She thought she knew her best friend….She was wrong.
The weather-worn cottage Clachan has always been Jo Wilding’s sanctuary, a blissful escape from her tumultuous home life. From the first summer Rachel invited her to join the Willoughby family in the wilds of Scotland, she fell in love with the sea air, sandy beach and Tristan, Rachel’s older brother…
All these years later, Clachan is where their most important occasions and conversations take place, so when Rachel organises a weekend there, Jo never suspects that this weekend will change everything. Because it turns out Rachel has been keeping a secret, a betrayal that plunges Jo into a past she’s spent years trying to forget.
Left to untangle the pieces of their past alone, Jo has to decide if there is such a thing as forgiveness when there is no one left to forgive?
This is one of those books that, to my mind, doesn't seem to really fit into any particular genre. It's a sort of life story that has romance and friendship and secrets in it.
I thought it was a very good book; a very satisfying book; it told a story I found very believable. It was a book that evoked a range of emotions, good and bad. It was well written, the story was well told, the sense of place was very good. The characters came across as very real, as did their personal histories with both good and bad elements. I enjoyed it very much.
I might have a look at other books by the author - not that I need any more books.
I shall use this book for 'Sea or river on the cover'.
The Palmers went to the lake for a week of fun in the sun. But Alex Palmer had an agenda. He wanted his brother to reconcile with their hypercompetitive father. He wanted his daughter to break up with her shady boyfriend. Most of all, Alex wanted them to be a family one more time before he faced his predicament at home.
Evil incarnate and a brutal double murder shifted Alex’s focus from wants to needs. He needed to keep his family safe. He needed to find her. He needed to know what happened at the lake.
His pastor often said, “God won’t give you more than you can bear.”
This had nothing to do with God.
This isn't a book I can say I 'enjoyed', I doubt it is a book that anyone can 'enjoy' as such. Nonetheless it was a very powerful, rather intense and dark book.
The Palmers were a rather dysfunctional family, with a variety of secrets - some of which were darker than others. You couldn't really like most, if any, of the characters, but then again they didn't really like one another. And yet they were bound together in more than just family ties.
It was very dark in places and a little graphic at times, but overly graphic - less so than I was led to believe. The darkness and brutality always had a reason; was genuinely part of the story, not just put in for the sake of gratuitous violence. There were quite a few twists and misleads as well as a few shocks.
It isn't a book I would necessarily recommend and I doubt it's a book I will reread. But it certainly packed a punch and left you well aware that you don't know what goes on in other families - indeed in this case, many of the family members didn't know what was going on in their own family. It was a satisfying read in terms of everything was tied up and the reader knew who, why, where and how.
TITLE: Not An Accident FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Gibbs & Ducky SUMMARY: Things aren't always as they seem. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 901 - Concentrate
Gibbs strode into Autopsy. "Well? Was it an accident?"
Ducky shook his head. "No, Jethro. It was murder. Cold bloodied, calculated murder. Intended to look like a tragic accident."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Lieutenant Massingham was obsessed with her prize winning orchids. She was very careful and always used the same selective herbicide to keep weeds at bay. Someone swapped bottles; the one she used contained a chemical concentrate that hadn't been diluted. She was in an enclosed space."
Gibbs sighed. "So we're looking for someone with knowledge of, and access to, chemicals?"
It was the last case of the day. All but two of the lawyers had joined the wave of cops, detectives, witnesses, defendants, complainants, jurors, Court officials, members of the public, hurrying from the Court House.
Some moved slowly, almost as if they didn't really want to leave. Some moved so quickly, they all but skidded on the highly polished floor.
Kojak and Crocker should have been on their way home. However, Judge Bittering had stopped them and asked Theo if he would be willing to translate for the Greek witness who no-one had realized couldn't understand or speak English.
TITLE: Knowledge Is Power FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Gibbs, DiNozzo & McGee SUMMARY: Gibbs knows a thing or two about uniforms. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 900 - Uniform
Flanked by DiNozzo and McGee, Gibbs led the way into the compound.
Alert to anything and everything, albeit without showing his guard was up, Gibbs paused and looked around him. He could sense both DiNozzo and McGee were on edge. Hell, he was, but he knew how to hide it.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a Gunnery Sergeant. He spun around simultaneously pulling his gun. "Freeze," he yelled. A second later the other man cried out and hit the ground.
"How did you know, boss?"
"Fifteen years a Marine, DiNozzo. I know the uniform."
This is the other six word drabble I was unable to at the time spikesgirl58 posted the challenge.
4th of May's words were:
Accumulation Catch Drag Leader Oppose Rubbish
QUINTESSENTIALLY KOJAK
The accumulation of paperwork in the Eleventh Precinct had reached unprecedented levels.
For three weeks, Kojak and his men had been working on one case: catch the new leader of the largest gang in Manhattan. He'd opposed the old leader, saying publicly all his ideas were rubbish.
The old leader could be reasoned with; the new one was psychotic. He didn't murder for gain; he murdered for fun.
Finally, Kojak had had enough. Ordering his men to stay back, he strode into the middle of the gangs' headquarters and dragged the new leader outside.
I am playing 'catch-up' with the Six Word drabbles I was unable to do whilst MIA.
The first one spikesgirl58 very kindly posted for me on her LJ post, as I had already written it prior to my fall. However, I wasn't able to post it here.
Rather than do them in the weekly order, I've split them by the fandoms to which they relate. It has been really lovely to be able to write something.
TITLE: Told You FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: DiNozzo & McGee SUMMARY: Tony & Tim need help. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 988: Survive
DiNozzo and McGee huddled together. Snow entombed the car. The engine was dead. There was no mobile signal.
"We're not gonna survive."
"Of course we will, Tony. Gibbs'll find us."
"Even Gibbs can't do the impossible. No one knows where we are. Anyway, a car won't get through."
"He'll put chains on the tires of Ducky's van."
"Timmy, this isn't a book. It's real life. I'm so tired."
"Don't sleep, Tony. You -"
Several hours later McGee opened his eyes. He was warm; comfortable. He was alive. "Tony?"
TITLE: Follow The Money FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Gibbs & McGee SUMMARY: Gibbs has an important assignment for McGee WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 989: Money
Gibbs dropped a file onto McGee's desk. "Find out why Captain Thompson died and how. Do whatever it takes; hack any computers you need to; I'll take responsibility. Give anything else you're working on to DiNozzo. You work on nothing but this."
McGee looked up at Gibbs; he had never seen Gibbs look so - To be honest, he couldn't describe the look. "Yes, boss."
Thirty-six hours later, McGee handed Gibbs a piece of paper.
Gibbs read it. "Thanks, Tim. What did you do?"
"I followed the money."
"Go home. Sleep. Shower. Come back the day after tomorrow."
I thought I'd let you know why I haven't been around for the best part of a month.
At the end of April I had a fall which resulted in my dislocating my left shoulder and badly bruising and hurting my left knee. J came in from the garage to find me on the floor in my bedroom. One of our neighbours used to be an army nurse so J asked her advice to begin with. She confirmed what I already guessed, that I had dislocated my shoulder. There was no way they could get me up, as given my disability I have very little strength my right leg, so she told J to call an ambulance to to call the emergency one, given I was disabled and unable to get up.
To cut a longish story short, I was taken to A&E (about an hour and a half's drive) and J followed in the car, where it was confirmed my shoulder was dislocated. The good news was that it appeared there were no broken bones; the radiographer said he was sure, however, given he wasn't an orthopaedic radiographer, he'd send the x-rays to an orthopaedic radiographer. A phone call the following day did indeed confirm there wasn't any broken bones.
The question I kept getting asked was 'what caused you to trip/fall' and the thing I know caused some confusion and maybe even a bit of concern by being perfectly honest and saying I didn't know. One second I was walking into my bedroom, the next I was on the floor. My best guess was I tripped over my own crutch, caught my foot and fell. In the thirty-nine years since the RTA that led to my hip/pelvis problems and me having to use two crutches to walk, I have only fallen twice and both times have been since I changed to flexi-foot ferrules on my crutches in an attempt to take some of the pain from my hands. The flexi-feet ferrules are somewhat more 'bouncy' and a little wider and less solid than normal ferrules and I think I must have caught my foot and couldn't keep my balance. Also the arms cuffs are more rigid and my arm was still inside the crutch after I fell, which is how, I think, I ended up with a dislocated shoulder I have now put them away (well J put them away) and have returned to the usual type of ferrule and crutch.
The shoulder went back into position really easily and pretty much without any pain. A doctor and a nurse gently massaged it back into place and I barely felt it. My arm was put into a sling and then came the slight problem of me being able to walk. Given the injury was on my non-already-injured side, it meant I couldn't use a crutch in my left hand; I could only use the right hand one and that would last for a minimum of two weeks. That was incredibly hared going and my hip is still not happy from me having to walk with only one crutch and that crutch being used on my injured hip side.
