Suicide Forest (World’s Scariest Places #1) by Jeremy Bates.

If you go out into the woods today. You’re sure of a big surprise. But this is no picnic time for teddy bears. A group of 7 people enter Aokigahara Jukai, which is near Mt. Fuji in Japan. The Japanese call it the “Sea of Trees” but others refer to it as the Suicide Forest. They are taken there by a guy called Honda who said “According to our myths, it was once the site of ubasute. Families would abandon their young or elderly there during periods of famine, so there would be less mouths to feed. Because of this, many Japanese think the forest is now haunted by yurei, or souls of the dead.”

I liked how Jeremy has done his research, for Suicide Forest is a real location. He also includes the local culture and words, for example a bento box and ramen shops. Jeremy really got the atmosphere of the Suicide Forest, giving it a creepy yet very real feel to it. I really enjoy walking my dog through woods but this is not a walk in the park for these 7 people who abandon the regular tourist trail.

Suicide Forest is written in the first person of Ethan Childs, who is an English teacher. I liked the little bits thrown into the story about teaching English to the Japanese and the funny things they can say. English is a great living language and I loved the bit were Ethan had words with Tomo - “Have lunch,” I corrected him vacantly. I didn’t usually do this outside the classroom, but “take lunch” always irked me, one of those expressions the Japanese favored that just sounded wrong.

I found Suicide Forest to be a GOOD read that plays on the urban legend horror theme. I liked how it was a first person narrative so that the reader feels they are at the center of the action. Suicide Forest is an adult book that fully explores the issue of suicide but is not preachy or religious. The quality of Jeremy’s writing is good and he has a very wide vocabulary, forcing me to click many a word on my Kindle, to be sure of it’s meaning.

Suicide Forest kept me entertained but I did NOT enjoy it as much as The Taste of Fear, another of Jeremy’s books. Because of the background, the choice of a real location and the urban legends attached, Suicide Forest for me was a GOOD 4 star read.

The Taste of Fear by Jeremy Bates.

The Taste of Fear is a thriller set in Africa, where American movie star Scarlett Cox and her husband, hotel tycoon Salvador Brazza have a short holiday break with many problems.

I have NOT read any of Jeremy Bates novels before and started reading The Taste of Fear with open eyes. What a lovely surprise I got from reading this book. Jeremy creates such great suspense and tension, your alarm bells are constantly ringing with the next threat on Scarlett or Salvador. Not only that but the reader gets the story from the assassin and the terrorist who are on their trail. So you know how the net is tightening around Scarlett and Salvador but they are blissfully enjoying their holiday in Tanzania. Then Scarlett and Salvador become involved in plots against them in this fast paced thriller that chills with suspense and tension.

I found the writing quality in The Taste of Fear to be top class. There is a very wide use of vocabulary and quite often I had to pull up the dictionary on my Kindle to be sure, for example “spelunker”. I loved how it was not just a plot driven novel but had lots of background and explanations about the detail of what was going on in the moment. All this extra information about how things are done, brought so much added value to my enjoyment of this book. Some of the characters were Mai-Mai rebels - and a quick search on the internet proves these people do exist in the Congo and Jeremy has truly done his research and has not made the bad guys up from his imagination. The whole story was told in a very adult way.

I liked the characters that Scarlett and Salvador met along the way. Jeremy knows how to develop colourful characters and no character became a drag. I liked the dialogue between ALL the characters and enjoyed the dark humour said between them. I really liked how this book was not politically correct and that Jeremy felt comfortable including snips that really made me chuckle, for example…

It made her wonder what early man had thought when he came down from the trees and was confronted with this new and alien world full of opportunity and danger.

The baboons watched the Land Rover pass with their sparkling black eyes, unalarmed, likely used to seeing their distant cousins come this way.

But a lot of these well-armed government-backed guerilla groups became consumed with their unbridled power, ultimately raping and pillaging and participating in rampant cannibalism, with a special taste for the local pygmy population.

“Not bad for an old man,” Zamir said, rolling his shoulders to get the feeling back in his arms. “Not bad for a Jew,” Fitzgerald shot back.

