#Review By Lou of Edge of the Land By Malcolm Hollingdrake @MHollingdrake @HobeckBooks #EdgeOfTheLand #MerseysideCrimeSeries #CrimeFiction #BlogTour

Edge of the Land
By Malcolm Hollingdrake

After reading and reviewing the first two of the Merseyside crime series, Catch As Catch Can and Syn, it gives me great pleasure to be back on the Hobeck Books blog tour for the third instalment. You can read it as a stand-alone or as part of the series.
I’ve also trawled through my many photos of Liverpool and included the Albert Docks and the Liverbirds Building that are mentioned after my review. I don’t live in Liverpool, but have visited this city.

Blurb

Edge of the Land is the thrilling third novel in the Merseyside crime series from Malcolm Hollingdrake, author of the best-selling Harrogate crime series.

The waterways of the Liverpool docks contain many ghosts and shadows. It’s a place to disappear… a place to die.
Detective Inspector April Decent and Detective Sergeant Skeeter Warlock are fearful for the welfare of a vulnerable young man injured in an attack ordered by drug dealers. Originally questioned at the scene, the young man denies the attack and refuses to co-operate with the police. He soon disappears. Clues to his whereabouts are sown, a cry for help maybe, but he remains elusive.

At the same time, the team are dealing with a spate of deaths in the city. The one thing the deaths have in common: the victims are all homeless and seemingly ravaged by addiction. Initially, the deaths are not considered to be suspicious as there is no obvious connection. Soon the hallmarks of murder are discovered and a hunt for a potential serial killer is on.
Is there a link between the missing man and the deaths? Could he be the vital piece of the puzzle which will solve the mystery behind the brutal murders?

Review

The Merseyside crime series is gritty with twists and turns, creating a dark, yet very compelling atmosphere. In reality, the docklands around Liverpool is an interesting area to visit, for readers who perhaps visit this city or live in and around it.

The writing is engaging, with shades of light and dark.
There’s a petty criminal, Danny, who has been sadly involved in crime since the age of 8, so knows no different. It’s quite a reflection on certain areas of society and how people can turn out. He’s now fallen foul to a drugs gang. Police are concerned about his activities and his welfare.

Homeless people are seen as “easy targets” and are being murdered. As a wider picture emerges, it looks like a serial killer is on the lose, going through the Liverpudlian streets.

Detective Inspector April Decent and Detective Sergeant Skeeter Warlock are the beat to solve both cases. Both are gripping and intriguing and not easy for the police to piece together the fragments of evidence.

It’s a fascinating read with tricky puzzles to solve before time runs out. There’s a lot for the police to handle and a lot at stake in this pacy read.

Pics are of the docks and Liverbirds building that are mentoned in the book.

#Review By Lou of The Night In Question By Susan Fletcher @sfletcherauthor @hanwints @transworldbooks @doubledayuk #TheNightInQuestion

The Night In Question
By Susan Fletcher

The Night In Question is mysterious, emotional and a story that becomes life-affirming.

Blurb

Florence Butterfield has lived an extraordinary life full of travel, passion and adventure. But, at eighty-seven, she suspects there are no more surprises to come her way.

Then, one midsummer’s night, something terrible happens – so strange and unexpected that Florrie is suspicious. Was this really an accident, or is she living alongside a would-be murderer?

The only clue is a magenta envelope, discarded earlier that day.

And Florrie – cheerfully independent but often overlooked – is the only person determined to uncover the truth.

As she does, Florrie finds herself looking back on her own life . . . and a long-buried secret, traced in faded scars across her knuckles, becomes ever harder to ignore.

Readers of Elizabeth is Missing, Small Pleasures or Dear Mrs Bird will love prize-winning author Susan Fletcher’s The Night in Question – an absorbing and uplifting novel with a uniquely loveable protagonist at its heart.

Review

The Night In Question is evocative, with a main character with a colourful past. Florence is an octogenarian, so has a lot of lived experience of life and been quite the adventurer through her travelling. Now, she is wheelchair bound due to an amputation and is in a carehome. There’s a lot for her to reflect upon, which means the reader really gets to delve into who she really is and by the end of the book, you feel like you know her rather well. Life isn’t as uneventful as she perhaps first thought.