I managed - you have to - and after two weeks I went back to a different hospital (a nearer one) and another x-ray confirmed that all was well and the orthopaedic surgeon confirmed I could start to use a crutch in my left hand again and to start doing things again. He did warn me not to overdo anything and not to use the crutch all the time to begin with. After less than half a day I realised why he said that. It was far more painful, not in my shoulder, but in my upper arm than I thought it would be.
In fact using the arm at all is still hard going and I'm not able to do things I was able to do, one of those things involves typing for any length of time (this post has been put together over several days). I'm a touch typist and use both hands, and obviously I couldn't use the damaged arm to begin with, so was doing the odd bit with one hand, plus I couldn't have my laptop on the table I use normally, I had to have it on my lap for short periods, which didn't help my neck or my hip. Even now typing is hard and makes my upper arm hurt if I try to do it for more than a few minutes at a time - although I am now able to have my laptop on the table that goes over my reclining chair. I found some exercises on-line on our NHS hospital sites, so have been doing them and will continue to do so for a while.
Thankfully I have an adjustable bed (head & foot) so at least I don't have to try to sleep sitting up with a lot of pillows, which has been a huge help. I won't be able to try to sleep in the injured side for another few weeks (and I can't sleep on the broken hip side at all). In some ways, as I said to the orthopaedic consultant I saw, a couple of weeks ago, my long-standing hip problems actually meant that in many ways I was 'better off' than a lot of people who dislocate their shoulder, as I already knew how to be careful to protect a limb, so knew how to dress and undress and get up and down from chairs, etc. etc. He agreed and also wasn't cross when I told him I hadn't used the sling much at all. Given I am pretty much chair bound, thus I'm not walking about much or trying to go to work, I didn't need the sling as I could have the same support from the arm of the chair and my body.
Given what I have found on-line on our various NHS sites, it's likely to be several more weeks before the arm/shoulder is back to normal and I must carry on being careful and not overdo things. Thus, whilst I am sort of back on-line, I won't be around as much as usual. I won't be doing book reviews, unless they are really short ones for some time. I'm hoping to be able to get back to doing spikesgirl58's 'Six word drabbles' and the ncis_drabble's as I have really missed doing them. In fact in terms of the six word drabble I intend (hope) to be able to do the ones I've missed, just for my own satisfaction.
I am still very weary, far more than I usually am, which given moving around and doing pretty much anything is still harder work and far more tiring than usual isn't surprising. I'm also feeling rather low, but that's par for the course. I shall try to catch up on missed posts, but if I have missed anything really important, please let me know.
In the meantime I shall be around hopefully most days or at least a few times a week.
There are killers on the streets of London—but George Gideon of Scotland Yard is on their trail …
A girl out picking primroses is brutally murdered. Her boyfriend is the prime suspect – but Gideon’s own daughter believes he is innocent.
A vicious killer breaks out of jail. He is set on blood vengeance against his wife because her evidence put him away. Gideon is prepared to risk his life to protect her.
Add an explosion of robberies and gang violence, and another week begins for Commander Gideon as he strives to bring the guilty to justice and allow law-abiding Londoners to sleep safely.
This is the second book in the 'Gideon of Scotland Yard' police procedural series.
As with the first book in this republished series, it was a very good read. As the title says, this book takes place over a week. Some of the crimes are tied up, the culprit is caught; some remain ongoing at the end of the book.
I like Gideon a lot, he is an excellent character, a solid character, a well-drawn (but not overly-drawn) character. A man with a very strong sense of honour, justice and hard work.
The two main crimes that took place in this book, were the 'Primrose murder' and 'the jail break'. Both story-line were interesting and compelling; the characters, on both sides of the law were well drawn and real. Both were also resolved by the end of the book. Both touched Gideon, in different ways. In the case of the jail break, he knew the family and the killer well from when he was in charge of the case. With the primrose murder case, he didn't personally know any of those involved, but the sister of the chap accused of murderer, was an acquaintance of one of Gideon's eldest daughters.
As I said in my previous Gideon review, Creasey is a very good writer and a tight writer and portrays characters so clearly in a few words, whereas many writers would take dozens.
I really am glad this series has been republished on Kindle as I can enjoy the books again.
TITLE: Post Hoc Fallacy FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Gibbs, Ducky & DiNozzo SUMMARY: Not everything is as it seems. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 987: Logic
"What've you got , Duck?"
"Lieutenant Callaghan was murdered. He did not trip down the stairs, he was pushed. His broken ankle, however -"
"Logic says, he broke that at the same time." DiNozzo said.
"I'm afraid, Anthony, your assumption is a example of Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc."
"Huh?"
"It's a Latin phrase. It assumes 'A' happened because of 'B', but it didn't. For example: 'I wore my lucky socks and my team won. Therefore, they won because of my lucky socks."
"How does this Post Hoc thingy tie in with Callaghan?"
Despite his halting gait, the man fizzed with anger as he left the railway station. People milled around; there wasn't much space.
He kept walking towards the steam power plant. Following an accident at the plant, his younger brother had died. The management refused to take responsibility. Soon they'd be dead.
His homemade bomb was crude but effective. The day's forecast was perfect for ensuring the steam would cause massive destruction.
He reached his destination. He would prime the bomb. It would be over. He would have his revenge.
The bullet from the sniper's rifle saved the lives of hundreds.
The perfect way for us to live. The perfect way for him to hide.
I never expected to fall in love with my neighbour. But then tall, twinkly eyed Matt moved in next door. Now he’s my husband, but we’ve kept our own houses. It means my tranquil home remains a sanctuary for me and my daughter. People think it’s strange, but it works for us.
Everyone knows everyone on our street. So when Ellie, a local student nurse, goes missing, we’re all terrified. Matt and I are glued to the news, his jaw rigid with tension. How could something like this happen so close to our homes?
I try to keep things normal. But I know the neighbours are gossiping about Ellie… and the fact my husband and I live apart. Then another girl goes missing.
The whispers escalate. How does she know what Matt’s really been doing? Where he goes at night? I have to prove them wrong...
But when I use my key to creep into Matt’s quiet house, I discover something that shocks me to the core. How little I know about my husband next door. And now my daughter and I could be in terrible danger….
My venture into 'psychological thrillers' began with K. L. Slater and I've read and 'enjoyed' several more of her books. I find her a very good writer, who weaves an excellent story with just the right degree of intrigue, tension and mislead. Her characters, whilst difficult to actually like, come across as very real. She also doesn't describe every blade of grass. This book was no exception. It was very well paced and held my attention all the way through and was very much a page turner.
The premise was somewhat strange, you marry someone but live in separate houses on the same street. That said I have a vague memory (my memory is very vague at times) of reading about that kind of set-up in 'real life' so to speak. I suppose why not? All marriages are different; all couples are different; so after a few pages I happily accepted they lived apart.
As with all the thrillers I have read, there are multiple threads going on, different story-lines that ultimately come together to reveal the surprise or shock ending. Missing girls; a very strange woman coming to live on the street; discovered ear-rings where they shouldn't be; questions that aren't answered, all building up to where they all come together. The twists were good, the mis-leads were good. The story and the tension excellent.
As with a lot of the thrillers I've read, I managed to figure out or guess one or two things, but not the major plot points. It was more a case of 'I'm sure it isn't xxx' rather than 'I reckon it's yyy'.
Slater kept the believability going throughout and didn't disappoint with the ending. It was another, in my opinion, excellent book.
TITLE: Toast Of The Town FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTER: Jethro Gibbs & Mrs. Mallard SUMMARY: With Ducky out of town, Gibbs is keeping an eye on Mrs. Mallard. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 986: Toast
"Good evening, Jethro. I am afraid Donald is not home yet."
"I know, Mrs. Mallard. He's at a Medical Examiners' Conference."
"Oh, is he? Never mind. I have been looking at old photographs. I was the toast of the town, once. Can you believe that, Jethro?"
"Yeah, Mrs. Mallard. I can."
"Toast. It's a strange word really. It's multifunctional and the various meanings aren't related. Toast. I'll have some, please, Jethro, with lots of honey. Donald doesn't like me having honey, but he's not here. You are. You'll let me have honey on my toast, won't you."
A luxury train is stranded on a legendary viaduct in the Alps. There is a murderer on board.
The Bernina Express, 1938. As Europe holds its breath for the Munich Conference, a disparate group of passengers boards the legendary alpine train: a nervous English courier, a sharp Hungarian journalist, a formidable British aunt and her niece, a mysterious Italian Contessa and her new companion, and two German “art historians” who are clearly something else. When a sudden rockfall strands the train high on the breathtaking Alpine Landwasser Viaduct, the isolation turns deadly. A passenger is found stabbed in his compartment, an empty satchel by his side.
Trapped by snow and avalanche warnings, with the Swiss police unable to reach them, the killer is undeniably among the first-class passengers. As suspicions flare and hidden agendas surface, the claustrophobic carriages become a battlefield of wits and deceptions.
Perfect for readers who love Agatha Christie whodunnits, the tense, shadowy atmosphere of an Eric Ambler thriller, and the gripping historical-political intrigue of Robert Harris. The Bernina Express is a masterful mystery where personal secrets and global politics collide on a precipice, and every passenger has something to hide.
