Book Review - Silent Scream by Lynda La Plante

I am more than a little fond of reading thriller books, so it comes as a surprise that I have never read anything by Lynda La Plante who, according to one critic, ‘practically invented the thriller’. I have seen a number of the TV programmes that have been based on her books including the hugely popular Prime Suspect and Trial and Retribution series’ and have thoroughly enjoyed them, but I have never quite got round to reading her work. So it was with a little excitement that I gratefully received her newest offering Silent Scream, from publishers Simon and Schuster.

Silent Scream is the latest in the series of books that follows Detective Anna Travis as she works on various murder cases. In this one, an up and coming young movie star, Amanda Delaney, is brutally murdered in her own home. During the investigation, it becomes clear that Amanda has lead a terribly troubled life which included childhood abuse, eating disorders and a string of sordid affairs. Detective Anna Travis soon discovers that Amanda was planning to publish her no holds barred memoirs, which meant that there was a long list of people who would have a motive to murder.

Book Review - It Had To Be You by Sarah Webb

Sarah Webb is an Irish author responsible for many offerings in the world of chick-lit, including Always the Bridesmaid and Some Kind of Wonderful. I have read a few of her previous works with mixed reactions – she writes the stories with passion for her characters, but I’ve found that some of her novels take a little while to get into.


It had To Be You is the story of three woman from the small Irish village of Burnaby. Molly works in the local bookshop ‘Happily Ever After’, but has her own aspirations of writing a bestselling novel – something that will never happen if she continues to keep her work a secret. Molly’s best friend Paige is running as an independent candidate in the local elections. She is well on the way to fulfilling a lifelong ambition, but can she juggle a young and demanding family with her work, especially when a fellow candidate is out to sabotage her every move. Kate is Molly’s new housemate, she’s a nice enough girl but obviously has a lot of baggage that she refuses to talk about. Will the latest client for her dating service prove to be the answer to all her problems or is he just too much for her?

Book Review - Always the Bridesmaid by Sarah Webb

Sarah Webb is an Irish writer who has a string of ‘chick-lit’ books to her name. I’ve read a few of her books before and I enjoy the easy reading and fun nature of them. They are a great accompaniment to a nice relax on a sun lounger, with a glass of something alcoholic and a view of everlasting sea.

Always The Bridesmaid is one of her older novels, published back in 2003, but I stumbled across it in the ‘3 for £5’ section of The Works the other day. It’s available on Amazon for around £4, if you don’t have The Works near you.

Amy is a bit down in the dumps to say the least. She has spilt up with her fiancé and is still at the stage where friends and family tip-toe around, tilt their heads sympathetically when they talk to you and you doubt your own choices in love, life and everything else. When she finds out that, what is supposed to be, her best friend has jumped into the arms (and bed) of her ex, Amy hits rock bottom. To make it worse, her little sister has just come back from Australia with a tanned and fit rugby player with impossibly perfect teeth and a rock on her finger, and her remaining best friend’s long term boyfriend has decided to make an honest woman of her too.

Frustrated with her inability to make good of her long held dreams of becoming a children’s presenter, mournfully sad that she is surrounded by talk of wedding cakes, dresses and decorations and down right miserable that she will have to be bridesmaid twice, Amy quickly becomes a nightmare to be around. Will anything pull her out of this bad snap? Is she ever going to find her night in shining armour? Or will she have to come to terms with the fact that she will, for eternity, be Always The Bridesmaid?