. I eat, drink and walk around totally unaware of the internal universe inside my body. Daniel explained all about the many different cells, triggers and balances and how they deal with disease, germs and viruses. The human immune system is complex and even leading edge science does NOT understand it all. But just knowing a little blows your mind away. How can such a powerful immune system happen when we were conceived from 2 microscopic organisms? An immune system that runs like a very powerful computer network. An immune system that works in the background with the person unaware of the changes taking place within their cells.

I liked how Daniel explained the differences between innate and adaptive immunity. I also liked learning about different cells, the genes within them and how immune responses were turned on and off. The Beautiful Cure is a very thought provoking book that I wish some of my germophobic workmates would read. There was lovely discussion of things that readers can do which will increase or reduce their immune system.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Beautiful Cure and took a lot away from this book. Daniel does not shy away from the realities of laboratory research. He was very frank and open about the HUGE number of mice bred and killed so that we can understand how biology works. I found this an OUTSTANDING book, so it gets 5 stars from me.

The Beautiful Cure was written in 2018 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Desert Water: Farewell London by Alexander Ezike.

 Desert Water is the memoir of a young Nigerian man who came to Britain in 2011 on a student visa. Read this interesting story of his experience of life in Nigeria and his move to the UK.

Desert Water is a very personal tale in which Alexander lays bare all the mistakes he made in Nigeria and Britain. He starts his memoir off by detailing his life in Nigeria, with all it’s poverty and violence. Alexander explains the differences between tribes, cultures and religions in an easy, light and understandable way.

I loved reading his impressions of Britain as I often wonder what passengers arriving from Africa boarding my coach think of life in Britain. It made me smile when Alexander wrote…

Finally the bus arrived and one after the other we entered through the first door in a civilized and cultured manner.

...Alexander uses American English spelling for his memoir but reading the dialogue it is so easy to imagine his accent as like watching Gina Yashere, the stand up comedian, on television when she mimics her Nigerian parents.

I found it very interesting how Alexander viewed London during his stay in 2011 and 2012. He has that funny young person thing of navigating by postcodes and mentions them as a figure of speech, for example…

247 Gipsy Road, London SE27 9QY

...And like most foreign passengers boarding my coach, complains about feeling cold! Although British people are obsessed with talking about the weather, Africans always seem to complain about feeling cold. Then Alexander reveals the unseen parts of London, the homeless, the poverty and illegal immigrants being exploited by a whole range of people taking advantage of their lack of legal status. This is a whole new world to Alexander, best summed up by his shopping visit…

The next day, I went shopping at “PRIMARK” which is the most famous clothing company in the UK, Primark is best known for selling quality accessories and clothing wears at cheap and affordable prices. I knew I had to look good on stage, so I released 15 pounds from my account and bought a shirt and jean trouser.

...Yes, that will make your average British reader chuckle. Alexander is young and makes many mistakes and has a poor choice in friends. He meets many different girls along the way but Alexander fails to find true love. He does however impress many people with his singing under the stage names of Johnny Blac and Kool Daddy. I was surprised however when Alexander wrote…

After one week, I had performed in four different clubs in Manchester and made a total of 800 pounds. Though it was a paltry sum of money but I was grateful to God for the grace to be paid as an underground musician.

...These were not long sets but just a few songs as part of a show by many other musicians. That seems to be big money for a part-time underground musician, what I would call a hobby artist.

I found Desert Water to be a refreshing memoir to read because Alexander is not a celebrity or a success story but an average man in the street who has to live with the mistakes of his past. I am pleased he has put his story into the public domain and even if it does not sell, I am sure any children he later fathers, will love the story behind their dad. Desert Water is a GOOD read, so gets 4 stars from me.

Desert Water was written in 2014 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Kelly by T.C Barkley.

 Follow an unusual day with Kelly in her erotic short story.

This is NOT my usual reading genre but like all men we daydream and have fantasies. I picked up this 25 page fun read for FREE back in 2014. Kelly is an example of PWP - Porn Without Plot and is a refreshing distraction from mainstream fiction. Kelly is a fast paced story and is very adult and graphic in content. Once you have read this short story, you can’t unread it. A bit awkward for me as our next door neighbour is also called Kelly.

The action is dirty but if you are broadminded you will be able to cope with the vulgarity. Some of the things Kelly does are shocking, even for mature readers. Kelly can be polite with the sexy dialogue as she calls her casual partners Sir.

When I got to the end of this short story I did wonder where the author was coming from. Kelly could be taken at face value as an erotic short story. Alternatively it could be considered a CV publication for someone trying for a job in the glamour entertainment industry. Another possibility is revenge porn after a failed relationship. Or maybe it is joke, an attempt at getting a raunchy story published on the Amazon Kindle as a challenge. Perhaps it is a standup comedy routine, although a female audience could be offended by the misogynistic humour.

So, if you are getting a little bored with the mainstream fiction book you are currently reading, take a refreshing break with Kelly and her okay 3 star read.

Kelly was written in 2014 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.

 Coopers Chase is a retirement village in Kent. The residents have many activities to enjoy and one of them is called The Thursday Murder Club. Their quest is to investigate old unsolved murders, seeing if the police have missed something so that they can solve the crime. All ticks along nicely until a builder involved with the retirement village is discovered murdered. Can the retired folk of Coopers Chase solve this live case?

This is an awfully British, cosy mystery that shows retired people having fun and purpose in their old age. It is a jolly read told with tonnes of light humour. For example…

He is wearing an expensive polo shirt, and a watch so large it might as well be a clock.

