Tag: England

Notes from ‘Round the Bend

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Signed Book Giveaway & Review: Will to Live by Rachel Amphlett

Author: Rachel Amplett

Narrator: Alison Campbell

Length: 7 hours 15 minutes

Series: Detective Kay Hunter, Book 2

Publisher: Saxon Publishing

Genre: Mystery, Police Procedural

Reputation is everything.

When a packed commuter train runs over a body on a stretch of track known to locals as “Suicide Mile”, it soon transpires that the man was a victim of a calculated murder.

As the investigation evolves and a pattern of murders is uncovered, Detective Sergeant Kay Hunter realizes the railway’s recent reputation may be the work of a brutal serial killer.

With a backlog of cold cases to investigate and attempting to uncover who is behind a professional vendetta against her, Kay must keep one step ahead of both the killer and her own adversaries.

When a second murder takes place within a week of the first, she realizes the killer’s timetable has changed, and she’s running out of time to stop him….

Will to Live is the second book in a new crime thriller series featuring Kay Hunter – a detective with a hidden past and an uncertain future….

RachelAmphlett.com

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

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Note: This is Book 2 in the series but works well as a stand alone.

I enjoyed Book 1 but I enjoyed this book just a tad more. I got to know more about Kay Hunter as a new series of murders keep her busy and her desire to find out who framed her for some missing evidence complicates her life. Kay is someone I would like to have a beer with and talk cop stuff.

The series of murders was interesting. It involved trains and possible suicides. It took Kay and her team some time to put it all together, to find the common thread that could lead them to the murderer. Kariss seems to be a bit competitive in this story. I think she has a deep need to prove herself and so she volunteers to help with everything and takes it personally when Kay takes one of the other young pups on an errand.

The side plot involving the missing evidence dates back to before the series even starts so don’t feel like you’re missing something from Book 1 over this because there was very little about it in Book 1. I was very glad to see that this little side string wasn’t dropped by the author. Kay, even though she’s past the professional work ethics inquiry, still has her own need to know who messed with that evidence and set her up. I can see how this little plot could develop into something big for a future book.

Over all, the plot is tighter and the characters more fully formed than in Book 1. Once again, the readers get little glimpses from inside the head of the killer without being given the name of the killer. So there’s a cat & mouse game element as we watch the good guys struggle to identify and capture the bad guys. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Alison Campbell does a pretty good job. She sounds like the perfect Kay Hunter – insightful, tough, determined. Her other female voices are well done. Sometimes her male voices blend together or sound like women. There’s no technical issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Rachel Amphlett. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Guest Post

Rachel Amphlett’s Favourite Books in the Crime Fiction Genre

I think, like many crime thriller authors, my love of the genre started when I was about five years old and started reading the famous five series by Enid Blyton.

By the time I was in my very early teens, I was working my way through my mum’s collection of Dick Francis books and adding to those each birthday and Christmas when I received book tokens in lieu of presents. On top of that, every time my parents stocked up their bookshelves via jumble sales, I’d be devouring the likes of Ed McBain, PD James, and Robert Goddard. By the time I left school, I’d devoured most of the crime fiction section in my secondary school library, including books by Ken Follett, Agatha Christie, and Michael Crichton.

To this day, I’m unable to walk past a secondhand bookshop…

So, what’s the attraction to this genre as a reader?

For me, it’s a mixture of entertainment and escapism.

There’s nothing like perusing the shelves in a bookshop or library, spotting a cover or a spine of a book, and then reading the blurb and thinking “I’ve got to read this”.

The opening chapter is probably the most important part of a crime thriller for a reader. The anticipation of lifting the front cover and reading that first line, then the second, then turning the page, and then getting completely sucked into the mystery via an opening scene that leads you stunned is second to none.

You know (with a few exceptions) that the villain will be apprehended by the time you reach the last page, the detective will have solved the mystery, and all will be right with the world, but it’s the excitement between the first page in the last and trying to work out who the bad guy is, or how they will be stopped, before the detective does.

