My Review (4 stars out of 5) Retired accountant Arthur Whitty is a fantasist, but his vivid imagination helps him deal with a series of challenging situations. Allowing his alter-ego to take over, he dreams up adventurous settings where he is the hero – Art the Racing Driver, Major Whitty of the Royal Dragons, intrepid…
Tag: Books
‘Salt and Honey’ by Candi Miller
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In 1950s South Africa, Koba’s tribe are hunter-gatherers, following the traditional ways of life of an ancient culture. But when her family clashes with a group of white people, the outcome is tragic, leaving her orphaned. Taken to their home, the girl grudgingly learns to speak their language…
‘Troubled Times for Tilly’ by Kay Seeley
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is book 2 in the Water Gypsy series, though you don’t have to have read the first one to understand what’s already happened. Tilly and Sam strive to make a safe home for themselves and their children, though Tilly’s older son—Joey—is the offspring of a wealthy father,…
‘Summer Paths’ An Anthology
Welcome to my spot on the blog tour for Summer Paths, via Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources The Blurb This, the fourth and final selection of stories, completes the Seasonal Paths series created by a consortium of best-selling and award-winning North Atlantic writers. In this anthology you will encounter unintentional consequences, love in later life,…
‘Men of Iron’ by MJ Porter
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is the first book in a new series titled The Dark Age Chronicles. With little historical documentation to fall back on, the story is instead inspired by archaeological evidence, though the author’s knowledge of the period (real or imagined) does shine through. The plot revolves around several…
‘The Night Shift’ by Gemma Rogers
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Nina spends her nights working at a storage facility where all she has to do is keep an eye on the occasional visitor while giving herself time to study for her medical degree. But one night a man appears whose behaviour makes her suspicious… This is the third…
‘The House of Light and Shadows’ by Lauren Westwood
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Finance solicitor Kate is wrenched from her legal firm when her estranged sister is admitted to hospital. Sibling Emma’s children need someone to take care of them until their mother is well enough to take over. Unfortunately, the relationship between the two sisters is not on an even…
‘The Woven Lie’ by Liz Harris
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is the first book I’ve read by this author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I lived in Suffolk for several years, so it was interesting to come across places I’m familiar with, such as The Angel, in Bury St Edmunds, where Charles Dickens stayed while…
Giving up the Ghost – the Agony of an Unfinished Novel
Like many writers, I’m a big fan of Stephen King, and have taken on board most of his advice about storytelling, character development and the routine of writing. However, his suggestion that ‘Stopping a piece of writing just because it’s hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea,’ doesn’t always work for me. Having…
‘Finders Keepers’ by Stephen King
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Obsessed with the books of author John Rothstein, Morris Bellamy breaks into the writer’s house with a view to stealing a stash of notebooks that could contain an as-yet unpublished novel. Years later, as Bellamy is coming to the end of a jail sentence, schoolboy Pete Saubers discovers…
