tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26465762307830576842024-02-07T18:55:29.531+11:00 Audiobook and Book Reviews by AudiothingBook reviews: Mysteries, Crime Fiction, cookbooks, audiobooks and narrator reviewsforgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-80746752600820824882023-03-12T13:44:00.001+11:002023-03-12T13:44:22.676+11:00You Can Run by Trevor Wood<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlzL1oPx5t3jb6JA-gFn7T4szOgVnPFNYXbLoVjogkdHTLHPlIg9v7sY9KAnDgUpyqaRy_sRMD3sbo4u8pIaTQn_EQXyBVWduyf4YWtgChVcwVjcisfm-N61n1RNvXBo1EX1zlH_WabxiUjtiWW_0lTJgu1L9H7T9Qy2qVY9IAH7Y9lHocXullaFHW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="95" data-original-width="62" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlzL1oPx5t3jb6JA-gFn7T4szOgVnPFNYXbLoVjogkdHTLHPlIg9v7sY9KAnDgUpyqaRy_sRMD3sbo4u8pIaTQn_EQXyBVWduyf4YWtgChVcwVjcisfm-N61n1RNvXBo1EX1zlH_WabxiUjtiWW_0lTJgu1L9H7T9Qy2qVY9IAH7Y9lHocXullaFHW" width="157" /></a></div>Author Trevor Wood<p></p><p>Pub. Date: 16th March 2023</p><p>Five Stars</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>Ruby Winter is surprised when her reclusive father invites a strange soldier into their house. Intrigued, she tries to eavesdrop on their conversation, but is alarmed when she hears a fight break out. She dashes into the kitchen to save her dad, but he's not the one in trouble.</i></span></p><p>It takes but a minute before the action starts!</p><p>Teenager Ruby lives with her dad, Alex, it seems neither are terribly sociable with the other inhabitants of their small English village, Alex in particular keeps to him self.</p><p>Next thing we know there is a man on their kitchen floor and he's not very well at all, fact is, he's been stabbed! Ruby is told in no uncertain terms they must go, and go now.</p><p>Next comes another act of violence, and, along with some other hair raising and eye widening events makes it obvious that our Ruby is the target! This for me was the most intriguing hook in the story, the girl was but 16 years old, what on earth could she have done or what did she know that held such value for her would be captors? </p><p>As the story unfolds the tension rises, you do not want to miss this one!</p><p>This book really held my attention, from beginning to end</p><p>Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus</p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-78093988166244097602023-03-12T13:23:00.002+11:002023-03-12T13:23:35.225+11:00Bye Bye Baby Fiona McIntosh<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLLEouejfIDqyxAuV10ZE91DMNfOvOk-uIJ04enMT6FKykkP36irk94QbMJZ8jUaFOxXviOV5vCMeBFKuGwcR2zDIHj7wrRabD0H3SlrPjO-ks5RP_BcnJmHh2LCLayWgh-8GYjexK5YH4CofkW8khjru6GSGObNI-VkV4hH7qlWbMnvz9sGXN-bMG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="291" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLLEouejfIDqyxAuV10ZE91DMNfOvOk-uIJ04enMT6FKykkP36irk94QbMJZ8jUaFOxXviOV5vCMeBFKuGwcR2zDIHj7wrRabD0H3SlrPjO-ks5RP_BcnJmHh2LCLayWgh-8GYjexK5YH4CofkW8khjru6GSGObNI-VkV4hH7qlWbMnvz9sGXN-bMG" width="147" /></a></div>Bye Bye Baby by Fiona McIntosh<p></p><p>pub: 2007</p><p><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">It all began in Brighton. Now there is a killer on the loose. Scotland Yard′s brightest talent is chosen to head up the high-profile taskforce, a DCI who must confront his own past as the body count rises.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">There are few leads and Jack Hawksworth can only fall back on instinct and decades-old cold cases for any clue to the killer′s motive ... and identity.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>With his most loyal team member threatening to betray him, a Chief Inspector pushing for results, a hungry British media clamouring for information, and a restless public eager for a</i> <i>conviction, the high-pressure operation can only end in a final shocking confrontation ...</i></span></p><p>This is the first book I have read by this author and, as I love a good British Police Procedural, I thought I'd give it a go, sadly this is not one of them. In fact it didn't feel like "British Police" at all, can't put my finger on the problem but something is not right with the police procedures.</p><p>I found our hero to be a boring sort of fellow who banged on endlessly about anything and everything, good for the word count I suppose, but not so good for maintaining reader interest.</p><p>I also thought that the 'romance' aspect to be a little out of place and a bit predictable, maybe it was intended as a hook, but it didn't work for me.</p><p>However!</p><p>I am assured that subsequent stories in this series do get better, so maybe I will try again, just wish the author had got it right first time.</p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-70523128866385596972023-02-20T11:45:00.001+11:002023-02-20T11:45:18.190+11:00Jimmy Dean's Last Dance <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcnD4dQo03kwS-_3vJih0yNk7SDDvpQ2NXhTbxGL3KmZkKDvRtFlaDfRXF-K_pMx2fCZK3qnIVJM9KtDJdud6Xfvig0hwI0jiFwTzMyYAWTuOb0V5PposLgEHopIZPMOIPmIWu1u2XJe95j5fozjbwImn4PMIlX0hBOPok-SRnEKpdWfJ7BeVhsdDg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="255" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcnD4dQo03kwS-_3vJih0yNk7SDDvpQ2NXhTbxGL3KmZkKDvRtFlaDfRXF-K_pMx2fCZK3qnIVJM9KtDJdud6Xfvig0hwI0jiFwTzMyYAWTuOb0V5PposLgEHopIZPMOIPmIWu1u2XJe95j5fozjbwImn4PMIlX0hBOPok-SRnEKpdWfJ7BeVhsdDg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Author: A.K. Allis Narrated By Johnny Heller, Neil Hellegers, Bill Lord, Jo Anna Perrin & Annaliese Rennie</b></span><br /><p>Description (via NetGalley) </p><div class="pb-3" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; padding-bottom: 0.75rem !important;"><div class="d-none d-md-block" id="descriptionFullTextBox" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Winner of the Earphones Award, March 2022 - The award is given by AudioFile to truly exceptional titles that excel in narrative voice and style, characterisations, suitability to audio, and enhancement of the text.</span></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Los Angeles, 1962.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Jimmy Dean, bit part actor befriends famed actress Marilyn Monroe. When Marilyn is found dead in her LA home, the ruling is suicide, but Jimmy thinks otherwise. As he starts digging, he comes up against those who wish to stop him from uncovering the truth.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Realising that he's in over his head, Jimmy calls former business partner, Mississippi truck driver Elvis Presley. As Jimmy and Elvis search deeper, they uncover a potential link between Marilyn's death and the highest office in the land.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Jimmy Dean's Last Dance is an alt-history noir detective novel in the tradition of The Big Sleep and Chinatown.</p></div></div><p>1962. Jimmy Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and a host of famous names get together in this story.</p><p>First thing you must do is ignore what history has told us of their lives, truth actually plays no part in this story, it's all make-believe.</p><p>Marilyn is dead, her friend Jimmy believes she has been murdered and starts on finding out the truth.</p><p>This is where the real adventure begins!</p><p>Jimmy calls up an old friend and business partner, a truck driver named Elvis. What they discover leads them in to a world of danger and intrigue involving some of the most powerful people in the land</p><p>Never having heard of the "alternative history" genre I do believe I am a convert, You really can't ask more of a story than that it be entertaining, interesting and fully engrossing, I will certainly be looking out for more great stories by A.K. Alliss.</p><p>Great narration, Johnny Heller has always been a favourite of mine, I'm not so familiar with the past works of the others but in this case, I enjoyed their work</p><p>Thanks to NetGalley</p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-33133345627558079542022-10-04T14:53:00.001+11:002022-10-04T14:55:16.857+11:00Dead Rich, G.W. Shaw<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU4juH1hq3Sinfpx94WLyQlGqp0c3ZXmt7aDzUPCgTSDueDcVSKWG0-aKHVpGE7FWcCtabLx_2qaKpLL0Uwk_Pua979gXaFyg1rP-94FsReOnROD2SFR25dJnhGpUhZGZFyQ9-YuA7yiVJt9JDtbqAt6KaMdZWh33I0GkjVqxMPwM-mzhB7VcKyQZF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU4juH1hq3Sinfpx94WLyQlGqp0c3ZXmt7aDzUPCgTSDueDcVSKWG0-aKHVpGE7FWcCtabLx_2qaKpLL0Uwk_Pua979gXaFyg1rP-94FsReOnROD2SFR25dJnhGpUhZGZFyQ9-YuA7yiVJt9JDtbqAt6KaMdZWh33I0GkjVqxMPwM-mzhB7VcKyQZF" width="160" /></a></div><p></p></blockquote><p>Author: G.W. Shaw (William Shaw)</p><p>Pub date (paperback) November 2022</p><p>Publisher Riverrun Quercus Books </p><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-10 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">1529420032</span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-13 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">978-1529420036</span></span></li></ul><p>Blurb:</p><p><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Super yachts are secretive, like their owners. The bigger the richer. Like castles, they are created to inspire awe. Like castles too, they are defended. They are an entire world, separate from the rest of us.</i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"></p><p><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Kai, a carefree once-successful musician is invited by his new Russian girlfriend Zina to join her family's Caribbean holiday. Impulsively accepting he learns that Zina is the daughter of a Russian oligarch, Stepan Pirumov and that the trip is aboard his yacht, the Zinaida, moored in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. The crew consists of Captain Marius Falk, the first mate Erin Wade and a hastily assembled staff, including a chief stewardess Marissa from Miami, a chief engineer from Lagos and a personal trainer from Los Angeles. All know how to behave around the very rich.</i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"></p><p><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>On arrival Kai discovers that the head of security has been arrested, armed guards are below deck, there's an onboard panic room and a strong sense of all not being quite right beneath the gleaming surfaces of the Pirumov's lives. An unnerving presence punctures the atmosphere: a murderous imposter is on board the Zinaida, but who is it?</i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: -4px 0px 14px; padding: 0px;"></p><p><i><span class="a-text-bold" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Kai will find that the only person he can trust will be Erin and that the world of the super-rich will become a prison from which they must escape. Part locked-room suspense, part adventure story, </span><span class="a-text-bold a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Dead Rich</span><span class="a-text-bold" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> is an unforgettable, edge of the seat thriller set in the blazing heat of the Caribbean</span></i></p><p><span class="a-text-bold" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Review</span></p><p><span class="a-text-bold" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b>The Best Read of the year</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This is something a little special from William Shaw, all his stories are guaranteed to keep noses to books yet this is something a little different, a real, heart pounding thriller! It has everything, including a glimpse into the glamorous world of the super rich, travel to exotic and distant shores, intrigue, plots and counter plots, the world of music and much more.