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.