Book Review - A Limited Justice by Catriona King

A Limited Justice is the first in a new series by Belfast based former forensic examiner turned author Catriona King. I was sent the book to review by the publisher and I have to say that I wasn’t that blown away by the idea of it at first. Despite the old adage, ‘never judge a book by its cover’ I have to say that I did, well that and the title. I don’t know, I guess I thought it sounded and looked a little bit bland. But I’m pleased to say that I was proved wrong.

There has been a brutal murder in broad daylight in a garage in Belfast, followed by a second equally gruesome one, and then a third . . . DCI Craig and his team are determined to find out the who the killers are and to stop them before they strike again. But they don’t quite make that deadline and one of their own is attacked, racking up the heat on the investigation.

The story introduces DCI Marc Craig who I loved from the start. He is strong but kind and is perfect for the main character of a novel like this one. In fact I think the characters in the book are all really well written and work well together. The detective team are a particularly good group. I assume that it is King’s previous experience in dealing with the Metropolitan Police that she has been able to put down her observations and form them into a realistic working environment that is great to read about. There is great camaraderie even in the face of adversity.

Book Review - Dead Ringer by Allen Wyler

I had never heard of Allen Wyler before being sent his previous novel to review, but having read that one I was happy to review this one when asked. Wyler is a former, highly regarded surgeon, who made the unlikely switch to crime writing after realising that is where is new passion lay. His latest novel, Dead Ringer, centres around the macabre world of body snatching. I enjoyed the previous novel and was very much hoping that this one wouldn’t let me down.

The novel centres on Lucas McRae who is a world renowned and highly talented neurosurgeon who is in Hong Kong to conduct a medical demonstration when he sees that the human head that he has been provided to work on is that of his long time best friend. There is a huge cover up, but Lucas determines to find out the truth at all costs. His quest leads him into both danger and the arms of a female police officer, DS Wendy Elliot, who believes his seemingly far-fetched story because she thinks her friend might also have been a victim of the same crime.

Book Review: Voices by David Shaw

I’m not one for the supernatural. I find all things ghostly a tad far-fetched and unbelievable. For this reason I’ve never read a supernatural type book because I just didn’t think I could enjoy one. Oh how wrong I was! I received Voices by David Shaw from the publisher and was a more than a little sceptical about it but thought I’d give it a go anyone (I’m not one to turn down a free book!).

The story begins with a bomb explosion in a school canteen which kills or maims everyone in the vicinity. Chris Deacon, an IT teacher is one of the few survivors, but things totally change for him after he wakes from his coma; he is no longer able to speak or hear and he sees frightening apparitions that seem to want him to do something.

I really enjoyed the book, it was full of twists and turns and I genuinely was gripped from beginning to end. I really wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the supernatural aspect of it, but I found that it wasn’t too far-fetched in the grand scheme of things and that Shaw actually uses this to make the story make sense.

The characters are very well written and the main protagonist is likeable and believable, despite his tendency to see and hear things that most others can’t. I think this is David Shaw’s key success in the story because if he hadn’t made the main character believable, the whole story would have just been rubbish. As it is, I actually found myself understanding the situation and believing it to be the truth - very bizarre!

Book Review: Dead End Deal By Allen Wyler

I have to be honest, I had never heard of Allen Wyler before I was sent this book to review, but after reading it, I think it is safe to say that I am a fan. Dead End Deal is a sort of medical science based thriller and, although I am not a fan of medical related things in general, I loved this book.

The story focusses on Jon Ritter who is a scientist on the verge of discovering a cure for Alzheimer’s. Suddenly the research is slated and Ritter’s mentor is killed. Ritter himself is threatened by an anti-abortion group who promise more of the same if he continues his research. Ritter must decide whether the risk is great enough to give up the thing that has been dominating his life for the last 10 years . . .