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The further I got in to the story the faster I read, I had to slow myself down so as not to miss anything.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">As is usual with William Shaw's books we learn something new about the world around us.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">As with all his work, this is beautifully written, another master class in "how to write"</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">thanks to NetGalley, Quercus Books</span></p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-21208105605166783042022-04-20T12:35:00.000+10:002022-04-20T12:35:00.135+10:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixVyIkCarIVAFbqm1KyBpUcx9m2HCsTHhQmP6UXAsREaG8yfXWPkjlPSqzqtNFkpRxmyltmR7c4NGg1JzHa4qnreQ929X6gq4OoGioV6tW5osnFrZ1OS59lkRCSMW9G9OgqBz4JkofgN1KsPY5WK9o68u3HTOM4Gq0WSKLUcY3bbWp5KCQpp-mNDAO=s383" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixVyIkCarIVAFbqm1KyBpUcx9m2HCsTHhQmP6UXAsREaG8yfXWPkjlPSqzqtNFkpRxmyltmR7c4NGg1JzHa4qnreQ929X6gq4OoGioV6tW5osnFrZ1OS59lkRCSMW9G9OgqBz4JkofgN1KsPY5WK9o68u3HTOM4Gq0WSKLUcY3bbWp5KCQpp-mNDAO=s320" width="213" /></a></div><h2 itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway-Medium; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">by <span itemprop="name" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sulari Gentill</span></h2><div><div><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif"><span style="background-color: white;">Pub Date 07 June 2022</span></span></div><div><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif"><span style="background-color: white;">Publisher <b>Poisoned Pen Press</b></span></span></div></div><div><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;"><i>"The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer" ....</i></span></div><div><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced copy</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">The plot? yes, well, it's complicated!</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">First up we have Hannah, a fictional Australian author writing a novel set in the city of Boston, USA. Hannah has a fan/beta reader by the name of Leo, he actually lives in Boston, they have not met as Hannah remains in Australia, they communicate solely by email</span></span></div><div><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">Next we have Freddie, who is the star of Hannah's no</span><span face="Raleway-Regular, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">vel, Freddie lives in Boston , there is also a Leo in Freddie's life. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Freddie seeks inspiration for her novel in the reading room of the Boston Public Library, she discreetly studies the four strangers at her table and, in the way of a fiction writer, creates new names and characters for each of them.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Little does she know that one blood curdling scream echoing through the library will connect these strangers to her and to each other in a most unusual fashion!</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Meanwhile, back in Australia, Hannah continues to receive both compliments and faint criticism from Leo. Over time Leo's emails get somewhat demanding, he becomes annoyed when his advice and suggestions go unheeded, he also gets downright creepy.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">In Boston Freddie is caught up in a series of events that will leave you turning those pages as fast as you can!</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">I really enjoyed this book except for the ending, it wrapped up a bit too quickly, I felt I was left hanging over the outcome of a certain character. Maybe it's just me and other more perceptive readers will have worked it out.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Now that I've discovered </span></span><span face="Raleway-Medium" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sulari Gentill I will be looking out for her other works</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-11445713006253763612022-04-20T12:14:00.000+10:002022-04-20T12:14:03.927+10:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe_PVm25jeMEbtottXTyV55T17QRgBjXpWO9slCmrdXYPKeX0Clj2ycb8Sy_JQK2JcWjwkTJ5Qw4_0oX4GWUWLkgGBRQcz9Klo13nk-pMM6omV600P7PX0WJAp5sD6NOglpOIYlw4Wa1z1QU2x3MaKt0TPgGZ4MJAgWfmmZdV-W_MEpt4Te8cCH9D4=s391" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe_PVm25jeMEbtottXTyV55T17QRgBjXpWO9slCmrdXYPKeX0Clj2ycb8Sy_JQK2JcWjwkTJ5Qw4_0oX4GWUWLkgGBRQcz9Klo13nk-pMM6omV600P7PX0WJAp5sD6NOglpOIYlw4Wa1z1QU2x3MaKt0TPgGZ4MJAgWfmmZdV-W_MEpt4Te8cCH9D4=s320" width="209" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Pub Date 05 May 2022 Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for uncorrected arc</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Publisher summary:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">"An old house can hold many secrets. Hollowpark in the west of Ireland certainly does. At the heart of the gardens is an intricate maze, named after a deadly poison, Belladonna. If you know the way through, it's magical, a hiding place and playground like no other. If you don't, it's a place of fear and sinister riddles, where a young girl once went missing and was never seen again.<br /><br />Grace comes to Hollowpark as a nanny for young Skye FitzMahon. Soon the mysterious past of Hollowpark has seduced her. Who is the woman she sometimes glimpses in an upstairs window? Or the apparition who keeps showing up unexpectedly, pleading, 'Find me'</i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Our hero is Grace, a professional nanny, Grace has a routine, her summers are spent working on a Greek island and winters are spent working in temporary nanny posts in chilly Britain, that is, until a turn of events leads to her acceptance of a job in Ireland.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This is where the real adventures begin. The story unfolds over two time periods, the 1840s where we meet the then inhabitants of Hollowpark and 2007 when Grace first arrives. The author meshes these different times beautifully</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Of course, all is not as it seems and, believe me, there are little twists and turns from beginning to end, all very Agatha Christie!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Oh how I enjoyed this story! You know you have found exactly the right book for you when you find yourself put off doing all those things you ought to be doing, just so as you can get back to reading this intriguing, captivating tale.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This is an ideal weekend read for those who love a good mystery that is a little "other worldly" yet is not too dark</span><p></p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-22460845155316234052022-03-05T13:32:00.000+11:002022-03-05T13:32:42.107+11:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixcmG4QZfa84VsKfXwKXXC-R10WSy1DQgvVF7QOOPJM7oKSluuBWWgU4WaW2tepMxxgZxoZb4dPuA-YOZn9RUxBJ2OLmAsCh-GSXqTVBGj4lEqu5zx5n8gIEzX36JYrA-aprNyqkqF-00tROjBbvW5_ek7Ec7_-5iIBfc_i5xfYdyKxQj_mZQGusbs=s1518" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1518" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixcmG4QZfa84VsKfXwKXXC-R10WSy1DQgvVF7QOOPJM7oKSluuBWWgU4WaW2tepMxxgZxoZb4dPuA-YOZn9RUxBJ2OLmAsCh-GSXqTVBGj4lEqu5zx5n8gIEzX36JYrA-aprNyqkqF-00tROjBbvW5_ek7Ec7_-5iIBfc_i5xfYdyKxQj_mZQGusbs=s320" width="211" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Published May 18th 2021 by Park Row</span></p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">People don’t just disappear without a trace....</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Now, 11 years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find....</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">New York Times</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> best-selling author Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.</span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Oh dear!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I've read books by this author, some I really very much enjoyed and one other I very much did not, anyway, I decided to give her another go</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">If one were to outline the plot it would seem to have all the ingredients for a really good book, but somewhere something went wrong, maybe it was written in a hurry!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">There were too many implausible incidents, other little things were never followed up on or indeed, never even mentioned again. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">All in all too many holes in the story making for an unsatisfactory ending which stretches credulity to its very limits</span></p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-7499629293057181232022-03-03T16:06:00.030+11:002022-03-03T16:18:46.390+11:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizw0hsfSE_wIAM8h56CEanpksfHllmFFgjyc2EAUxm-_c75NLytR0c4SpZEUdxjDLjd2btewEyepBsRUA1OQa01Xk8gd61wpEjSb9wDKSBAoTdG8Vhvr3Oet9fTWoX2NW6r_MljEwNa0NMe2oArqUiypsKZLmsZIi0gN-rMdsX9m3llhmLXHTG2Pyp=s390" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizw0hsfSE_wIAM8h56CEanpksfHllmFFgjyc2EAUxm-_c75NLytR0c4SpZEUdxjDLjd2btewEyepBsRUA1OQa01Xk8gd61wpEjSb9wDKSBAoTdG8Vhvr3Oet9fTWoX2NW6r_MljEwNa0NMe2oArqUiypsKZLmsZIi0gN-rMdsX9m3llhmLXHTG2Pyp=s320" width="209" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> Author Dervla McTiernan</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Publication Date 4th May 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Publisher: Harper Collins Australia </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><i>"For fans of the compulsive psychological suspense of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a mother daughter story—one running from a horrible truth, and the other fighting to reveal it—that twists and turns in shocking ways, from the internationally bestselling author of The Scholar and The Ruin.<br /><br />First Rule: Make them like you.<br /><br />Second Rule: Make them need you.<br /><br />Third Rule: Make them pay.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">They think I’m working hard to impress them.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">They're wrong. I’m going to bury him" .......</span></i></p><div class="big450BoxBody" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: repeat-y; color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="big450BoxContent" style="overflow: hidden; width: 430px;"><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers Australia for advanced copy<br /></span></div><p style="color: black; font-family: Georgia;"></p><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I looked forward to reading this book because I am such a huge fan of the author, I knew this "standalone" would be a departure from her usual police procedurals, unfortunately I never much cared for legal thrillers and this book is just that. It's not the authors fault that this reader was too daft to work out that this book is just that, legal, and American legal at that!</span></div><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I guess the "death row" mention should have clued me in!</span></div></div></div><div class="big450BoxBody" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: repeat-y;"><div class="big450BoxContent" style="overflow: hidden; width: 430px;"><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><div style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This, of course, makes it very difficult to rate a book from a genre one usually avoids when forced to use the star system, I suppose it is best to just state what one disliked, that way, someone who does enjoy all the legal aspects will happily buy it!