Jim Webster

Another episode from Port Naain.

Tomb-yard Follies

Amazon.com

My review -

Reading these Port Naain stories is like revisiting old friends. I'm very fond of the character Benor, the cartographer, who has been engaged to map a tomb-yard, measure the mausoleums and note down the inscriptions. He's assisted by young Mutt who now demands higher pay as he's an apprentice. While at the tomb-yard, they overhear evidence pointing to who is responsible for the death of young girls from a local large estate. As the title implies – things turn a tad spooky.

As always, the humour's wry, the characters are believable and there are more stories promised.

Angie Smith

Angie Smith's final book in her trilogy is a great finale. I wonder what she'll give us next?

Desperate Measures

Amazon.com

My review -

This is the third book in the CXVI trilogy and is as complex and fast-moving as Angie Smith's readers have come to expect. Greg Woods has retired and is suffering from a serious illness. He is helped by Zoe, a young journalist, to find his old working partner Maria Barnes. These two had a deep relationship and we see more of it here. Zoe is in contact with two computing experts who've been captured by terrorists and forced to do some heavy duty hacking. There's lots of action, some people get their comeuppance and the story is explosive in every sense.

This is a satisfying ending to a story which followed double-dealing in high places and many a time I guessed wrongly as to whose side some of the characters were on. It's gripping, thrilling, and - the best thing I can say about a book - I cared about what happened to the characters. Excellent stuff.

Charlie Wade

This book tells of an alternative Britain where, at some point, things went wrong. Okay, more wrong.

The Bailout

Amazon.com

My review -

This story takes a simultaneously humorous and sobering look at a British economy which crashes and is bailed out by a consortium of Eastern countries. Within a very short time, Britain becomes a police state, people work for food – canned ‘chicken’ stew from China – and dissenters are shipped to labour camps on the Isle of Wight. Our story follows a group of these people, who are forced to pedal exercise bikes to produce electricity, or work fields by hand to produce crops they can’t afford to eat.

The story is humorously told but the situation it portrays is bleak. We wouldn’t put up with it, would we? It made me wonder how far things would have to go, where the tipping point would be, before we found ourselves in this kind of mess. I enjoyed the characters, all quite believable, and their relationships with one another. I also liked the ending. Can a worm turn? Read this and find out!

Alison Baillie

A new author to me, and I really enjoyed Alison Baillie's style. 

Sewing the Shadows Together

Amazon.com

My review -

Tom McIver’s family moved to South Africa after his thirteen year-old sister was murdered. He’s back in Scotland to scatter his mother’s ashes when he finds that new DNA evidence exonerates the supposed killer who is released after serving thirty-five years in prison. This means that the case is re-opened. He meets up again with Sarah, his sister’s best friend, now married to Rory, his own best mate from school. Relationships are closely examined and it all becomes complicated.

I really enjoyed this story. The characters were well drawn, including a monstrously self-obsessed mother, a wife and mum who puts everyone before herself, a number of unpleasantly obsessive and strict fathers and, I was pleased to see, some very balanced children who boosted my faith in humanity. The story weaves in and out of the characters’ lives and the suspicions and doubts of Tom and Sarah concerning the murder. It was a gripping and satisfying read which I thoroughly recommend.

Paul Fenton

This is an epic tale of a possible future for Australia. It's dark, action-packed and, because it's by P A Fenton, it's laced with a dark humour. Excellent stuff!

Draw the Brisbane Line

Amazon.com

My review - 

The title comes from a supposed WW2 defence line on the map of Australia which divided the continent up in the event of invasion by Japan. In this ‘not too far in the future’ story, the idea is resurrected. The banks have crashed, people are bankrupt and law and order breaks down. Queenslanders form a militia to fight to defend their own territory, which would be lost in the event of invasion – though they can’t agree on who the invader will be. The core of the Queenslanders is made up of sensible and concerned citizens but it inevitably accretes a crust of violent psychopaths out to loot and kill. In the middle of this, star couple Dave, a tennis ace, and Jenny, a Hollywood star, are separated – right in the middle of a row.

You never get two books the same from Paul Fenton. No formulaic, cookie-cutter clones with him. I love the fact that there are lots of characters, all with a real part to play. If you teased one out, there’d be something missing from the tale. He writes eloquent and intelligent prose into which he injects a dark humour. This story played out in my mind like an action movie and I rushed along in its wake. It’s sobering to think how easily the civilisation we cherish can break down. A thoroughly good story.

Maggie James

Maggie James is a new author to me and looks like becoming a favourite.

Guilty Innocence

Amazon.com

My review -

In a story which will have real-life echoes for many, two eleven year-old boys kidnap and kill a toddler. Mark Slater is one of those boys and with his new identity he has carved out a place in society for himself. He has a decent job and a girlfriend, even though he is not supposed to have a relationship because of his child-killing conviction. Mark knows he's innocent. We find out about him, the other boy, the dead child's family and his girlfriend, Natalie. Mark acknowledges his own weakness. I was longing for him to come good.

This is a great story, detailing the effects of bullying, parental indifference, fear turning to hatred, and the gradual eating away of these things on a person's confidence and self-belief. Maggie James writes clearly and eloquently. She has a deceptively easy style in which she can convey so much. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, this is definitely the book for you

Charlie Wade

A new author to me and I enjoyed this mad story.

The Spy With Eczema

Amazon.com

My review -

Barry is a spy. His life is lonely, boring and pretty chaotic. He becomes involved with Don, who accidentally retrieves a data stick with top secret information on it. Don, ostensibly on sick because of a bad back, fancies his chances with Nicole, a French girl working in an English second-hand book shop. Mix in an offshoot of the Freemasons and things get complicated.

I enjoyed this story with its off the wall ideas and strange, and occasionally strangely likeable, characters. There was plenty going on, lots of people to whom it all happened and the denouement, although the story felt complete, promised more. I don’t always want something earth-shatteringly deep. If you want a bit of good entertainment, this is the book for you. I enjoyed it very much.