I have to admit, although I do like reading (and writing) stand-alone crime thrillers, I do enjoy reading books in a series because you get to know the detective over a period of time. You begin to appreciate what drives them. For instance, take Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series. That character has grown so much since first appearing in The Black Echo, and I think that’s what keeps the series fresh. It’s not just about the investigation of murder in each book, it’s how the main character’s life is changed by the investigation and the world around him.

It’s the same reason why I enjoyed reading all the Val McDermid Tony Hill series, and the Roy Grace series by Peter James – as well as the fact that the stories aren’t just about the main characters, but include a regular supporting cast.

As a crime thriller author, I’m re-reading a lot of the books on my shelves through different eyes these days – I find I’m analysing them more, trying to pinpoint exactly why those stories have endured.

I hope by re-reading the masters, my own writing will continue to grow.

It’s also a great excuse to forget the housework for a while…

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Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker, the Man Who Wrote Dracula by David J. Skal

Luxor kitty standing guard over this book.

Narrator: James Patrick Cronin

Publisher: HighBridge (2016)

Length: 21 hours 26 minutes

Explore not only Bram Stoker’s life, but the Victorian era, contemporary authors, famous theater celebrities, and the various works of Stoker in this book.

I grew up watching all sorts of Dracula and vampire stories and as an adult I finally read Dracula by Bram Stoker. It remains one of my favorite horror stories, being full of suspense and the darker, often repressed, side of human nature. When I saw that a biography on Stoker was available, I jumped on it.

This book was so much more than I expected. It was educational and entertaining. Not only did I learn about Stoker but also about this writer and theater side of the Victorian Era. Then there was also Victorian viewpoint on same-sex relationships that played a big role in shaping Stoker’s life.

Here are some of the things I learned from this book but there’s plenty more so don’t feel like you’re getting the complete picture. Stoker was a sickly child, often bedridden until he turned 7. Eventually he grew into a strapping young man who excelled at athletics. I particularly found it interesting that during this era, it was common to dress both boys and girls as young girls until they reached a certain age. I think partly, this is to assist in potty training (a smock or tunic-like dress easier to lift up and do your business and perhaps easier to clean). Stoker did blossom from this stage into a boy and that’s when he became much more active. All sorts of psychology of both Stoker and his mother are explored in the book concerning this particular thing.

There was a very scary cholera epidemic when Stoker was a child. At one point, his mom had to fend off the sick from breaking into their house. Perhaps young Stoker saw more blood and violence than most kids at that age.

One of the key things I learned concerned Victorian views on same-sex partners. For men, it was against the law. For women, it was never against the law as there was this underlying cultural belief that for it to be real sex, a male member had to be involved. Yes, that idea had me laughing a little bit. Also, curiously there was not a real term for homosexuality until much later so Victorian folks would use colloquialisms and slanted looks to get their meaning across. The idea that people didn’t really have words to express their sexual orientation, even to themselves, was an eye opener as to how in the closet homosexuals were at this time.

There’s plenty stuff about the London and Dublin theaters in this book since Stoker worked for the famous actor Henry Irving. Most of this was lost on me. I don’t recognize the names and have never been to these famous theaters. I do think that for folks who have even a passing interest in theater stuff from this era would find these sections of the book insightful.

Stoker himself was a very private man and there’s very little written by him concerning his personal thoughts on things. So much of his motivations have to be inferred from his actions and the few bits we have written by him (usually communications to others). It was very interesting to learn about his fascination with Oscar Wilde. I have never read anything by Wilde but after listening to this biography, I am sorely tempted to do so. Since Stoker and Wilde had an on/off friendship of a sort throughout the decades, we learn plenty about Wilde in this book including his imprisonment for homosexual acts.