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I found it a slow start, mainly because it was hard for me to get interested in such an unlikeable character as Hannah. I won't add too much to the publishers summary other than that Hannah, through deceit and cunning manages to inveigle herself into the Innocence Project, this is when her devious work begins in earnest.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The story is told over two timelines, her mothers past, told through her old diary, and Hannah's present day, this adds some interest.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">However, the the further I progressed the more outlandish the US law and legal procedurals seemed to become, I realise they are quite different to ours in many ways but surely, that courtroom scene, the one with the students seemingly running the show, could that really happen? I don't know, but then, I'm not American!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The author does a marvellous job of creating characters who are very nasty pieces of work!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I really wanted to enjoy this book so much more than I did but I hope anyone reading this will get just why I didn't enjoy it</span></div></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></div><div id="review-like" style="color: #181818; float: right; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 8px; text-align: right;"></div><div id="review-follow" style="color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 8px;"></div></div></div>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-84079520955459632012022-03-03T13:24:00.000+11:002022-03-03T13:24:16.781+11:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9uQUiUcAkk-VSsBrm4vFTDMB8qITqaFDso41hImsZqojVs2V0Uo-9BcvMrUAfASTxXrD_ySa3L5S_RYbaIXCXFC_z0IbeUCaoUFyD9N_xmUn15DsC7XPXCTC8vc2mfgWJ5nbzVTMbesEq5kDyUmF5Av2hSQ4DmGILkff1A8W_YaNx2o_A_gN1MTP2=s441" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="290" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9uQUiUcAkk-VSsBrm4vFTDMB8qITqaFDso41hImsZqojVs2V0Uo-9BcvMrUAfASTxXrD_ySa3L5S_RYbaIXCXFC_z0IbeUCaoUFyD9N_xmUn15DsC7XPXCTC8vc2mfgWJ5nbzVTMbesEq5kDyUmF5Av2hSQ4DmGILkff1A8W_YaNx2o_A_gN1MTP2=s320" width="210" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published January 4th 2022 by Ballantine Books</span><p></p><p><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.</i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Public library edition</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">there was quite a queue at my library and as everyone seems to be raving about it, once it arrived I couldn't wait to get stuck in.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Sad to say but for me it did not live up to the hype. Molly behaves in pretty much the same way as any other FICTIONAL neurodivergent with all the expected quirks of character, except that there's something else about Molly, something unsettling.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">It's a difficult book to review without spoilers so, all I will say is this, for me it was spoiled by two glaring clues which made the outcome a little obvious</span></p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-74353204314997484702022-02-22T17:43:00.000+11:002022-02-22T17:43:37.776+11:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJWaTnq2-gSw5gA-HZpIvubA2wICJoAajjhurkLQMlaW00DkfU56u22VVZSPQK3oPzV8kDgNZ94oDRLmhdy1dspASyU4zHvK-8reFKNXzZSUydJoyVF15Ywl557ochjje2ElcgqBRktzukKNkbvtL3qbpNsbElJTs_VglVEAZvFg2VcM0O4VVoiDsJ=s437" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJWaTnq2-gSw5gA-HZpIvubA2wICJoAajjhurkLQMlaW00DkfU56u22VVZSPQK3oPzV8kDgNZ94oDRLmhdy1dspASyU4zHvK-8reFKNXzZSUydJoyVF15Ywl557ochjje2ElcgqBRktzukKNkbvtL3qbpNsbElJTs_VglVEAZvFg2VcM0O4VVoiDsJ=s320" width="233" /></a></div><p></p><h1 class="gr-h1 gr-h1--serif" id="bookTitle" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px; width: 455px;">Julie Goodwin's Essential Cookbook</h1><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h2 id="bookSeries" style="background-color: white; color: #382110; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; margin: 4px 0px; text-align: left;"></h2></div><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Published April 2017 by Hachette Australia</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">"Australia's best-loved home cook and original MASTERCHEF, Julie Goodwin is back with the accessible and practical cookbook every family needs.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Looking for the perfect meal for your family?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">All you need to make delicious food to feed your hungry loved ones is contained here in one place. Collected here for the first time you can find Julie's essential go-to recipes: from making a great omelette, to roasting the perfect chicken, preparing simple and satisfying soups and salads and baking classic cakes, muffins and desserts that will become family favourites. Whatever ingredients you have in the house, no matter the season or occasion, you can put together a tasty feast that will please everyone, every time" .....</span></span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span id="freeTextreview1976694007" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Review<br /><b>EDIT!!!</b><br /><i>I've been using this book quite a bit and have discovered a big inconvenience, nothing to do with Julie but with the books layout. So annoying when the complete recipe is NOT displayed on a single page - or even double page spread. Nobody wants to turn the page half way through a recipe!</i><br /><br />I do love cookbooks and really looked forward to browsing through Julie Goodwin’s well titled Essential Cookbook.<br />The book is in paperback form with a glossy wipeable cover, at the back are a few plain pages to use for jotting down notes, and the front and back covers have sturdy flaps to use as bookmarks.<br /><br />According to the introduction, Julie wrote this with her sons in mind, by gathering all the recipes she has accumulated from family and other sources over the years and bringing them together, along with "little bits of kitchen wisdom”, she has ensured that her boys will always have mum’s recipes close by.<br /><br />In the Cooks note Julie includes a (blessedly short) list of kitchen equipment that would be helpful to own, comfortingly adding that not to worry if you don't own it all because "there's not much that can't be achieved if you have a good pan, a good knife, a whisk and a wooden spoon".<br />Heck, she even clarifies that eternal spring onion/eschallot/shallot debate!<br />What I call "spring onions" Julie calls "shallots", and somebody somewhere calls "eschallots" so now we are clear.<br /><br />The recipes are, of course, divided in to the usual sections and are well laid out, not every recipe has a photograph of the finished product, probably because there are so many of them!<br />Where necessary, a recipe will have a footnote with helpful suggestions and a bit of guidance on substitutions or where to buy certain ingredients.<br /><br />The guide to the various methods of cooking meat is useful, especially as recommendations for the most suitable cuts for each method is included and, importantly, the reasons for why we should use them.<br />This sets the tone for all of the recipes, if there is a little tidbit of advice she thinks will help then Julie provides it.<br /><br />I like that the meat section includes not only the cheaper family style recipes, such as cottage pie, meatballs and the like, but dishes for those special occasions, Beef Wellington for instance, a little too technical for me, but on reading the clear instructions I am tempted to give it a go one day.<br /><br />If, like me, you are a sucker for a good sauce, you will love the Sauce, Soups and Dips section which includes a gorgeous and very tasty pepper sauce recipe, I didn’t have a steak handy but it certainly bucked up the snags!<br /><br />I couldn't resist trying out the cheese stuffed meatballs in sauce, I didn't have enough Mozzarella to fill them all so for some I used Colby, these were OK but I preferred Julie's mozzarella stuffed ones.<br />I also tried the foolproof No-bake lemon cheesecake, this was so easy to make and absolutely tangy and delicious.<br /><br />If parents are looking to send their kids out in to the world armed with the knowledge to feed themselves, then this book is entirely fit for purpose.<br /><br />In fact I can’t think of anyone who would not appreciate this book, it is full of tasty family recipes that have been well tried and tested. Many are of the straightforward home cooking type, others are a little more challenging and others are a little exotic. There is definitely something for everyone.<br /><br />If nobody buys this lovely book for you then buy it for yourself<br /><br />Highly recommended<br /><br />Review copy provided by Hachette Australia</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"> </span></span></p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-65553030587024913512022-02-14T12:32:00.017+11:002022-02-14T12:41:01.587+11:00Bone Deep by Charles Bosworth and Joel Schwartz <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_EQEoUueZmc8n3UMn6I8zdP1UYjxuKDiyevLTFeimeOsJKfF9JqXXpkhKhifm-ewz4YUE9o_bEoNlWzZZmJiiYAd3HHmrkX9_S5qr2XuGn7t6x6CctKmF-f8jwpAOAHn8nus-IUM56B6drB3lURqFodFrCFYM-RJrOHhFF27rjbLYVKrAMX2rirGC=s500" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_EQEoUueZmc8n3UMn6I8zdP1UYjxuKDiyevLTFeimeOsJKfF9JqXXpkhKhifm-ewz4YUE9o_bEoNlWzZZmJiiYAd3HHmrkX9_S5qr2XuGn7t6x6CctKmF-f8jwpAOAHn8nus-IUM56B6drB3lURqFodFrCFYM-RJrOHhFF27rjbLYVKrAMX2rirGC=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="pb-2" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; padding-bottom: 0.375rem;"><h1 class="mb-1 py-0 pt-5 pt-md-0" itemprop="name" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 2.34rem; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.1875rem; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Bone Deep</h1><h2 itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway-Medium; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></h2><h2 itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway-Medium; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 0px;">by <span itemprop="name" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Charles Bosworth; Joel Schwartz</span></h2><h5 itemprop="narrator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway-Light; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Narrated by Gary Bennett </span></h5><h5 itemprop="narrator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway-Light; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Publisher Tantor Audio</span></h5><div><span style="font-weight: normal;">Publication Date: 22 February 2022</span></div><div><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-weight: normal;">Unabridged Audiobook</span></div><div><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-weight: normal;">Audiobook kindly provided by Tantor Audio via NetGalley </span></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="medium-gray-text mb-0 pb-4" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 1.125rem; text-align: start;"><h2 class="bc-heading bc-color-base bc-spacing-s2 bc-size-medium bc-text-bold" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Audible Sans", Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; text-align: left;"></h2><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Publisher's Summary<br /></span></span><i>Two days after Christmas, 2011, Russel Faria returned to his Troy, Missouri, home to find his wife, Betsy, dead, a knife still lodged in her neck. She had been stabbed 55 times in a brutal murder that would set off a chain of events leading to one man's wrongful conviction and imprisonment, another man's death, the revelation of a diabolical scheme, and an astounding miscarriage of justice left unresolved for another 10 years.