… I was really impressed with The Taste of Fear and thought it was an OUTSTANDING read that gets the top score of 5 stars from me. I became engaged, engrossed and entertained by this story. However, I will NOT look at a barbecue the same way again!

Arseda: The world's worst customer service by Pete Sortwell

Pete Sortwell is a comedy author and he set up a parody Twitter account pretending to be the Asda Service Team. This book transcribes the Twitter feeds of genuine users who raise issues with Asda, the tweets from Pete’s parody Twitter account and tweets from the genuine Asda Service Team. The format of Pete’s book clearly shows which tweets are from the his parody Twitter account and those tweets from the genuine Asda Service Team.

Well, this book is a HOOT! I thought it was brilliant. The beauty of this book is that although Pete wrote the parody tweets, all the rest of the tweets are genuine. I found it was a wonderful illustration of how Twitter works, how genuine shoppers feel about their Asda experience and how people on both sides of the customer service desk have a sense of humour. I loved the use of language on ALL of the tweets, from the colourful language of the genuine users, the tongue in cheek humour of Pete Sortwell and the corporate set responses from the genuine Asda Service Team. I thought it was lovely how Pete did ALL his parody tweets in character, so as you progress through his book, you feel that his tweets are from a real person and you develop a relationship with him that is similar to what you enjoy with your workmates. Pete even had his own parody corporate set responses to the tweets raised by genuine shoppers. I loved this consistency and all credit to Pete because Twitter reacts extremely quickly in real time, so his tweets had to be done on the spur of the moment. This is very different from regular author work where you have all day to draft a full page, edit and publish.

I loved the humour of this book as it showed how the general public really act. I can find nothing wrong with this book and I do not think that anyone would be offended if their tweets had been included. Many genuine shoppers spotted the parody account and took the tweets in good spirit. My favourite tweet conversation involved the issue of toilet cleanliness in Asda supermarkets, the possible use by drug addicts, the use of special lighting and the effect of drug users deserting Asda in favour of Tesco.

I do not think that the management of Asda will be bothered by this book. When companies have a Twitter account they must accept the rough and tumble of Twitter life, taking the praise with the criticism on the chin. I really loved the content of this book, I found it very entertaining and it made me chuckle. It was a great antidote to the polished corporate speak we have to endure everyday, so this book gets the top score of 5 stars from me. Well done, Pete.

The Knights Templar: History and Conspiracies of the Secret Organization: The Hidden Truth by William Myron Price.

This little book is about the history of the Knights Templar. The name rang a bell with me from many Dan Brown novels that I have enjoyed in the past. I was looking forward to reading about the history of the Knights Templar and hopefully about Freemasons, the Priory of Sion and Rosslyn Chapel.

Oh dear, I did not get along with this book, one little bit. I thought it was really DULL and William’s writing style leads to a BORING read. I would get more enjoyment from reading a long distance coach timetable following a service revision. History should fire the reader’s imagination but this book left me COLD.

Still, I ploughed along hoping this book would improve. It did not get any better. Nothing fired my imagination, although I hoped for some juicy bits of gossip etc. I found this book a DRAG and suggest you do not waste your time reading it. Therefore I vote this sorry little book the minimum score of 1 star.

Of the whole book, there was only one paragraph that was worth highlighting on my Kindle Fire, so here it is to save you bothering with this SAD little book...

The so-called Priory of Sion, which protected the Holy Grail, is a complete and utter fabrication. Its claims have been dismissed by nearly every historian worth their salt, as well as evidence from excavation of areas like the Temple and the Rosslyn Chapel.

The Rose Water (Echo Rose #4) by Thomas Fincham.

Follow Echo Rose, a journalist, as she helps catch a serial killer in America. Although this is the 4th novel in the series, it can be read as a standalone. I have not read any books by Thomas Fincham before and I was not put at a disadvantage.

Thomas’s writing style is different to most authors of crime thrillers. He writes in a crisp tabloid style, that gets all the content across clearly and quickly. The Rose Water is easy reading with very short chapters and paragraphs. It is great if you want to read a book in small, short snatches.

