If You Must Know: A Novel (Potomac Point Book 1)
Jamie Beck
A tale of two sisters, one her father’s joy, happy go lucky take each day as it comes, nearly thirty-year-old Erin. The other, her mother’s little girl, sugar and spice and all things nice. Married, a baby on the way, a part time teacher life is perfect for Amanda, until she discovers that her husband has been secretly visiting the same café as she does. Just a little lie … that is the first of many.
As Amanda’s life is shredded, Erin’s wobbles but they find they need each other.
A good read, stretching the credulity a bit far in a couple of places.
4 Stars
Born in the Wrong Body (The Nudist Series)
Martin Brant
An interest read about a woman born in a male body and her struggles to be accepted and to escape.
Just a little bit too pat.
3 Star
Fools and Their Toys
Michael Beyer
Not Michael Beyer’s best by a considerable distance. It takes a different view point on the events in the earlier Sing Sad Songs.
I found the timeline confusing, which made it very difficult to follow the narrative.
The author indicates at the start of the story that he intends to meld the two books into one at some stage. Fools and Their Toys will benefit, I’m less sure that Sing Sad Songs will.
3 Stars
Mortal Blow (Wilson Book 12)
Derek Fee
Wow!
If you have waded through the 11 books to get here, you’ll know about the Circle. You’ll know about the corruption in the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
You may have heard of the Panama Papers
Well Sammy Rice’s foot turns up and all hell breaks loose.
A fabulous Finale. (Please)
5 Stars
Border Badlands (Wilson Book 11)
Derek Fee
DS Wilson is sent to the South to help with a brutal murder, the powers that be know that the killers and the motive are in the Northern Ireland even if the crime wasn’t.
A bit of a pot-boiler there to convince the reader that he deals with other crimes beyond the Circle.
Good detective story if a little lackluster for the series.
A Field Guide to Fauns
Michael Beyer
Fifteen-year-old Devon Martinez is a very damaged and abused young man. He has been rescued by his father and is taken to join his step-family. Step-Mum is a beauty, her twin daughters are as like physically as they are different behaviorally. Devon is an introvert drawn to drawing pictures of Fauns, in fact his only friend is a faun!
Now they are all going to have to accommodate Devon’s problems and issues as he comes to terms with the abuse from his dead mother and coming to live in a naturist park.
Michael Beyer’s years of teaching enable him to get right beneath the skin of his characters and imbibe them with real traits, emotions and responses.
One to read.
Book of the Month
5 Stars
The Naturalist
Andrew Mayne
Violent …
Super scientist, Professor Theo Cray, gets drawn into a murder case. A former student has been killed within a few miles of a place he is visiting.
Then the body count starts to mount, as armed with his computer modeling software he deduces deaths, murders, almost too many to count.
His observational skills enable him to detect bodies under the ground from the clues left by plants.
The problem is the cops don’t believe him. He has to catch the serial killer on his own.
Clever, well written and blood soaked.
5 Stars (just)
The Reed Ferguson Series: Books 7-9: A Private Investigator Mystery Series – Crime Suspense Thriller Boxset (The Reed Ferguson Mystery Series
Renee Pawlish
Reed Ferguson and his team of social misfit helpers blunder around 3 more cases aided by the glamourous Girlfriend and slightly hostile lady cop.
Fun light and not to serious even though the body count starts to stack up.
And … If the computer guy can hack everyone else’s mobile phone records in stories 1 – 8 why is it down to Reed to find a number noted somewhere in Case 9 before he can make progress … Just Askin
Enjoyable light reading
4 Stars
Tidal Wave
by R A Dee
An amusing like variation on the ‘Deep Space Asteroid Miner’ genre of sci-fi. Joe Tide is in deep space with is eccentric ship board computer, when he gets a Mayday from a pleasure yacht. He ends up stuck for the entire journey home with the man hating Professor Melissa Scrivener.
This book adds little to the sum of human knowledge or understanding but that is not what it about. As I say amusing, fun and easy reading.
4 Stars
Now, Then, and Everywhen (Chronos Origins Book 1)
by Rysa Walker (author)
Time travel in short installments all vaguely linked …. A cast of hundreds all called Kate.
Some interesting historical content on the early days of the American Civil Rights movement and the early days of the Beatles
It all got to confusing and little got resolved.
As a fan of good science fiction … I was disappointed.
Paul Kater’s book Time to Time (Reviewed in January) was a much better stab at time travel fiction.
3 Stars mainly for historical content