#Review of Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver #KillThemWithKindness @WillCarver #RandomTTours #BlogTour @OrendaBooks

Kill Them With Kindness
By Will Carver

Will Carver is a master writer of societal issues and observations of what the hot topics are and fictionalises them in a way that makes you think and join the dots between the book and the reality. Today, I am on the Compulsive Readers/Orenda Books blog tour for his latest page-turning, pacy novel, Kill Them With Kindness.

Blurb

Compassion may be humanity’s deadliest weapon…

The threat of nuclear war is no longer scary. This is much worse. It’s invisible. It works quickly.

And it’s coming.

The scourge has already infected and killed half the population in China and it is heading towards the UK. There is no time to escape. The British government sees no way out other than to distribute ‘Dignity Pills’ to its citizens: One last night with family or loved ones before going to sleep forever … together. Because the contagion will kill you and the horrifying news footage shows that it will be better to go quietly.

Dr Haruto Ikeda, a Japanese scientist working at a Chinese research facility, wants to save the world. He has discovered a way to mutate a virus. Instead of making people sick, instead of causing death, it’s going to make them… nice. Instead of attacking the lungs, it will work into the brain and increase the host’s ability to feel and show compassion. It will make people kind.

Ikeda’s quest is thoughtful and noble, and it just might work. Maybe humanity can be saved. Maybe it doesn’t have to be the end.

But kindness may also be the biggest killer of all…

Review

There are two places to look at in this book, the UK, where ‘Dignity Pills’ are headed to and China which already has them. There are people queuing up for a painless death.

The thread of Dr Haruto Ikeda who wants to mutate the virus to make people kind is a fascinating concept, if not a little scary because on the face of it, it sounds all nice and lovely, but it really makes you think about how scientists could then make you into whatever they want you to be. It’s also interesting how doing kindness this way could have many consequences, some of them may even be deadly.

The concepts are compelling and incredibly thought-provoking. Will Carver’s writing just pulls you in further into his fictional world that is so close to the real world we live in with the topics hot on people’s lips and that have been newsworthy. There is a bit of humour through it.

It’s fascinating in the way the governments are working, that is a bit different from the scientists and the differences of opinions and how people want the populations to be. Could it end in conflict or kindness and compassion and how can it all conclude? You’ll have to read this absorbing book to find out.

So, watch out for the airborne virus and catch this book instead.

#Review by Lou of Be Here Now by Paul Carroll @paulcarrollink @RandomTTours #books #music #festivals #Oasis #OasisLive

Be Here Now
By Paul Carroll

Review written by Lousie Cannon

Oasis Fans Assemble….. BritPop Fans….. Assemble! Be Here Right Now is a novel taking you into the music festival world and the headliners – Oasis.
Today I am delighted to be on the Random T. Tours blog tour, so go ahead and check out the blurb and my review below…

Blurb

Makes Woodstock ’99 and Fyre look like Sunday school outings

When Oasis reform for a one-off gig on a wind turbine eco-island in the middle of the North Sea, it’s billed as the greenest live music event of all time.

The stakes are high for all involved, but it turns out some of the festivalgoers have bigger personal problems to deal with than the survival of the planet.

Rachel, for one, on a trial break from her husband. The gang of four middle-aged Manc mates trying to re-capture their youth. Not to mention a bunch of activists who plan to disrupt the gig.

Can such an ambitious event live up to the hype? (And has anybody checked the weather forecast?)

Pack your windbreaker, grab your solar charger and get ready to party like it’s the end of the world.

Review

As you get ready for the Oasis reunion of 2025, Be Here Now zooms you forward to a reunion also no one wants to miss in 2029.

The chapters are, like the title, of Oasis songs, which really will take you Half A World Away from your own lives for a bit as it provides the perfect escape.

Follow Rachel into the dizzying world of her life as she prepares for a road trip to see her favourite manc band. She is taking a break from her other half, so what better way to do that go to the reunion of a lifetime.

