Quick Reviews March 2024 - Part 1

 

The Lady's Guide to Escaping Cannibals
Emmanuelle De Maupassant

4 Stars

Adventure Ahoy! A lady's search for her missing brother takes her to the remote island of Vanuaka under the seeming protection of Captain Jorge de Silva.

Battling her deepest fears, an erupting volcano and a bunch of cannibals, Lady Bathsheba Asquith finds herself in a desperate struggle to survive.

Amidst all this, she finds herself drawn to the handsome Captain.

A fun adventure story, with a piratical theme, containing some sensual adult content that was an interesting listen.

Audio narration was excellent and professionally produced with additional sound effects

Sleepless Night
Audrey Walker

5 Stars

First book in the 'Shelby Griffin' mystery thriller series.

Great characters and an intriguing plot that sees Shelby and her partner embroiled in a gang dispute.

An excellent introduction to the series

One-Eyed Cy Gets Something to do
Simon Carr

5 Stars

Cy is reclassified as a pirate when his monster licence is revoked and what follows is a large dose of the usual ludicrous situations, witty dialog and downright lunacy that marks out a Simon Carr novel.

Laugh out loud conversations poking fun at everyday situations mixed with an enjoyable adventure story of monsters, gods and pirates.

If you've got a weak bladder then make sure you're wearing your leak proof pants before settling down to read this.

I loved the narration on the audio version

Widdershins
Helen Steadman

4 Stars

Based on a real life witch trial in northern England, Widdershins is a fascinating look at the motivation and methods of the so-called Witchfinders who persecuted innocent women, and the odd man, during a period in our history that is barely believable looking at it with modern knowledge.

I listened to the audio book and the narration was top class with great character differentiation and authentic accents of the region.

Well developed believable characters really brought the story to life

Neurahack
Eris Goode / Kris Ruhler

4 Stars

A thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi cyberpunk series featuring a nicely devised world and some endearing characters.

With a few twists, turns and surprises thrown in along the way and this has turned out to be an excellent start to the Project Juniper series

Into The Bush
J. Manfred Weichsel

4 Stars

I can honestly say that I've never read a book like this before. I say never, but I also read Jungle Jitters which is the previous title in the series so 'honestly' and 'never' are not strictly true. But, I read them back to back so it felt like just the one book so I'm going to stick with my original statement.

The Action Girls, fresh from their movie making exploits in the Congo have decided to explore a 300 mile tall giantess that is laying across multiple States and their target is to trek through her pubic bush to see the various micro orgasms (sorry, organisms) that have been blown up to human size by the same ray that created the giant woman.

Funny and rude with a smidgen of lunacy, this will definitely be one to divide readers into two camps and I'm a little surprised to find that I fall into the sniggering schoolboy element despite not having been to school in nearly forty years.

It's always good to read something outside your usual fare and I'm glad I read this as it definitely made me smile

Murder Unveiled
J.T. Bishop

5 Stars

Another solid entry in the Daniels and Remalla series, this time it's a very well plotted prequel that pits our favourite detectives sleuthing abilities against a ruthless killer and immerses them in the world of fine art.

I love this pair of detectives. The relationship between them and the snarky banter they share puts me in mind of Starsky & Hutch (Ask your parents)

Mountain Man Returns
Megan L. Bradford

4 Stars

Kevin reunites with his closest friends for a holiday in the woods after recovering from a car accident that has robbed him of some of his memories.

Fixating on the rumoured "Mountain Man" serial killings, Kevin starts to piece together secrets that will shed new light on the motives of his friends

An edge of the seat psychological thriller that ratchets up the drama and tension in just the right places

Shattered Echoes
Stella Mace

4 Stars

A cryptic tipoff sends FBI cyber crime expert ia Conrad back to he childhood town to reopen the investigation into the murder of her sister.

A fast moving plot and a relatable collection of investigators allowed the narrative to flow right through the book.

Given the fast pace and short nature of the book. it didn't have much space for twists and shocks but overall the story was nicely plotted and entertaining throughout

On Your Own
Jonathan Miller

5 Stars

I enjoy my short stories in the style of "The Twilight Zone" or "Tales of the Unexpected". You know, the ones with a massive twist at the end.

Well, these are nothing like that, but I found them to be just as fun. Each one simply tells the story of a short period during the life of a regular person, depicting some of their concerns and interactions with the people around them.

Each story is very relatable and the reader could easily find themselves in similar situations.

I put off reading this book for such a long time, concerned that I wouldn't enjoy the short stories and even shorter sections inbetween.

How wrong could I have been? Once I set off on the journey I read it straight through in one sitting, captivated by the simple prose and nicely written characters

Pretty Darn Fast
Ann Marie & Justin Jones

5 Stars

First, a confession. I'm not a fan of self-help books. The majority of them are trying to sell something - a service or a subscription or a novel way to part the unwary from their much needed cash whilst never offering any substantial guidance or advice.

Now that's out of the way, I can honestly say that I found this book to be refreshingly open, honest and useful.

There is nothing complex about the advice given in this collection of helpful tips and suggestions. You can pick and choose whatever suits you best.

Best of all, it is presented without the usual condescending tone that plagues many books of this type.

Filled with plenty of pointers to free resources and full of delightful photos and colourful images that help to soothe the soul.

If you are going to get the full experience then get a physical copy to fully appreciate its beauty.

As I said, I loathe self help books in general but I'll definitely make an exception for this one.

The War Widow
Tara Moss

5 Stars

War correspondent turned private investigator Billie Walker is asked to track down a missing young man which leads her into danger as she starts to uncover the shocking truth behind the disappearance.

Set in Sydney, Australia, in 1946 "War Widow" beautifully sets the atmosphere of the post war era amid the rationing and shortages associated with the time.

Billie is a feisty independent woman when, unlike today, this was an abberation rather than the norm. It's hard enough being a PI in the days before computers and cell phones without having to endure the persecution and old fashioned ways of the 1940's. The author nicely depicts Billie's struggle in a male orientated setting.

With excellent supporting characters and a plot that siezes the reader in it's grip from the first few pages, "War Widow" was a joy to read

Remorseless
Will Patching

5 Stars

Peter Leech has spent half of his life incarcerated for the brutal murder of his parents - a crime he maintains that he is entirely innocent of.

Doc Powers is a forensic psychologist whose evidence was key in putting Leech behind bars and now is called upon to advise at his parole hearing.

What follows is an intriguing thriller that threatens both the sanity and life of Powers and those closest to him.

Filled with great characters and an edge of your seat plot, this is one you'll not want to put down until the criminally insane protagonist is brought to justice.

The audiobook is brilliantly narrated and really brings the characters to life

Fraternity of Brothers
Marina Pacheco

5 Stars

It's medieval Europe towards the end of the tenth century and teenager Galen is expelled from his family home after falling victim to a vicious sexual assault.

Taken in by Monks Galen seeks to understand what is happening to him and is befriended by an illustrator who acknowledges his skill as a scribe.

An excellent, well researched, story that paints a vivid picture of life in the medieval period along with the misguided beliefs of the day.

Great characters, a riveting plot and a few surprises along the way. I'm looking forward to book 2

The narration on the audio book is first class