Treble Clef

A new Harrogate murder mystery from  Malcolm Hollingdrake is a guaranteed good story.

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Book description

Harrogate attracts hundreds of players to the annual Games Convention and for one player it is the perfect opportunity to kill by the mechanics of his own sinister game. Each victim will die in the same way. Each will be classed as the loser and their time will have run out. The escape room and the game table will draw more, each believing they are invincible. However, in every game there is always a traitor waiting in the wings. The latest in the bestselling Harrogate Crime Series.

My review 

Bodies in B&B room, with slit throats. There’s a tie-in with a gaming convention in Harrogate. This is the sort of story where I think I know what’s happening, where it’s going and who’s behind it and I’m glad to say I was wrong. It was more complex than I thought, even involving, peripherally, a member of the aristocracy with strange tastes and no scruples. We delve deeper into Cyril’s own personal life, too, which will please long time readers of this series. A jolly good Harrogate yarn.

About the author

You could say that the writing was clearly on the wall for someone born in a library that they might aspire to be an author, but to get to that point Malcolm Hollingdrake has travelled a circuitous route.

Malcolm worked in education for many years, even teaching for a period in Cairo before he started writing, a challenge he had longed to tackle for more years than he cares to remember. 

Born in Bradford and spending three years at Ripon College, Malcolm has never lost his love for his home county, a passion that is reflected in the settings for all the DCI Bennett novels However, as well as the Bennett series he is writing a new series set in Merseyside.

Malcolm has enjoyed many hobbies including collecting works by Northern artists; the art auctions offer a degree of excitement when both buying and certainly when selling. It is a hobby he has bestowed upon DCI Cyril Bennett, the main character in his successful Bennett series.

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Just a thought

Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
― P. J. O'Rourke

Queen of the Warrior Bees

A story for young adults but equally good reading for any age.

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Book description

One misfit girl and 50,000 bees. Together they must change the world. As the Mages of the Citadel fight amongst themselves and prepare for war against the Forest, Mielitta, a despised servant, has her own battle to face. Bastien and Jannlou, the boys who terrorised her as a child, have grown into their status as Mages and she cannot escape them forever. 
   In desperation, she flees to the forbidden Forest and its dangerous attractions. Her scent angers thousands of bees and, although she survives their attack, she has changed. A strange bee symbol glows on her thigh and her senses are altered. She learns that her connection with bees enables her to summon their aid and gives her the power to shift shape. 
   This new-found bond works both ways and the bees need Mielitta's help as the rift widens between Forest and Citadel. Can one girl and a colony of bees reunite Man and Nature, or is the split irreversible? 
Block Nature out and she'll force a way in. 


My review

This tale has much in it to enjoy, based as it is on classical fairy story themes. Mielitta, a girl of unknown parentage, grows into her powers. The Citadel in which she lives is sealed from the outside world and its forest. She finds her way outside, meets the bees, and her true life begins. This world is carefully crafted with a believable history. Mielitta herself is a wonderful combination of well-intentioned and anger-fuelled. She has much to be angry about and proves more than adequate to the battle that confronts her. I really enjoyed this first part of a series. It’s obvious that there’ll be more yet this story ended not on a cliff edge but a high point.

About the author


Jean Gill is a Welsh writer and photographer living in the south of France with two scruffy dogs, a beehive named 'Endeavour', a Nikon D750 and a man. For many years, she taught English and was the first woman to be a secondary headteacher in Wales. She is mother or stepmother to five children so life was hectic.
Publications are varied, including prize-winning poetry and novels, military history, translated books on dog training, and a cookery book on goat cheese. With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, she can usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions.

Just a thought

Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river ― Lisa See,

The Brotherhood

First Jo Fenton novel I've read and I would certainly go back for another.

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Book description

The Brotherhood – safe haven or prison?

After her parents’ sudden death, a grieving Melissa falls back on her faith and into the welcoming arms of a religious sect. Captivated by their leader, Dominic, she leaves her old life behind and moves to the countryside to join them.

But life in The Brotherhood is not as safe as it first appeared. When engineer Mark joins The Brotherhood, Melissa finds herself conflicted between her growing feelings for him and her crush on Dominic. With their leader's initial encouragement, Melissa and Mark grow close.