Allen Wyler is a well-respected former neurosurgeon and this shows in the story of the book, but it isn’t overly detailed and tiresome for the layman (me!). When I first read the blurb of the book and the author’s ‘About Me’, I was a bit worried that it would be too technical for me, but this is not the case at all. Wyler does an excellent job of simplifying things enough that someone without experience in the field can understand and enjoy the story, but not so much that it doesn’t feel authentic.

Book Review: How To Look Like You by Rose McClelland

Rose McClelland is a relatively new author from Belfast who was previously a blogger and a reviewer. How To Look Like You is her second book and will be released as an e-book on 5^th July. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of the book for review. I enjoyed the book. It is of the chick-lit genre and is a perfect summer read. I actually thought it was quite short at 178 pages, but this makes it ideal for reading in a day on the beach.

The story revolves around two girls, Chloe and Ella. Chloe is a stereotypically perfect size eight blonde bombshell who is in a steady relationship with a great all round guy who is in a band. Ella is a bubbly talented and likeable girl who quickly falls in love with the guy from the band.

The story is told from each girl’s perspective alternately by chapter. I thought this was a pretty good way of telling the story and it made it much easier to follow than it might have been otherwise. It was quite good to see both sides of the story as it happens and in the first person, I think it made the characters more believable. This also made me a little frustrated with the characters as well because the main thing for me in the story was that the two girls were both perfectly likeable and if they hadn’t been so busy convincing themselves that the other was a bitch, they might have actually been good friends. Listening to both sides of the story made me feel like I was actually one of their friends kind of caught in the middle and so it was quite engaging in that respect.

Book Review: Private Games by James Patterson

With James Patterson’s stalwart series’ of books (Alex Cross, Lindsey Boxer, Daniel X and so on) well established now, the author has gone on to create a new series in the form of Private. Private Games is the latest in this series and I have just finished listening to the audiobook version of it, read by Paul Panting.

Private is a prestigious worldwide security agency that has some extremely high profile and important clients. This time it is charged with providing security for the Olympic Games 2012 in London. All is going well until a pesky and slightly deranged criminal mastermind sets his sights on destroying London and the Olympic Games themselves. As one of Private’s bigwigs, Peter Knight is right in the thick of it and must find the person who is killing in the name of the purity of the traditional games before he reaches his ultimate goal of stopping the modern games forever.

The story follows Patterson’s typical fast paced style with over a hundred short chapters which make the story move along quickly and keep you turning pages until the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed it. To be honest I have tired a bit of late of Patterson’s books, particularly those in the Alex Cross series. I feel that they have become a little samey and predictable, whereas this was a welcome change from the norm from me. It was nice to learn about a new character in a new place.

Book Review: Single Girl's To-Do List by Lindsey Kelk

I am a big fan of Lindsey Kelk. She has written only a few books so far, but I have enjoyed them immensely and so when I saw her newest one available for download on Amazon for £2.99, I bought it straight away. Lindsey Kelk’s other novels so far have all been from the ‘I Heart . . .’ series, which up to now include ‘I Heart New York’, ‘I Heart Vegas’, ‘I Heart Hollywood’ and ‘I Heart Paris’. This one however is not from the same series; Kelk has branched out a bit, although admittedly not too far. ‘Single Girl’s To-Do List’ is a fun and easy read that will no doubt cheer you up.

The story is centred around Rachel Summers, who is a twenty-something girl who loves to write a list. I totally related to Rachel straight away because I love to write a list, albeit not as obsessively as she does, but it is one of the many things that made me warm to her. The story begins with Rachel happily living with her long term boyfriend in a cosy flat in London, paid for by her enviable job as a make-up artist to the stars. As is usually the case with this kind of story, this lifestyle quickly unravels when her boyfriend announces one day that he no longer loves her and their lifestyle and he leaves. However, unlike the norm for this kind of story, Rachel doesn’t run weep relentlessly into her pillow or find her real self in a little obscure little village in the middle of nowhere. What actually happens is her two best friends write her a new list, and so comes ‘The Single Girl’s To-Do List’ . . .

