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.

Look Behind You by Sibel Hodge.

Chloe Benson is 27, a married woman living in Welwyn, Hertfordshire. She wakes up in darkness, her ankles and wrists tied together. She can’t remember what has happened and has no idea where she is. 

Is this a dream? Chloe is unsure. Can she escape her binds and recover from this nightmare? Follow Chloe through this British psychological thriller as her fears mount with each page.

I have not read a Sibel Hodge novel before but was encouraged to buy a copy after reading 3 different 5 star reviews from my friends on Goodreads. Having read this book, I am IMPRESSED.

I think Look Behind You is an OUTSTANDING read. I found it very engaging and entertaining. It is a thrilling read and all the warning flags are there. Sibel really builds up the terror in her novel. Her high quality writing really shines through the horror of this story. I love how this is a first person narrative and I felt as though I was in Chloe’s very wobbly shoes. Don’t view this story as Women’s Literature because anyone can enjoy this psychological thriller for what it is. Forget how old you are because everyone can relate to this story which is the stuff of nightmares, which we would all wish to escape from. Oh, and if you are married, gay or straight, this novel will make you shudder.

I got a real buzz from reading this book. It is articulate and thought provoking. It explored the concept of False Memory Syndrome and challenged the reader with Occam’s Razor. It gave me everything I want from a novel and was simply a pleasure to read. I enjoyed it so much that I will give it the top score of 5 stars and am starting on her next novel called Where the Memories Lie.

Look Behind You was written in 2014 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

The Hooligans of Kandahar by Joseph Kassabian.

Joseph is a soldier in the US Army and was deployed for a tour of duty based around Kandahar in Afghanistan. Follow Joseph and learn what it is like to serve as an American soldier in a combat zone.

The Hooligans of Kandahar is a very personal memoir and as Joseph explains at the start of his book…

All stories in this book are based on events that happened between May 2011 and May 2012 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Times, places, details and names have been altered to protect my fellow soldiers from any adverse actions due to their conduct during our deployment together.

...This book covers all aspects of Army life at the sharp end. The reader does not need to know anything about military life because everything is explained. Joseph guides you through all the jargon so you understand what all the acronyms mean and do on the ground. I learned all about EOD techs and ANFO.

I liked how this book was not glamorous but showed the US Army with all it’s faults and frustrations. I liked how Joseph ran through a long list of things that bugged him and his fellow soldiers. He moaned about management, organisation and transport. I loved how he explained the equipment and technology they were using, like biometrics, drones, night vision goggles and the Thor system. 

Joseph vividly describes the smell of Kandahar with it’s ditches and sewage. He mentions in fair detail the living conditions and poverty endured by the Afghans.

I liked how Joseph told his story which enabled the reader to understand the culture within the US Army. It is not a dull story and there is a fair amount of banter and humour to enjoy, very much in the style of the popular American television series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The attitude of the squad came through, loud and clear.

I really enjoyed reading The Hooligans of Kandahar. I found it to be enlightening, informative and a joy to read. This book is very frank and pulls no punches. I am very pleased that Joseph made a great effort and kept a diary that he has put it into the public domain. 

I think that this book is an OUTSTANDING read and it gets the top score of 5 stars from me. Forget where you stand on the American invasion of Afghanistan OR Iraq - this book is such a good read. Joseph paints a very powerful picture which is nicely summed up at the end when he writes…

While my body was standing there in Texas, my mind would never leave Afghanistan. The blood-soaked mountains of that country would be with me until the day I died.

Thanks to the publisher TCK Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book on the understanding that I publish a review.

The Hooligans of Kandahar was written in 2017 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hooligans-Kandahar-Not-Stories-Heroic-ebook/dp/B07D26JRXJ

https://www.tckpublishing.com/

https://joekassabian.com/

The Entitled (a Nicole Graves Mystery book 5) by Nancy Boyarsky.

Nicole Graves is a Private Investigator living in Los Angeles. Although this is the fifth book in the series, The Entitled can be read as a stand-alone. This time Nicole has been given the task of escorting back from London, UK a 17 year old schoolgirl called Abigail Fletcher. Only Abigail has a reputation of being a handful and with her parents’ wealth, considers herself entitled. It appears to be a simple escort job, what could possibly go wrong?

I enjoyed reading The Entitled and loved how London was described from the point of view of Americans coming to Britain to work. I found the outlook of Nicole and Abigail refreshing to read. Yes, the plot could work anywhere in the world but it was a treat for it to be located around a city I am familiar with. It was nice how Nancy did not use the tired old tourist landmarks but explored further afield. I loved how Nancy fitted lots of detail into her scenes and was particularly impressed by the mention of the unusual floors and roof of Belgravia Police Station.

British readers will find it odd that a novel set in London is written in American English due to the spelling and the use of words that are commonly used in Los Angeles but not in the UK. But go along with this as this is an American view of London.

I liked the plot surrounding the problems that Abigail was going through, some chapters were from her point of view which added a lot to the overall story. The pace of this story was good with no dull bits to plough through. The Entitled covered a lot of ground giving the reader lots to consider. This was not a simple mystery but a very entertaining and refreshing read with numerous sub-plots to enjoy.

Character development was good and I liked how Nancy let the reader have their suspicions about each and every one of them. I liked Nancy’s writing style, it is clear and very easy to follow. This novel has a quality that I am unable to fault. The Entitled is a polished OUTSTANDING mystery that gets the top score of 5 stars from me.

Thanks to the author for sending an ARC of her novel on the understanding that I publish a review.

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