...And...

‘Would you like some sherry?’ asks Joyce. ‘It’s only Sainsbury’s, but it’s Taste the Difference.’

...Richard Osman is very well known for being a presenter on the BBC One television quiz show, Pointless. Richard has a distinctive conversational style that is mirrored by Joyce, a leading character in his novel. Joyce has a lovely British turn of phrase and she sounds so much like Richard does whenever he is on television. Even in his acknowledgements at the end of this book, he has the same voice as Joyce when he writes…

I had wanted to write a novel for a long time, and over a very nice lunch at Skewd Turkish restaurant in Barnet (delicious, great value for money, try the chicken wings) Mark gave me exactly the encouragement I needed, at exactly the right time.

...I enjoyed reading The Thursday Murder Club, the accent was not on the crime but retired people making the very most of their later years. Rather than being out of touch these lively residents enjoy all that modern life can offer. I found this book to be a refreshing tale of retired life. I loved how it depicted modern day Britain and the cultures we share. How people view groceries, shopping and the prestige of stores like Waitrose. How people embrace modern technology and software like Fitbits, WhatsApp and Tinder.

The Thursday Murder Club is NOT a hard edged, gritty crime thriller full of police procedure and special skills. This novel is a warm, heartfelt tale of people coping with the mistakes of the past and making the best of current times. There is sadness but also people meaning well.

I found this book an entertaining read and loved the colourful characters. The pace of the murder enquiry dragged a little but my interest was retained by how the residents coped with everything else that was going on. Richard has a very relaxed writing style and his tale is told with all the time in the world, kind of like how some old people talk. Overall, I found this a very pleasant GOOD read that gets 4 stars from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Books UK/Viking for providing me with a free copy of this book on the understanding that I publish a review.

The Thursday Murder Club was written in 2020 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Untouchable by Sibel Hodge.

Maya Morgan, 37 has been living happily with her boyfriend Jamie Talyor in his home at Tyttenhanger, near St. Albans for six months when suddenly he does not come home from work one evening. Has something gone wrong? Is there a reason for Jamie’s delay from work? Find out the truth behind Jamie’s disappearance in this British crime thriller.

There were some nice bits in this story early on like the dialogue shared between Maya and her sister Ava. The way they spoke to each other reminded me very much of Ellie and Izzi, sisters who appear week after week on the successful British Channel 4 television programme Gogglebox.

Untouchable is a first person narrative with a difference. The reader starts this novel from Maya’s point of view, in the first person and the current day. Then we have alternating chapters between Maya in the current day and Jamie in his childhood decades ago ALL told in the first person. This is followed by Jamie dropping out of the story to be continued by Maya in the current day ALSO in the first person. But then, new guy on the block, Mitchell gets his chapters to tell his current day story in the first person. This shifting focus is a disappointment leading to frustration as I worked through this novel. I did not like the format in which this story was told.

This story got off with the alarm bells ringing when Maya got home from work. But then the reader was thrown into the position of knowing more than Maya did because you discovered Jamie’s back story. I found this very frustrating for a first person narrative.

I found Untouchable very run of the mill. We had the usual tales of historic child abuse, conspiracy, lies, media restrictions, politics and wealthy people getting away with murder. No surprises were sprung on the reader as Maya and Mitchell got to the bottom of this sorry tale. Although this novel featured historic child abuse, there was nothing in the script that would shock your grandmother. There was nothing in this tale that would excite a paedophile.

 

I found Untouchable to be a drag and full of cliches. I thought Mitchell was an unrealistic hero. I lacked empathy for Maya and wondered why she did not simply let sleeping dogs lie as she was clearly out of her depth but financially secure. I thought Untouchable lacked entertainment value and was a disappointing POOR read that gets just 2 stars from me.

Untouchable was written in 2016 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

 

Where the Memories Lie by Sibel Hodge.

 Olivia Tate is a happily married mother living in the pretty Dorset village of Portesham. Problem is that Olivia is very, very nosy and it can get her and her whole family into a lot of trouble.

Where the Memories Lie is a psychological thriller centred around the concept of lies, all lies, from little lies to big lies and whether these lies should be revealed or kept secret.

I liked how Sibel set this novel in the real physical location of Portesham and she even mentions the real Kings’ Arms pub which is welly boot and dog friendly. Included are other wonderful attractions within the county of Dorset. This all gives added value to this British drama.

I also liked how Sibel made focus of Alzheimer’s and how this disease can be extremely confusing for the person affected and a real challenge for visitors to understand. 

I started reading Where the Memories Lie straight after I had finished reading Sibel’s previous book, Look Behind You. Although both novels are psychological thrillers, Where the Memories Lie really lacks the tension that made her earlier book such an outstanding read. The tension within this book was quite low key, like a nagging doubt. Yet again there were many twists and turns which cast doubt on all the characters involved.

I really enjoy first person narratives but I did not like the character of Olivia Tate. She is incredibly nosy and I did not develop an empathy for her as I considered her to be nothing more than an interfering nuisance. I did not feel sorry for Olivia but felt very sorry for her extended family as Olivia poked her nose into everyone’s business. If only Olivia would leave things alone.

I did not enjoy reading Where the Memories Lie as much as I enjoyed reading Look Behind You. However, this was still a lovely British tale that gave the reader plenty to think about, especially the secrets held by people with Alzheimer’s that may be revealed. Makes me wonder what my dad may have done with the Army in Germany before I was born. I found Where the Memories Lie to be an okay read that gets the middle score of 3 stars from me.

Where the Memories Lie was written in 2015 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.