Book Review: Jenny Lopez Has A Bad Week by Lindsey Kelk

I am the proud new owner of an Amazon Kindle and as the proud owner new owner of an Amazon Kindle, I have spent the last three days doing what all proud new owners of Amazon Kindles do – download anything and everything I can get my hands on. Browsing through the list I stumbled across a book from a familiar author: Lindsey Kelk, author of the ‘I Heart . . .’ series of books. So using the instantaneous magic of wi-fi I downloaded her latest offering ‘Jenny Lopez Has A Bad Week’ for the princely sum of £2.99.

The first thing you should know that this book is only available as an e-book for download to the Amazon Kindle. The second thing you should know is that it is a short story. I was a little disappointed to find out that it was a short story and even more annoyed that it isn’t advertised as such on Amazon. Considering that you can get a large number of full length books on Amazon for this price and, quite often, much less, it isn’t actually very good value for money if you ask me. The story is a good one, don’t get me wrong, but value wise it isn’t great. Just to give you a bench mark, I have since downloaded Lindsey Kelk’s most recent, full length, book for the same price.

I Have A Kindle!!!

I have to admit, I was one of those annoying people that preached about the sanctity of the traditional book and who couldn't ever imagine giving in to the devil that is the Kindle! But, after my very generous husband bought me one for my birthday, I have to now say that I am a total convert.

I have to also admit that I have somewhat neglected by love of reading of late (hence my last book review on here being like a million years ago). I know I know, how dare I say that and in public as well. But I am afraid it is true. That said, my love is back. After the initial buzz of downloading a million and one books (sort of ) off, I decided to start reading and I haven't put the thing down since! So be prepared to see a million and one (sort of) book reviews on here soon.

Folks I'm back and with a vengeance thanks to my new little toy!!!

Make Your Own Jewellery?

Slightly off the usual topic of books, books and more books, but I thought I'd let you know about a fab new website I've found that is great for all of those of you who make their own Pandora style bracelets and things.

http://www.moonj.co.uk/

They sell bracelets, beads and everything else you need to make your own jewellery - check it out!!

My Dooyoo Christmas Wish List

I love Christmas and all things Christmassy so I thought I'd get into the festive spirit by sharing my dooyoo wish list in the style of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Now the list may look a bit excessive, but if you don't ask, you don't get, so here goes (see if you can read through it without getting the Twelve Days Of Christmas tune stuck in your head!):

On the twelfth day of Christmas, dooyoo gave to me,
Twelve Chocolate Oranges

Eleven Pairs of Slipper Socks

Ten Music Albums
Nine Household Gadgets

Eight Winnie The Pooh Gifts

Seven Fun New Board Games
Six Bottles of Wine
Five Patterson Books
Four Christmas Films
Three Pairs of Shoes
Two Electrical Items
And a Holiday to Somewhere Nice

So there you go, if you were looking for a present for me, you know what to get! And if you weren't thinking of getting me anything, perhaps there is some inspiration in that list for you - as you can see there are lots of links to help you search, so happy shopping!

Merry Christmas folks - have a good one and I'll see you next year to review all the things I hopefully got for Christmas!

Book Review - The Water Room by Christopher Fowler

I received The Water Room by Christopher Fowler from Transworld as part of their reading challenge. The idea is that you pick four books from a selection of twelve and they send you the first, which you read and then review before they send you the second, and so on. I picked The Water Room because it sounded like my kind of book – a sort of crime thriller with a mystery twist to it.

I had never heard of Christopher Fowler before reading this and so I had no idea that the book was part of a series. The Water Room is actually the second in the Bryant and May series of Mysteries. Having read it without this knowledge, I can safely say that it isn’t necessary to read the previous book to enjoy this one. Fowler introduces the characters and their circumstances at the beginning of the book sufficiently enough that you don’t feel that you have missed out.

