Category Archives: Book Reviews

Review: ‘The Horse’s Arse’, by Laura Gascoigne

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Published By: Clink Street Publishing

Publication Date: 4th April 2017

I.S.B.N.: 978-1911110873

Format: Paperback

Price: £8.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

Patrick Phelan is an ageing artist who has never made it big but who somehow manages to live on air in a North London suburb.

When not running art classes for amateurs, Patrick wrestles in the shed at the bottom of his garden with his life’s work: a series of visionary canvases of The Seven Seals.

When his wheeler-dealer son Marty turns up with a commission from a rich client for some copies of paintings by modern masters, Phelan reluctantly agrees; it means money for his ex-wife Moira. However the deal with Marty is, typically, not what it seems.

What follows is a complex chain of events involving fakery, fraud, kidnapping, murder, the Russian Mafia and a cast of dubious art world characters. A contemporary spin on Joyce Cary’s classic satire The Horse’s Mouth, The Horse’s Arse by Laura Gascoigne is a crime thriller-cum-comic-fable that poses the serious question: where does art go from here?

Purchase from Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Horses-Arse-Laura-Gascoigne-ebook/dp/B01MUZXN8G/

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Review: ‘We Were The Salt Of The Sea’, by Roxanne Bouchard, trans. by David Warriner

 

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Published By: Orenda

Publication Date: 28th February 2018

I.S.B.N.: 9781912374038

Format: Paperback

Price: £8.99

Information here

 

 

 

 

Blurb

As Montrealer Catherine Day sets foot in a remote fishing village and starts asking around about her birth mother, the body of a woman dredges up in a fisherman’s nets. Not just any woman, though: Marie Garant, an elusive, nomadic sailor and unbridled beauty who once tied many a man’s heart in knots. Detective Sergeant Joaquin Morales, newly drafted to the area from the suburbs of Montreal, barely has time to unpack his suitcase before he’s thrown into the deep end of the investigation. On Quebec’s outlying Gaspe Peninsula, the truth can be slippery, especially down on the fishermen’s wharves.

Continue reading “Review: ‘We Were The Salt Of The Sea’, by Roxanne Bouchard, trans. by David Warriner”

Review: ‘Ape Mind, Old Mind, New Mind’, by John V. Wylie, M.D.

36668818Published By: BookBaby

Publication Date: 1st January 2018

I.S.B.N.: 9781543919370

Format: Paperback

Price: £11.62

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

Ape Mind, Old Mind, New Mind is a personal memoir by a psychiatrist who gradually discovers from his patient’s descriptions of their mental illnesses that human motivations have been evolved over millions of years for productive engagement rather than competitive fitness. A new uplifting and spiritual view of human nature emerges that is not only consistent with the science of human evolution, but also opens up a simple explanation for such ancient mysteries as self-awareness, reflective thought, and the vast complexity of language.
All other books about the evolution of emotion approach it from the “outside” as an object; this book is about the biological evolution of the “inside” experience of emotion-and-motivation, which can only be known empathetically.

Continue reading “Review: ‘Ape Mind, Old Mind, New Mind’, by John V. Wylie, M.D.”

Bonus Review #1: ‘Snuff’, by Sir Terry Pratchett GNU

8785374Published by: Doubleday UK

Publication Date: 13th October 2011

Format: Hardback

I.S.B.N.: 9780385619264

Price: £18.99 (And yes, I did pay that much, I used to get my Discworlds as soon as I could)

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

According to the writer of the best-selling crime novel ever to have been published in the city of Ankh-Morpork, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday would barely have had time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse.

And Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is on holiday in the pleasant and innocent countryside, but not for him a mere body in the wardrobe. There are many, many bodies and an ancient crime more terrible than murder.

He is out of his jurisdiction, out of his depth, out of bacon sandwiches, and occasionally snookered and out of his mind, but never out of guile. Where there is a crime there must be a finding, there must be a chase and there must be a punishment.

They say that in the end all sins are forgiven.

But not quite all…

 

 

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Review: ‘When I Grow Up’, by Patricia Asedegbega

When I Grow Up

 

 

 

 

Blurb

“You need a plan B,” said Alicia’s mother when at five years old she told her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Thirty odd years later, Alicia is on plan D: sharing a flat, no tangible savings, and working for hateful Julia, whose sole purpose in life is to make her existence utterly miserable. Good thing she has Oscar and the girls to make the long hours at work bearable. But when a series of events tears the close-knit group apart, putting friendships and motives under suspicion, will Alicia be able to restore balance and set things right? More importantly, will she ever be able to upgrade her life to at least plan C?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Author of I stand corrected, When I grow up…, Rewind, Balou uncensored, Bienvenidos a gatos anónimos, Pasarse cuatro Pueblos and Sesenta segundos dan para mucho, Patricia Asedegbega Nieto was born to a Spanish mother and a Nigerian father in Madrid. As a child, she relocated with her family to Nigeria and later returned to Spain, where she acquired her BSc and master´s degree. She is currently living near Madrid with her family and her very stubborn cat, Merlin Mojito.

http://www.patriciascorner.co.uk/

Twitter @Patricias_Place 

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Review: ‘How to write & publish a bestselling book’, by Richard McMunn

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Published By: How2Become Ltd 

Publication Date: 26th February 2018

Format: Paperback

I.S.B.N.: 9781912370115

Price: £9.99 

 

 

 

 

 

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Review: ‘I Know Where You Live’, By Pat Young

I know where you live FINAL correct (1)

Published By: Bloodhound

Publication Date: 1st March 2018

Format: ebook

Price: $2.99

I.S.B.N.: 9781912604012

Blurb

Penny seizes the chance of a new life for her family when her husband is offered a job in Europe.
Penny believes she’s being watched. Yet no one should know where she lives.

