#Review of Murder Mile By Lynda La Plante @LaPlanteLynda @simonschusterUK @Tr4cyF3nt0n #TeamTennison #CrimeFiction #Tennison

Set in 1979, possibly most famous or infamously known as “The Winter of Discontent”, Murder Mile is the 4th in the Jane Tennison series. A great read for these dark, cold winter months. It’s an enthralling series so far as this is before Jane Tennison became as we know her in Prime Suspect. Sleuth out more in the blurb and my review below.

Blurb

Prime Suspect meets Ashes to Ashes as we see Jane Tennison starting out on her police career . . .

The fourth in the Sunday Times bestselling Jane Tennison thrillers, MURDER MILE is set at the height of the ‘Winter of Discontent’. Can Jane Tennison uncover a serial killer?

February, 1979, ‘The Winter of Discontent’. Economic chaos has led to widespread strikes across Britain.

Jane Tennison, now a Detective Sergeant, has been posted to Peckham CID, one of London’s toughest areas. As the rubbish on the streets begins to pile up, so does the murder count: two bodies in as many days.

There are no suspects and the manner of death is different in each case. The only link between the two victims is the location of the bodies, found within a short distance of each other near Rye Lane in Peckham. Three days later another murder occurs in the same area. Press headlines scream that a serial killer is loose on ‘Murder Mile’ and that police incompetence is hampering the investigation.

Jane is under immense pressure to catch the killer before they strike again. Working long hours with little sleep, what she uncovers leaves her doubting her own mind.

Review

Peckham, everyone has an image of this place in London and possibly one of them is from that popular comedy, Only Fools and Horses with a lot of wheeling and dealing and banter. Murder Mile paints a very different and darker picture. In 1979 it’s a very tough, hard part of the city. One that you may not want to just wander into on a whim to see what it was like. It is grim and bleak. There’s rubbish piling up like you wouldn’t believe and the murder count is high. The first one is discovered by a man setting up his market place stall one day.
Those bodies are piling up just as much as the rubbish on the streets due to strike action. It’s then honed in on 2 victims and then a 3rd happens. It becomes clear there’s a serial killer wandering the streets of Peckham.
Jane Tennison, meanwhile has been climbing the ranks to CID and Peckham is now her patch. It’s a force in trouble with this current case and as a reader, you can only hope the force comes good in the end as criticism is laid bare.

It’s interesting mixing murder mystery and what was happening within Britain at the time, now what’s famously called “The Winter of Discontent”. It adds a lot of context and enriches the fabric of the story-telling for those, like me, who didn’t live through those times, but have become aware of it all.

The book is darkly enthralling and fascinating. Winter is certainly a great time to read it for added, real-time atmosphere, although could be read at any time of the year.

#Review By Lou of Murder On The Dance Floor By Shirley Ballas and Sheila McClure @hqStories #MurderOnThe DanceFloor @ShirleyBallas @McBookieMonster #TheSequinMysteries

Murder On The Dance Floor
Book 1 of The Sequin Mysteries
By Shirley Ballas and Sheila McClure

Turn up the glitz and sparkle and Waltz and Rhumba onto the dance floor in Blackpool if you dare. There is Murder On the Dance Floor.

Murder On The Dance Floor by Shirley Ballas, professional dancer extraordinaire, Queen of Latin and currently head judge on Strictly Come Dancing (Strictly) is a spectacular debut by with more twists and glitz than any dance on Strictly. Unlike the dance competitions we see, this one is seriously deadly. Find out more in the blurb and the rest of my review below. I had fun writing this, as you may see.

Blurb

Behind the sequins and the sparkles, the competition is about to turn deadly . . .

‘I loved it! I’m quite convinced I’ve danced with Lily Richmond, and if anyone can solve a few crimes she can . . .’ ANTON DU BEKE

When a promising young dancer collapses during the opening tango of a major competition, Lily Richmond, dance legend, teacher and one-time world champion, is convinced that murder is afoot.

There’s only one person who can help Lily solve the mystery: her former student, now turned private detective, Susie Cooper. But Susie vowed she’d never return to the ballroom . . .

As the competition gets fiercer and the bodies pile up, Susie will be forced to go undercover in Blackpool and come face to face with a man she thought she’d left behind. Can Lily and Susie unravel the rumours from the rumbas and expose the murderer’s identity before they strike again?