All the elements of a good story are in The Rose Water. There is a good range of characters, with lots of back story and many subplots that have nothing to do with catching the serial killer. There is an awful lot going on in this book, it is not just the hunt to find the serial killer. I loved all the social commentary thrown into this novel. I also liked all the little bits about people’s job that added great context to this novel. There is also some nice humour and dialogue between the characters. I liked how Echo Rose is not a glamourous bimbo but a woman with a brain and a journalistic lust for the truth behind a story.

The plot concerning the serial killer was fair but the joy of this book is all the other subplots running along at the same time. You get the full story in this novel and all the characters are kept busy doing this and that. There are no lazy moments in this novel when characters are on a weekly rest period!

I enjoyed reading The Rose Water and although it is not outstanding it is still an entertaining read with no boring bits or padding out of the scenes. I consider The Rose Water to be a GOOD read, so it gets 4 stars from me.

Dark September (Daniel Trokic #1) by Inger Wolf.

Follow Police Lieutenant Inspector Daniel Trokic and his team in Denmark for this crime thriller which starts off when a young woman is found dead and naked within a forest.

I enjoyed reading Dark September which I found to be a regular police procedural crime thriller. It follows the usual format expected in this genre of novel. Although this novel is set in Denmark, the locations made no difference whatsoever to my enjoyment of this book. The culture did not even feel Danish and this novel could have been set in any country within the Western world.

Inger’s writing is of high quality and although I did not find Dark September to be outstanding, it was a satisfying read that fulfilled my desire to have a good book on-the-go. I got the same pleasure from reading Dark September as I do from having a carvery meal at a pub. The chef carves some meat for you and you help yourself to a range of vegetables. You get a good solid plate of dinner with quality and nutritious ingredients that provide goodness and none of the nasty things associated with junk food. Dark September is a regular good read like so many other popular police crime procedurals.

I liked the range of suspects that the police interviewed and the many leads that were followed up. Each suspect had something to hide and could so easily have motive and opportunity to murder this young woman. I thought the plot was good although the chase at the end was a let down, playing catch is not really detective work and more like cross country running!

I loved the strong characterization of all the characters, whether they were suspects or working with the police team. Although the lead character is Police Lieutenant Inspector Daniel Trokic, my favourite character was Detective Lisa Kornelius. She has great attitude and I loved her involvement with computers and the explanations she gave about the software and technology. Lisa is also an ordinary girl and not some glamourous bimbo - one of my pet hates!

Dark September gave me my daily fix of having a book on-the-go and I would be very interested to continue with the other books in this series. I think Dark September is a GOOD read, so it gets 4 stars from me.

A Cold Dark Place (Cold Justice #1) by Toni Anderson.

Serial killer time yet again in America. This time we have a rookie detective by the name of FBI Special Agent Mallory Rooney plus Former CIA assassin Alex Parker. These hetrosexuals meet when their work brings them together. They put their heads and bodies together as they solve some crimes and fall in love with each other. A Cold Dark Place is a crime thriller with some romance thrown into the story.

I found the plot of A Cold Dark Place to be okay although not exactly original. Have one character who used to work for the CIA and you can assume some dodgy underhand dealings. Alex Parker is your typical flashy glamourous male, another loud mouthed American. He has little respect for the law and his morals are shady. Mallory Rooney is a highly attractive woman who went against her parents wishes to work for the FBI. I did not relate to either of these two lead characters. Oh and the romance blossomed between them which resulted in lots of vanilla sex which became a bore to read.

Okay, people all over the world become attached to their digital devices. However, wherever Alex or Mallory went, they always had their laptop computers with them. These laptop computers were so integral with their lives and the plot, every movement involved them picking up their laptop computer before walking away. This became tiresome during A Cold Dark Place because nearly every scene involved picking up a laptop computer before Alex or Mallory did anything. Nose running, pick up a laptop computer before blowing on a tissue - only joking but you get my point. Thankfully in the heat of passion, Alex did NOT splash his laptop computer screen with semen!

I did however enjoy the rivalry between police departments and the hunt for the officer involved who was leaking information. Although towards the end the action became quite comic strip in nature, I really liked the final telephone call and felt that conversation could so very easily happen in real life.

Would I bother with the other books in the Cold Justice series? No thank you, I was happy to dip my toe into the series but there are other series in the crowded Kindle Store that I think will be more rewarding for me. A Cold Dark Place for me was simply an okay 3 star read.