This is one of the many BLCC books I have; it was a gift from the lovely caffyolay. I haven't read any other books by this author, but I discovered I do have a Christmas murder mystery of hers. And from what little I can find about her, she doesn't seem to have written any other books, which is a great shame as I really enjoyed this book and thought it was extremely well written.
Like all British Library Crime Classic books it is a 'golden age mystery', so no mobile phones, etc. BLCC do not 'sanitise' their books (thankfully) so there might be the odd turn of phrase of something similar that wouldn't be permitted today. I can't recall anything jumping out at me, but then I probably wouldn't as I accept language and subject matter was different when this book was written.
The story was excellent, it was a kind of locked room mystery, albeit it on a train that itself was also 'locked' as it was stuck on a viaduct following an avalanche and unable to move. At first the not moving was due to the risk of more avalanches, but then it wasn't permitted to move because a murdered man had been found in one of the first class apartments.
Not all of the people on the train were who they said they were and given when the book was set, it wasn't surprising to discover there were political involvements and hints of espionage. The two German art historians, were not art historians.
One thing that stood out for me was how tight a writer Colgan was. She described scenes, people, objects (like the train) in a handful of words at the most and in many cases with just one or two words. I could picture the scene so clearly and feel the atmosphere, the cold, the fear, the threats without ploughing through pages and pages. It really stood out to me quite how good and succinct she was.
Also, I thought the way she weaved the story together and interspersed the global politics along with the day-to-day normal matters and the people and the setting was superb. My attention was grabbed and held from the very beginning all the way through to the end.
It was yet another extremely good book; one I thoroughly enjoyed. And of course it has a beautiful cover.
I shall use this book for 'A book with a train on the cover' square.
At the top of the stairs there are four secrets hidden—blond, innocent, and fighting for their lives…
They were a perfect and beautiful family—until a heartbreaking tragedy shattered their happiness. Now, for the sake of an inheritance that will ensure their future, the children must be hidden away out of sight, as if they never existed.
They are kept in the attic of their grandmother’s labyrinthine mansion, isolated and alone. As the visits from their seemingly unconcerned mother slowly dwindle, the four children grow ever closer and depend upon one another to survive both this cramped world and their cruel grandmother.
A suspenseful and thrilling tale of family, greed, murder, and forbidden love, Flowers in the Attic is the unputdownable first novel of the epic Dollanganger family saga.
I remember when this book was first published (1979) and the attention it received. I was fifteen at the time and didn't read it; I had no interest in reading it. I didn't care for the concept. I also remember it was the book that managed to get my late godmother into reading books other than Mills and Boon romances. She used to devour them, but wouldn't read anything else. After reading Flowers in the Attic she started borrowing all kinds books from my mother and also from the library. I was a Saturday girl at the time, so was able to take a few extra books home so Mother could pass them onto my godmother.
I hadn't consciously thought about the book since all those years ago and then it popped up on one of my book email lists on offer for 99p and for some reason it really caught my attention. Actually part of the reason I decided to try it was that I knew it had been turned into a film and whilst I had plenty of books that had been turned into films and/or TV series that I had read before and plenty I hadn't read, for some reason I wanted something a bit different. Thus, I d/l'd a sample and to be honest I didn't think I would buy the book. However, the sample drew me in and I bought the book and devoured it in a couple of days.
The thing that in one way stood out the most was the when it first came out the one thing that was talked about and written about was the incest between the older boy and older girl. Yes, that does happen, but actually in this book it is a very small part. A few paragraphs at most and even they weren't in any way detailed.
It was the story and trying to get my head around how any mother could be so cruel, so self-centred, so uncaring, so evil as to allow her four children to be locked up in a room with only a bathroom and an attic, that shocked me. For me the mother was far, far crueller her mother, who was meant to have been the evil, nasty one. Yes, grandma was cruel and nasty, but I found her treatment of the children easier to 'accept' than their mother's.
The book showed how resilient children actually could be. How they did survive and cope and continue to be nice children, is very hard to comprehend. Of course there were arguments amongst them and at times they did dislike, at the very least, one another, but they were also pulled together in a way that children shouldn't be - and I'm not talking about the one time the two eldest had sex.
In one way it was very hard to believe that such a thing could happen; in another way it was easy to believe, to be drawn into the house, the room, the attic, the day-to-day lives of the Dollanganger children, their mother and their grandmother. It felt scarily real at times. And yet despite everything they had to endure, despite the harshness and cruelty the author managed to get a degree of humour and lightness into the book. It wasn't all doom and gloom and horrid happenings. For me that's what really did make the book so good. I still can't quite believe how much I enjoyed it.
I had a vague memory of the book having a couple of sequels (which my mother confirmed when we Zoomed recently, she has the first four). However when I saw on Amazon there were in fact eleven books in the series, I was surprised. It turns out that after Andrews's death (at the age of 63) her family decided to find a ghost writer who would continue the series based on notes Andrews and left and also on the books themselves. I haven't done a lot of digging but from what I have seen I think the first four books are her own, the rest of the series are written by the other writer.
I haven't quite decided if I am going to read any more books. Part of me feels they might actually spoil this book, however I am also intrigued as to what happened after the children managed to escape. Thus I am thinking I might well read the next three books, Andrews's 'own' books; my mother said they are good.
I am still somewhat surprised by quite how much I enjoyed the book and how I got drawn into the story and the lives of the children and how quickly I devoured it. I really do think that had I read this all those years ago, I would not have enjoyed it and it wouldn't have had such a profound affect on me. I don't think at fifteen I would have appreciated it for what it was.
I shall use this book for 'A book that has been turned into a film/TV' square.
Two marriages. Three little lies. Someone’s going to die…
I hold my breath as my handsome husband walks through the door. I’ve planned the perfect surprise birthday party for him. Our friends are gathered and the champagne is flowing. But when I catch the look in his deep brown eyes, I realise I’ve got this horribly wrong.
All evening my stomach is churning. And I can’t help but notice Danielle Baines speaking with Aiden. With her salon-styled hair, diamonds glittering on her ring finger and married to a rich businessman she has the kind of lifestyle I can only dream of. I’ve never liked her. And I know the feeling is mutual.
So why is she here and what is she saying to my husband?
Now it’s the end of the party and the man I love is confessing a secret that shocks me to the core. But it’s not what I was afraid of. It’s much worse.
He says we have to take our son and leave the place we call home because our lives are in danger.
I thought I knew everything about my husband. But suddenly he feels like a stranger. Should I trust him with my life?
I hadn't read anything by this author before, but it popped up on a daily deal (I know, I know *g*) and the sample had me hooked. As with other psychological thriller books (and part of me still can't quite get my head around why I am hooked on them now) the story is told in the first person by at least two different characters (in this book Emily and Dani) alternating between chapters. Also in this book a third unnamed rather creepy chap also tells a few chapters. And his narration was quite different and added another level of tension.
Two women; two husbands; quite different lives and bank balances, whose lives intertwine to an extent. Emily is married to Aiden; Dani to Marcus. Marcus and Dani are very wealthy, Aiden and Emily, get by. Aiden works for Marcus, who owns a luxury car dealership. Emily is pregnant with their second child, Dani desperately wants children. Throughout the book, the couples' lives intertwine in several ways, none of them straight-forward.
After Aiden reveals his big secret, Emily agrees to leave their home in order to protect their son and their unborn child. However, there is far more to the 'secret' than what Aiden tells Emily. Their leaving their home brings more challenges, more questions than answers and in many ways more danger.
As with most of this kind of book, I find it difficult to like any of the characters, but they do all come across as very real people (not necessarily people I would like to meet, but real). Thus, I do care what happens to them and enjoy the twists and turns and revelations.
Shalini Boland is a good writer, she tells a very good story, she draws you in, she makes you want to know 'what happens next' and she certainly surprises. She keeps the tension and the suspense at a good level throughout, but also manages to de-escalate it a little at times, to give the reader a bit of a breathing space, before she pushes the pace up again and there's another twist and turn.
For me it was definitely a page turner and I suspect I now have another author to add to my ever growing list.
It's not a book everyone would like; but then again is there any book that everyone would like? Somehow I doubt it.
I thought it was a jolly good read.
I shall use this book for 'A book with a leading female character' square.
TITLE: Prepare For Anything FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTER: Timothy McGee SUMMARY: Timothy has to step up to the plate. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 985: Be prepared
The elevator doors opened and McGee went into a scarily quiet and almost empty squad room. A devastating forty-eight hour stomach bug had struck NCIS. Even Gibbs had been affected.
He went to his desk and found three wanna-be special agents huddled together. They looked petrified. McGee knew how they felt; he remembered his first day, but these three had even less experience than he had had.
"Okay," he said. "I know you haven't had a lot of experience, but we've got a dead Marine and a murder to solve. I've got one piece of advice: be prepared for anything."
He tried to straighten up, but the straps were too tight.
It was the simplicity of his capture that made him ashamed. How had he fallen for it? Would he be judged on his foolishness for the rest of his life? Not that he had a life. He couldn't escape and no one would find him.
