Bloody Creek Murder, A Winston Radhauser Mystery 6, Susan Clayton-Goldner

Bloody Creek Murder, A Winston Radhauser Mystery 6, Susan Clayton-Goldner

General Fiction (Adult), Mystery and thrillers.

Well, by now Radhauser is feeling a bit like an old friend. I know if ever I had need of the police I want someone like him on the case. He’s moral, dedicated but not one of those folk who want to find someone to blame, anyone will do, for him it needs to be the right person.
This book shows too well the pressures the police often face by the media to find a culprit, but like Radhauser I feel finding the actual person who did the crime is important, not just someone to keep the police looking good in the eyes of the media. In this day though, when appearance is all, when money, elections, voting and popularity are so important its simple to be sucked in and take the easy route, not necessarily the correct route.

Once more Susan delivers a well written and complex story, with multiple possible culprits, and side plots that at first seem diverse but which slowly link up. I’m hooked as ever trying to work out whodunnit…and even with the benefit of knowing more than Radhauser what went on, it still took me some time before I could finally piece all the parts together.
Its not as simple though as finding the murderer, but finding the motive too, and of course that brings in so much of the past, of hard times for the people concerned, that my emotions for them were all over the place.
I like this kind of mystery, where we look at why as well as how, at what makes people do things, why they act that way. I want to get to know the characters, their feelings, what drives them, and here they were so well drawn I could visually picture them, really got a sense of who they were.
The secondary plot too, involving one of Radhauser’s cold cases, was incredibly moving, and the epilogue for that was great to read. I’d like to think that if this happened, and I’m sure it does, that it would end like this. Hard for all concerned to do the right thing.

Stars: Five, another cracking story that had me gripped. I think you’ll get more if you’ve read earlier Radhauser novels but having said that, this could easily be read as a stand alone book.

ARC supplied by author

Nothing But This, The Broken Pieces Book 2, Natasha Anders

Nothing But This, The Broken Pieces Book 2, Natasha Anders

General Fiction (Adult), Romance

I usually enjoy Natasha’s books, but the first in this series just wasn’t one for me. However I was intrigued by the taste we had of Libby and Greyson’s story.

I found this one a much better fit for me, and really enjoyed reading about Greyson’s desperation to win back Libby and Clara.
From the first book I was astonished at Greyson’s actions, and remember thinking he’d have a heck of a lot of grovelling to do. Could you ever get past what he did, what he accused Libby and Harris of? I’m not sure I would. Yet even feeling like that about him, as the story moved on I began to understand him, see just what made him the way he was. The parallels between him and Tina when it came to making friends, set against Libby and Harris’ easy camaraderie, the way talking to others came so naturally to them made sense of the way they all were as individuals, and made their actions more understandable.
I wasn’t entirely convinced Greyson could just relocate his business, suddenly have all this free time, but maybe he was just time filling before rather than actually busy, that it fitted his excuses for avoiding Libby.
Still, it worked, and gradually things began to move forward. As always though it was one step forward and two back, and I was with Libby all the way when she really made him work for it.

Stars: Four, If it was just Libby and Greyson I think this story wouldn’t have anywhere near the impact, but seeing the two couples and the way each person had separate issues, made the story far more enjoyable.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

Free ebook. Michael’s story.

I’ve not read this book, not my kind of read, but for fantasy/sci-fy/gamers its worth a look. Its free as an ebook, all that’s asked is you consider a donation to Michael’s charity.
https://www.fantasticbooksstore.com/michaels-story.html?fbclid=IwAR0rCZFUbbkeVQ2FURpAmp074KS0kJcMkJHSTnRQkHg9AQhhDyMTxMdtSfQ

“Michael’s story” was written for Michael Holyland, a 15 year old Elite Dangerous player who died on 22nd May 2019. It was created in 3 days from start to finish, by the combined talents of Frontier Developments and the Elite Dangerous player community.

Best selling novelist Drew Wagar wrote the story, Antony Taylor created the amazing cover, Anthony Hunt created the iconic Eagle glyph, Commander Cryptic Echo, Commander Orange Phoenix, their respective teams and numerous Elite: Dangerous players contributed to the project by creating materials that are still being used to promote this touching tribute to a brave and inspirational Commander.

An audiobook version was also produced as by the end his treatment was affecting Michael’s ability to see. This was produced using the magnificent soundscape of Elite: Dangerous by Frontier Developments and features stunning performances by Amelia Tyler, Richard Reed and Jay Britton. It was edited by Joe Hogan and produced by Zac Antonaci. It is available for free on Drew’s website here.

This story would not exist without Michael’s Uncle Matt Westhorpe reaching out over Twitter to help bring this project together. Thank you Matt, you are the best Uncle a boy could ask for.

Please enjoy this free ebook and consider making a donation to Michael’s Cancer Research UK page.

Thank you.

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Bloody Creek Murder, A Winston Radhauser Mystery 6, Susan Clayton-Goldner

Bloody Creek Murder, A Winston Radhauser Mystery 6, Susan Clayton-Goldner

General Fiction (Adult), Mystery and thrillers.