Sex, lies and ballroom dancing. Murder on the Dance Floor is a backstage pass to a world where the most ambitious will stop at nothing to win.

🔎🔎 Two amateur detectives on the case
🌹 One second chance romance
🌶 Sex, lies and backstabbing
🔪🔪🔪 And a whole lot of deadly ambition. . .

If you like your crime deadly and your romance spicy, look no further

Review

Immerse yourself in the romance and rivalries of the dance floor, with the addition of deadly crime that keeps you on your toes, guessing what’s going to happen next.

The cast list sparkles and is a fantastic way of introducing so many characters that make up the dance world that readers get immersed in. It’s fun and rather apt that readers are taken to Blackpool, “The Home of Ballroom”. It’s the perfect setting.

Lily Richmond and Susie Cooper, unexpectedly become amateur detectives, when a young dancer collapses and foul play is suspected in the form of murder. As the competition hots up, the bodies pile up. It becomes a bit Strictly meets Midsomer Murders and I mean this in a very good and positive way. It’s a compelling read with a great pace that will have you foxtrotting through the pages, guessing who can be next on the hit-list. The revealing of rivalries and the toxic backstabbing really shows the darker side to dance, with the addition to murder bringing intrigue.

Murder on the Dance Floor is a great read. Once started, you want to keep going. It turns into quite the page-turner because you can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen next in a world where the heat of ambition gets stronger and hots up to boiling point and becomes deadly.

I am looking forward to the second book in The Sequin Mysteries.
This is a terrific debut.

#Review of The Wit and Wisdom of David Attenborough By Chas Newkey-Burden @AllThatChas @Octopus_Bookmarks @RandomTTours #NonFiction #DavidAttenborough #TheWitAndWisdomOfDavidAttenborough

The Wit and Wisdom of David Attenborough
By Chas Newkey-Burden

We all know naturalist and presenter, David Attenborough for his BBC programmes and conservation work and bringing planet earth and all that it holds to the fore for people, from the general public to world leaders. According to a YouGov survey, David Attenborough is the most popular famous person in the UK – 84% of people have a positive opinion of him – that’s more than Beyoncé and Judi Dench.
Now, there is a book documenting his wit and wisdom. I have great opportunity to review it and to show what David Attenbourgh says he would be if he was an animal at the end. Go on an adventure, downwards to the blurb and then my review.

A fascinating and entertaining collection of facts, quotes and stories,
celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s wicked sense of humour and astute
wisdom.
David Attenborough is a national treasure, known for his soothing voice, calming
presence, passion for the natural world, and his humble, easy-going nature. Despite his incredible talent and influence, he tends to play it all down, one time stating that, ‘I can’t believe I’m still employed’.
So if he won’t celebrate himself, we’ll have to do it for him.
Filled with facts, tributes and anecdotes, as well as beautiful illustrations, this enormously positive book celebrates Sir David, providing a fascinating insight into his life as well as showcasing his brilliant sense of humour. Running chronologically, this book begins with his early days, to his first job at the BBC, to eventually becoming the most esteemed naturalist on the planet, as he is today.
Such revelations include:
– There are 18 plants and animals named after him
– When asked by a reporter how many degrees he had, he said it would be ‘rude to
count’*
– The single thing that would improve his quality of life is ‘good, workable knees’.
Blending his quips galore with his powerful messages on the environment and future of tthe planet, this timely book showcases everything we love about Sir David, making it the perfect gift for any fan.
* He has over thirty!

Review

The Wit and Wisdom of David Attenborough is a celebration of the great naturalist, whom so many people worldwide have got to know over many years. He’s now 97 years old, at the time of writing this and still working hard, spreading his passion for the environment and all that planet earth has within it and sharing his knowledge and warmth. This book isn’t so much a biography, although I’m sure elements of it would no doubt be used in such. It is, instead, a book that people can easily dip in and out of and enjoy his wisdom, shown in the facts and the wit in the quips that are shared.

It is a lovely book that oozes the warmth, humour and knowledge that David Attenborough has and will be familiar to his fans.
It is beautifully illustrated and between that and what is written, where you can’t help but have David Attenborough’s soft voice in your mind, it draws you in and all in all is a rather beautiful celebration of this great man, so many treasure.