<br />First responders concluded that Betsy was dead for hours when Russ discovered her. No blood was found implicating Russ, and surveillance video, receipts, and friends' testimony all supported his alibi. Yet incredibly, police and the prosecuting attorney ignored the evidence. In their minds, Russ was guilty. But prominent defence attorney Joel J. Schwartz quickly recognised the real killer.<br />The motive was clear. Days before her murder, the terminally ill Betsy replaced her husband with her friend, Pamela Hupp, as her life insurance beneficiary. Still, despite the prosecution's flimsy case and Hupp's transparent lies, Russ was convicted - leaving Hupp free to kill again. Bone Deep takes listeners through the perfect storm of miscalculations and missteps that led to an innocent man's conviction-and recounts Schwartz's successful battle to have that conviction overturned.<br />©2022 Charles Bosworth Jr. (P)2022 Tantor</i></div><h4><p style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span></span></span></i></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"></p></h4><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What to say? If, like me, you listen to this never having heard of Betsy and Russel Faria, you certainly won't want too many spoilers. However, if you have read the summary you will at least be aware that Russ is innocent of this awful crime.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The whole thing reads like an outlandish fictional detective story, one in which the reader would likely find the plot to be quite unbelievable, one has to keep in mind that yes, this really did happen! Betsy <i>was</i> brutally murdered and Russ <i>was</i> convicted of this dreadful crime</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">How this all came to be, how it all turned so bad for Russ makes for a compelling read, but, what is more unbelievable is the prosecutions train of thought.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Just to make the situation even stranger than fiction is how events unfolded to prove Russ Faria to be innocent.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you love True Crime then this is for you!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Narrated by </span>Gary Bennett<span style="font-weight: normal;">, the only part of the narration I found a bit tedious was the first part, the initial interview of Russ, however, not the fault of the narrator, just the way the story was written</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;">Charles Bosworth<span style="font-weight: normal;"> is a True Crime author and </span>Joel Schwartz<span style="font-weight: normal;"> the criminal defence attorney</span></div></div></div>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-54925326279707749952022-01-08T12:46:00.012+11:002022-02-21T15:55:21.604+11:00The Puppet Show (Washington Poe # 1) Author M.W. Craven<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIUipDgrAnTSNLaKW0TFblBml94Sz_0msHY-jFBgVw1gCV4DGmWs-LxJ53_js3bPcbgGnFgG4MJVoZKTbQdzOPP1l0x1Z563teQlOuHoMp6kdQUMSd4GhBCF7nNrvmN_WJiZlBpATvnIzh5mCHZQ44G4fG0PtS5nJyQUSlQSUfaWbQ48iAkJ7iEz-_=s318" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="318" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIUipDgrAnTSNLaKW0TFblBml94Sz_0msHY-jFBgVw1gCV4DGmWs-LxJ53_js3bPcbgGnFgG4MJVoZKTbQdzOPP1l0x1Z563teQlOuHoMp6kdQUMSd4GhBCF7nNrvmN_WJiZlBpATvnIzh5mCHZQ44G4fG0PtS5nJyQUSlQSUfaWbQ48iAkJ7iEz-_" width="318" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div>Author M.W. Craven</div><div>Narrator John Banks</div><div>Washington Poe Book 1</div><div>9hrs 21 minutes</div><div>2018</div><div>Hachette Audio UK</div></div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white;">A serial killer is burning people alive in the Lake District's prehistoric stone circles. He leaves no clues, and the police are helpless</span><span face=""Audible Sans", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">When his name is found carved into the charred remains of the third victim, disgraced detective Washington Poe is brought back from suspension and into an investigation he wants no part of.</span></i></div><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Audible Sans", Arial, sans-serif;"><i>He is reluctantly partnered with brilliant but socially awkward civilian analyst Tilly Bradshaw, and the mismatched pair uncover a trail that only he is meant to see. The elusive killer has a plan, and for some reason Poe is part of it.</i></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Audible Sans", Arial, sans-serif;"><i><br />As the body count rises, Poe discovers he has far more invested in the case than he could have possibly imagined. And in a shocking finale that will shatter everything he's ever believed about himself, Poe will learn that there are things far worse than being burned alive....</i></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(20, 20, 20, 0.65); font-family: "Audible Sans", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Horrific crimes in unusual settings, a massive twist within the story, two interesting lead characters and a somewhat gruesome, unhinged and unexpected perp. </span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">What more could you want? Well, there IS more! </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(20, 20, 20, 0.65); font-family: "Audible Sans", Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Poe has a past, he is under suspension but is called back to work because there is a very intriguing fact connecting him to an outrageous crime, reluctantly he agrees to investigate. With the help of the quirky and endearing Tilly he embarks on what must be one of the strangest and convoluted investigations of his career. This investigation leads him on a road he does not want to travel.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Actually it was a little darker than my usual reads, but, despite a somewhat slow start it is rather gripping and, I might add, stomach churning at times. Still, that doesn't stop me from wanting to know more about Washington Poe and the delightfully odd Tilly and I look forward seeing how their characters develop as the series progresses</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">I was happy with the narration, I thought John Banks did an excellent job</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Audiobook via Audible Australia plus </span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">catalogue</span></span></span></p></div>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-88699257439649894852022-01-01T16:32:00.027+11:002022-01-08T13:10:41.402+11:00The Long Call by Ann Cleeves<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><blockquote><span id="freeTextreview4428864168" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Narrator: Ben Aldritch<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtFYYsvLryzZKQNsHX8pxp92Es-9g9z7JCKcRY-mS_T1GTIFkuNuXdjRAmamKvFeAHpJ2nE5M5Gp2ohpxwRmZOX-wP-YJ5u4vYnFMhBjkAG_5Sxjte_GIOZAWu0i48b7B5AlHmL5TgwE/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="255" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtFYYsvLryzZKQNsHX8pxp92Es-9g9z7JCKcRY-mS_T1GTIFkuNuXdjRAmamKvFeAHpJ2nE5M5Gp2ohpxwRmZOX-wP-YJ5u4vYnFMhBjkAG_5Sxjte_GIOZAWu0i48b7B5AlHmL5TgwE/" width="158" /></a></div><br /> hours 35 minutes<br /><br />Publisher Macmillan 2021<br /><br />BLURB:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span id="freeTextreview4428864168" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.</span></li></ul></span></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div></span></div></blockquote></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the first book in the series so we have a few characters to get to know, primarily DI Matthew Venn and his team consisting of Liverpool lass DS Jen and the wayward overly energetic DC Ross. Not to forget Jonathan who is Matthews husband, Jonathan is important to the story because he runs a centre for people with learning difficulties, star of the centre, The Woodyard, is Lucy who has Downs, she lives with her old dad Maurice. These then are the central characters.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">On then to the story, The murdered man has a connection to the centre ... and then it gets complicated! Many leads to follow up, many blind alleys, lots of angst and suppressed anger. It is a police procedural so we know we are in for plenty of, well, procedures!</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The question is, are these procedures interesting? Well yes, it is an intriguing story told with great skill, and yes, I found Matthew Venn (and his husband Jonathan) interesting enough to want to continue with the series, however, I did find it overly drawn out at times, a bit slow moving</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I thought Ben Aldritch did a top job with the narration, nice lively pace and excellent delivery, I'd listen to him again anytime</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Purchased Audiobook </div></span></span></div><p></p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-71344086331500334732022-01-01T16:13:00.002+11:002022-01-08T13:11:07.710+11:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/512d5Q5+TiL._SL500_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="316" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/512d5Q5+TiL._SL500_.jpg" width="316" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Author: Ann Cleeves </p><p>Narrator Jack Holden </p><p>Publisher Macmillan 2021 </p><p>10 hours</p><p>I enjoyed the first book in this series (The Long Call) but admit to being hard pressed to finish this one, I hasten to add that not for the usual reason though!. I found it interesting but oh so very complex! So many characters, so many locations, twists turns and off shoots that I simply could not keep them straight</p><p>I got lost so many times and because it was in audiobook form I couldn't just flip back and forth, at least , not with ease and convenience.</p><p>I did find one annoying little aspect though, look, we know that Matthew is gay, we know he is married to the delightful and soft hearted Jonathan, it's a fact quite easily retained. Poor Jonathan is never his own man, he is referred to constantly as "Mathews husband Jonathan". Why can't he just be Jonathan in the way that Matthew is just Matthew, Jen is just Jen ... well, you get my drift!</p><p>Verdict? I should have read the book, not listened to it.