Tag Archives: Books

Love You Better by Natalie K Martin Reviewed By Frances Colville

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Love You Better by Natalie K Martin Reviewed By Frances ColvilleNatalie K Martin’s second book Love You Better is about domestic violence.  Set in London, Thailand and Ibiza with links to other parts of the world, the story is fast paced with well-drawn characters and a good if somewhat predicable story line.  We all know that domestic violence can occur in all sorts of households and relationships, and any book which reinforces this and flags up some of the telltale warning signs is welcome.  The author has done her research well.  And her love of travel shines through too.

However, the ending of the book was clearly signposted from the early pages and for me this detracted from the impact of the story as it evolved.  It’s hard to care enough about the development of a character – even one you empathise with as much as Effie – if you’ve already worked out what is going to happen to her.  There were a few other things which pulled me up short. Is the character Oliver intended to be the same age as the other main characters (that is, mid twenties) and if so, how can he possibly be one of the most sought-after lawyers in London?  A three storey whitewashed Georgian house in a quiet street in Clapham for £500,000?  I don’t think so.  Nitpicking?  Yes.  But why not get it right?

This book is still a good read though.  It flows well, it’s interesting and I did actually want to know if I guessed the right ending.  And I liked the play on words in the title.  A book worth reading in fact.  I’m going to search out the author’s first book Together Apart and look forward to future offerings as well.

Love You Better is published by Lake Union Publishing and will be available in the UK in paperback and ebook versions from 8th October 2015.

 

 

A Killing Winter By Tom Callaghan Book Review

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A Killing Winter By Tom Callaghan Book Review

Hail my new hero, Tom Callaghan.

As a fan of Tom Rob Smith and especially his novel, The Secret Speech, I thought there would not be another writer to touch him. I was wrong.

With A Killing Winter, Tom Callaghan has created a fascinating, cold and harsh setting, but one in which the central character is a living breathing empathetic detective, one with compassion, one dealing with personal loss, but one who ploughs on through the political difficulties determined to reach the truth, whatever the threat to himself.

With a superb sense of place. Callaghan gets the balance of tension, empathetic characters, and the setting just right.

When Inspector Akyl Borubaev of Bishkek Murder Squad arrives at the brutal murder scene of a young woman, all evidence hints at a sadistic serial killer on the hunt for more prey.

But when the young woman’s father turns out to be a leading government minister, the pressure is on Borubaev to solve the case not only quickly, but also quietly, by any means possible. Until more bodies are found …

Still in mourning after his wife’s recent death, Borubaev descends into Bishkek’s brutal underworld, a place where no-one and nothing is as it seems, where everyone is playing for the highest stakes, and where violence is the only solution.

I couldn’t put The Killing Winter down. Thank heavens there is another on the horizon: A Spring Betrayal.

I can’t wait.

A Killing Winter – Tom Callaghan  5th November 2015, Paperpack £7.99.

 

 

Hidden by Emma Kavanagh Book Review

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Hidden by Emma Kavanagh Book Review

Hidden follows on the heels of Emma Kavanagh’s debut psychological thriller novel, Falling. A second novel is a tricky beast – can the author do it again? Can they build on the success of the first? Can it follow in the same genre without being too much the same?

Kavanagh has succeeded with Hidden when other authors haven’t. Similarly to some series on television, the novel starts with the crime and then takes the reader back a stage, to the start of the action. Rather than peeling away the layers to get at ‘who dun it,’ Kavanagh builds up the layers, so that we get to the ‘why’ he ‘dun it’. And who actually did it. Clever stuff, with multiple viewpoints.

In Hidden, a gunman is stalking the wards of a local hospital. He’s unidentified and dangerous, and has to be located. Urgently.

Police Firearms Officer Aden McCarthy is tasked with tracking him down. Still troubled by the shooting of a schoolboy, Aden is determined to make amends by finding the gunman – before it is too late. To psychologist Imogen, hospital should be a place of healing and safety – both for her, and for her young niece who’s recently been admitted. She’s heard about the gunman, but he has little to do with her. Or has he?