To conclude, I leave you with the type of animal David Attenborough would choose to be:

#Review By Lou of Calico By Lee Goldberg #Calico #LeeGoldberg #AngelaMcMahon #CrimeFiction #Thriller #Western

Calico
By Lee Goldberg

Calico by Lee Goldberg, a New York Times bestselling author and tv producer of many favourite, renowned dramas, gives an original mix of genres – mystery , historical and western. Discover more in the blurb and then my review below.

Blurb

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg, comes an explosive, page-turning investigative thriller – with a mind-blowing twist.
Highly Rated By: Harlen Coben, Lee Child and Linwood Barclay.

There’s a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert . . .

The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away.

But it’s the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption.

Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance.

His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave . . . and also tries to identity a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm.

Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, force Beth to confront her own troubled past . . . and a past that’s not her own . . . until it all smashes together in a revelation that could change the world.

Review

Who’d have thought it, a mystery and western combined actually works and Goldberg writes it seamlessly. It runs with 2 different time-frames as 2 bodies are discovered. One has died in the present day and the other bones are discovered to be from at least 100 years earlier. It’s an intriguing case for former detective Beth McDade to investigate. She, herself is a compelling character to read about. Everyone of course has a past, but she has one that is just as interesting to uncover as the investigation into the deaths.
Encompassed into the story is also the silver rush over a century ago and more about what was happening in the socio-economic sphere and this gives it even more body and gravitas. It’s well-written so readers can instantly get a feel of the context as well as setting.

Calico is certainly very different and one that I feel I’d recommend to readers to give a go. It’s well-worth getting caught up in this world of history, humour and crime. Investing in the characters is time well-spent as revelations appear and its easy to get caught up with their lives from past and present day in this very twisty book where you don’t see what’s coming next, until it happens…

Write Up by Lou of Q&A with Cecelia Ahern @Cecelia_Ahern @BeccaKBryant @LizDawsonPR #Postscript

Q&A with Cecelia Ahern
Ahead of the paperback publication of Postscript
the sequel to PS. I Love You!

I have been given a great honour of joining a small group of book bloggers to collaboratively interview PS. I Love You author Cecelia Ahern. She has now published the sequel – Postscript, in which the hardback is available now. The paperback is available 1st October 2020.

First – the blurb of Postscript and a short review, with a more full on review to follow at a later date. Do follow the blurb, the short review and then onto the Q&A where you can find out some really exciting information about Postscript, what she is writing next and much more…

The PS, I Love You Club.

These are the six words written on a card handed to Holly Kennedy. They’re words that are engraved on her heart – because PS, I Love You is how her husband, Gerry, signed his last letters to her, letters that mark a year she will never forget.

Now, the mysterious club wants something from her. And if Holly can find the courage meet them, she’ll learn what it really means to live life to the full.

Because every love story has one last thing to say…

Short review

Postscript is just amazing as it tackles so many themes from health issues to grieving. It’s a beautifully written book that has so much emotion within it. The health issues have clearly been researched, but don’t dominate. There is plenty of positivity in this book. It is, even after all these years, is at least as good as PS I Love You, if not a bit better in how it is written. Nothing is lost and there’s everything to gain when reading this, including feeling that it is a really emotional journey, but one taken with passion and feels heartfelt. It’s a great book to get reacquainted with Holly and other characters and meet some new ones too.

Q&A

How did you spend Lockdown?

Building Hogwarts Lego. That took about 4 weeks and worked on it for about an hour every evening.
She danced and cooked and walked a lot and got excited when the Irish government also increased the distance of travel from 2km to 5km and could go to a coffee shop to buy a coffee.

Cecelia also has 3 children of the ages of a nearly 1 year old, an 8 and a 10 year old. She hopes never to do homeschooling again.

Do you think as a writer lockdown suited you well?

She reckoned it doesn’t suit everybody, perhaps not extroverts who get their energy from being around other people. She is comfortable about not socialising all the time. She did however miss her family.
She was on maternity leave until May. She then started to edit her new novel (more about that later).#

What sort of research she went into for health issues within the book, such as Cancer and MS?