</p><p>There was a change of narrator, Jack Holden took a bit of adjusting to, excellent as Matthew, he caught his character perfectly, but perhaps the scouse accent needs a little polishing</p>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-105788200935976632021-12-17T15:05:00.014+11:002022-02-21T15:37:54.493+11:00<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZMuWbtfKtcM3e3lb6jeFHlSeADiWiiS5kpZcqECBABi14Cl_zulCPtfFvowwKEUNSe12Dj9MTiilHPu_lUjMvOj-JrbR6T-pUnlnX25lSkP8U21ALOQpi3qMmVbLoSTSk8a_Fq4Aofw/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="318" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZMuWbtfKtcM3e3lb6jeFHlSeADiWiiS5kpZcqECBABi14Cl_zulCPtfFvowwKEUNSe12Dj9MTiilHPu_lUjMvOj-JrbR6T-pUnlnX25lSkP8U21ALOQpi3qMmVbLoSTSk8a_Fq4Aofw/" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><div class="hreview" style="background-color: white;"><div itemprop="reviews" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Review"><div class="big450Box" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; float: left; width: 450px;"><div class="big450BoxBody" style="background-repeat: repeat-y;"><div class="big450BoxContent" style="overflow: hidden; width: 430px;"><ul class="bc-list bc-color-secondary bc-list-nostyle" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(20, 20, 20, 0.65); font-family: "Audible Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="bc-list-item authorLabel" style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style: none;"><br /></li></ul><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have listened to the whole series, well, the series so far, and have enjoyed every moment. What a refreshing change he is to so many of the other fictional police officers.</span></div><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I enjoyed his dry wit, I sympathise with his dislike of buzz words and I love that he possesses an almost hidden musical talent, the genre of which suits him so well.<br />The slow revelation of DC's intriguing past left me wanting to know more, however, patience is rewarded as his back story is cleverly woven in to the plots of each book.<br />This Police Procedural has been a real pleasure to read/listen to and I just hope there is more to come, the only drawback? It left me in a real reading slump of not being able to find another series to enjoy as much<br /><br />Narrated by Gildart Jackson who is a perfect fit for the job, he makes a brilliant DC, one nitpick point is I couldn't understand why he would use the American pronunciation of "booey" rather than the English "bouy", that did seem odd!</span></div><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span>More details https://www.petergrainger.com/</span></span><br /></span></div><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Audiobooks via my library and Audible Australia (Self purchased)</span></div><div id="review-like" style="color: #181818; float: right; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 8px; text-align: right;"></div><div id="review-follow" style="color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 8px;"></div></div></div></div><ul class="bc-list bc-color-secondary bc-list-nostyle" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Audible Sans", Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="bc-list-item authorLabel" style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style: none;">Author Peter Grainger</li><li class="bc-list-item authorLabel" style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style: none;">Narrator Gildart Jackson</li><li class="bc-list-item authorLabel" style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style: none;">Publisher Tantor Audio</li><li class="bc-list-item authorLabel" style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style: none;">6 hours 52 minutes</li></ul></div></div>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-22231377744005154682020-04-12T14:29:00.000+10:002020-04-12T14:33:49.472+10:00When the Lights Go Out Mary Kubica 1 STAR<h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ajC94d4ywMa6vC9xASJv7KdcpMTszIc1W-_1otMiw88T2xNHoGfLJgm1Zp0WTrnr6w8qvTsFmYYO4HMDRIRk2e5aACCuNYueiy1H1C37sTqEYBgSJvldpn3VHhB-hRhO_bRkOCeUPiw/s1600/40250765._SX318_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ajC94d4ywMa6vC9xASJv7KdcpMTszIc1W-_1otMiw88T2xNHoGfLJgm1Zp0WTrnr6w8qvTsFmYYO4HMDRIRk2e5aACCuNYueiy1H1C37sTqEYBgSJvldpn3VHhB-hRhO_bRkOCeUPiw/s200/40250765._SX318_.jpg" width="133" /></a><b>Audiobook Review:</b></h2>
This is probably one of the most scathing reviews I have ever written, and I'm sorry for that as this book is the one I chose to re start my book reviewing.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">This story was awful, just awful.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Dreary drivel about two miserable women and one rather stupid man. I wasted my time listening to this.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">The narrators, Julia Whelan and Jayme Mattler did their best, but came across as monotonous and flat, but this was a true reflection of the boring characters and the boring story</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">I am deeply disappointed with the author</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Library copy</span>forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-35922098314789661192017-09-20T17:14:00.000+10:002017-09-20T17:14:13.721+10:00Did You See Melody? Sophie Hannah<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0x5KbUG4wN32XVwOTP7bta0JAqVQzsp8E2vcyPTu5zqutL849m0UAzUbHQDXSgR6QT4vUCaW6mMSgKFM50fzcA2jXq0OUw9CemPt_YKk3GVXrg7IIES38KijzYwbmBGwwiFKGcjvBkHE/s1600/melo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="441" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0x5KbUG4wN32XVwOTP7bta0JAqVQzsp8E2vcyPTu5zqutL849m0UAzUbHQDXSgR6QT4vUCaW6mMSgKFM50fzcA2jXq0OUw9CemPt_YKk3GVXrg7IIES38KijzYwbmBGwwiFKGcjvBkHE/s200/melo.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">Did You See Melody</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Author: Sophie Hannah</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Paperback 327 pages</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Publication Date: August 24th 2017</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">ISBN: 9781444776171</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Publisher: Hachette Australia</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Imprint: Hodder & Stoughton</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Publishers Summary:</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>Pushed to breaking point, Cara Burrows abandons her home and family and escapes to a five-star spa resort she can't afford. Late at night, exhausted and desperate, she lets herself into her hotel room and is shocked to find it already occupied - by a man and a teenage girl.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>A simple mistake on the part of the hotel receptionist - but Cara's fear intensifies when she works out that the girl she saw alive and well in the hotel room is someone she can't possibly have seen: the most famous murder victim in the country, Melody Chapa, whose parents are serving life sentences for her murder.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Cara doesn't know what to trust: everything she's read and heard about the case, or the evidence of her own eyes. Did she really see Melody? And is she prepared to ask herself that question and answer it honestly if it means risking her own life?</i></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Review</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It was the tantalising blurb which attracted me to this book and I was looking forward to enjoying an interesting mystery.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Cara is fed up with her husband and two teenagers, she is middle-aged and unexpectedly pregnant and wants to get away from them all, so she decides to fly off to spend a couple of weeks (and a small fortune) at a luxurious spa in Arizona.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1">The plot then evolves from a series of rather odd coincidences. First, she is sent to the wrong room which is already occupied by a man and a young girl.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Later, at the reception desk, she overhears a woman named Mrs. McNair loudly demanding that the police be called as she has seen a girl named Melody who was presumed murdered seven years earlier.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Cara is intrigued and decides to do a bit of sleuthing during which she comes across a photo of seven year old Melody. Despite the time lapse she is immediately convinced that the teenaged<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>girl she saw in the room and the child in the photo really are the same girl.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1">She teams up with another guest, Tarin, who has her daughter Zellie with her.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Another major character makes an appearance, one Bonnie Juno who, on her TV show “Justice with Bonnie” featured the disappearance of the child Melody, Bonnies relentless trial by television seemed to convince everyone that<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Melodys' parents killed her and they were imprisoned for her murder.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
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<span class="s1">There is a huge amount of back story which I found interrupted the flow, however, we finally get to the end of this story via denouement after denouement.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">For me, I am sorry to say it was all a bit too unbelievable to be a serious mystery. Yet though it was a little comedic in parts it was not enough to lift the story to an actual comedy.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Having said all that, I did love the character of Tarin and would love to see her starring in her very own cozy mystery!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Copy provided by Hachette Australia for an honest review</span></div>
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forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-6421802290996265872017-08-15T16:04:00.000+10:002017-08-15T16:04:19.736+10:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiNg_dLjjeoP_XEDmWFpglGekSVqT9ixyF5QSKPk-AU9YIXsZbBcXyD2Bebk-JwSNNTyiov4fbOGvS3WcGZbibmKLc6FDKvmsXd0BQF6w-ztswiQedH4rO6AKYaqiF26tYpzvaZCmY7I/s1600/ground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="441" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiNg_dLjjeoP_XEDmWFpglGekSVqT9ixyF5QSKPk-AU9YIXsZbBcXyD2Bebk-JwSNNTyiov4fbOGvS3WcGZbibmKLc6FDKvmsXd0BQF6w-ztswiQedH4rO6AKYaqiF26tYpzvaZCmY7I/s200/ground.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">Sleeping in the Ground<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Author: Peter Robinson</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Series: Inspector Banks Book 24</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Publisher: Hachette Australia</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">July 12th 2017</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">ISBN: 9781444786927</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Paperback 374 pages</span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Publishers Summary</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>'A shocking mass murder occurs at a wedding in a small Dales church and a huge manhunt follows. Eventually, the shooter is run to ground and things take their inevitable course.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>But Banks is plagued with doubts as to exactly what happened outside the church that day, and why. Struggling with the death of his first serious girlfriend and the return of profiler Jenny Fuller into his life, Banks feels the need to dig deeper into the murders, and as he does so, he uncovers forensic and psychological puzzles that lead him to the past secrets that might just provide the answers he is looking for.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>When the surprising truth becomes clear, it is almost too late.'</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Review</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">What an opening chapter!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Usually it takes me a few chapters of reading before I become fully immersed in a story, but those first twelve pages of “Sleeping In The Ground” are absolutely riveting.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">There is the shocking incident of the shootings at the wedding, which is attended by Terry Gilchrist whose military experience returns in force as he hears the first shot, Terry is there with Winsome, who gets injured by the shooter.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Moving on to Banks, who, at the time, is attending<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>the funeral of his first love, he is deeply immersed in thoughts of times past, but eventually news of the terrible shootings reach him and he rushes to the scene of the horrifying crime.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
