Thursday 21 January 2016

I Can See You by David Haynes

Since Chris' father died when he was a boy, Chris has been haunted by nightmares.  But now it is coming to a head and his son is getting nightmares too.  He needs to go back to Cornwall and exorcise the demons from his and his father's past.

This is another creepy story by this author.  Things can be meandering along and then the tension is ramped up.  The author's descriptions are extremely compelling and I was biting my nails at times.

Thinking back on this now, I can feel the greyness and dampness of Cornwall.  Which to me shows what a great storyteller David Haynes is.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AQOCSAO/?tag=jookuf-21



Saturday 16 January 2016

Void by David Staniforth

A bloke wakes up in a car on a cold street.  What is he doing there  Who is he?
And so our story starts.  We quickly find out that the man's name is (probably) Tom as he finds a journal in the glove box with a note to Tom.

It seems that every January Tom disappears from his life with his girlfriend Penny for a week.  He has no recollection of this week.  He also has no recollection of his first 20 or so years.  The journey he is now on is to work out why this happens.

This was quite a different book.  It was quite claustrophobic in the narrowness of the story.  We only find out what Tom finds out about his "normal" life as it happens.  We live through what he goes through in his week "away" with him.  As things unfold, we are with Tom all the way.

I really enjoyed this, I was always wondering where it was going.  Not knowing what a book is about is a great joy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AMOGRBE/?tag=jookuf-21


Monday 11 January 2016

How Not to Self-Publish by Rosen Trevithick

First off, I'm not and will never be an author.  Second off, this is a very funny book that is not just for authors.

Yes, this is a very instructive book for would-be self-publishers, but it's a lot more about what not to do and how not to offend readers.

The book is set out into mini chapters based on potential scenarios, such as "A Reader Notices a Typo", "Your Wallet Hears Erotica Calling", "Your Quote About Dog Turds Goes Viral" and "Another Author Plagiarises Your Zombie Heptathlon".  There then follows guidance on how to manage these scenarios.

Since the book is set out in mini chapters it is easy to just read one or two when you have a few minutes.  I read this book in 3 goes as it was "just one more", "OK just another".  I found it to be very light and funny and quite adult in places.

If you've liked any of this author's more comedic stories, you'll like this, even if you are like me and prefer reading to writing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MHTW07S/?tag=jookuf-21


Saturday 9 January 2016

Killer Colada by Sibel Hodge

This is the second in this author's Danger Cove mysteries.  It seems there are many authors writing about life in the town of Danger Cove.  This author's characters are centred around the Smugglers' Tavern which Hope inherited in the first book.  She is getting into her new life as bar owner and also her new love life with a cute Brit called Harvey.

As with any cozy mystery, there's a death.  And as the first story, the police decide who the killer is based on the minimum of evidence.  So Hope and her best friends, Ruby and Vernon, have to solve the murder mystery themselves.

This is quite a light easy to read story, but a bit heavy on the healthy fitness, new age lifestyle.  As a couch addict, I felt it was a little rammed down my throat.   It didn't take away from the story too much though.  

Having read 2 stories set in this world, I expect I will look at the others as it's a nice town (apart from the murders)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AAVZ1AW/?tag=jookuf-21


Tuesday 5 January 2016

Mysterious Pitkirtly by Cecilia Peartree

This is a "bonus" novella in the Pitkirtly series.  Someone's organised a coach trip round Pitkirtly to all the murder spots.  No, the organiser doesn't get murdered.  Although I'm sure Amaryllis would like them to.  This story is about the mystery about who the organiser is.

We visit many of the scenes of the previous stories.  This is like a gentle reminisce of what's (and who's) gone before. There are quite a few locations that are on the coach's itinerary.  Considering Pitkirtly is a quiet backwater town, it's a dangerous place to visit.

I enjoyed this story, even though it was not quite a "proper" one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019P930TO/?tag=jookuf-21


E.T. The Extra Tortilla by Ray Kingfisher

Hmmmm.  Where do I start on my brief description of this story?  In England at Heathrow Airport?  In BallyMcBunion, Texas at the Mexas Grillbar?  Or on Gneer Jjiiwn (pronounced Gneer Jjiiwn)?  It doesn't matter.  There is no "brief description" that I can come up with.  This story is just bonkers.  

The narrator is always talking to you.  Yes, YOU.  If you don't like this method of storytelling, then you probably won't like this book.  Once I got used to it, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I felt like being on a roller coaster reading it.  It was a wild ride, for sure.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019NH76JI/?tag=jookuf-21


Stranded by Tim Arnot

Stranded is the third book in the Flick Carter series and follows straight on from Hunted.

Flick, Shea and PJ find themselves trapped on a slave ship heading to foreign shores.  Back in Bristol, Socko doesn't believe the government when they say PJ (Princess Jessica) is dead and that Flick and Shea are terrorists who set off the bomb that destroyed much of the harbour at Bristol.

With nobody knowing who to trust and main characters being killed off, this is a good continuance and finale to this trilogy.

Even though the two main parties/threads of this story barely cross over, I liked both stories. Even though I think the audience for this is supposed to be younger, it had quite adult themes, whilst not being graphic about them.  The descriptions of this future, yet past world kept me in the time zone and I enjoyed being there.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019YI0ZKS/?tag=jookuf-21