Syphilis comes into play more than once. According to some reputable data this book dug up, perhaps as much as 25% of London males during Stoker’s time had this STD. It being pre-penicillin days, there wasn’t a good treatment for syphilis, which can also lie dormant for years. This means you don’t know you have it but you can spread it around.

As the book winds down, taking us to Stoker’s death, I still had 2 CDs left. This biography includes what happened after Stoker was buried not only to his family but also to his works. I was fascinated by the number of knock-offs of Dracula, both in book form and on screen. Copyright laws were not present in some countries back then. There was also some interesting stuff about Bela Lugosi after he played Dracula – apparently it was hard for him to get any kind of role outside of the monster characters.

All together, this was a very thorough and complete accounting of Stoker’s life and the life of his most well known work, Dracula. I feel the author treated his life with an objective hand. Stoker wasn’t a saint but he was a very interesting man in interesting times.

I received a free copy of this book via LibraryThing.

The Narration: James Patrick Cronin was a great pick to narrate this book. He sounded genuinely interested in the subject throughout the book. The pacing was good and occasionally, a little bit of emotion is injected at appropriate times.

What I Liked: Plenty of interesting info; Stoker’s childhood days; the cholera epidemic; cultural info on the Victorian era views on same-sex partners; Oscar Wilde; info on syphilis during this time; what happened to Stoker’s family and works after his death; great narration.

What I Disliked: Most of the theater stuff was lost on me, but I am inspired to learn more.

What Others Think:

Open Letters Monthly

Kirkus Reviews

Jonathan Swift: The Reluctant Rebel by John Stubbs

Narrator: Derek Perkins

Publisher: HighBridge (2017)

Length: 31 hours 13 minutes

This is a very comprehensive biography of Jonathan Swift. I was drawn to this book because I was forced to read many of Swift’s work in school and I thought his life would be pretty interesting considering the fantastical elements to Gulliver’s Travels and the rather gruesome take on curing starvation in A Modest Proposal. I was not disappointed. Mr. Swift did indeed lead an interesting life.

This book is pretty heavy with the politics of the time. Swift was born in the 1660s and lived well into the 1700s. His satire and his dabblings in politics meant that I needed to learn the basics of British, Irish, and French politics of the time to understand Swift the better. This biography does a really good job of laying that all out for the reader. While I did find that this bogged things down from time to time, I also appreciated that the details were there if I needed to refer to them.

I was surprised to learn that Swift was born in Dublin, Ireland yet insisted he was an Englishman his entire life. Indeed, Swift seems to enjoy being a breathing, walking contradiction. I get the feeling he was never really happy or content and I think he brought some of that on himself. By the same token, I think he would own that and make a quip about it.

It appears that Swift disliked babies, perhaps even had an aversion. The author has an informed guess that Swift would have been a solid germaphobe in today’s time with our knowledge of bacteria and viruses. I totally agree with the author on this point. By the way, Swift didn’t reproduce.

Swift suffered from recurrent vertigo, which was referred to giddiness during his life. Poor dude. I bet this was a huge irritant to him. Later in life he would suffer other ailments such as losing his voice and possibly suffering from insanity. It must have been so frustrating for him towards the end, being a man of words and not able to use them effectively.

For me, the biggest mystery about Swift was his love life, or lack thereof. He had a close tie with Esther Johnson for much of her life and I found it very interesting the great pains he always took to maintain propriety. In fact, he often addressed his letters to her and her lady companion, Rebecca Dingley. Was it love or just a deep friendship? Did they secretly marry or was that just silliness? The author does a good job of laying out the known facts and then making a few educated guesses from there.

Of course, you can’t explore Jonathan Swift without getting into the details of his writings. There’s plenty of that here in this book and even if you aren’t familiar with all of Swift’s publications, the author makes it clear what’s important about each in regards to the subject at hand. For me, this also sometimes bogged down the story of Swift’s life but I also appreciate the thoroughness.

I received a free copy of this book via LibraryThing.