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<span class="s1">Then there is Ray, hippy artist father of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Banks’ sidekick, Annie Cabbot, Ray rocks up at her tiny cottage telling her he wants to move up from Cornwall, to find a place close to her.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1">All this, just in the first few pages, and it beautifully sets up the whole story line.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">At this point I should say that I am so happy to have read most of the Inspector Banks series, as I honestly don’t think a reader could fully appreciate the storyline if not familiar with these characters who have been involved with past story lines.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Moving on again to a bit later in the story; when the investigation of the shootings is underway, Jenny Fuller, the consulting crime psychologist returns from Australia and joins the team, she is a woman who featured in Banks’ life when he was still married. They had worked together and had become close, but the relationship ended before it had barely begun.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">At this point I’m thinking that Banks should wake up and smell the coffee, he is divorced now so why doesn’t he just get things moving with Jenny! I couldn’t wait to read on to see how that panned out!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1">That’s what I mean by being thankful for having followed the series, as new readers might well miss out through lack of back story.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Moving on again to the main story; the shooting and “who dunnit", well, as usual, there is the evidence, and then there is Banks and his gut feel for the case. He picks up on and pontificates about the smallest of details, and, of course, puts many small details together to eventually solve the case.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
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<span class="s1">An excellent story which, for me, is at times a tad too long winded when it comes to describing the police procedures, but nevertheless, it is a real page turner of a mystery.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">However, Banks can be a little irritating with his aspirations of becoming a little more highbrow, his music, his attempts to learn more about poetry, somehow, to me, it all seems a little forced and not entirely in keeping with his natural character.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Still, that is just personal opinion, and it didn't stop me from loving the book, it is a wonderfully entertaining and satisfying story and I am so looking forward to reading the next episode in the life of Inspector Banks. It is definitely not yet time for him to retire!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Highly recommended.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Review copy provided by Hachette Australia</span></div>
forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-81854722869779695722017-08-14T15:54:00.000+10:002017-08-14T15:54:54.026+10:00Friend Request: Laura Marshall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">Friend Request</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Author: Laura Marshall</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Publisher: Hachette Australia</span></div>
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<span class="s1">July 2017</span></div>
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<span class="s1">ISBN: 9780751568332</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Paperback: 371 pages</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Publishers Summary</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>When Louise Williams receives a message from someone left long in the past she feels sick.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Because Maria Weston has been missing for over twenty-five years. She was last seen the night of a school leavers' party, and the world believes her to be dead. Particularly Louise, who has lived her adult life knowing herself responsible for Maria's disappearance. But now Maria is back. Or is she?</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>As Maria's messages start to escalate, Louise forces herself to reconnect with the old friends she once tried so hard to impress, to try to piece together exactly what happened that fateful night. But when another friend's body turns up in the woods outside their old school, Louise realises she can't trust anyone and that she must confront her own awful secret to discover the whole truth of what happened to Maria . . .</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Review</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">How chilling and spooky would that be? Receiving a friend request from someone whom you had thought to be long dead!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Well, Louise Williams was braver than me, I would have ignored it, but she didn’t, she responded, and right there begins an intriguing and very twisty tale.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Maria Weston transferred to Louise’s school in the senior year, there was a little bit of mystery attached to her but nobody knew <i>exactly</i> what. Louise hung out with the popular girls, she wasn’t quite one of them herself but tried hard to stay close. When she tried to include Maria, the popular girls would have none of it and so Louise, not wanting to upset them, excluded her too.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Then one night something terrible happened to Maria, she disappeared and was presumed to have drowned, Louise believed that because of something she had done on that night, she was to blame.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Now, years later, Louise is living alone with her small son when this bombshell drops, “Maria Weston wants to be friends”. At the same time an invitation to attend her High Schools 25th reunion arrives, is this a coincidence?</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Louise wonders if she is the only one to have received this spooky friend request and sets out to contact her old school friends via Facebook. She is a little nervous as she hasn’t been in contact for years.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">This truly is an insidiously creepy story, I thought the descriptions of the awful ways of teenaged schoolgirls to be very well written and probably quite emotive for some readers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Later in the book we meet one of the most Machiavellian of spine chilling characters, but you will have to read the book to discover who that might be -and it might no be who you think it is!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Then there is Louise herself, we know of course, that she has a secret, but there seems to be something more, an undercurrent of something a little sinister in her life. The author does reveal all, but in a slow, tantalising way which keeps the reader turning those pages.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">A cracking debut novel from author Laura Marshall, and I very much look forward to reading her next book.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Highly recommended.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Review copy provided by Hachette Books Australia</span></div>
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forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-48683162365861148492017-08-10T13:10:00.000+10:002017-08-10T13:10:22.252+10:00Calaway Jones: Blair Howard. Harry Starke 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">Calaway Jones: The Harry Starke Novels, Book 10<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Written by: Blair Howard</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Narrated by: Tom Lennon</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Unabridged Audiobook</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Release Date:05-03-17</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Publisher: Blair Howard</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Publishers Summary</b>:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">"Stand absolutely still, Amanda," she read, "and you won't get hurt." Two seconds later a bullet from a sniper's rifle shattered the driver's side window of her Lexus SUV.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">That's how it began, early on a Friday morning when Amanda, Harry's wife, found the note tucked under her windshield wiper. The incident was quickly followed by a series of events that would put his family and friends in deadly danger and test Harry to his limits.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">©2017 Blair Howard (P)2017 Blair Howard</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Review</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Just when you think the “Harry” stories can’t get any better another great new read comes along.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Harry has never had a fight on his hands like this one, someone wants him dead, but that someone wants to play games.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Once again, all the team are pulling for Harry, but there isn’t much they can do to help him, Harry does everything he can to keep them out of the way because he knows what will happen to them if they interfere in this battle of wits.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The thing is, Harry thinks he knows who wants him dead but he doesn’t know who is trying to do the deed. This adds to the excitement, which, in this story, gets quite intense.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Brilliantly entertaining Five star story, Highly recommended.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Narrated by Tom Lennon, who yet again makes Harry and the team come alive. Each time I listen to a new Harry Starke book I am reminded yet again of how lucky we are that someone chose Tom to narrate this series.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Audiobook review copy provided by the narrator</span></div>
forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-48807217675151917312017-08-01T15:57:00.000+10:002017-08-01T15:57:01.075+10:00Moon Gardening: John Harris 5 Stars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgln-jqpRQ7Pl1KJy7xZvheT_2TLjrlyjV2K2MUOYV-6SFZCcz4tJXKGqZJThyphenhyphenprJWkTH26ELIxugO5eFST17eyeN2VB_Y1qVlTSeXSHyVLuK4ViQ-5nHgJCOlrrSkdbOKa08ZVEFlFKOA/s1600/Moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="312" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgln-jqpRQ7Pl1KJy7xZvheT_2TLjrlyjV2K2MUOYV-6SFZCcz4tJXKGqZJThyphenhyphenprJWkTH26ELIxugO5eFST17eyeN2VB_Y1qVlTSeXSHyVLuK4ViQ-5nHgJCOlrrSkdbOKa08ZVEFlFKOA/s200/Moon.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