At the airport they meet charming Sophie, fluent in French and looking for work as an au pair.

Penny, struggling to cope in France, offers Sophie a job and she soon becomes an important part of the family’s life. But Sophie is hiding something.

Then Penny’s toddler son, Ethan, is abducted and an international hunt for the child begins.
The police beg Penny and her husband to take part in a television appeal but the couple refuse. Unknown to the police, Penny and Seth have new identities and are determined to lay low and protect them. But it may be too late for that.

Who has taken Ethan and why?

Are the couple’s true identities linked to the abduction?

And who has been watching them?

To save her son Penny may have to put her own life on the line.

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Review: ‘An Unquiet Ghost’, by Linda Stratmann

An Unquiet Ghost

Published By: Sapere Books

Publication Date: 1st March 2018

Format: Kindle

Price: 99p

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

Brighton, 1871

Mina Scarletti, writer of horror stories but supernatural sceptic at heart, is becoming well known for unmasking those who fraudulently claim to be able to communicate with the dead. So it is no surprise to her when a young couple write to her seeking her advice.

They are George Fernwood and Mary Clifton, betrothed distant cousins with a family secret that is preventing them from getting married. Twenty years ago their alcoholic grandfather died in his bed. Though the official verdict was accidental poisoning rumours have been circulating that someone in the family murdered him.

If the murderer is one of their relations George and Mary are afraid they might pass on the ‘corrupted’ gene to their children. Desperate to find out the truth, they have decided to seek out a medium to communicate with their dead relation on their behalf, and they want Mina to help them find one who is genuine.

Though she is not a believer in ghosts, Mina is intrigued by the family mystery and decides to help them in any way she can. Could one of the new mediums advertising in Brighton really be genuine? Will they help George and Mary find the answers they are looking for?

Soon Mina finds herself caught up in a web of deception and intrigue that leads to one of her most fascinating discoveries yet …

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March Review Schedule

I’ve got a busy month with eight scheduled book reviews, plus a trip to London to see Hamilton. There are a lot of blog tours on this month but I’ve managed to fit in an indie book sent to me directly by the author. I hope there’s something for everyone to enjoy here. I know I don’t normally review ‘women’s fiction’, but I liked the sound of the books. I may write a blog post on why I don’t like the genre ‘Women’s Fiction’.

  • 2nd March
    • Hamilton – Musical review
  • 3rd March
    • I Know Where You Live
    • Pat Young
      • Blog tour – Sarah Hardy
      • Fiction – Crime/thriller
  • 5th March
    • How To Write & Publish A Bestselling Book: My journey from firefighter to bestselling author and how you can do it too!
    • Richard McMunn
      • Blog tour – Authoright
      • Non-fiction – Autobiography
  • 7th March
    • Ape Mind, Old Mind, New Mind: Emotional Fossils and the Evolution of the Human Spirit
    • John V. Wylie, M.D.
      • Non-fiction – Psychology
  • 14th March
    • When I grow up
    • Patricia Asedegbega
      • Blog tour – Anne Cater
      • Fiction – Women’s Fiction
  • 22nd March
    • We were the salt of the sea
    • Roxanne Bouchard
      • Blog Tour – Orenda
      • Fiction – Crime
  • 26th March
    • The Horse’s Arse
    • Laura Gascoigne
      • Authoright Spring Reading Week
      • Fiction – Women’s Fiction
  • 28th March
    • The Book of Air
    • Joe Treasure
      • Authoright Spring Reading Week
      • Fiction – Literary Fiction
  • 30th March
    • The Cubit Quest
    • Trevor Leck
      • Authoright Spring Reading Week
      • Fiction – YA

Review: ‘So I Might Be A Vampire’, by Rodney V. Smith

So I Might Be a Vampire Published By: Lost Bajan Publishing

Publication Date: 13th February 2018

I.S.B.N.: 9781775007210

Format: Paperback

Price: £13.99

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

Nobody expects to get turned into a vampire, especially a guy like Bob. Everybody hopes that if they somehow get transformed into a vampire, they will instantly become some kind of superhero vampire out of the movies. Bad news guys: not gonna happen. More likely than not, you’re gonna be one of the poor clueless bastards hanging out on Thursday nights with Bob in his vampire support group.

You may think you know what being a vampire is supposed to be like, but Bob is here to set you straight. He’s made it his personal mission to get answers about the reality of being a vampire. He’s been shot, stabbed, thrown off rooftops, survived bad coffee and endured crippling boredom – all in the name of answering the eternal question of what it means to be a vampire.

If you think you might be a vampire, this is the book for you.

Continue reading “Review: ‘So I Might Be A Vampire’, by Rodney V. Smith”