But as her haven becomes a prison, Melissa's newfound happiness is destroyed by Dominic’s jealousy. How can she escape and save the ones she loves?

My review -

This book tackles the difficult subjects of charisma, power, manipulation and faith. Melissa finds herself in difficult circumstances and accepts an invitation to stay with The Brotherhood. Their leader, Dominic, introduces her and she’s in at the deep end. I found myself thinking the story was far-fetched till I remembered how many people are manipulated by someone they look up to. Eventually, they are harmed, but unable or unwilling to leave or fight back. I found Melissa’s struggle, together with those of the friends she made, also seemingly trapped in the Brotherhood, very engaging. Would she exert herself or would she, and all of them, remain in the power of a dominating madman? Read it and find out. It’s very good.

About the author


Jo Fenton grew up in Hertfordshire. She devoured books from an early age, particularly enjoying adventure books, school stories and fantasy. She wanted to be a scientist from aged six after being given a wonderful book titled "Science Can Be Fun". At eleven, she discovered Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, and now has an eclectic and much loved book collection cluttering her home office.
Jo combines an exciting career in Clinical Research with an equally exciting but very different career as a writer of psychological thrillers.
When not working, she runs (very slowly), and chats to lots of people. She lives in Manchester with her husband, two sons, a Corgi and a tankful of tropical fish. She is an active and enthusiastic member of two writing groups and a reading group.

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Just a thought -

Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.
― Bill Watterson,

The Bookshop From Hell

David Haynes at his best, with a nod in the direction of some of the classic horror fiction I used to read. Good news! It's still being written.

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Book description

Horror is what Dan Law enjoys.

He loves to read horror novels as a way to escape from his teaching job, from his loneliness, from the everyday dullness of life in Silver Lake. That’s what Dan lives for.

When a new bookstore opens in town, every visitor receives a free book of their own. A book that tells their own personal story…a story they have to follow to the brutal end.

As Silver Lake’s population descends into violent savagery, Dan finds he is no longer living for horror novels – he’s living inside one.

My review -

An empty shop unit in Silver Lake is fitted out as a bookshop. The elderly owner gives visitors a free gift, a little volume which they become very attached to. They can read ‘their story’ in it, but to other people the book is blank. This is a classic horror story and I found it very enjoyable, but also food for thought. When people’s sense of entitlement is fed and stoked, their inner spitefulness can rise to the surface. I fear we are seeing this in modern day politics. There’s more than that here, though. The worst side of human nature comes to the fore. The disintegration of societal norms is a car crash and gruesome to watch. This isn’t for the faint-hearted but if you enjoy old-fashioned horror there’s a lot in this to make you think. Brilliant!

About the author

David Haynes has been making up stories since he was very young. His first story entitled, "How the Greenhouse Actually Got Smashed, Dad!" got him into trouble and went unpublished. Nevertheless, the stories continued and the desire to write them down grew stronger. 

David now writes stories in the genre he loves the most - the dark, mysterious and delicious world of horror.

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Just a thought -

The problem with books is that they end.”
― Caroline Kepnes

The Heart's Invisible Furies

John Boyne in brilliant form here, following a character through seventy years of life.

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Book description 

Forced to flee the scandal brewing in her hometown, Catherine Goggin finds herself pregnant and alone, in search of a new life at just sixteen. She knows she has no choice but to believe that the nun she entrusts her child to will find him a better life.

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery, or so his parents are constantly reminding him. Adopted as a baby, he’s never quite felt at home with the family that treats him more as a curious pet than a son. But it is all he has ever known.

And so begins one man’s desperate search to find his place in the world. Unspooling and unseeing, Cyril is a misguided, heart-breaking, heartbroken fool. Buffeted by the harsh winds of circumstance towards the one thing that might save him from himself, but when opportunity knocks, will he have the courage, finally, take it?

My review - 

This tremendous novel tracks the life of Cyril Avery, adopted at his birth just after the war. His adoptive parents are rather distant to him and tell him he’s not a real Avery. We see his life at snapshots of seven years and in school, he finds himself attracted to his best friend and room-mate. Because of the legal and church situation – he lives in Ireland – he keeps all his feeling under wraps and this affects his whole life. His choices, based on what he feels able to do and say, are a result of the times he lives in. It’s a great book, told with a lot of humour but there’s real sadness and regret there too. The characters are brilliantly drawn and I can’t help but feel I’ve met a lot of them. I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone wanted a really engrossing story.