Even if someone did, the door was rigged. Anyone trying to enter would activate the bomb.
He bowed his head and prayed for death.
Some time later, the door opened. No bomb went off.
"You didn't really think I wouldn't find you, did you?"
April Marsh had resigned herself to being off the dating scene forever after her last disastrous relationship. She just wanted a nice, normal guy who would treat her decently but it seemed to be too much to ask for.
Rich, somewhat famous and utterly bored with the usual socialites he met at parties, Dean Randle found himself wanting more than just a quick tumble with beautiful but fake women. He wanted to find a normal yet exciting woman who would love him for his personality rather than for his bank account.
Against the advice of his business manager, Dean goes undercover in an effort to find the perfect woman. The change from being the boss to being little more than a copy boy is difficult to adjust to but he is determined to stick to his plan.
When April runs into Dean in the dreaded photocopier room she is instantly attracted to him. If she’d still been dating, he would have been exactly the type of man she’d have fallen for. When she witnesses him being shot down after asking one of their colleagues out on a date, she agrees to help him find love.
Dean is embarrassed to be so dismal at dating and is grateful when April and her high strung best friend, Adam offer to assist him. He has a feeling that if anyone can help him find the woman of his dreams, it is this quirky pair.
The instant Adam meets Dean, he knows that April and the new guy are perfect for each other. His best friend deserves better than the dismal run of relationships she’d been through and Adam will do anything he can to make sure April finds happiness.
Once again I am several books behind in my reviews.
I wish I could remember why I bought this book, as it isn't really the sort of thing I tend to read. I thought I may have bought it for a Book Bingo challenge, 'Month in the title' for example, but no. I bought it long before I did a Book Bingo for the first time.
The idea isn't anything new (but that's true of pretty much anything) but I did rather like and was intrigued by it but I thought it might be an 'okay' book at best.
I actually really enjoyed it. Yes, it was a far-fetched concept, but it worked. I was drawn into the story and the three main characters so quickly and so deeply, that the whole far-fetchedness vanished and I really enjoyed it. I felt completely involved with Dean and April and Adam and liked them all, very much indeed and loved the way April and Adam were so set on helping Dean find love. All three of them came over as being very real people and people I would like to meet and I felt I could get on with them all.
Of course things don't go according to plan, there wouldn't be a story otherwise, would there? But the book takes a turn I couldn't have foreseen at all, with April being framed for Dean's attempted murder. Obviously, Dean doesn't die, but he has lost his recent memories, so doesn't remember April or Adam, at least not in any depth. He has vague memories of some of the things they had done, buying him cheap, new clothes for instance and also of intense feelings for April.
I had worked out who the actual would-be-murderer was; in fact even before we got to that, I knew said person was up to no good and had 'plans'. Knowing that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, it was more a case of not who really shot Dean, but how would Dean and April get back together.
Obviously all ended well, but it wasn't trite or unbelievable (outside the basic concept that it probably wouldn't happen in real life, but again you can say that about so many books). But there was one extra little twist, which I hadn't been expecting.
I thought the writing was good, it was sound, it wasn't flowery and describing ever blade of grass. It was maybe somewhat simplistic in parts, but it flowed well and Jenson told a good story. It was one of those 'feel good' books, the kind that leaves you very satisfied and content, but not the kind you want to read every day or week. It won't appeal to everyone, probably not to anyone reading this review, but finishing a book and being fully satisfied by it, is a good thing. I enjoyed it, a lot, I really did.
I shall use this book for 'A book with a month in the title' square.
TITLE: Ever The Gentleman FANDOM: NCIS PAIRING: Gibbs & Ducky SUMMARY: Ducky does something rather foolish. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 984: Lift
Limping more than usual, Ducky went into the squad room. His overcoat was torn and he had a cut above his eye.
Gibbs jumped to his feet and hurried over to him. "What happened, Duck?" He put his arm around Ducky and sat him down.
"I'm afraid you'll think I did something foolish, my dear."
"What did you do?"
"Well, there was this young man by the side of the road. And I stopped and offered him a lift. He looked very - "
Torrential rain lashed down as the Greek Presbyter delivered the eulogy.
As a mark of respect, the male mourners removed their hats. McNeil, Kojak, Crocker, Rizzo and Saperstein stood together. Kojak still couldn't explain how they'd escaped without damaging themselves, when Stavros had been torn apart.
Stavros: his beloved cousin. The man who, with one exception, meant more him than anyone else, was dead. There'd been something very special about Demosthenes Stavros. He was the gentlest and kindest of them all. Now he was dead.
He'd died doing his job. Kojak would miss him; more than he could ever admit.
TITLE: A Special Breakfast For A Special Man FANDOM: NCIS PAIRING: Gibbs/Ducky SUMMARY: Gibbs does something special for Ducky's birthday. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 983: Smoked salmon
"Happy Birthday, Duck." Jethro handed him a cup of tea.
"That is kind of you, my dear. Thank you."
Jethro sat on the bed and drank his coffee. "You get showered and dressed and I'll do breakfast."
"Jethro!" Ducky exclaimed, when he went into the dining room to find a plate of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon waiting for him. "How did you - Oh, Jethro."
"A little bird told me it was your favorite breakfast, but you hadn't had it for years."
At first it seemed to be a clash of personalities. But as days went by, it became more like two freight trains colliding. One thing was clear: they weren't ever going to reach even a degree of understanding.
Bobby knew Theo occasionally had a sharp tongue, but the new Captain took things to another level. Respect had to be earned; instead, Henderson ostracized himself.
Bobby watched Theo pull his shield from his pocket and slam it onto Henderson's desk.
"Theo, wait!" Bobby dropped his shield next to Theo's. As he followed Theo, he heard three more shields hit Henderson's desk.
TITLE: A Fine Kettle Of Fish FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Ziva, DiNozzo, Gibbs SUMMARY: Ziva is confused by one of Ducky's idioms. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 982: Kettle of fish
Ziva hurried into the squad-room. "What is a 'fine kettle of fish'?"
"Huh?" DiNozzo looked up from the report he should, by now, have finished. "Dunno. Who said it?"
"Ducky. I heard him say 'this is a fine kettle of fish'. But there was no kettle and no fish. So what does it mean?"
"Who was he talking to?"
"Himself."
"Ahhhh. Well maybe he's -"
"Means an awkward or bad situation. Which you'll both be in if your reports aren't on my desk in ten minutes!"
When the convict broke free, Bobby didn't hesitate. He chased after Pech.
Rounding the corner he slipped on discarded fish-heads; a blow to his head rendered him helpless.
When he came to his head throbbed; he felt violently sick; his vision was blurred. He remembered Pech forcing him to imbibe a profuse amount of alcohol.
He knew he had to move; but he couldn't. His eyes closed. Then hands he knew well, helped him sit up. They continued to support him as his body purged itself.
"You know, sweetheart, I sometimes think I shouldn't let you out of my sight."
A young man investigating his father’s crimes is determined to uncover the truth in a gripping novel of suspense about family secrets, betrayal, and the weight of the past.
What do I remember about the murder on the lake?
Charlie Kilgore was too young to remember anything, really, about how events on the lake unfolded twenty-five years ago. He just knows what he’s been told: that his father stabbed a man to death, left Charlie’s mother critically wounded, and then disappeared, never to be seen again. Now Charlie believes there must be more to what happened.
Using the shards of the story he’s uncovered so far as the heart of a true crime podcast, Charlie returns to his hometown in the foothills of New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Old friends, family, authorities, and even collateral victims have moved on, and no one wants to dredge up what’s long forgotten. Except Charlie. He wants to know what could have transformed a quiet man into a monster. And what happened next.
But when Charlie starts asking questions of people with so much to hide, getting to the truth becomes dangerous. Because on this lake—in this family—the past isn’t dead and buried at all. In fact, it’s back with a vengeance.
This book popped up on one of my 'Kindle daily deals' emails. I know; I know; one of my personal book challenges this year was to stop buying new books from daily deals, even if they are only 99p. I have been a lot, lot better, really I have. This is only the second (or maybe third) I bought this year. As with many of these 'impulse' book purchases, I'm not sure quite what made this stand out from the others in the email - but something did and I am very glad I did buy it. I would say that it is the best book I have read so far this year - and I've read some very good books.
The book starts off on a compelling line: 'What do I remember about the murder on the lake? Nothing, really, though Julian insists I know more than I realize'. That one line really hooked me and the rest of the book didn't disappoint. I found it, for the most part, a real page turner that kept me reading beyond my usual 'going to sleep time'. There were a few parts, early on, when the pace slowed a little, but actually I realised that was a good thing.
Can we remember things that happened before we were even consciously aware? I've seen arguments and heard of 'experiments' from both sides. However, for the purposes of this book I was quite happy to believe that there was a part of Charlie that did have some memory of what happened on the day his father killed a man, left his mother critically wounded and then vanished. Initially Charlie set out to find out what really happened for the podcast, but as the story went on, the podcast ceased to matter and he wanted to find out for himself.
