Everything Is Better With Dragons
Book blogger, Autistic, Probably a Dragon
Yes, I know, I get over excited when books arrive, but today I have to show you my collection. I got 14 books from Pen and Sword today, five last Saturday while I was away, and of course, there’s my books for blog tours too. Book post makes me happy and I learn something new, either factual or in terms of writing techniques with every book I read.
Published By: Pen & Sword
Publication Date: 5th September 2018
Format: Paperback
I.S.B.N.: 9781526736185
Price: £10.39 (normally £12.99)
This is one of the new books Pen & Sword have sent me to review (Thanks to Rosie Crofts, Digital Marketing, Pen & Sword). There will be a few coming up, as I have four more in this delivery, nine in a delivery due today, and two or three more on order. What can I say? I do enjoy their books. Next up will be Murder, Madness and Mayhem by Kathryn Burtinshaw and John Burt.
Blurb
‘For the sake of decency, gentlemen, don’t hang me high.’ This was the last request of modest murderess Mary Blandy, who was hanged for poisoning her father in 1752. Concerned that the young men in the crowd who had thronged to see her execution might look up her skirts as she was ‘turned off’ by the hangman, this last nod to propriety might appear farcical in one who was about to meet her maker. Yet this was just another aspect of a case which attracted so much public attention in its day that some determined spectators even went to the lengths of climbing through the courtroom windows to get a glimpse of Mary while on trial. Indeed her case remained newsworthy for the best part of 1752, for months garnering endless scrutiny and mixed reaction in the popular press.
Opinions are certainly still divided on the matter of Mary’s ‘intention’ in the poisoning of her father, and the extent to which her coercive lover, Captain William Cranstoun, was responsible for this murder by proxy. Yet Mary Blandy’s trial was also notable in that it was the first time that detailed medical evidence had been presented in a court of law on a charge of murder by poisoning, and the first time that any court had accepted toxicological evidence in an arsenic poisoning case. The forensic legacy of the acceptance of Dr Anthony Addington’s application of chemistry to a criminal investigation is another compelling aspect of The First Forensic Hanging.
Continue reading “November Bonus Review #3: ‘The First Forensic Hanging’, by Summer Strevens”
I haven’t been able to review this book because of my full reviewing calendar, but I liked the sound of it, so I thought I’d share an extract from the novel with you.
Blurb
Daryl Wainwright is the quirky youngest child of a large family of petty thieves and criminals who calls himself ‘Thalidomide Kid’.
Celia Burkett is the new girl at the local primary school, and the daughter of the deputy head at the local comprehensive where she is bound the following September. With few friends, Celia soon becomes fascinated by ‘the boy with no arms’.
The story of a blossoming romance and sexual awakening between a lonely girl and a disabled boy, and their struggle against adversity and prejudice as they pass from primary to secondary school in 1970s Cirencester. The story deals with themes and issues that are timeless.
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008N3I904
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008N3I904
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thalidomide-Kid-Kate-Rigby/dp/1719306621 (paperback)
Continue reading “Book Extract: ‘Thalidomide Kid’, by Kate Rigby”
Published by: Red Dog
Publication Date: 25th July 2018
I.S.B.N.: 9781916426214
Format: Paperback
Price: £8.99
Purchase Links
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cuckoo-Wood-Alex-Ripley-Mystery/dp/1916426212
Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/Cuckoo-Wood-Alex-Ripley-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07FWGJDHR
Direct from Red Dog Press – https://www.reddogpress.co.uk/shop
Blurb
A THRILLING, MELODICALLY CREEPY MYSTERY.
Samantha Jaynes took her life in the cold lake. Now Rosie Trimble has done the same. Both claimed they had seen an angel. And they’re not the only ones.
A spate of teenage suicides rattles the rural community of Kirkdale, in England’s Lake District. Before they died, each of the girls talked about seeing an angel. Is this collective hallucination, or is something more sinister leading these young girls to their deaths?
That’s a question for Dr Alex Ripley, the so-called Miracle Detective. Brought in to help the police, she finds a community rooted in fear and suspicion, bound by their strange faith, unwilling to help, unable to forgive.
Because the people of Kirkdale have buried their dark past once, and they’re not about to let Ripley dig it up again.