It’s an evocative and interesting book, full of emotion and intrigue. There’s a lot more than care going home in this carehome. There’s murder afoot and Stanhope Jones and Florence (Florrie) think just know it, whereas others assume it is suicide. Florrie is invested in solving the crime, since she had been conversing with Renata just before she died.

Florrie is a terrific character to get to know in what is an absolutely engrossing book to read.

It’s a book I can see reading again some time in the future.

#Review of Roseland by Judy Finnigan #JudyFinnigan @Judybookclub #RichardAndJudyBookClub #Roseland

Roseland
By Judy Finnigan

Hauntingly beautiful and vibrant, Roseland is the latest book by Judy Finnegan, set in Cornwall. Find out more in the blurb and my review below.

Blurb

Lose yourself in the Cornish countryside with this gorgeous new novel from the Richard and Judy Book Club champion. If you love Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, you’ll adore Roseland.

The summers spent at Roseland, the sprawling ancestral home of her best friend, Eloise, were among the happiest of Cathy’s life. Tucked away on the Cornish coastline and brimming with history, Roseland seemed to belong to another century.

Cathy has barely been back since Eloise’s death a decade ago. So she is shocked when Jack, the love of Eloise’s life and father of her children, announces that he is getting married, and that the wedding will take place at Roseland.

As Cathy and Eloise’s family gather at the house for the first time in years, long buried secrets and resentments come to the surface. Nobody likes Jack’s new bride, but is she really the imposter everybody claims, or are they merely haunted by memories of Eloise? And how can Cathy look to the future, when the past refuses to let go?

Utterly captivating and beautifully told, with echoes of du Maurier’s Rebecca, this is the gorgeous new novel from the bestselling book-club champion.

Review

Roseland, with a gorgeous backdrop in Cornwall sounds serene, a place to escape to, but the reality is rather different from something dreamy conjured up in the mind. It’s a house with history and in this case one that carries a haunting atmosphere.

The beautiful descriptive writing carries you along and envelopes you into the landscape, which also means you pick up on the feel of the place.

There’s the glamour of a wedding to be held at Roseland, but there’s still the lasting legacy of Eloise. When you meet the Trelawney family and get to know them, you discover the secrets they’ve been hiding for a rather long time and the grief from Eloise’s death that still lingers and haunts them.

There’s an intense air of Daphne De Maurier in the writing and the atmosphere that Judy Finnegan creates.

It’s a book to lose yourself in and be captured by Cornwall’s beauty.

#TheatreReview By Lou of @PrettyWoman @PrettyWomanTheMusical on #UKAndIrelandTour @ATGTICKETS @oreoduba @Amber_Davies7 @oliversavile @nataliemayparis @EdinPlayhouse #PrettyWomanTheMusical

Review by Louise Cannon

“Big night out. Big. HUGE. Pretty Woman: The Musical is finally embarking on a UK and Ireland tour – so make a date to see Hollywood’s ultimate rom-com, live on stage…”
See the link for booking tickets after my review. It’s going to several theatres in both the UK and Ireland, so could be one near you!
*Please note, I am not affiliated to any theatre.

Cast

Amber Davies as Vivian Ore Oduba as Happy Man/Mr Thompson Oliver Savile as Edward Natalie Paris as Kit de Luca
Ben Darcy as Philip Stuckey Chomba Taulo as David Morse
Stuart Maciver was Phillip Stuckey
Swing cast: Becky Anderson, Rebekah Bryant, Joshua Lear, Stuart Maciver,
Victoria Rachel McCabe.
Ensemble: Andrew Davison, Sydrie Hocknell, Ellie Jay, Michael Kolwadia, Eleanor Morrison Halliday, LJ Neilson, Annell Odarty, Elliott David Parkes, Curtis Patrick, Toby Shellard

Synopsis

Once upon a time in the late ’80s, Vivian met Edward and her life changed forever. Be swept up in their romance in this dazzlingly theatrical take on a love story for the ages – and get to know these iconic characters in a whole new way – in a sensational show that took London’s West End by storm, guaranteed to lift your spirits and light up your heart.