Not all goes to plan. Much like today, music bands and soloists are looking at greener gigs and green glamping pod type accommodation for fans to stay in. The climate and how to save the world isn’t the only immediate problem on people’s minds…

Paul Carroll writes about the very human situations of why and how people decide to go to gigs and the baggage that people have in their personal lives. The festival-goers are worth reading about and delving into their lives.

The anticipation for Oasis to be on stage at the festival is high as is the rising tensions between the different characters, not to mention people trying to disrupt the event and have a hope it can’t really go any further. There’s also the question of the weather…

To find out what happens at a festival behind and in-front of the scenes and if the reunion of a lifetime is all that is promised, you need to read the book.

This is without a doubt a book to push up your tbr (to be read) pile this summer.

#Review by Lou of The Lady in the Park by David Reynolds @davidreynoldswriter @muswellpress @RandomTTours #Debut #NewBook #Thriller #CrimeFiction #TheLadyInThePark

The Lady in the Park
By David Reynolds

The Lady in the Park is a strong debut thriller with some topical subjects like people trafficking, drugs and there is a murder. Something quite different makes this debut rather striking. Find out more in the blurb and my full review below on this blog tour. It’s a book that makes you realise that debuts are not to be sniffled at, but instead given a chance on…

Blurb

Introducing a unique and unorthodox crime solving duo –

meet ex Met DI Jim Domino, and his inquisitive six-year-old grandson, Danny…

When a woman is found unconscious on a ping-pong table in Warwick Gardens in Peckham, South East London, it looks like a case of mistaken identity. Why would anyone want to injure this popular local mum of six? But Jim Domino, ex-CID detective turned private eye, keeps asking questions. As the crime escalates to murder, Domino finds himself collaborating with his old colleagues in the Met. And, assisted by sharp observations from his six-year-old grandson, Danny, he finds that important clues can come from unexpected sources.

The first in an exciting new crime fiction series, The Lady in the Park weaves a rich tapestry of characters together with a twisty immersive plot that will leave readers craving for more investigations featuring the inimitable Jim Domino and his young sidekick, Danny.

Review

What is striking is the crime-busting duo. A grandad who has all the experience in crime-solving from his time in the Met and his 6 year old grandson. Admittedly, it is a strange combo, one which could have proven frustrating. It wasn’t at all. It was intriguing and observational in how the experience and connections to the Met that ex-DI Domino has and the sharpness of the eye of his grandson, Danny can compliment each other. Despite the unlikelihood of this actually happening, these characters, like the others are written in a believable manner, making them investable in as a reader. Danny has 6 year old traits and behaviours, which keeps him realistic and a pleasure to read about. There’s warmth and humour in this interesting family relationship. It’s also interesting to see how Jim Domino’s former Met colleagues also connect.

What is embarked on becomes more complex than how it starts with the murder of a lady in the park. There’s much to uncover to keep readers guessing where it will take them next.

The writing of the characterisation and plot of the crimes with their hard-hitting themes are engaging, with the situations of suburban London moving to the Thames creating an immersion and further understanding of the feel of the urgency of the story that’s within the mysterious pages.

It’s a great opener debut to a whole new series to adorn bookshelves and feast the eyes and mind.

About the Author

David Reynolds was one of the founders of Bloomsbury Publishing and is now a director of Old Street Publishing. Based in London, he is the author of Swan River: A Memoir of a Family Mystery, which was published by Picador to great critical acclaim and shortlisted forthe PEN/Acklerley Prize. Greystone Books published Slow Road to Brownsville which was reviewed in The Times, The Telegraph, The Financial Times and The Observer and praised by Robert Elms and the Reverend Richard Coles. His most recent book was Slow Road to San Francisco. This is his debut novel.

He has three adult children, six grandchildren and lives with his wife Penny in South West London. but still spends a lot of time with his grandchildren in Peckham!