Moon Gardening<br />
Author: John Harris and Jim Rickard<br />
Publication Date: 22nd September 2016<br />
Publisher: John Blake Publishing Ltd<br />
Imprint: Metro<br />
ISBN-10 1784184152<br />
ISBN:-13 978-1784184155<br />
<b>Publishers Summary:</b><br />
<i>“This is not your average gardening book. In it you will discover how to increase your crop yield and grow healthier plants and better tasting food, while reducing work in your garden and forking out less on fertiliser. This seemingly impossible win-win is achieved by planting and reaping in tune with the phases of the moon.</i><br />
<i>Lunar gardening has been around for as long as man has pulled food from the soil. It was practised by the Incas and the Native Americans, and is still followed by the Maoris and rural communities in Eastern Europe. Because it works. But with the mass adoption of fertilisers achieving quicker results for a need-it-now-generation, these techniques have been all but forgotten by the modern gardener. Until now.</i><br />
<i>Head gardener at Cornwalls famous Tresillian Estate, John Harris has researched, studied and put in to practice the principles of gardening by the phases of the moon for more than forty years. The results he's achieved are nothing short of astonishing. He has never watered his garden (even during the drought of 1976), he only grows organically and yet he's won numerous show awards and prizes for the size, abundance and taste of his produce. In Moon Gardening, he shows you how you can do the same by following a few simple principles.</i><br />
<i>Moon gardening is not some groundless fad. It's been followed for thousands of years with great success. Anyone who's met John Harris knows he is one of the most down-to-earth people you could wish to meet. This book, written in his own inimitable style, is packed full of tips that improve results, anecdotes that inspire and resources you can rely on. Its ultimate aim is to pass on Johns treasure trove of horticultural knowledge to future generations, so that we can all get more from our garden.”</i><br />
<b>Review</b><br />
My first ever gardening book was written by TVs original celebrity gardener, the late Percy Thrower. I couldn’t say how many more I have read since then, but this book, Moon Gardening, definitely rates as the most interesting of them all.<br />
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John Harris begins with a few tales from his childhood in Cornwall and of how his gardening life began on the allotment of his uncle Jack Honey. He then goes on to describe his old style gardening apprenticeship at Polwhele under the tutelage of head gardener Noel Masters.<br />
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It was Mr. Masters who introduced John to all the old ways, including moon gardening.<br />
An apprenticeship back then took five long years of hard work and John was the only boy to complete it. When he describes some of the old style gardening tasks he was obliged to do then you can understand why. You will have to read the book though to discover their method of growing greenhouse grapes, but believe me, it took a strong stomach!<br />
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John then went on to work at the Tresillian estate where he became head gardener, his first job was to restore the walled kitchen garden, it was completely derelict, and so was a huge undertaking, it took two years to clear the brambles and rubbish before the garden could finally be cultivated.<br />
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The rest of the book is just jam packed with information such as crop rotation systems, how to prepare fertilisers and apply them, how to make and use compost, digging techniques and so much more, including the Native American three sisters planting - a technique I use - and how moon planting helped the Maori of New Zealand.<br />
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I was thrilled to receive a copy of this book as a birthday gift from my friend who lives in the U.K. She chose this for me not only because of my interest in gardening but also because we both grew up living close by to Johns’ family. We didn’t know John as well as we knew his sisters because he had grown up and left home, but we would see him when he came back to visit and to tend their garden.<br />
Being raised in the same town as John I can remember many of the old Newquay people that he speaks of, so for me, that is a lovely bonus.<br />
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There are a few reason why I highly recommend this book for every gardener, firstly, of course, because some may wish to learn and utilise the moon gardening techniques. Secondly, because it has all of this wonderful, yet hard to come by information and it's right there between the covers.<br />
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Mostly though, I would love if every gardener used this book to learn something of the history of gardening, I think it would be so very sad if these old ways and ancient methods were lost forever.<br />
These days I live a long way from home, but I look forward to using Johns advice in my garden here in Tasmania.<br />
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Disclaimer: This book is my own copy, no incentive has been offered for this review. Purchased from Amazon UK<br />
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<b>About John Harris</b> (via Amazon UK)<br />
JOHN HARRIS has been a professional gardener since he started his working life in 1956. He got his first spade when he was ten, his first allotment when he was eleven and his first job on a Cornish estate when he was fifteen. He was taught by the best in the business , Noel Masters, a head gardener for many of Cornwall s leading gardens. After his apprenticeship, John worked through various horticultural jobs including running commercial garden centres and advising on large public-works projects until twenty-five years ago, when he was offered a challenge he couldn t refuse the restoration of Tresillian Estate s famous Victorian kitchen garden, which had fallen into deep neglect. He agreed, on condition that he could follow the ancient principles of moon gardening. Tresillian is now regarded as one of the UK s finest examples of a working estate kitchen garden.<br />
John shares his wisdom regularly on TV and radio, including appearances on BBC2 s Gardening Stories, Gardener s World and BBC Radio Devon s Potting Shed. Numerous articles have been written by him and about him in the national press, including the Daily Telegraph, Vogue, Amateur Gardening and Country Life. At seventy-four, John still works full time as head of the gardening team at Tresillian, and lives on the estate with his wife Olive.<br />
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<b>About Jim Rickards</b><br />
JIM RICKARDS picked up a pen at about the same age as John picked up his first spade. He has written two books, Fields of Light and Out of Africa (both published by John Blake). After working in London for twenty years as an editor and sub-editor for HarperCollins and the BBC, he now lives in Cornwall, only a pasty s throw from John Harris. Though nowhere near as green-fingered as the world s most famous moon gardener, he shares John s passion for the end product tasty, healthy food sourced as locally as possible. And you can t get more local than your own garden.<br />
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forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-11021778937428066492017-07-29T12:29:00.001+10:002017-07-29T12:38:34.167+10:00The Night Visitor: Lucy Atkins 3 Stars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Night Visitor<br />
Author: Lucy Atkins<br />
Paperback<br />
Published: May 20th 2017<br />
ISBN: 9781786482181<br />
Publisher: Hachette Australia<br />
<b>Publishers Summary</b><br />
Professor Olivia Sweetman has worked hard to achieve the life she loves, with a high-flying career as a TV presenter and historian, three children and a talented husband. But as she stands before a crowd at the launch of her new bestseller she can barely pretend to smile. Her life has spiralled into deceit and if the truth comes out, she will lose everything.<br />
Only one person knows what Olivia has done. Vivian Tester is the socially awkward sixty-year-old housekeeper of a Sussex manor who found the Victorian diary on which Olivia's book is based. She has now become Olivia's unofficial research assistant. And Vivian has secrets of her own.<br />
As events move between London, Sussex and the idyllic South of France, the relationship between these two women grows more entangled and complex. Then a bizarre act of violence changes everything.<br />
<b>Review</b><br />
Olivia, the history professor, sees a flyer that reads:<br />
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<i>“The Real Diary of a Victorian Lady!</i><br />
<i>…. a sensational diary, handed down through one family. On short term loan by Lady Catherine Burley of Ileford Manor”</i><br />
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Curious, and on the lookout for some inspiration for writing a new book, Olivia visits the museum where the diary is held on loan, there she meets the taciturn and surly looking Vivian Tester, housekeeper to Lady Burley. She gets to read the diary, she can barely contain her excitement when she realises that this is it, her new book!<br />
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Vivian makes herself invaluable to Olivia during her writing process, Olivia wants to milk all the information that she can from Vivian but she does not want her as her friend.<br />
Neither seems to like the other much, the two women work together in an uneasy and slightly unfriendly way.<br />
Both women seem a bit odd, Olivia is perpetually stressed by family problems, she needs money badly, hence the importance of writing a best seller, and she is also haunted by the belief that she has a stalker.<br />
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Vivian is a complex character, she seems to care that Olivia shuns her friendship yet she herself never displays a friendly manner towards Olivia.<br />
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I did enjoy this book … eventually, but I found it to be a really slow starter, everything is such a slow burn and I often felt that I was being manipulated into thinking that something awful was about to happen only to be let down because the creepily written build up led to something mundane.<br />
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It isn’t until towards the end of the book that the storyline begins to crackle and gather pace, and though a tad predictable in places it does have a very unpredictable ending.<br />
Paperback copy provided by Hachette Books Australia for unbiased review<br />
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forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-41670454342718908582017-07-10T15:16:00.000+10:002017-07-10T15:16:55.000+10:00Dregs: Jørn Lier Horst<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dregs<br />
Author: Jørn Lier Horst<br />
Series: William Wisting Mystery<br />
Publisher: Affirm Press<br />
March 2017 (Australia)<br />
Edition: Paperback<br />
ISBN: 9781925475500<br />
Translated by Anne Bruce<br />
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<b>Publishers Summary</b><br />