About the author

John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971. The winner of three Irish Book Awards, he is the author of eleven novels for adults, five for younger readers and a collection of short stories. The international bestseller The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was made into a Miramax feature film and has sold more than six million copies worldwide. His novels are published in over fifty languages. He lives in Dublin. 

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Just a thought -

A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading ― William Styron

No More Lies

I love this series by Robert Crouch. I feel really engaged with the characters. This is the fourth in the series.

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Book description

Kent Fisher gets more than he bargained for when Detective Inspector Ashley Goodman enlists his help with a ten year old murder. She’s on a mission and needs a big case to put her career back on track.

And they don’t come much bigger than Miles Birchill, Downland’s wealthiest and most divisive resident.

Not for the first time, Kent has doubts about the case, forcing him to make choices. But who do you trust when everyone has something to hide?

Caught in the middle, he has no alternative but to solve the murder, unaware that his every move is being watched.

My review - 

Another mystery for Environmental Health Officer Kent Fisher. When a body is found buried on his father’s land, Kent feels that someone is trying to fit his father up for murder – and he has plenty of enemies. This book is full of humour and features a female detective I wanted to slap, as well as a dog groomer I wanted to hug. I love a book that affects me so much that I really believe in the characters. As for Kent – I want to pull his socks up for him! This is a brilliant follow-up to the first three books in the series and I’m dying to see how Kent’s private life progresses now.

About the author

Inspired by his love of classic murder mysteries, Robert Crouch wanted to create a fresh and contemporary whodunit to offer readers something familiar but different.
Above all he wanted to show that an ordinary person could solve a murder. Not that there's anything ordinary about Kent Fisher, an environmental health officer with more baggage than an airport carousel.
After reading No Accident, bestselling author, Tamara McKinley, believes ‘Agatha Christie fans will love it.’

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Just a thought -

[I] read books because I love them, not because I think I should read them. 
― Simon Van Booy

Allie Cresswell

Dear Jane is the final part of the Highbury Trilogy, a back-story and prequel to Jane Austen's Emma. If you've ever read and loved Emma this will enhance it for you.

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Book description

The final instalment of the Highbury trilogy, Dear Jane recounts events hinted at but never actually described in Jane Austen’s Emma; the formative childhood years of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill, their meeting in Weymouth and the agony of their secret engagement.
Orphaned Jane seems likely to be brought up in parochial Highbury until adoption by her papa’s old friend Colonel Campbell opens to her all the excitement and opportunities of London. Frank Weston is also transplanted from Highbury, adopted as heir to the wealthy Churchills and taken to their drear and inhospitable Yorkshire estate. Readers of Emma will be familiar with the conclusion of Jane and Frank’s story, but Dear Jane pulls back the veil which Jane Austen drew over its remainder.


My review -

This is the third in the Highbury trilogy. It meshes well with Emma, the book on which its characters are based. The author gives us a credible background that goes deeper than the original book and I’ve enjoyed them all. It’s good to see the final melding where people and events we know from Emma are brought into play. If you enjoy Jane Austen, or other books set in this period, you won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended – but read the other two first.

About the author

Allie Cresswell was born in Stockport, UK and began writing fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil.
Allie recalls: 'I was about 8 years old. Our teacher asked us to write about a family occasion and I launched into a detailed, harrowing and entirely fictional account of my grandfather's funeral. I think he died very soon after I was born; certainly I have no memory of him and definitely did not attend his funeral, but I got right into the details, making them up as I went along (I decided he had been a Vicar, which I spelled 'Vice'). My teacher obviously considered this outpouring very good bereavement therapy so she allowed me to continue with the story on several subsequent days, and I got out of maths and PE on a few occasions before I was rumbled.'
She went on to do a BA in English Literature at Birmingham University and an MA at Queen Mary College, London.
She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a book-keeper, run a B & B and a group of boutique holiday cottages. Nowadays Allie writes full time having retired from teaching literature to lifelong learners.
She has two grown-up children, one granddaughter and two grandsons, is married to Tim and divides her time between Cheshire and Cumbria.

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Just a thought

Thank God for books and music and things I can think about. 
― Daniel Keyes