The Cuckoo Wood is the first Alex Ripley Mystery
Continue reading “Review: ‘The Cuckoo Wood’, by M. Sean Coleman”
Alice Castle is back, with her forth novel featuring Beth Haldane – archivist, single mum and amateur sleuth. I’m reviewing on the 15th, so if you want to hear what other readers think before then , take a look at the blogs listed on the calendar.
Blurb
Beth Haldane, SE21’s premier – and only – single mum amateur sleuth, is really pleased to find a new friend at the school gates, in the shape of irrepressibly bouncy Nina. As well as a way with words, Nina has a puzzle she wants Beth to solve, centred on the solicitor’s office where Nina works in Herne Hill.
But as the mystery thickens, threatening to drag in not just Nina and her boss, but the yummy mummies of Dulwich, too, Beth is about to find out just how far some people will go to keep up appearances.
Join Beth in this fourth instalment in the London Murder Mystery series for her toughest case yet.
Due to being insanely busy with book reviews, I’m sharing an extract instead, look out for that, and a chance to win a signed copy of this book.
Published By: Pen and Sword
Publication Date: 9th October 2017
ISBN: 9781526705082
Format: Hardback
Price: £19.99
Blurb
Guy Fawkes, born in York in 1570, is one of the key figures in British history, taking a central role in a plot that would have destroyed the ruling class and changed the nation forever. Today protesters wear his mask, families burn his effigy, and he is an instantly recognisable name and face. But just who was the real Guy Fawkes? In this new book, we take an exciting look at the flesh and blood person behind the myth. We find out what radicalised the man who was born a Protestant, and yet planned mass murder for the Catholic cause. The book takes a fresh look at Guy’s early life in York and beyond, and examines how that led to him becoming a Catholic mercenary and a key member of the 1605 Gunpowder treason.
This fresh new biography of Guy’s life removes the layers of complexity that can cloud the British history of this time: an era when fearful Catholics hid in tiny priest holes, government spies were everywhere, and even your closest friends could send you to be hung, drawn and quartered. Guy and his conspirators were prepared to risk everything and endanger everyone, but were they fanatics, freedom fighters, or fools? This explosive read, accompanied with beautiful illustrations, is accessible and engaging, combining contemporary accounts with modern analysis to reveal new motivations behind Guy’s actions.
Continue reading “November Bonus Review #2: ‘The Real Guy Fawkes’, by Nick Holland”
Published By: Sarah Grace Publishing
Publication Date: 30th November 2018
Format: Paperback
Price: £7.99
I.S.B.N.: 9781910786529
Blurb
Bertie the Buffalo is based on a true story of when a Water Buffalo escaped from a Buffalo Park in Fife, near Dundee, Scotland. A rhyming book about the adventures Bertie got up to and how he safely returned home, demonstrating how important each of us is no matter how insignificant we feel. Bertie felt that no one noticed him. But he didn’t need to think that as we are all special. We are all a part of one big family.
Buy Link
Continue reading “Review: ‘Bertie The Buffalo’, by Wendy H. Jones”
Published By: Pend and Sword
Publication Date: 16th April 2018
ISBN: 9781526733856
Format: Paperback
Price: £14.99
Blurb
In 1919, when a shopkeeper and her dog were found dead in Hitchin, Hertfordshire with brutal head injuries, there followed an extraordinary catalogue of events and a local police investigation which concluded that both had died as a result of a tragic accident. A second investigation by Scotland Yard led to the arrest of an Irish war veteran, but the outcome was far from conclusive.
Written from the perspective of the main characters involved and drawing on original and newly-discovered material, this book exposes the frailties of county policing just after the First World War and how it led to fundamental changes in methods of murder investigations.
Offering a unique balance of story-telling and analysis, the book raises a number of unanswered questions. These are dealt with in the final chapter by the author’s commentary drawing upon his expertise.
I’m entirely serious today. I have to hand in two copies of my MA dissertation by 12th December 2018 and they have to be in hard binding. The university recommends Lincoln Binding. They do everything to the university specification, but for two copies it’ll cost me at least £101. I have to hand both in but I get one back and the other goes into the library.
You may or may not be aware of this but I am disabled and don’t work, and I just can’t afford it. I’m writing today to ask if anyone would like to assist in getting my dissertation bound, please? I’m thinking of adding a page to the back with a list of those who donate and thanking them for their support. I’m struggling with my mental health at the moment because of other stressors and this is just adding to the load.
Paypal: rosemariecawkwell_184@hotmail,com
Everything Is Better With Dragons 