Chief Inspector William Wisting is an experienced policeman familiar with the dark side of human nature. He lives in challenging times for the Norwegian police force, meeting them with integrity and humanity, and a fragile belief that he can play a part in creating a better world. Dregs begins with a police report giving the place and time of the discovery of a training shoe washed up on the sand, containing a severed foot. Soon a second shoe is washed up, but it is another left foot. What is the explanation for this? Has there been some kind of terrible accident at sea? Does it indicate the killing and dismembering of two victims? Is there a link with the unsolved mystery of a number of disappearances in the Larvik area in recent months? In this gripping police procedural, Wisting gradually gets to the bottom of the mystery with the help of his all too human colleagues and his journalist daughter, Line.<br />
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<b>Review</b><br />
I’m always excited at the prospect of finding a new crime mystery series and was happy to come across the William Wisting books by Jørn Lier Horst.<br />
However, it was not until I had this book in my hand that I realised that this is not, in fact, the first in the series but the sixth, it is though the first to be translated from the Norwegian.<br />
I’m not sure of the logic behind that decision but I’m happy to say that I didn’t feel too short changed, nevertheless, a brief account of the back story would have been much appreciated.<br />
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William Wisting is middle aged Police Inspector, he has an adult daughter who works as a journalist, and he has a girlfriend. He neglects his health so is not as fit as he ought to be, he has a few quirks, but not so many as to make him one of those deeply flawed police officers that we come across in some types of crime fiction.<br />
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William Wisting and his team are investigating the mystery surrounding the discovery of a second severed foot washed up on a beach, it doesn’t match the first foot so accident is ruled out. To deepen the mystery further, more severed feet get washed up.<br />
As four people have gone missing from the area, the team must investigate the possibility of these two incidents being related. Their investigation leads them to some very unexpected places and to some very interesting characters.<br />
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This is a police procedural at its best, it is intriguing, credible, well plotted and flows beautifully and I loved the way the author meshed the parallel stories of Wisting and his daughter Line.<br />
There’s plenty here to keep the reader turning those pages in anticipation, and if you love a good British police procedural then I highly recommend the William Wisting series.<br />
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Review copy supplied by <a href="https://affirmpress.com.au/" target="_blank">Affirm Press</a><br />
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About The Author<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4o-cypDNbEHjgyOVqPVYLiLIzQ9lUrCFu-fqv-AttuthRrDlEHozqLDxuSaBgFBAHkpZo91d4V7cmcIYp9ITlMw72pLwjXNX0-gYdJWNHZoOrlTM_6UGgdmGAIKOKs69-s2ID-OvK4w/s1600/Jorn-Lier-Horst-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="288" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4o-cypDNbEHjgyOVqPVYLiLIzQ9lUrCFu-fqv-AttuthRrDlEHozqLDxuSaBgFBAHkpZo91d4V7cmcIYp9ITlMw72pLwjXNX0-gYdJWNHZoOrlTM_6UGgdmGAIKOKs69-s2ID-OvK4w/s200/Jorn-Lier-Horst-.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.jlhorst.com/Innhold/Vis2/Englsih/367" target="_blank">Jørn Lier Horst</a> (born in Bamble, Telemark 1970) is a former Senior Investigating Officer at the Norwegian police force. He made his literary debut as a crime writer in 2004 and is now considered one of the foremost Nordic crime writers. His William Wisting series of crime novels has been extremely successful, having sold more than 500,000 copies world wide. Dregs is the first book translated into English in this addictive series. The next book, Closed for Winter, won Norway’s Booksellers’ Prize in 2012 and was shortlisted for the Riverton Prize. His latest novel, The Hunting Dogs, won both the prestigious Golden Revolver, for best Norwegian crime, and The Glass Key, which widened the scope to best crime fiction in all the Nordic countries, in 2013. (source: Affirm Press)<br />
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forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-4236635714662437692017-06-20T14:44:00.000+10:002017-06-20T14:44:36.521+10:00Match Up: Edited by Lee Child<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">Match Up</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Editor: Lee Child</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Multiple Authors</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Genre: Crime Fiction</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Paperback RRP $29.99</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">ISBN 9780751569025</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Publication Date: June 13th 2017</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Published by Hachette Australia</span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Publishers Summary</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">MATCH UP pairs up twenty-two of your favourite crime writers and their iconic characters in this unique short-story collection.<i>Match Up</i> - a brand new collaboration between the world's famous crime writers. Edited be international bestseller Lee Child, this exclusive page-turning anthology promises the same thrills and chills brought to you by the previous collection, <i>Face Off</i>. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Review</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">In the introduction Lee Child explains the reason for writing and producing these collections. The International Thriller Writers association (ITA) charges no fee for membership, instead, income is generated by the members producing anthologies of short crime stories. Beginning with <i>Thriller (2006) </i>edited by James Patterson,<i> </i>since then several more<i> </i>have been produced over the years.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Face Off</i> (2014)<i> </i> was the first to pair off authors, and now <i>Match Up </i>pairs up a male and a female author.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">What makes this book even more interesting is that each story is preceded by the editors notes on the writing processes of each pair of authors.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I dove straight in and chose to read the Kathy Reichs and Lee Child story “Faking a Murderer” featuring Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"> I don’t usually read short stories, for some reason thinking that they might be less satisfying than a full length novel, but, happily, I was wrong as each story is engrossing and very enjoyable.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">This is a collection of well written short stories, and provides a wonderful way to discover both new authors and new crime fighters!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Highly recommended.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Review copy provided by Hachette Australia</span></div>
forgetmenothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949151505250498512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646576230783057684.post-66491690346987942542017-06-09T13:02:00.001+10:002017-06-09T13:02:17.242+10:00Her Mothers Secret: Natasha Lester<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">Author: Natasha Lester</span></div>
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<span class="s1">ISBN: 9780733634659</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Publication Date: April 2017</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Publisher: Hachette Australia</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Genre: Historical Fiction</span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Publishers Summary</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">A sweeping story of love and ambition from England to the Manhattan of the 1920s and 1940s by the author of A Kiss From Mr. Fitzgerald.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">1918, England. Armistice Day should bring peace into Leonora's life. Rather than secretly making cosmetics in her father's chemist shop to sell to army nurses such as Joan, her adventurous Australian friend, Leo hopes to now display her wares openly. Instead, Spanish flu arrives in the village, claiming her father's life. Determined to start over, she boards a ship to New York City. On the way she meets debonair department store heir Everett Forsyth . . . In Manhattan, Leo works hard to make her cosmetics dream come true, but she's a woman alone with a small salary and a society that deems make-up scandalous.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">1939, New York City. Everett's daughter, Alice, a promising ballerina, receives a mysterious letter inviting her to star in a series of advertisements for a cosmetics line. If she accepts she will be immortalised like dancers such as Zelda Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker and Ginger Rogers. Why, then, are her parents so quick to forbid it?</span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Review</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">At first, I thought this was going to be a predictable read, but as the chapters flew by, the plot turned this way and that, and every time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, a clever little twist popped up to fool me.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I really started to enjoy the book from the moment that Leo landed in New York and found lodgings and work in China Town. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">This is where Leo's strong character shines through, by choosing to live in a cheap rent area and by working at menial jobs, Leo flew in the face of social norms, but running the risk of social ostracism did not deter her.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Known for her diligent research, author Natasha Lester really comes in to her own when describing historical settings: the street vendors, the stores and their wares, and, notably, the wonderful descriptions of the fashions, each dress so beautifully described that the reader can all but see them.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I loved reading about how things were made and how things were done, how the cosmetic packagings were designed and manufactured, and who knew what it took to dress the window of a big store!</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><br />
</span></div>
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<span class="s1">For me, it is all the wonderful historical detail that elevates this book above and beyond others of this genre. It is lovely to escape to this wonderful world that Natasha Lester builds for her readers.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">At one point though, the book does take a significant leap forward in time where the storyline changes to another character. This did interrupt the flow for me, it sort of jolted me out of the story and it took time to settle back into it. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">I highly recommend “Her Mothers Secret” to those who love a well written, well researched and heartwarming story.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Review copy provided by Hachette Books Australia</span></div>
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