Upon his return to his hometown, Charlie finds that in some respects everything has changed, in others nothing has changed and he slips back, quite easily, into friendships with various people. His relationship with his elder brother (who saved Charlie and himself from being killed) is far from simple and whilst there seems to be brotherly love between them, a bond that won't break, I got the impression they weren't close and didn't really get on. Ditto Charlie's relationship with his mother (who most of the time he called by her Christian name rather than 'mom') seemed somewhat strained. Charlie is also close friends with one of the State deputy's, but again that relationship is very up and down, at times they seem to love one another, at other times they seem to dislike one another - however, there is always trust between them.
Charlie keeps digging, even when he doesn't really want to and things happen that might or might not be related to all those years ago, but they all seem to come back to one person and several secrets. Finally, the truth is revealed and Charlie realises he isn't really surprised. He had, after all, spent a lot of time and energy and emotions, putting various things together and had worked it out what really happened all those years ago. And it seems to bring him closure and he seemed content for the first time in the book.
I guessed/worked out two of the shocks, revelations, whatever you want to call them. But not the details involved.
I thought the book was very well written, very tightly written; I found the characters to be real people, even those who had a fairly small part. I also found that I could believe what had happened and why it had happened in the context of the story. The flow of it worked well and the level of description, for me, was spot on. My one 'gripe' was a lot of the characters names - I got confused quite a lot of the time. Partly because several of the characters had names that weren't clearly male or female, or in one case there was a name I would have used as male, and the character was female. Also there were times when the surname was used and times when the first name was used and I did get a tad lost - certainly to begin with I did and had to keep reminding myself who was who. It says a lot about the book that despite my 'confusion' at times, for me it didn't spoil the story at all. But I certainly did have to do a few searches to remind myself who a certain character was.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I shall have a look at some more books by Edwin Hill - which I shouldn't do, as I don't need any more authors or books.
One final thing, this book is fairly difficult to genre-ise (is the even a word?) as whilst it did involve Charlie solving a crime and mystery, it was also very much a thriller, a psychological thriller even. In fact I've just checked and it does come under both Crime/Mystery and Thriller/Psychological Thriller.
I shall use this book for 'A book set in America' square.
TITLE: It's The Thought That Counts FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Tony, DiNozzo, Jimmy Palmer & Ducky Mallard SUMMARY: Tony tries to help Jimmy. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 981: Stick
DiNozzo strode into Autopsy. "Hey, Duck-man; the boss-man wants - Palmer, what's happened?"
Palmer sat on the floor surrounded by broken crockery. "I didn't mean to, Tony. It slipped."
Tony crouched down. "What was it?"
"Dr. Mallard's favorite tea-pot. What am I going to do?"
"Stay here. I'll get some glue. We'll stick it back together."
"I'm not sure it -" But DiNozzo had gone.
"Good morning, Mr. Palmer," Ducky called. "Oh, my. What are you and Anthony doing."
"I'm sorry, Doctor. It just slipped. Tony thought we could stick it back together. But . . ."
When Emma married Benjamin, her life came as close to perfect as someone like her ever could have dreamed. No longer just working for his father, she was part of the family. Helping Benjamin move on from the tragic loss of his first wife hasn’t always been easy – tears, anniversaries, photos of her everywhere – but it brought them closer together, even if his daughter still spends all her time shut up in her room.
But then the first letter arrives at Emma’s desk at work. A pristine white envelope with flawless calligraphy inside.
To Benjamin’s new wife,
With love from,
The wife he killed…
This popped up on one of my Kindle daily deals emails and although I'd 'pledged' not to buy new books this year, it caught my attention and the sample was really good, so I paid my 99p and bought it.
It gripped me from the first page. It was an excellent, real page-turner and more than once 'kept me up past my reading-time.
The first letter surprised and worried Emma (understandably so) and she started to wonder who could have sent it and why. The logical person (to my mind to begin with) was the step-daughter (Lily), who made it clear more than once that she didn't like Emma and hated that her father had remarried. There had never been any suspicion that Emma's predecessor had died in anyway other than a tragic accident, but a mention of 'brakes' failing, makes Emma start to question things. Once she has started, she can't stop.
Another letter follows and bit by bit Emma starts to fall apart; things get worse at work and a presentation has been sabotaged, thus making her now father-in-law very unhappy and angry and the company is at risk of losing a major client. Emma begins to think she is being watched and some of her things touched. She is sure Lily is in someway involved. Could Lily be involved? Is she that nasty?
Benjamin is a successful, excellent child surgeon who is highly respected and operates on kiddies no one else will or can touch. He comes across as a lovely, loving, caring man, who only wants the best for his wife, his daughter, his parents and his patients. But is he? As Emma starts to fall apart more and more, he gives her some tablets to help relax her, by this time though, she is afraid to touch them.
Things comes to a head when she finds a switch in the kitchen that leads down to a basement (a basement that isn't on the plans of the house; a basement that shouldn't be there). She goes to investigate and what she discovers both terrifies her and makes her panic. By now her behaviour is more than a little paranoid.
She is then arrested for killing Benjamin's first wife's and stands trial for murder. It is during the trial that the truth comes out.
It kept me guessing, it moved from one possibility to another. I had no idea who the guilty party was. Was it Lily? Was Benjamin really who he came across as being? Yes, he was a brilliant doctor, but was he, had he been a brilliant or even good husband? Or was Emma flaky and actually not all that capable? Did she write the letters to herself to get attention and thus gloss over the mistakes she was making at work? I changed my mind more than once during the book. I suspected Lily, Benjamin, Emma of lying, even Benjamin's mother. I even wondered if in fact Benjamin's first wife was indeed dead, or if the accident had been fake as she had just left him and was now being a spiteful 'ex'-wife. There were so many possibilities.
One thing that really surprised me (and it wasn't specifically to do with this book) was that the cop involved, the cop who arrested Emma, was Benjamin's long-time best friend; the cop knew Emma as he and his partner had had dinner with Benjamin and Emma more than once. That wouldn't be allowed in the UK; it would be a complete no-no. I was so surprised, I Googled just to check the author hadn't got it wrong. I was stunned to discover that there is no law in the US that says a cop can't investigate a close friend - not even for murder. I'm still surprised, but once I knew it was correct, it didn't really bother me.
As I said, the book was very readable and fast paced, well written and it was real page turner. I thought I had found an author I would have read more of (not that I needed another new author). And then there was the epilogue, which I didn't think was needed. That said, it was okay until, to my mind, the last line. That was a total let-down and a 'cheap' cop-out. So much so that, I won't be reading anything else by this author. It left me more than a little annoyed and disappointed, as I thought it had no point and added nothing to the story. It's a great shame.
TITLE: A Second Chance FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Ducky Mallard SUMMARY: Set when Jennifer Shepard became Director of NCIS. Ducky remembers Jenny from when she was a Field Agent. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 980: Thoughts
When Ducky learned Jennifer Shepard was to become NCIS's Director, his first thoughts were not positive. In fact given he always tried to find good in everyone, his thoughts were negative.
He remembered her as a young, ambitious field agent, with few, if any, scruples.
He remembered how she'd tried to come between Jethro and he. How she had, for a time, succeeded.
When she'd left NCIS, he'd hoped he wouldn't see her again. Now she was back at NCIS; in charge.
He sighed. People could, did, change. He would focus on the positives and give her a second chance.
Bobby sat in the school hall listening to the Principal's speech.
As he talked about ways to 'optimize students' development'; empowerment and avoiding 'unhealthy relationships', Bobby half thought the man might make a good Priest. Except Father Brennan wouldn't put up with his righteousness.
Bored, he gazed at the ring on his finger and let his thoughts wander. Loud singing of the school song, jolted him back to the present.
Moments later, Theo's nephew flung himself into his arms. "Uncle Bobby! You came!"
"Of course I did, Lucas. Come on, Court will have adjourned. Let's go and find your uncle."
Trouble is brewing for the Hoggetts and their friend Chief Inspector Macdonald in Lunesdale, deep in the Lancashire fell country. By the jagged cliffs and chilling depths of a secluded quarry pool, strange noises disturb the night, and after an architect surveying the area is nearly hoisted into the cold waters by an unseen assailant, suspicions of a cold current of crime running through the area become a matter for the police.
First published in 1949, this classic of Lake District crime fiction pairs Lorac’s evocative depictions of her beloved Lunesdale with a twisting and intelligent puzzle for Chief Inspector Macdonald.
This is another 'Golden Age' detective book republished by the British Library Crime Classics. I have read quite a few books by E. C. R. Lorac which feature her detective Chief Inspector Macdonald. And have enjoyed most (if not all of them). I really like Macdonald, he's an excellent character who gets on well with people, doesn't suffer fools gladly, knows his job and does it well.
It's well written the characters and landscape are well drawn, but not overly drawn. I certainly felt I got to know the Hoggetts very well and also felt that I was in the Lancashire fell country, even though it isn't somewhere I have been. Lorac paints a very good picture that draws you in, but doesn't over-describe.