#Review by Lou of Lyme Regis Murders by Andrew Segal @authorandrewsegal #CrimeFiction #Thriller

Lyme Regis Murders

By Andrew Segal

Murder is everywhere, even in Lyme Regis, a seaside town in West Dorset.

Blurb

The gruesome murders of three little girls on the beach of a peaceful English seaside town frighten the community and baffle the police.When London-based private detective Tammy Pierre is hired by the father of the girls – who’s been targeted immediately as the prime suspect – she runs up against a lack of evidence and hostility from the police. New suspects emerge, more bodies are found, as the case keeps getting more complicated.

And Tammy’s personal life follows suit, with her frequent trips back and forth between London and Lyme Regis, the pressures of trying to unravel the mystery, and her own indecision leave her neglecting those she loves. Throw in an attack on Tammy herself and a series of threats to drop the case and she’s at her wits end.

Can she find the killer (or killers), avoid becoming a victim, and repair her faltering relationships?

This is a new Author’s Edition of this opening book in the Tammy Pierre Series, with a Discussion Guide.

Review

Tammy is a complex character, which goes with the vibe of a complex case. Complex characters can be interesting to read about though as it seeps you into a life so different from your own. Tammy took time to warm to and normally that doesn’t matter, but this time it did a bit. It is however worth sticking with. It’s a fiercely strong written book with unusual murders and complicated matters such as evidence lacking and certain attitudes to overcome, as well as Tammy having to overcome and move forwards with her past issues. It does make it a rather well-rounded and well-balanced book.
The book seems to set out to challenge readers and also show how certain attitudes can be and this works really rather well. It tells a truth that’s needed.

#Review by Lou of A Cornish Legacy By Fern Britton @Fern_Britton @HarperCollinsUK #ACornishLegacy

A Cornish Legacy
By Fern Britton

It’s time to fall in love with a visit to Cornwall all over again with A Cornish Legacy. Below is the blurb and my review of her latest absorbing book.

Blurb

Escape to Cornwall this summer with the new emotional and uplifting novel from Sunday Times #1 bestselling author Fern Britton

Set by the wild Atlantic coast of Cornwall comes a story about finding home in the most unlikely places.

When Cordelia Jago learns she’s been left the crumbling manor house Wilder Hoo, perched high on the Cornish coast, she wonders if it’s one last cruel joke from beyond the grave.

Having already lost her marriage, her best friend and her career, she’s at rock-bottom. Now she’s inherited a house she hates, full of unhappy memories.

But as she fights with its echoing rooms and whispering shadows, the house begins to exert a pull on her. The wild Cornish landscape, the stark beauty of seagrass and yellow gorse against the deep blue sea, begin to awaken a connection she thought she’d buried forever.

Could she turn around this monstrous wreck of a house – and, along the way, let go of the secrets of the past and heal her heart too?

Review

Cordelia Jago is an interesting character. She doesn’t wear any make-up, is a bit fed up and all is a bit ordinary. She’s also not had things easy, having lost the major thing in life, so you really can feel for her. Things, however, change when she discovers she’s been left a manor house in a will. This manor house, Wilderhoo, like the setting in Cornwall, seems to be quite a character in itself and has quite profound effects on her, which in turn makes things quite thought-provoking for the reader.

What makes this inheritance really different is that Cordelia doesn’t actually want it. She remembers it from another place in time. It becomes quite a mysterious book in that way. It sweeps you up because by this time you want to know why she doesn’t want this big country pile to do up, apart from it being a money pit. Makes you want to read more into what the memories its bringing back as the house then appears to also have a life of its own… It really seems to go with the saying of “walls have ears”. This country pile just knows things and there are conscious and unconscious thoughts that Cordelia then has about it.

The book is succinctly set in both the past and the present, giving a whole picture about what’s been going on. It’s told in a very compelling way, and much like the house pulling Cordelia in, it draws you as a reader into its depths of emotion and life opportunities and life matters.

Fern Britton weaves the seascape, the manor house and the power of memories expertly together, creating a highly atmospheric, highly adept and compelling book.