Kavanagh uses her years of experience training police forces and military units on the psychology of life threatening incidents, to give credence to her work. The tension builds, and never lets up.

Hidden – Emma Kavanagh Published in paperback by Arrow   £6.99

 

 

Hidden by Emma Kavanagh Book Review

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hidden Emma Kavanagh

Hidden follows on the heels of Emma Kavanagh’s debut psychological thriller novel Falling.

A second novel is a tricky beast – can the author do it again? Can they build on the success of the first? Can it follow in the same genre without being too much the same?

Kavanagh has succeeded with Hidden when other authors have failed. Similarly to some series on television, the novel starts with the crime and then takes the reader back a stage, to the start of the action. Rather than peeling away the layers to get at ‘who dun it,’ Kavanagh builds up the layers, so that we get to the ‘why’ of ‘who dun it’. Clever stuff, with multiple viewpoints.

In Hidden, a gunman is stalking the wards of a local hospital. He’s unidentified and dangerous, and has to be located. Urgently.

Police Firearms Officer Aden McCarthy is tasked with tracking him down. Still troubled by the shooting of a schoolboy, Aden is determined to make amends by finding the gunman – before it is too late. To psychologist Imogen, hospital should be a place of healing and safety – both for her, and for her young niece who’s recently been admitted. She’s heard about the gunman, but he has little to do with her. Or has he?

Kavanagh uses her years of experience training police forces and military units on the psychology of life threatening incidents, to give credence to her work. The tension builds, and never lets up.

Let’s hope there’s another Kavanagh gem soon. Bravo.

Hidden – Emma Kavanagh. Published in paperback by Arrow   £6.99

 

 

Tolkien- An Illustrated Atlas by David Day Reviewed by Frances Colville

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TOLKIEN - AN ILLUSTRATED ATLAS by David Day Frances Colville

If you have a Lord of the Rings or Hobbit fan amongst your friends or family members, this little book could just be the perfect Christmas present.  It looks fantastic (in both senses of the word) and it’s reasonably priced.  The sort of book you could read right through and examine in great detail – or simply dip into when you have a spare half hour.

Designed as a companion to Tolkien’s books from The Hobbit through to the Silmarillion, there is a satisfying mix of illustrations, genealogies, chronologies and maps.  An unofficial book, not authorised by the Tolkien estate, it was never intended to be a substitute for reading the original books and you won’t find any complete stories.  But you will find a wealth of information which will make following the books themselves more straightforward and arguably even more compelling than they already are.  Be careful though if you already possess the Tolkien Encyclopedia or World of Tolkien or the Tolkien Bestiary as some of the information included in those books is repeated in this new one.

Even if you are, like me, not someone who knows your orks from your ents and doesn’t particularly care about the exact time-line of the development of Middle Earth, you will find much to like in the artwork, the varied fonts and the colour and feel of the pages on which this book is printed.  The faux leather cover is a work of art in its own right – much more interesting than it sounds.  And as far as I can tell, not being an expert on the subject myself, the author David Day knows his stuff.

Tolkien-An Illustrated Atlas is published by Cassell and is available in bookshops now.

 

 

Humans of New York: Stories By Brandon Stanton Book Review

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humansofnewyorkstories

Humans of New York: Stories By Brandon Stanton is as wonderful as the Humans of New York blog. Already famous, Brandon was even invited to the White House to interview the president, this book is both life-affirming and heartbreaking. I just loved it. Many of the stories stick in your mind, some for their tragedy, others for their humour. Common themes run through the book and Brandon has made great effort to make the book cohesive. The photography is as great as the structure. Many of the people in the book will not leave you, their stories resonate for their beauty and honesty.

A great book to dip in and out of, or to read cover to cover, get your hands on a copy. Humans of New York: Stories is available here.

Humans of New York started off as a blog project Brandon Stanton wanted to single-handedly create a photographic census of New York City. The first Humans of New York book (based on the blog) immediately catapulted to the top of the NY Times Bestseller List. It has appeared on that list for over twenty-five weeks to date. The appeal of HONY has continued to increase substantially, with over 12 million followers currently on Facebook.