The Narration: Derek Perkins was a good fit for this book. He sounded interested throughout the entire book. There wasn’t much call for character voices, this being a biography. He did capture some emotions here and there as the story of Swift’s life unfolded.

What I Liked: A detailed look at Jonathan Swift and the times he lived in; his mysterious love life; his long list of contradictions; how me could charm or put people off with his sharp words; the politics of the times; Swift’s ability to capture the grunge.

What I Disliked: There were several times that the story bogged down a bit due to the amount of detail.

What Others Think:

Catherine Brown

Kirkus

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Narrators: Anna Bentinck, Josie Dunn, Bea Holland, Huw Parmenter

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (2017)

Length: 11 hours 28 minutes

Set in England, David just recently took a job with a group of child psychologists and he and his wife Adele have moved. Louise is a single divorced mother and recently met an attractive man in a bar, making a romantic connection. Much to her woe, that man has turned out to be her new married boss, David. Next, to compound things, she inadvertently runs into Adele (who apparently doesn’t know Louise has been snogging her husband) and they become friends. Pretty soon it becomes clear that there is some deep secret and some serious issues with David’s and Adele’s marriage. Louise is caught in the middle.

I heard a lot of hype about this book and was intrigued. However, it did take me two tries to get into it. The beginning was rather slow for me because I don’t particularly care for romances and this book starts off mostly focused on Louise’s romantic life, or lack of one. Then we get Adele and her secretive nature coupled with David’s controlling behaviors which livened up the story a little for me. Still, there’s a lot of minute character building with lots of tease as to Adele’s and David’s pasts with very little reveal until near the end. So for the majority of the book I was bored. Adele’s character kept me going back to it, wondering what her big secret was.

I’m going to give you a medium-level spoiler: This story is really a paranormal thriller. End Spoiler. I wanted to put that in here because it affects what genre this book really belongs in. However, that part of the story doesn’t really come into play until perhaps the half way point. Once this became clear in the story, the tale became more interesting. Also, the cat and mouse game Adele was playing with Louise and David made for decent reading.

The truly interesting bits were saved for the very last chapters. There we learn more about things that have only been hinted at: David’s history, a certain fire, Adele’s time in a mental health institute and the the friend she made there, and also the big secret that ties Adele and David together. Finally, at the very end we get one last big reveal and it was OK. I found it an interesting twist but not one that sealed the deal for me. The majority of the book was boring for me and the decent ending didn’t make up for that fact. Over all, it was an OK story.

I won an advanced listening audiobook copy of this book.

The Narration: Anna Bentinck, Josie Dunn, Bea Holland, Huw Parmenter all did a great job. This was a quality narration all around. I don’t know who did which role but I liked all the performances. The main narrator for Louise made her sound just as I pictured her in my head – slightly frazzled, good natured, and a just a tad plump. Adele’s voice was cultured and measured and sounded upper crust but still friendly.

What I Liked: The unexpected twists near the end; the secrets that lie between Adele and David; Adele’s special ability; the final revealed twist; great narration.

What I Disliked: I was bored for most of the book.

What Others Think:

Crime Fiction Lover

Clues and Reviews

Birth. Movies. Death.

Material Witness

The Dark Deeps by Arthur Slade

Narrator: Jayne Entwistle

Publisher: Listening Library (2010)

Length: 8 hours 11 minutes

Series: Book 2 The Hunchback Assignments

Through the Looking Glass

Note: While this is Book 2 in the series, it works OK as a stand alone story. Reading the first book would give you more info on the characters, but their past relationships are covered well enough in this book that you don’t need to have read Book 1, The Hunchback Assignments, to enjoy this novel.

Set in a steampunked 1800s, Modo works hard to please his master, Mr. Socrates, with his espionage abilities. Stealing secrets from the French has been fun, but now he and Octavia are sent on a much more mysterious mission. Something has been floundering ships in the North Atlantic. Is it a trained whale? No one is certain and Mr. Socrates wants to be the first to know.