#EdFringe News – Horny For The End of The World @theSpaceUK #SurgeonsHall #WhatsOnEdinburgh #Comedy @EdFringe

Horny for the End of the World

Venue: TheSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall (Stephenson Theatre)

Dates: August 1 – 22 (not 10, not 17)

Time: (August 1-16) 23:15 (August 18-22) 23:30

See clip at the end of the article…

Gen Z, try-hard, pick-me Ebeth gets dumped the day before everyone realizes the world is going to end. With the time she has left to live, Ebeth obsesses over her humiliating past relationships and unhinged personal philosophies. Horny for the End of the World, an apocalyptic anti-romcom, follows Ebeth through her girly-pop existential crisis, finding growth on her journey of accidental self-reflection at TheSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall this August.

Written by and starring award-winning, New York based actress and Tribeca Film Festival Alumna, Tatienne Hendricks-Tellefsen in her Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut. Horny for the End of the World, is the chaotic feminist comedy we didn’t know we needed.

While living with her parents during the pandemic lockdown and simultaneously going through the most intense heartbreak of her life, Tatienne received a “check in text” from every man she’d ever slept with. She vividly remembers these thirsty messages, thinking “these dudes are horny for the end of the world!”

Watching herself (and everyone else in the world) spiraling out and coupling up, Tatienne had a moment of clarity. Through Ebeth, Horny’s startlingly unselfaware anti-heroine, Tatienne uses her skill with language to ask the audience: What would you focus on when the end is nigh—boys?

Musa Gurnis, a feminist theater scholar and the director of Horny for the End of the World says: “Tatienne is a glitterbomb satirist and a joy to watch! Her high-energy performance roasts our delulu heroine and her male-centric outlook, while still taking Ebeth seriously as a person capable of growth and worthy of love.”

Horny for the End of The World plays throughout August at TheSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall. Produced by the Private Theatre under the artistic direction of John Gould Rubin (former co-artistic director of LAByrinth, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman). John Gould Rubin on Horny: “Tatienne’s a deeply gifted artist. She’s created a piece that simultaneously confronts the audience and puts them at ease; while recounting her character’s story she endows us with empathy, so through her we see ourselves.”

Tickets available here.

Praise and Audience reactions for Tatienne Hendricks-Tellefsen:

“I love the way Tatienne performs that number. She uses the song as a Knife against Bertram. It’s great.” – Josh Feye, Dionysian Dream

“The show that keeps selling out.” – Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research

“Hilarious and heartbreaking. Horny 4 has a world and a character so recognizable, you’ll worry it could be about you.” – Claire McClain (audience member)

Biography

Tatienne Hendricks-Tellefsen is a classically trained actor and writer, born and raised in New York City. She studied Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and is an Alumni of Atlantic Acting School in Chelsea NYC.

Tatienne wrote, produced and starred in her comedic web series, Adult, which was an official selection at Lower East Side Film Festival, won two audience awards at IndieWorks and also earned her an invitation to participate in the Tribeca Film Festival’s N.O.W. Creators Market. Her acting has been featured at film festivals all over the United States and the prestigious San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain. Recent acting credits include: David Chase’s THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK, Kevin Vu’s PERFECT AS CATS, the western feature ALL MEN ARE WICKED, Alex Aguirre’s M3LTD0WN at the Brick Theater; Shakespeare’s ALLS WELL THAT ENDS WELL, Daria Kolomiec’s DIARY OF WAR at Bedlam’s West End Theatre, and Dan Purcell’s OBSERVER AT REST.

Listing Information

Title: Horny for the End of the World

Venue: TheSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

Ed Fringe link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/horny-for-the-end-of-the-world

Fringe Venue Number: 53

Dates: Aug 1 – 22 (Not 10, not 17)

Press from: AUG 2

Time: (August 1-16) 23:15 (August 18-22) 23:30

Duration: 40 mins Entry: £12 / concessions £10 Age: 16+