Brandon’s dialogue with people on the streets of NY, has increasingly become as in-depth, intriguing and moving as the photos themselves. Humans of New York: Stories presents a whole new group of humans, complete with stories that delve deeper and surprise with greater candour. Let Brandon Stanton and the people he’s photographed astonish you.

Brandon Stanton is the creator of the #1 New York Times bestselling book Humans of New York as well as the children’s book, Little Humans. He was a 2013 Time magazine “30 people under 30 changing the world” and an ABC News Person of the Week. In the summer of 2014, the UN chose him to travel around the world on a goodwill mission that had followers meeting people from Iraq to the Ukraine to Mexico City via the photos he took. He lives in New York.

Life On Planet WWF By C.Y. Chong Book Review

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lifeonplanetwwf

Life On Planet WWF by C.Y. Chong gives an insight into the workings of one of the world’s largest conservation organisations. Far from being a boring business book it has amusing stories about various royal families and even an archbishop. It is an interesting book which is outright funny in places. It certainly is entertaining and fun as well as being well written and easy to read. I actually managed to read it in a few hours. The stories about Prince Philip are my personal favourite. Did you know that Buckingham Palace has a library and a copy of every book published goes there? I certainly didn’t. There is a lot to be learned from this book and I found it very enjoyable.

An interesting memoir that amuses and entertains in equal measure.

C.Y. Chong’s captivating and insightful revelation about what it’s like to spend over two decades at WWF.

This light-hearted collection of memoirs tells the compelling story of a company executive who walked away from global corporations and immersed himself in the world of non-profit – in this case, WWF, one of the world’s largest conservation organisations.

After years of working in the corporate sector, C.Y. Chong decided to pursue a new avenue of work. He joined WWF International as a finance manager and was soon promoted to Director of Finance – however, this book is about his non-financial experiences…

Life on Planet WWF follows Chong as he travels and tells of a myriad of interesting and unforgettable happenings – being attacked by a mad crow being one. From fitting the letters ‘WWF’ into a television interview as many times as possible, to having cocktails with HRH Prince Philip, he recalls visits to conferences, field projects or other events – each anecdote providing a unique insight into some of his truly extraordinary experiences at WWF.

This book makes an interesting read for anyone thinking about a career outside the corporate sector as well as for the five million supporters of WWF and everything it stands for.

Life on Planet WWF: From Archbishops to Belly Dancers – My Time at WWF is available here.

‘This is’: Goya, Monet and Kandinsky

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This is- pic 1 Fan.JP

I spend a great deal of my spare time dawdling around art galleries. Every time I wish I knew more about the paintings. As I stand there, appreciating the works, I am aware that I am looking at complicated ideas and histories but not really seeing or understanding the concepts.

Laurence King Publishing has brought out a new series called This is…

I have read This is Goya, This is Monet and This is Kandinsky, by different authors. These books are well presented, with clear and understandable text, accompanied by the artists’ paintings, as well as especially commissioned illustrations.

This is pic 2 Goya cover.

Let’s take Goya by Wendy Bird with illustrations by Sarah Maycock. Did you know that Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was the first artist deliberately to pursue creating works of art for their own sake? I didn’t.

This is Pic 3 Goya_Spread_6.

Monet I knew was a leading member of the French Impressionists.

This is Pic 4 Monet cover-12

I was looking at one of his many paintings of haystacks in the National gallery, the other day, (He painted the same haystacks but followed the play of sunlight on them throughout the day). Go and have a look. He never rested, evolving his art way into his eighties. Learn more from Sara Pappworth with illustrations by Aude Van Ryn.

 

Kandinsky looks more like a clerk, or bank manager, than a painter.

this is Kandinksky cover

He seems almost a cypher, but inside this misleading façade lived a sensitive artist who produced forceful genre defying work. I knew little about his work and am not sure I particularly like it, but this book by Annabel Howard with illustrations by Adam Simpson has created an interest. This in itself is a virtue.

This is pic 7 Kandinsky_Spread_8

A truly lovely series.