The crime was intriguing and had more than one layer to it. An old friend (Caroline Bourne) of the Hoggetts (Giles and Kate) wanted to buy a farm, a cottage and some land, near to the Hoggetts. It was being sold at auction and Caroline decides she will do her own bidding rather than accepting Giles's offer to do so. It was an usual thing for a woman to do in those days. In fact the auctioneer tries to ignore her bid, but she's a woman who knows her own mind and makes her bid loudly and clearly, thus the auctioneer cannot ignore the bid. She is the highest bidder and buys the farm, some land as well as a derelict cottage, near to a quarry and lake.
She decides she wishes to live in the cottage and brings in a friend (Francis Rolph) of hers, who is an architect, to inspect the cottage and draw up plans to make it liveable. He stays in the cottage overnight and venturing out to see more of the land is attacked. Caroline and the Hoggetts are concerned and report the crime to the local police, who seem to think it was more likely Rolph tripped over a tree root or something and banged his head. He played rugby at one point and was quite certain he fell because he was tackled from behind, rather an falling over a tree root.
Enter Macdonald, who is involved in another case concerning the quarry and smuggling. MacDonald is a friend of the Hoggetts (there is a previous book where the three of them appear, I haven't tracked that down yet) and is 'content' to let them get involved and help and use their local knowledge.
There are quite a few twists and surprises, a policeman (not Macdonald) gets hit over the head and the smuggling gang appear. There is also the 'mystery' of a missing farmer and a missing farm hand who owns a tractor and travels around farms ploughing fields etc. for those who haven't got a tractor.
It all comes to a very believable and satisfying finale.
It was a very good read; I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to getting back to reading more of the Macdonald books as he is such a good character.
And finally, as with so many of the BLCC books, the cover is lovely.
I shall use this book for 'Published by BLCC' square.
TITLE: Looking Ahead FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Jethro Gibbs & Ducky Mallard PARING: Gibbs/Ducky SUMMARY: Ducky makes a decision. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 979: Benefit
"You sure about this, Duck?"
"Of course I am, my dear. Why do you ask?"
"The kids might think it's morbid."
"My dear, the children encounter death every day. And this is not really about death. I shall be here to see them enjoy their legacies."
"I -"
"Jethro. You know the Mallards enjoy longevity. I could easily live another twenty years. I want the children to benefit from what I will leave them, whilst they are still able to do so. Some might find it strange, but -"
Jethro pulled Ducky into his arms and kissed him. "Don't ever change, Duck."
Raffles swung his bat nonchalantly and sent the ball across the boundary. He was better known as a bowler, but when he wished it, he was one of the best bats England had.
"Damn it, Raffles! Can't you make an allowance?" Colonel Blenkinsopp shouted. It was the third loss of the weekend for his team; the Colonel hated to lose.
Raffles shrugged and lit a cigarette. I knew what was going through his mind.
Earlier, in the privacy of his room, he had told me how he resented being invited to Lady Agatha's Sunday Equinox ball, purely for his cricket.
'Art for art's sake is a vile catchword, but I confess it appeals to me'
Gentleman by day and thief by night, A. J. Raffles lives a double life. Taking 'Art for art's sake' as his motto, Raffles supports his debonair lifestyle by performing lucrative, artistic, and ingenious burglaries of the wealthy elite of Victorian London. Dedicated to his brother-in-law Arthur Conan Doyle, Hornung's first collection of Raffles stories, The Amateur Cracksman (1899), can be seen as an inverted spin-off of the former's celebrated detective stories. But it is Raffles' outlaw status that has drawn generations of readers to these swift-paced tales of a charismatic and cool-headed thief and his less worldly partner, Bunny. Hornung had Oscar Wilde in mind as much as Sherlock Holmes when he created Raffles, and the account of their double life offers one of the turn of the century's most touching accounts of a same-sex couple.
Frequently adapted for stage and screen, Hornung's original stories have never lost their power to captivate readers. Admired by writers like George Orwell, Graham Greene, and Anthony Powell, Hornung's crisp prose evokes a late Victorian London of clubland bachelors, hansom cabs, champagne suppers, Australian heiresses, and South African diamond moguls.
E. W. Hornung was the brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; as well as being brother-in-laws, they were also close friends and cricket team-mates. In fact, Hornung dedicated his first Raffles book to Sir Arthur. In many ways their creations mirrored one another, as whilst Doyle's Holmes & Watson were crime-solvers, Hornung's Arthur J. Raffles (occasionally called 'A.J.' rather than 'Raffles') & Bunny (his actual name is Harry Manders) were 'gentlemen thieves'. There are definite comparisons between Holmes and Watson and Raffles and Bunny, even though they are on opposite sides of the law. One comparison is that both authors 'kill' off their main character, only to 'resurrect' him again.
Raffles and Bunny met at school where Bunny was Raffles's fag; it was Raffles who gave him the name 'Bunny' because he was 'such a rabbit' (at times Raffles calls Bunny 'my rabbit' rather than 'Bunny' - he never calls him 'Manders') when they were at school. Raffles is a first rate cricketer who captained the eleven at school and regularly plays for England, Bunny can barely catch a ball.
The first story is set some years after they parted at school - Raffles went off to Cambridge, Bunny, a few years young then Raffles, remained at the school. They run into one another at a Club they both belong to and Raffles invites Bunny to his home. There's a card game and Bunny loses heavily - he writes a cheque for each of the men and says goodnight. Later he turns back up and tells Raffles the cheques will all bounce as he has no money; he hopes Raffles will be able to help him, if only for the sake of 'the old school tie'. What Bunny doesn't know is that despite Raffles's outward appearance and the fact he does play cricket for England belong to several good clubs and lives in the Albany, Raffles is also, at the moment, more than a little hard up. Raffles asks him what he'd do to 'save face' and Bunny declares he'll do anything.
Raffles in effect calls his bluff and tells him what he wants him to do: help Raffles commit a robbery. Bunny isn't exactly happy about it, but he has to save face and really don't want to be known as someone who writes cheques that will bounce; his reparation would be ruined. At that time in England, a gentleman's reputation was everything. It's only later on, once they are safely back in Raffles's room, that Raffles makes his own confession: this wasn't the first time he has stolen. Bunny, understandably, is shocked to learn his hero, the best bowler England has, a first class gentleman, is actually a cracksman and has been for some time. Raffles invites Bunny to team up with him; Bunny initially says 'no', but Raffles knows just how to play him, what to say, how to say it, including the reminder of their school-days. Bunny is no match for Raffles and the two do indeed team up and continue to be gentlemen thieves.
One really shouldn't like Raffles, but there is something so very charismatic about him that makes it difficult not to like him. He never hurts or kills anyone, he 'only' steals from those who are wealthy, he is kind and generous to people, especially those from the lower classes. He despises a lot of what is 'expected' from his class and hates being invited to country houses, just for his cricket. He is known a top-rate bowler, but also when he puts his mind to it is one of the best bats England has. Also whilst he does berate Bunny and 'encourage' him into crime and can become exasperated by him, he is also very, very fond of Bunny, cares a lot about him, enjoys his company and oddly enough, even if he wouldn't admit it, needs Bunny - and not just as a fellow cracksman. Quite a few of their friends and acquaintances wonder quite why the 'great A. J. Raffles' insists his insignificant little friend' accompany him to house parties and balls and cricket matches, etc.
I first read the Raffles books some fifty years ago. There are three books of short stories and a novel. I have read the short-stories books several times. However, I have only read the novel Mr. Justice Raffles once. I didn't really care for it, because Hornung changed Raffles's character quite a lot and we lost the 'carefree' Raffles as he turns his attention to being 'on the right side of the law' and somehow it doesn't work as well. However, the book does end with a short exchange between Raffles and Bunny.
"I'm only afraid you'll want to turn straight back from Calais, Bunny!"
"Oh, no, I shan't."
"You'll come with me round the world, so to speak?"
"To its uttermost ends, A.J.!"
Which sums up their relationship perfectly, one that is clear throughout all of the stories. In some ways Bunny never stops being Raffles's fag, but in other ways he grows up and more than once you get the impression that despite everything, Raffles needs Bunny as much as Bunny needs Raffles.
I really enjoyed my re-re-re-read of this book of short stories and fully intend to re-read the other two books of short stories at some point or other this year. Indeed, having revisited the books, I just might give Mr. Justice Raffles another go.
I shall use this book for 'A book of short stories' square.
A Killer In The Wings (Lord Edgington Investigates... Book 11) by Benedict Brown
A murder on the stage of a packed theatre, a company of actors ripped apart by rivalries, and a secret that has simmered for decades.
England, 1927. When an actor is killed during the performance of a new mystery play, his colleagues refuse to believe it was an accident and turn to Lord Edgington for help. The renowned detective must navigate a labyrinth of deceit to solve the crime, but when every possible culprit is on the cast list, it’s hard to know who’s telling the truth and who’s playing a part.
To save the other actors from the killer’s knife, the master sleuth and his loyal grandson race to outwit their opponent, but will they unravel the tangled threads of the case before more lives are claimed?