Arthur Bryant and John May are octogenarian detectives who work in the fictional Peculiar Crimes Unit in London. I was a bit disappointed to learn that the unit was indeed fictional as I would have loved for it to have been a real thing. The unit is an offspring of the Metropolitan Police and takes on the bizarre crimes that are too time-consuming for the Met to investigate. In this particular story, the case involves an old lady who is found dead in her basement. Her death appears to be completely natural aside from the odd fact that she has a throat full of river water.

Book Review - The Secrets Between Us by Louise Douglas

I received this book to read and review from Transworld as part of their book group. The idea is that you choose four books from their list of twelve and they send you them one at a time through the month of August. I choose ‘The Secrets Between Us’ by Louise Douglas, because I have never read any of her books before, in fact never even heard of her, and I thought it’d be a great opportunity to go out of my reading comfort zone, plus I thought the book sounded interesting.

Sarah meets Alexander on holiday in Sicily, where she is escaping her marital problems and taking a break from the real world. It seems that Alexander is doing the same thing with his son and they end up deciding to start again together. Sarah moves to the quiet village in Somerset where Alexander lives, to be his nanny and housekeeper and, she hopes, more. It soon becomes clear that all is not as it seems with Alexander and his previous relationship. His beautiful and much loved wife Genevieve seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet, totally against character, and the entire village (her rich and powerful family included) think that Alexander has something to do with it.

Sarah is beginning to fall in love with Alexander and simply cannot believe that he would do anything like what people think he might have done – but when the evidence and the hatred builds up against him, what will she do?

‘I’m part of the Transworld Book Group!’

I've just joined the Transworld Book Group and I'm very excited! The idea is that you pick four books from their list of twelve and they send you one, which you then review before they send you the next, and so on. Can't wait to get started and I'll let you know how it's going . . .

It's Challenge Time Again!

I think I was a little bit ambitious with the challenges I got myself involved in last year - I started off well but it went downhill from there! Having said that, I couldn't resist BookChickCity's Mystery and Suspense Challenge - it was so much fun last year that I'm doing it again this year too!

Check it out!

PS It's sponsored by Simon and Schuster, so there's an ARC to get you started when you sign up!

Book Review - Rumour Has It by Jill Mansell

Jill Mansell is considered to be at the forefront of 'chick-lit' writing and has a number of popular novels under her belt. Rumour Has It is her latest offering and deserves its place as a number one bestseller. Mansell has proved again that she has the formula of writing in this genre off to a tee.

Rumour Has It is the story of Tilly Cole a twenty-something, newly single woman who changes her life by moving to a new place (a quirky village in the country somewhere), taking a on a new job (a quirky but fun one that she has no experience of - as is usually the case in this type of book) and meeting a handsome chap who is probably going to be no good for her.

It all starts when Tilly returns to the London home she shares with her fairly long term boyfriend and finds out that he has done a runner whilst she's at work, moving out his belongings and leaving her nothing but a note and a nosy neighbour to break the news. Rather than mourning the demise of her relationship, Tilly heads off to the sleepy, quaint village of Roxborough to reap the commiserations of her best friend Erin. After a few days of moping she decides to head back to her life in the city, but is distracted by an advert in the local paper that requires a 'Good Friday Girl'. Intrigued, Tilly calls the number and after some gentle persuasion finds her self living with a gay interior designer and his feisty daughter, as their personal assistant.

Book Review - I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

If any of you have read my recent book reviews, you will know that I have recently entered the world of audio books and my latest ‘listen’ is I, Alex Cross by James Patterson. I didn’t think I would ever become a fan of listening to a book being read to me as I like nothing more than picking up a real book, but I am slowly being converted and much of that is thanks to James Patterson.

Why An Audio Book?

The bottom line is that audio books are sometimes just more convenient. I discovered this when trying to manage a cocktail and a book on the beach in Spain earlier this year. But the newest reason I have for listening to audio books is that they fill the long drive to work and mean that I no longer have to listen to endless replays of terrible music on the radio. It also means that I can continue to feed my addiction to books even when it’s not convenient (or legal!) to actually read one.