Review

It’s the 1980’s and the opening sequence oozes with colour and life. Get into the Hollywood groove and enter The Blue Banana Club to meet Vivian and Kit De Luca and others in a terrific song and dance sequence, full of so much energy that you can feel it sweep into the audience.
Then get swept off your feet in the romance as you see escort, Vivian’s life change when she meets business-man Edward. Get caught up in the fashions of the day when Vivian hits Rodeo Drive and high fashion shops, which are ingeniously recreated. See how lives transform.
The transforming of the whole stage to recreate iconic scenes of the film/movie, coupled with a terrific score means all eyes are glued to the stage for the entire time in enjoyment and entertainment.
Throughout, there are big, bold musical numbers, with some quieter songs in-between, all carrying the story seamlessly from “scene to scene”.

To my delight, the musical pretty much follows the film, but with great musical scores added that carry the story along.

Amber Davies is very convincing as Vivian, so much so that you no longer see it as a part just for Julia Roberts. It’s like she’s perfectly cast as Vivian taking the chance away from the club. You can hear in her voice and see in the way she acts, the vulnerability, the passion, the strength and the determination as the show progresses. The chemistry between her and Oliver Savile as Edward projects very well as the love story unfolds. He switches very well between being a suave business man buying up businesses and dealing with lawyers to transforming Vivian and bedroom romance, (which is all done very tastefully) very smoothly.

Ore Oduba as Happy Man/Mr Thompson brought some terrific humour in both his delivery of lines and at times, his poise. Look out for a fun homage to his time on Strictly. This guy, however is very multi-talented and carries the charisma needed for this roll, wonderfully.

Ben Darcy normally plays Philip Stuckey, but when I saw this production I saw the excellent Stuart Maciver who embodies this manipulating character with aplomb and great acting skill.

The ensemble cast were also compelling, adding to the richness of stage action in both dance and song.

All the cast sang with great depth and richness to their voices. They all fit together incredibly well. It truly is an excellent cast.

I highly recommend this musical, whether you’ve seen the film or not. Either way, I’m fairly certain you won’t be disappointed.

I’ll also add that it’s ingenious and wonderfully creative what is said at the beginning of the show and interval… to find out what that is and about the rest, you’ll have to watch the show.

Book Your Tickets Here https://uk.prettywomanthemusical.com/tour/

#Review By Lou of The Ha-Ha By Tom Shakespeare @Tommyshakes #TheHaha @RandomTTours #BlogTour #SocialComedy #Humour #Diversity

The Ha-Ha
By Tom Shakespeare

The Ha-Ha is a humorous social comedy book, in a P.G. Wodehouse sort of way with eccentric characters and poignancy. Discover the blurb and review as part of the RandomTTours blog tour as you wheel down the page to a country house setting… Discover more about Tom Shakespeare too, he seems an interesting guy, who’s done a lot.

Blurb

A modern country house farce with a diverse cast of characters

Fred Twistleton is about to turn forty. Gathering with his friends to celebrate at a rented stately home, he finally hopes to get together with his college crush, the woman of his dreams, Heather. But Fred is also keen to publish his memoirs, and Heather realises the revelations they contain could threaten her career as a high-flying foreign correspondent.

When the treasured manuscript goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Fred’s at a loss. Could someone have stolen it? Where has the resident pig gone? And will all the group remain friends by the end of the weekend? With burst pipes, sunken kayaks, and suspicious puddings, thank goodness Fred is only going to have one fortieth birthday.

Praise for The Ha-Ha

‘A beautifully observed and highly entertaining tale. Tom Shakespeare is a fine comic writer’ Alexander McCall Smith

‘A blissful social comedy, stuffed with cherishable lines’ Lissa Evans

Review

Turning 40, wheelchair bound Fred (which has, uniquely, given the author an opportunity to show the needs a wheelchair user may have. I know as my mum uses one and also has a zest for life), has decided it would be most fitting to rent a stately home and invite his friends, one being someone whom he had a crush on and didn’t really do anything about back at college. Now, he’s got ideas to buck up his ideas and do something about that. He’s also ambitious, seeing this is quite the auspicious occasion and turning such a special age, he has decided to write his memoirs. So far, all plans are moving in the right direction…. until they don’t and so much that could go wrong, does go wrong.

It could be a comedy of errors or like The Play That Goes Wrong, in modern terms. It, however, also feels like it could play homage to P.G. Wodehouse, with the humour and country house setting, but also with an element of Tom’s own take on the genre, giving it a fresh, modern feel.