Set against the backdrop of the opulent theatres and luxurious hotels of London's West End in the twenties, "A Killer in the Wings" is a witty and suspenseful whodunit with a cast of devious suspects and a carefully twisting plot that will leave you guessing until the curtain falls.
I guess it had to happen. When I reviewed the previous Lord Edgington book, I said: I almost keep waiting for a dud Lord Edgington book, but so far, there hasn't been one. Guess what?
Okay, well it wasn't a dud. However, by Brown's standards it was mediocre. It was set in London, mainly in a theatre and given I spent in the region of three decades doing amateur dramatics, you'd have thought the book would have really appealed to me. Sadly, it didn't. I can't really explain what was so 'wrong', so 'different' from the previous Lord E books, apart from the fact it wasn't set in an English country manor.
As I have said in previous reviews, Brown is an excellent writer and storyteller. However, this book I thought lacked his usual style. It dragged quite a bit in parts and I couldn't really get into the book or care that much about the non-regular characters. It wasn't an awful book, not at all; it just wasn't up to Brown's usual standards and not as enjoyable.
Also Brown brought in one of his own characters, Marius Quin, from another of his series; Quinn was the author of the play in this book. Whilst I thought it was somewhat clever to, in effect, merge together two of his series, for me, it didn't really work; it almost felt somewhat forced. Maybe it might have worked more, had I read any of the Quin books, but I hadn't.
As I (and others) have said many times, most, if not all, authors have at least one book that isn't as good as others. In my opinion this is BB's book - at least I hope that is the case.
Somewhat ironically, the next Lord E book is actually the first Lord E book I read, back in December 2023 -and it's a Christmas book. I have to decide whether to skip the book for now and read it later in the year at Christmas. Or stick to my usual 'read a series in order'. Given we haven't even got to spring yet, it might be a bit odd reading a Christmas book. However, I don't really want to wait until the end of the year to read the other Lord E books so . . .
TITLE: What Partners Do FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Tony DiNozzo & Timothy McGee SUMMARY: Tony and Tim show what partnership means. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 978: Coat
Wearing his new overcoat that had cost several months salary, Tony strode into the street. He rounded the corner and found McGee being attacked by four men.
He pulled his gun. "NCIS Agent! Freeze!"
The men didn't. They pushed Tony into Tim and the agents fell against scaffolding; yellow paint poured down over them. "No!" His new coat was ruined.
But Tim was alive. That mattered more than any coat.
Bridget is suffocating. Trapped by the monotony of her everyday life and the relentless bills landing on her doormat. So when an old friend invites her for a week on his superyacht, she jumps at the chance to escape. Champagne at sunset. Turquoise waters. A reunion with friends who were once inseparable, before fame, heartbreak, and failure tore them apart.
But the dream shatters fast.
The first death looks like an accident. With the second, doubt creeps in. By the third, they know. Someone on board is hunting them down.
As a storm descends, long-buried secrets rise to the surface. And when the killer strikes again, there’s no running from the past…
This book popped up on a 'deal of the day' email. When I saw the author, I was surprised and my first thought was it had to be a different Benedict Brown as the BB whose books I 'know' doesn't write thrillers. Then another email came in, from BB's mailing list - and it was 'that' BB. Naturally I toddled off to Amazon and read the sample, enjoyed it and ::coughs:: bought the book. Well I need a book that was published in 2026 for this year's BB (we'll ignore the fact I had already pre-ordered the next Lady Hardcastle book that will be published later this year *g*).
Despite having read the sample, I still wasn't quite sure what to expect in terms of writing and how well BB's ability at writing crime fiction could work for a psychological thriller. I needed have worried; his writing was every bit as good at his Lord Edgington books and he slipped into the 'style' of a thriller writer quite seamlessly. I really wouldn't have thought this was his first foray into psychological thrillers.
The style of writing, first person POV, finding it difficult to actually like any of the characters, but caring what happens and wanting to know what happens was all there. The first part of the book was from one of the girls' POVs, the second from one of the chaps, the third (much shorter) part flipped back and forth between three characters across several very short chapters.
I was caught up in the storyline and found I could happily believe in it, at least for the duration of the book. The storyline was partly set in the past when the friends had been at university together and partly set in the here and now. Old feelings are resurrected; actions from the past became entwined with the present; the people they were at university and the people they had become began to merge into one, as bit by bit the good and bad reared their heads. And if that wasn't enough, the storm hits - and becomes almost a character in itself.
I thought I had the killer down to between two people - I was wrong. I was surprised by who the actual killer was. There's a saying 'you can never go back'. This book proved that - or at least 'you shouldn't go back'.
It really was a page turner, more so than I expected and I really was stunned by how well BB switched from his rather gentle crime being solved by an upper class English Marquess and his grandson, to this kind of harsh psychological thriller. I do hope he will write some more thrillers.
I shall use it for 'A book published in 2026' square.
TITLE: Learn To Let Go FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Jethro Gibbs & Ducky Mallard PAIRING: Gibbs/Ducky (implied) SUMMARY: Gibbs remembers something his first Captain had told him. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 977: Case closed
Gibbs stared at the years' old case file. His first case: the murder of a young Petty Officer. The one he'd never been able to solve.
Franks hadn't been surprised when Gibbs turned up nothing. He'd worked the case and found nothing.
"Are you ready to go home, my dear?"
Gibbs looked up. Ducky stood by his desk. He was about to tell Ducky to go home without him when he remembered something his first Captain had said: 'You have to learn when to let go'.
He closed the file and wrote 'Case Closed' across it.
Blood On The Banisters (Lord Edgington Investigates... Book 10) by Benedict Brown
At a luxurious country wedding, the mother of the bride is found murdered and the groom caught red-handed, but who is really to blame?
When the Duchess of Hinwick is found dead on her daughter’s wedding day, renowned sleuth Lord Edgington must prove his grandson's innocence by discovering the real killer’s plot.
As he unravels the mystery of the murdered aristocrat, it becomes clear that even her own family are happy to see the back of her. With the bride’s ex-fiancé, a suspicious butler, and a plethora of plotting relatives among the suspects, how will the famous detective find the truth when just about everyone wanted the duplicitous woman dead?
A fast, funny and fabulous 1920s whodunnit filled with countless twists and surprises. “Blood on the Banisters” is an Agatha-Christie-style mystery with a cast of brilliant characters that will have you racing to the final chapter. Even if Lord Edgington can save the groom, will they get to the church on time or die trying?
I almost keep waiting for a dud Lord Edgington book, but so far, there hasn't been one. Lord Edgington's grandson and about to be bridegroom, is not Chrissy, it is his elder brother Albert; Chrissy is to be the best-man.
Although the wedding is due to take place on the Duke and Duchess of Hinwick's estate, it is Lord Edgington's cook and staff who will, for some reason) be producing and serving the food. There is some amusement at the beginning where Albert and Cassie are trying to find a way to persuade Lord Edgington's cook not to serve up her 'interesting' dishes. They want something more traditional; except once the discussion about the food gets under way Cook and Lord Edgington both point out that what Cook is going go produce is technically 'traditional', well probably not Cook's twists to the recipes, but far more so than the dishes the engaged couple seem to want. Naturally, Cook and Lord Edgington win the day, if only because neither Albert nor Cassie can come up with a counter-argument.
Cassie's family have a tradition whereby the bride, her bridesmaids and her mother spend the night before the wedding at the home of the groom and the groom and his male relatives/bestman spend the night on the Hinwick Estate. Cassie's mother, a thoroughly awful and cruel character, however, stays at home - well she had to, she was due to be murdered. Lord Edgington and Chrissie, and of course Deliah, are on hand to solve the murder and prove it was not Albert who killed his would-be mother-in-law.
As with all the previous books there is a lot of humour in the book, most of it is fairly gentle, a little is laugh our loud, or at least giggle. The characters all come across as very real and believable and they aren't all the same. It's rather moving in parts as bit by bit Lord Edgington and Chrissie learn more and more about the Duchess and how nasty and cruel and vindictive she was - and how no one, not even her husband, will miss her.
It comes down to the wire, but Lord Edgington does indeed find and reveal who the murderer is. It came as a complete surprise to me; I hadn't even considered the person as a possibility. That said, despite said murderer not crossing my radar, the motive was completely believable.
As with all of the previous books in the series there is humour and some pathos and a lot of fun in the well placed story. And I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next one.
I shall use it for 'A book set in Spring or Summer' square.
When Bobby went into the squad-room, he found Weaver leering at a trashy magazine. "Look at this, Crocker." Weaver trust the magazine under Bobby's nose; he could smell the adhesive.
Bobby guessed it was meant to be alluring. It wasn't. Suddenly, he had a vague memory. He grabbed the magazine and stared at the girl. "Her uncle was here last week. He reported her missing. Remember?"
Kojak snatched the magazine. "Yeah. The guy with the weird surname 'Caterwaul', wasn't it?"
Bobby nodded. "Yeah. I never did trust him."
Kojak grabbed Bobby's hand. "Come on, let's go and see the editor."
George Gideon is no ordinary detective. But this hellish day will test him like never before.