I really enjoyed Book 1 but I think I enjoyed this book a bit more. The characters are a bit more refined and the world better set in it’s fixture. I was pretty excited to see that the author drew upon two classics, Invisible Man and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Mixing these two themes with steampunk and then tossing in Modo, Octavia, and some new interesting characters, the book has charm written all over it.

The evil Clockwork Guild is still active with Dr. Hyde creating his metal-jawed dogs and a new type of human. Gryf, an unfortunate kid, is the subject of these experiments. Well, he’s the one that has survived long enough to be an important role in this story. Ms. Hackdotter, who has a mechanical arm, is the true villain in the book, sending chills down my spine as she toys with her captives. She’s devious, using her charm to maintain power over some of the Guild’s minions.

Meanwhile, we have two new and very interesting characters. There’s the French spy, Colette Brunet, who is half Japanese and who can speak English without a noticeable accent, letting her blend in easier. Then there’s Monturiol, who is a captain in her own right. Both of these ladies could be enemies or friends and Modo spends much of the book trying to figure out who his real foes are.

Even though Octavia and Modo started off on this adventure together, they soon became separated. While Modo is off with these new characters, Tavia is organizing a rescue party. I was a little sad that Tavia didn’t get to join Modo on the real adventure with Colette and Monturiol, but I was also glad that the author didn’t simply shelve her. The story keeps peeking back in on her and her rescue efforts. Meanwhile, Modo is learning to like a whole new cuisine and I quite enjoyed the little jokes that with it – dolphin’s milk indeed!

As a counterpoint to the adventure and humor, we have Modo’s struggle with his natural looks. He feels that people will despise him if they see his real face. Of course, this was enforced throughout his childhood by Mr. Socrates, even if he meant it in a good way. However, in this story, Modo often finds himself in a position where it is very difficult to keep his natural face under a mask or morphed into something pleasant. While my heart goes out a little to Modo during these scenes, I do find it a bit refreshing to have a male character so very concerned about his looks, instead of a female character.

The ending was a little bittersweet, which was quite suitable for the story. I like that not everything came up roses. Since Modo and Tavia are getting older, this story seems a little more subtle and adult than Book 1. I definitely like the direction this series is going in.

Narration: Jayne Entwistle continues to narrate the series. In this book Modo is 14 and I was hoping that his voice would have aged a little, but he still has a kid’s voice for the entirety of the book. Again, I first got to know Modo through Ember’s End, a graphic novel, so I came into these audiobooks with an idea already in my head of what he should sound like as a near adult. For Book 1, the kid’s voice was OK, even worked well in certain scenes. But now that he’s older, and also that he and Tavia are supposed to pretend to be married for some of their espionage work, I need his voice to be a bit older. Setting that aside, Entwistle did a good job with all the female characters and I loved the various accents she had to pull off. She’s also really good at imbuing the character voices with emotions.

What I Liked: Steampunked!; Tavia and Modo joking with each other; the new ladies – Colette and Monturiol; Dr. Hyde’s latest experiment; underwater cuisine; Ms. Hackendotter’s chilling control of the situation.

What I Disliked: I need Modo’s voice to be masculine and a little older.

What Others Think:

Book Reviews and More

AudioFile

Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory

Narrator: Bianca Amato

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (2016)

Length: 21 hours 9 minutes

Series: Book 8 The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels

Confessions of a Book Addict

Note: Even though this is listed as Book 8 in the series, it works just fine as a stand alone novel.

Henry VIII, King of England, had two sisters – Margaret (his elder) and Mary (his younger). These two ladies, along with Henry’s first wife (Katherine of Aragon), will form a unique sisterhood of queens, sometimes rivals, sometimes allies. This book is told solely from Margaret’s point of view, starting in her childhood and carrying through her three marriages.