The Ha-Ha is a book of humour and poignancy, all brought to life through the eccentricity of its characters, some who are kind, some who are ego-centric and one pig. in the form of Sonia, a literary agent who has experience of unrequited love, an old school friend who lives in a van, a stressed social worker and more… not forgetting the mischievous pig.

There’s also the matter of manuscript of the memoir going missing. It could destroy a career. It could create tensions within this group of friends…

Ultimately the book has the feel-good factor and fun.

About the Author

Tom Shakespeare CBE is a social scientist and bioethicist, an academic who
writes and talks and researches mainly about disability, but also about ethical
issues around prenatal genetic testing and end of life assisted suicide.
Born in 1966 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, he studied at Cambridge
University and has lived in Gateshead, Geneva and Norwich, while working at
Universities of Sunderland, Leeds, Newcastle, then at World Health Organisation
in Geneva, afterwards at UEA Medical School, and presently as Professor of
Disability Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Tom has presented programmes and documentaries on BBC Radio and has
written for publications including The Guardian and The Lancet, alongside talking
to academic, professional and lay audiences around the world.
He has been a stand-up comedian, an actor, a dancer, and an artist. A father of
two grown-up children, he now lives in London. https://farmerofthoughts.co.uk/

#Review By Lou of The Rabbits By A.A. Milne @farragobooks #AAMilne #Satire #TheRabbits @RandomTTours #Historical #BlogTour

The Rabbits
By A.A. Milne

Mention AA Milne and the first things that usually come to people’s mind is Winnie the Pooh and his friends in Hundred Acre Wood and Christopher Robin. AA Milne didn’t only write children’s books, he also wrote for adults. The Rabbits was originally serialised in Punch Magazine. It has been all re-published in a book, which I have the privilege to review for part of The Random T. Tours blog tour. What I think you may also find interesting is a bit more about A.A. Milne, so I’ve included a bit after my review.

Blurb

Pre-war halcyon days captured in a series of comic sketches, the ‘Rabbits’ offer the purest of escapism – and possibly A. A. Milne’s most distinctive work

The adventures of a group of friends, pre-war, with far too much time on their hands.

The Rabbits, as they call themselves, are Archie Mannering, his sister Myra, Samuel Simpson, Thomas of the Admiralty, Dahlia Blair and the narrator, with occasional guests. Their conversation is almost entirely frivolous, their activity vacillates between immensely energetic and happily lazy, and their social mores are surprisingly progressive.

Originally published as sketches in Punch, the Rabbits’ escapades are a charming portrait of middle-class antics on the brink of being shattered by World War I, and fail entirely to take themselves seriously.

Review

The Rabbits was a surprising read. Not having read any of A.A. Milne’s adult material before, this intrigued me, after all I, like so many children grew up with his Winnie the Pooh stories and his poetry, such as Now We Are Six and loved them.

The Rabbits is a look at the middle classes just before world war one fully broke out, more at a time when the world was on the brink of war. There are friendships sharing past-times, playing sports such as crickets and eccentricities in personalities; it’s quite a study into this period of time, brought to readers with humour.

It reads like it is serialised in a magazine, which brings a different feel from your typical novel and yet still works rather well, once you’ve got used to the feel and style of it.

At a time where, yet again the world seems so uncertain, this book brings lightness and a time to relax and be transported to a different time and have a laugh at good wit. A.A. Milne turns out to be quite the satirical comedy writer and it’s enjoyable.
It’s quite poignant in a way, knowing what we know, that these were the last easy-going sunny days before the world grew darker as war broke out.
Let your mind wander to times gone by. It’s a very enjoyable read.

A.A. Milne wanted to be known for more than just his creation of Winnie The Pooh and now, all these years later, hopefully he will be. It truly is worth reading.

About The Author

A. A. Milne (Alan Alexander) is best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, but was also an accomplished writer of fiction for grown-ups.

Prior to the First World War he worked as a young man as Assistant Editor of Punch magazine.

After leaving the army, he began to write plays, short stories and novels; and then later works for children, including the poetry collection When We Were Very Young and the storybook Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926.

Milne continued to be a prolific writer until his death in 1956.