I have all the Gideon book in hardback. However, I can no longer turn pages of a book, at least not easily (in the way you want to do so when you're reading a novel). I'd been hoping that the Gideon books would find their way onto Kindle, but being how relatively 'old' they were and not being 'classics', I wasn't sure they would be Kindled. I was delighted, a few weeks ago, when one of my daily Kindle offers included Gideon's Day. Several more have been released since.
John Creasey was a prolific writer, listed in the top ten of most books written (over 600) in a life time - he was the most prolific 20th century British crime writer. He wrote under several names (J. J. Marric being one of the better known ones; IMS he originally wrote the Gideon books under the name J. J. Marric) and at his peak he was producing some 36 full length novels a year. As well as being prolific, he was also a very good writer, a tight writer and one who told a very good story.
George Gideon (known as Gee-Gee or G.G. to coppers and crooks alike) is a Superintendent at Scotland Yard in this first book; he gets promoted to Commander in the second book. He is a good man, an honest man, a caring man, a fair man, a straight cop, who can be both kind and harsh. He doesn't suffer fools gladly and is liked and respected by coppers and crooks alike. He has a wife and six children (there was a seventh who died young) and there are some eighteen years between the youngest boy and the oldest boy. There are a few references to Gideon's home, wife and family, again enough to get a picture, but not too much. It seems that pretty much everyone in London knows him or at least of him and will recognise him easily.
This book is, as the title says, about one day; just an ordinary working day in the life of George Gideon. The book moves smoothly across the various cases, a couple of them have links with one another. Some are weeks, if not months, old cases, others are new and Gideon is at the head of all of them. The books are police procedural novels, which can at times be dull and slow, that is not the case here.
Unlike a lot of detective novels, be it amateur or professional, the book does not focus on one case from beginning to end. Gideon's Day has him involved with and working on all the above-mentioned cases as well as a couple of others. Moving from one to another to another and back again. Not all of the cases are completely solved, just as they wouldn't be in real life.
Creasey, as I said, is a tight writer. In a handful of words he can paint a picture of a character and/or a scene. Where some writers write half a dozen paragraphs to detail a character, Creasey does it in half a dozen words. There are no wasted words in the book; no blades of grass; no meandering waffle. The characters, both good and bad, are real and tangible. Creasey also manages to move from case to case and back again seamlessly without the reader getting lost.
Given when they were written and set, they aren't the kind of book that would appeal to everyone (but then, no book does). They are, to an extent, of their time; that said, whilst crimes and crime solving have become more sophisticated and detectives and your bobby on the beat have also become more sophisticated. Personally I think the book stood the test of time and was a cracking good read; every bit (if not more actually) as good as I remembered it and I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.
The books were turned into a film and later a series; we have DVDs of both and thoroughly enjoy them. We've watched the series several times and with the exception of cutting down the number of children Gideon and Kate have and giving Gideon a permanent 'side-kick' they are true to the books.
I shall use this book for 'A book published in the 1900s' square.
12 Ways To Kill Your Family At Christmas by Natasha Bache
All Olivia wanted was one last miserable Christmas with her husband’s awful family before moving to Australia. She didn’t expect a murder.
Now the snow has cut them off and she’s stuck in a stately country house, with her increasingly deranged relatives and the rising suspicion that someone is picking them off one by one.
As the bodies pile up and the festive façade starts to crack, Olivia must survive the season, or, at the very least, get through lunch without anyone else choking on a sprout.
Yes, I know it's only February (well January when I read this book), but let's start Christmas early *g*
J came across this book and bought it and kept telling me how good it was and kept dropping little 'comments' about how much I'd enjoy it, etc. So January or not, I decided to read it - if only because that way he wouldn't keep asking me if I'd read it yet *g* I jest (well partly *g*).
To be honest I wasn't completely sure what to expect, was it a standard crime novel? The almost 'locked room' type? It has been described as 'for fans of crime and dark humour'. And there was certainly a great deal of both. I'd also say it could also be considered a thriller, if only on the grounds that it was jolly hard to like any of the characters. But care about what happened to them, was quite different. In short it wasn't a 'typical' crime novel (if such a thing exists) and yet there was plenty of crimes.
It was, for the most part, told in the first person by Olivia. However, there was an additional 'narrator' someone who 'talked' about the events, that was also told in the first person and appeared at the beginning of several chapters.
The matriarch (Jeannie) was very wealthy, and it was to her house (the house that had been in the family of her husband, George, for a long time) to where the rest of the family had been summoned - as was tradition. In fact, with the exception of Olivia and Miles (her husband) and their son and daughter, the other families were at least fairly well off. One by one, the family were killed off in rather inventive and unusual ways - ways that (at least to begin with) could quite easily have been accidents. Elderly man falls of step-ladder whilst putting up the Christmas lights, for example.
To add another layer of how the various families differed, Olivia was a writer who started off writing dark, murder mysteries but recently had ventured into romantasy, much to the disgust and disapproval of the wider family. Miles and their children were quite happy with what Olivia was writing. However, unbeknown to Miles, Olivia was struggling with the current book and needed to find a solution, without anyone else finding out.
And to add yet more layers, firstly the house became pretty much cut off due to heavy snow. And secondly a brother of Miles and his siblings had been released from prison, where he'd served time for manslaughter.
As the body count mounted up, Jeannie was determined, no matter what, that the 'Christmas traditions' would go ahead, despite growing objections by everyone. By the time the police were able to get to the house, there were several bodies waiting for them - but even they accepted that all of the deaths could have been accidental (if you took them all individually and not as a 'job lot'.)
I had no real idea who was committing the crimes; I didn't even know if the narrator and the 'diary writing' person were one and the same. I ruled out the person I thought we were meant to think it was, but other than that, it was very difficult to rule anyone out. In the end, I did come down on one person - but I was wrong. The actual killer came as a huge surprise; that said, at one point I had fleetingly, and with no evidence or even motive, considered this person because of how unlikely it would be that they were the killer. But I dismissed the person almost as soon as I had considered them. All in all I really was stunned by who had 'dunnit'.
I really enjoyed the book; I thought it was a cracking read that kept me turning pages. As I said above, it was difficult to actually like most of the characters, but that didn't really matter. Oddly enough, despite how unbelievable the scenario was, for the duration of the book I, for the most part, found it fully believable.
I had a couple of niggles and irks. Firstly, I wasn't actually gripped by the opening pages, Olivia irritated me to the point where I would happily have slapped her, I found her so self-obsessed and harsh and was giving Miles a really hard time about spending Christmas with his family again - I hadn't at this point me the family *g* In fact, had J not have enjoyed the book so much, I actually wouldn't have carried on reading. I'm very glad I did, but maybe it is something the editor should have picked up. I also feared it was going to be a 'modern tick-list' book as Olivia's daughter had a girl-friend and there were other little similar types of things that ran bells. I am glad to say I was wrong; it wasn't a 'modern tick-list' book, thank goodness.
My biggest gripe was the use of 'gotten' rather than 'got'. That had me gritting my teeth every time it came up. Given 'gotten' I assumed the writer was American and was wondering why she hadn't bothered to get it Brit checked, given it was set in the UK. However, I discovered that the author is not only British, but also also a former editor, which I found even more bemusing and irksome. I know many readers might see it as a ludicrous thing to get irked about (that said there are quite a number of comments on Amazon about the use of 'gotten' and how it is not British) but we all have our little 'quirks'.
That aside, I really did enjoy it and am very glad J bought it and recommenced it to me. Is it a re-read? I'm not sure to be honest, because I'm not sure it would have the same impact on a re-read as it did on first read. I do re-read books a lot, including crime books and (unlike J who I sometimes think remembers everything about every book he has ever read) often don't remember 'whodunnit'. I think I would remember who did this, because of how unlikely the killer was. Only time will tell.
I shall use it for 'A book that has been recommended' square.
TITLE: No Cause FANDOM: NCIS CHARACTERS: Jethro Gibbs & Ducky Mallard SUMMARY: For once Ducky doesn't have the answers. WORD COUNT: 100 RATING: G WRITTEN FOR:ncis_drabble Challenge: 976. Cause
For Ducky, no two autopsies were the same, not even when the cause of death was the same. No two were the same, because no two people were the same.
He had always found the cause of death. There had always been something, no matter how small, how insignificant, that gave it away.
However, as he examined the Captain's body he could find no cause, obvious or otherwise, as to why and how he died.
"Cause of death, Duck?" Jethro said, as he strode into Autopsy.
Ducky sighed softly. "I am sorry, my dear Jethro. I simply do not know."
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
"You can't please all of the people all of the time."
"If you can't say something good; say nothing at all."
"Fandom is meant to be FUN."
"Never say never."
Achievement is the knowledge that you have worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others, and that's nice, too, but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement and forget about success. - Helen Hayes
"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." -Voltaire
"The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause." —Mark Twain
"Since no one is perfect, it follows that all great deeds have been accomplished out of imperfection. Yet they were accomplished, somehow, all the same." - Lois McMaster Bujold
"One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is to beat him at politeness." - Josh Billings
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