Why James Patterson?

From my admittedly limited experience of audio books so far, I have realised that there has to be a bit of action in the story in order to keep you listening. Many of the James Patterson audio books are read by more than one person and have added sound effects so it is like you are listening to a film almost. There is plenty going on and his written books in general are quite fast paced and have plenty of twists and turns, making them ideal audio book material.

What’s I, Alex Cross About?

Alex Cross is Patterson’s most famous and longest running character. He is a police officer of great standing in Washington D.C. and is often called upon in high profile cases. I, Alex Cross is the latest in the series and features the familiar character solving yet another ‘unsolvable’ case. This time Alex is dragged away from a family celebration to be told that his niece has been brutally murdered. It soon becomes clear that the Washington Police are dealing with a serial killer and that the killer is extremely well connected and, even worse, well protected.

Cross is facing his toughest case yet and finds himself in a world that you can only imagine and fighting against Washington’s highest movers and shakers. He has a personal interest in the case and will stop at nothing to get a result.

Challenge Updates

I've had a bit of a spurt on the old reading front recently so I thought I'd post my updates - to keep me up-to-date more than anything!

I have read:

Random by Craig Robertson (review to follow). This was a strange one, but I think I liked it!
Blind Fury by Lynda La Plante (read my review here). Not her best, but OK.
The Guy Next Door by Meg Cabot (read my review here). Fun read!
Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot (read my review here). Another fun read!

Continuing with my latest reading of the Harry Potter series, I've also read:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I've also discovered the world of audio-books and have added these to my list of read (or listened!):

Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson (read my review here). A departure from his usual Alex Cross books.
I, Alex Cross by James Patterson (review to follow). Alex Cross back to his best.

This brings my challenge totals to:

37 / 100 for The 100+ Reading Challenge hosted by Home Girl's Book Blog

11 / 12 for The Thriller and Suspense Challenge hosted by Book Chick City

6 / 10 for The James Patterson Challenge hosted by Socrates that has now finished :(

Book Review - Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot

Boy Meets Girl is the second book I've read by American author Meg Cabot, who is most famous for writing the 'Princess Diary' books that were made into popular films by Disney. Cabot is most well-known for her books for children and teens, although this new foray into the world of adult fiction is a successful one in my opinion.

This book is part of a series, although you don't have to read the books in order to enjoy them as it is more of a case that you will recognise the odd character from other books and the setting is the same, although the actual stories in the different books are otherwise independent from each other.

Kate MacKenzie works in the human resources department of the fictional New York Journal magazine. She is, as the blurb describes her, 'reluctant deliverer of termination notices and queen of instant messaging'. Ida Lopez is the creator of the most delightful cakes which she sells to the employees of the New York Journal by means of a dessert trolley, although she has her own very exacting standards of who is worthy of her treats. Mitch Hertzog is a corporate lawyer who is forever the saviour of the underdog, shunning a life of family wealth to make a difference to those less fortunate. When Ida decides that Mitch's tyrant brother is undeserving of her cakes, all hell breaks loose and Kate, Mitch and Ida must work together against the tyrants and the nepotism to find the truth.

WIN! WIN! WIN!

Hi guys!

I know how much everyone loves a competition and although it's not book related, I have a great one for you to enter here. You can win this fabulous pair of earrings just by entering Moon-Jewellery's simple competition.

Moon-Jewellery is my family's fantastic new venture and is a great place to buy (and win!) stunning hand made jewellery, including earrings and charm bracelets, for great prices.

All of their pieces are made from quality semi precious stones and make ideal gifts.

I know this is turning into a bit of an advert, but I'm very excited and I think you'll agree that there are some great items available!

Don't worry - I'll be back to reviewing books soon, but I didn't want you to miss out on this opportunity, so don't forget to enter!