In my previous posts on the topic of being a crap writer, I’ve looked at identifying those among us who are not literary greats, as well as the kinds of silly writing mistakes many authors make. This time around, I’d like to share my thoughts on more subjects that irritate me, and spoil books that…
Category: Writing
‘Lost Solace’ by Karl Drinkwater
My Review (4 stars out of 5) In search of a lost ship, Opal Imbiana hopes to recover a secret in a lonely nebula far from colonised space. But all alone with only an experimental spacesuit and the ship’s computer to aid her quest, she must enter a dangerous and unpredictable environment. This is the…
‘The Spy Across the Water’ by James Naughtie
My Review (4 stars out of 5) The Spy Across the Water is book three in a series of spy stories, and the first I’ve read by this author. The book opens with a funeral, and we soon learn that the dead man is Ambassador Will Flemyng’s brother. Flemyng’s usual working life in the Washington…
‘The Good Wife’ by Gemma Rogers
My Review (4 stars out of 5) Young wife Chloe is caught in an unhappy marriage with a husband who controls her every move. Forced to wear the clothes he chooses, limit her food intake to only ten mouthfuls at a time, and have all her movements tracked, she begins to feel she might never…
‘London Tales’ by Tim Walker
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is another collection of stories from Tim Walker, with eleven tales taken from various points along London’s timeline. Subjects range from legendary Iceni queen, Boudica (seen from the point of view of the Romans), to more modern stories set in the twentieth century, such as a tale…
‘Under the Dome’ by Stephen King
My Review (5 stars out of 5) A small New England town is suddenly wrenched from the rest of the world when an invisible forcefield drops over it. Cars, planes, and people smash into the dome causing horror and panic. Iraq War veteran Dale Barbara is on his way out of the town when the…
The Write-a-Book-in-a-Month Challenge
One of the nuggets of advice sometimes given out to Indie authors, focuses on the number of books we write each year. The consensus seems to be that less is not more, and rather, the greater number of new books we put out, the better chance we have of attracting new readers. With this in…
‘Arsenic at Ascot’ by Kelly Oliver
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is book four in the Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane Mystery series, and the first I’ve read by this author. Well-known mistress of disguise and wartime spy, Fiona Figg, finds herself shunted around the war office dealing with mundane tasks, rather than getting to grips with espionage…
‘Out of Sight’ by Anna Legat
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is book six in the DI Gillian Marsh series, and the first I’ve read by this author. The story concerns a murder investigation where the list of suspects gives the police plenty to think about. Detective Marsh is out of the picture for some of the tale…
‘Mister Slaughter’ by Robert McCammon
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In 1700s New York, apprentice problem solver and former magistrates clerk Matthew Corbett, is tasked with transporting murderer Tyranthus Slaughter from a Philadelphia asylum back to the New York City waterfront. Along with his companion Greathouse, Matthew manages the initial part of the journey well, but when Slaughter…
Colin Garrow 