She wanted to not get into Hollie’s appointments too much to get a balance. There were many drafts and some were more involved than others. There were 4 people who were ill. She wanted more of an introduction to each illness. MS she was fairly familiar with beacause she takes part in the MS Readathon in every year in Ireland.
She wanted to introduce a brain tumour so Hollie was watching a young man going through the same thing.
She thoughtfully pointed out that everyone doesn’t experience the same thing in every illness. She didn’t want to be vague or wishy-washy, but also not too caught up in it. She wanted to concentrate on some of the hope.
She also talked candidly about emphasemia, which is in the book too, as her grandmother had it and had smoked all her life. She talked how there was still humour, even though she was going round with an oxygen tank near the end of her life and wanted some of the humour to come through, which she does well.

From Writing PS I Love You and so many years later, Postcript. How was it for you to write the sequel?

She was never going to write Postcript as she was perfectly happy with how it ended and PS. I Love You was a huge success. PS. I Love You made her and she didn’t want a sequel to break her. She also likes writing different books year on year.
In 2012 she thought about the things that you do for people you’re going to leave behind, so got inspired to write a story from the opposite perspective of PS. I Love You and also then from the perspective of people about to say goodbye and the preparations. She really wanted to put Hollie in it and look at it from Gerry’s perspective. She then had to find the seeds she planted in PS I Love You, like sunflower seeds within that book.
She talked about how it was really challenging to write. In Postcript she has to look at the letters again and looking at the positives and not so and wanted to address how there was conflict between them.
She started to write before she told her publishers to see if she could and felt emotional enough about it, which she did.

Who did you write the book for?

She wrote it for her and those who really love PS I Love You and had it in mind that so many people loved that book. She also looked at the tone of the book and also show the writer she was then and the writer she is now, but without taking too many wild leaps, like in her short story collection, and went back to the humour and sweet tone of PS I Love You.

How did you feel when Postcript went out to readers?

She said that a lot of people have read it before-hand and tries not to get hung up on that, but hopes it is better than the first novel.

The members of the PS I Love You Club. How did you decide which problems to bring into the club and are there any you thought of and discounted?

I wanted to have different illnesses. She knew from the beginning she wanted a mother and the Will idea. Geneka is her favourite. She wanted a mother and a Will and having her want to learn to write letters for her child.

Film

Postcript will be made into a film. Hillary Swank emailed Cecelia wanting to read Postcript. She will be in the film because she said of all the films she has made, PS I Love You is mentioned the most and everyone involved in that film say the same thing. The same production team and writer will be involved again in the film. She has a lot to juggle from the book and the PS. I Love You film.

What author inpires you in your work most of all?

She reads fiction and loves crime fiction, especially Karen Slaughter and Lee Child and Jane Casey. She loves One World Publications because they publish and translate from all over the world. She also loves poetry, such as those from Sarah Cross. She also reads YA novels.
If she ever wrote a crime novel, she would write golden-age crime novel, not the forensic side.

Her next novel is called Freckles, due in autumn 2021. It’s works around the theme that comes from a phrase “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
It’s about a character who is very logical and straightforward parking-warden. She hears this expression and starts to look at the people around her and wonders if she wants to be the average of those five people and if she could curate her life in who she wants to be. So, she reaches out to certain people to see if she can be the average of those.
There is also a lot going on in her life that makes her want to do this.’

Postcript is published in paperback on 1st October 2020.

#BookReview by Lou – Stealth Review – The book that will have you gripped from beginning to end. @realhughfraser @BloodhoundBooks #crime #Thriller

Review of Stealth
Author – Hugh Fraser
Rating – 5 Stars *****

Stealth is the first book review I’ve ever written on this blog. Now that I’ve completed all the write-ups about Morecambe and Vice Crime Festival, including the talk between Robert Daws and Hugh Fraser.
Stealth is highly gripping and one of Hugh Fraser’s best thrillers to date, with his protagonist, Rina Walker. Please follow down to find out more about Hugh Fraser, the blurb and my review.
Please note that my review is unbiased.

About the Author

*Hugh Fraser is an author and actor who is well-known for tv series and films. He has played many roles over many years, including: The Duke of Wellington in Sharpe and Captain Hastings in the ITV Agatha Christie, Poirot series. In film he is credited in the Patriot Games, 101 Dalmations, The Draughtman’s Contract and Clint Eastwood’s Firefox. He also wrote the theme tune of children’s tv programme, Rainbow. He also supports the charity – First Light Veterans – supporting veterans of the emergency services and armed forces.
In more recent years, he has turned his hand to writing, creating his protagonist -Rina Walker.

