I wasn't quite sure what this book was about before I started and it starts off quietly enough. Talon is a man who wants to cure cancer but ends up, well certainly NOT curing anything.
The story is non-linear. We go back and forth to particular points in Talon's life, told in the first person, as a diary. It took me a bit of reading to get the hang of this, but once I actually paid attention to the dates at the top of chapters, I could follow it easily enough. It felt as though Talon was speaking directly to me
I didn't really like Talon as a man. Whilst he wanted to do good, he was a swearing sex addict, who didn't care about most women. Once I got into the story, it was very addictive reading, fitting all the pieces together.
On the whole, an enjoyable, gripping bio-thriller.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M27P7XE/?tag=jookuf-21
Lucy starts her life in early 19th Century Eastern England in a good home as her mother is a maid to a well-to-do family, but they have to leave to a life of poverty. Well for Lucy anyway and her mother takes all the money she earns. As she blossoms into late teenage, Lucy find herself the centre of attention of two eligible men who hate each other.
This tale of life in the times of smuggling depicts how hard it is to survive unless you get a chance. Lucy needs to make a choice, but which should she choose. As a reader I knew which one I wanted her to go with and at times was annoyed that nobody ever gave their true intentions. But that seems to be the way it was in those days. You could wait a few months before finding out the punchline of a joke.
I enjoyed this story even if I though Lucy was a bit child-like at times. There was enough romance and smuggling action and drama to keep me interested and wanting to read on.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LNQ24UY/?tag=jookuf-21
A Gathering of Ghosts is a collection of short stories. David Haynes has moved from his macabre stories and delves into the world of ghost stories. Again these stories are set in Victorian times and the author is clearly at home writing in this time.
I enjoyed the richness of each story. They might have been short, but packed a lot of intrigue into them, always making me want to read on.
My favourite was The Silent Bell. That brought my hackles up.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LNHY7DU/?tag=jookuf-21