Over the years, I’ve dabbled in books about the Tudors. There are tons of them out there, both fiction and non-fiction. However, few of them have more than the bare bones concerning Margaret. So I was tinkled pink when Philippa Gregory came out with this book. Margaret wasn’t considered the great beauty her younger sister was. She didn’t wield as much power as Katherine. She wasn’t Henry’s favorite sibling. However, she still played an important role in Scotland, and hence in Scottish-English relations.

We learn early on that Margaret is betrothed to James, King of Scotland, who is nearly twice her age. So she has to wait until she is 14 to go to Scotland. As a teen, Margaret’s concerns are rather narrow and self-serving. From Margaret’s point of view, there’s competition between the three ladies (Mary, Margaret, and Katherine) for attention and their beauty factors into that. While Katherine received a large, beautiful wedding to Arthur (Henry’s older brother), Margaret gets a small, perfunctory wedding at age 12 with a stand-in for James. This is just one example of how Margaret measures her worth (or lack of it) to the English court.

Margaret’s character starts off as a mixture of naive, self-absorbed, and driven. Indeed, sometimes I felt her selfish attitude was going to do her in! But Gregory is such a good writer that you can see there is something more there, waiting to blossom, in this character. Once Margaret goes off to Scotland, she has to deal with hardships she never faced as a treasured English princess. The Scots had big, bushy beards! James, King of Scotland, has bastard babies! The Scottish Lords actually have to rule and work, including James! Indeed, it was a bit of a culture shock for her. She holds to her English superiority, but as the years pass, and she faces some true hardships herself, her attitudes shifts a bit, and a kernel of wisdom is formed.

Now I didn’t always agree with Margaret’s decisions or her reasons but I also have the historical knowledge. She didn’t have that, obviously, but she also lacked reliable communication and news from the rest of Europe. In this light, most of her decisions make sense. By the end of the book, I felt Margaret was someone I would have enjoyed being friends with. She had grown from that self-absorbed child we met in the first few chapters.

Throughout the book, Margaret, Mary, and Katherine write each other frequently, so you can’t help but compare the three of them. All three married more than once, each married for love at some point, and all three lost babies to illness. Also, each suffered ‘poverty’ at some point. Now, poverty to a royal is a little different than poverty for the masses. Indeed, they still have servants, even if they can’t pay them. They still have some fine clothing, even if they have to patch the sleeves. Still, it was interesting to see how each dealt with it differently.

Margaret does have a few awe-inspiring moments in the book. There are times where she faces down Scottish lords, a besieging army, or a very difficult run for the border while several months pregnant. These are the moments when I liked her best, when she was under the most pressure. She shone in these moments, and that made it easier for me to excuse her petty side.

The author includes a note at the end about how much of her book is factual versus fiction. I was surprised to learn that there is little historical information on Margaret beyond the bare bones of her life. The note did explain a bit about how Margaret’s decisions seemed to show her changing direction often. In my opinion, Gregory did a great job showing us how those swift changes in loyalty could make sense at the time. Indeed, I quite enjoyed this novel, including the self-absorbed aspects of the main character. Margaret was raised to think highly of herself and the story wouldn’t ring true without that attitude.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

The Narration: Bianca Amato did an excellent job with this book. I really liked her various accents (English, Scottish, Spanish, French). She also did a great job with the variety of emotions the characters went through. Her male voices were believable.

What I Liked: The subject matter – Margaret; she grows from a selfish child to a woman with a bit of wisdom; the comparison between the three sister queens; the Scottish culture and how ‘shocking’ it is to the English princess; Margaret’s best moments; excellent narration.

What I Disliked: Nothing – a fascinating take of an often over-looked historical figure.

What Others Think:

Medievalist.Net

For Winter Nights

Rebecca Henderson Palmer

Sufficiently Distracted

Novel Pastimes

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

Narrator: Jayne Entwistle

Publisher: Listening Library (2009)

Length: 7 hours 15 minutes

Series: Book 1 The Hunchback Assignments