There are 4 book in the series so far –
Harm, Threat, Malice, Stealth

*With thanks to Hugh Fraser who gave verbal permission for me to take a photo and use it within my blog.
Please note that the cover has now changed and Hugh Fraser has a new publisher – Bloodhound Books. I have made tweaks where I can, to reflect this. The photo was taken with the original cover, when he was with his original publisher -Urbane Publications in 2018.

Blurb

London 1967. A working girl is brutally murdered in a Soho club. Rina Walker takes out the killer and attracts the attention of a sinister line-up of gangland enforcers with a great deal to prove.

When a member of the British Military Intelligence becomes aware of her failure to fulfil a contract issued by an inmate of Broadmoor, he forces her into the deadly arena of the Cold War, with orders to kill an enemy agent.

Rina needs to call upon her dark skills, not to simply survive, but to protect those she loves.

Review

Stealth is the fourth and most recent of Hugh Fraser’s novels about assassin Rina Walker. It works well as both part of the series or as a stand-alone book, which is gripping from the very beginning, right to the last page. The action and non-action “scenes” are all very well constructed and flow very well, to create what is ultimately a great read. They are so different from what I would normally read, but I have read the series up to and including this latest book and I am glad that I decided to give them a go. The books have a very fresh and new feel about them in terms of content and writing style.

The character Rina Walker is written in the first person, which I have come to really like. She is a well-written, multi-dimensional character who immediately becomes involving to read. I find all the characters are well plotted out and Drake is quite a character to watch out for…

1967, Wardour Street, London is where Stealth begins. Right within the first couple of pages, the book springs into action.
The areas used in London are familiar and well-known, even if not all readers are from London. Rina Walker, from the outset, comes across as a sharp, intelligent, strong protagonist and yet, not always cold as you may expect with her being an assassin. She has a warmer, emotional side to her too as she tries to protect those who she loves in her personal, private life.

The words “Likeable” and “Assassin”, however, aren’t normally words I would couple together, but somehow Hugh Fraser has cleverly ensured that they do go together and really get the reader on Rina’s side.

As the story unfolds further, she becomes more embroiled in the backdrop of the Cold War due to the British Military Intelligence agenda, after the Broadmoor incident. There are many spies and plans of torture afoot. There are plenty of twists and turns as she calls upon her “dark skills”, which she is very adept at and within her travels. She is well-travelled and certainly has some useful tools on her.

Location changes are done very well, there is just enough to see her journeys between various places in London, Clackton to places abroad such as Istanbul and Athens, without compromising the pace. The pace remains quick enough to keep interest, throughout the detail, which also leaves enough space for tension to build and to wonder what is going to happen next.

As for the time period, I was immediately pulled into the dark underworld on 60’s London, with its many shady characters. A picture is clearly painted, but not in a laborious way, it’s done that really encapsulates the era and connects well with the story within the dialogue.
Moving onto the dialogue, it feels at a quick pace. The language used is believable for the time and each situation.

There is also still enough room for imagination within this book, by the way that each “scene” is formed, in what feels like a natural way. Nothing about it feels contrived, which is good for the flow of it all.

Hugh Fraser uses music of the era, which sets a certain tone and atmosphere.
Music within books either works or it doesn’t. In Stealth, the music references work very well indeed! Every reference all adds to the atmosphere and you get a real sense of it all being carefully and deliberately thought out. They also give a real flavour of what was happening in the music scene in the 60’s.
I think it’s worth mentioning that whether you lived through the 60’s or not, the songs used would be instantly recognisable to most and can still be heard on the radio, on some music tv shows and can be found on legal music streaming sites, so don’t let that put you off giving these books a go.

Overall, Stealth is an excellently plotted and developed novel. It is sharp, with plenty going on to draw any reader in, even if reading about an Assassin isn’t your norm. It’s not all violence and torture, there are relationships, emotion, travel, music all enveloping this story too.
As mentioned previously, there are 3 previous books, but this is the best one yet! Hugh Fraser’s writing improves book by book. If you have not already read the others, I would still recommend that you do.
I am hoping there will be a 5th book to come, some time in the not too distant future. The ideas and writing coming from this author are great and they are books that, once you begin, you find you want to read more.