Well, by now Radhauser is feeling a bit like an old friend. I know if ever I had need of the police I want someone like him on the case. He’s moral, dedicated but not one of those folk who want to find someone to blame, anyone will do, for him it needs to be the right person.
This book shows too well the pressures the police often face by the media to find a culprit, but like Radhauser I feel finding the actual person who did the crime is important, not just someone to keep the police looking good in the eyes of the media. In this day though, when appearance is all, when money, elections, voting and popularity are so important its simple to be sucked in and take the easy route, not necessarily the correct route.

Once more Susan delivers a well written and complex story, with multiple possible culprits, and side plots that at first seem diverse but which slowly link up. I’m hooked as ever trying to work out whodunnit…and even with the benefit of knowing more than Radhauser what went on, it still took me some time before I could finally piece all the parts together.
Its not as simple though as finding the murderer, but finding the motive too, and of course that brings in so much of the past, of hard times for the people concerned, that my emotions for them were all over the place.
I like this kind of mystery, where we look at why as well as how, at what makes people do things, why they act that way. I want to get to know the characters, their feelings, what drives them, and here they were so well drawn I could visually picture them, really got a sense of who they were.
The secondary plot too, involving one of Radhauser’s cold cases, was incredibly moving, and the epilogue for that was great to read. I’d like to think that if this happened, and I’m sure it does, that it would end like this. Hard for all concerned to do the right thing.

Stars: Five, another cracking story that had me gripped. I think you’ll get more if you’ve read earlier Radhauser novels but having said that, this could easily be read as a stand alone book.

ARC supplied by author

The Ingredients of Us, Jennifer Gold

The Ingredients of Us, Jennifer Gold

General Fiction (Adult),

Well, I found this a bit of a weird book for me. I was expecting a romance, after all the blurb says this “a delicious novel about the sweet and sour ingredients of life and love.” Its not though, its a book about…Well TBH its hard to say what its about. It jumps from different times, years past, recent past, and of course the present.
Her marriage is stale, and its no great surprise that husband tom strays. yet even then they don’t have a big row and one move out, they’re still house sharing in a cold war of ignoring each other.
The bakery and her partner and best friend Bonnie play a big part in the novel, and there are recipes from Elle’s binder. There’s a weird bit involving Bonnie and her husband, from when she first met him, that Elle seems to have carried for so long, and to her its mega important. It colours how she acts with Charlie, even now years later, and just felt strange to me. I’m not really sure why it was included, it didn’t seem to have any real connection to events in the story.
Elle herself is a curious mix, lacking confidence one moment, full of it the next. I didn’t dislike her, but I’m not sure I liked her either.
We don’t really ever get to know Tom, except that given his first marriage broke up from his wanting kids and his wife not wanting them I’d have thought that’s a conversation he and Elle would have had early on. Clearly they’re also on different wavelengths here, and that’s a huge problem in a relationship.
I didn’t feel any great love between them, wasn’t really surprise Tom played away ( though I never condone cheating – at least try to fix a relationship first). Its a slow progression of life in the months after with flashback to when they were together. They never at any point explore why Tom had an affair, what went wrong. Tom just stays in the background while ellie feels incredibly self righteous, and yet isn’t really any more moral in the way she treats Liam? Oliver? I can’t even remember the guy’s name, just that he’s way younger. I don’t have an issue with younger men, no one bats an eyelid at younger women, but in both cases I like to see them treated properly, and yet poor Liam/Oliver doesn’t really stand a chance. It feels to me he’s really just someone Elle uses to take out her feelings of frustration, to make her feel good about herself, her desirability. He’s after sex at first of course, but it seemed he was trying for more, but Elle just dithers about how she feels never considering his needs.
I finished the book, but at the end I felt underwhelmed, it didn’t seem to have any clear resolution, just a possible one. I felt I was reading an extended part of a wider novel, not a complete book. Its fine for others of course. Its well written, but the content just didn’t work for me.

Stars: Two, I didn’t really like Elle and felt I simply didn’t know Tom. The story itself felt as if I was reading and extended excerpt.

An Amazon First Choice read.

Heart of Stone, (Alice Worth Book 4), Lisa Edmonds

Heart of Stone, (Alice Worth Book 4), Lisa Edmonds 

Genre:Sci-fi and Fantasy, Romance.

Another terrific installment to the series. Its my favourite sort, where there’s an overall story arc, but each episode is complete and wraps up this story neatly, not leaving great cliffhanger endings, but just hints of things to come.
Review of books one and three below

Heart of Malice, Alice Worth Book 1, Lisa Edmonds

Heart of Ice (Alice Worth Book 3) Kindle Edition by Lisa Edmond

I love Alice, she’s come such a long way from the solitary woman we first met. She’s strongly independent and yet happy to make allies now, trusting in a few friends, Sean and Malcolm having the most trust. They’re’ two great characters too.
Malcolm works so well with Alice, his issues mean he’s a real asset to Alice, and she respects him, does everything she can to keep him safe.
Sean, Pack alpha whose Pack aren’t all happy about Alice, and in the past a couple of people have brought serious danger to them both with their actions to replace alice with someone they feel more suitable.
Then there’s the vampires, some of whom Alice has reluctantly accepted as allies, helped and accepted help. Charles seems to have some kind of feelings for Alice, that’s been clear since day one. Its not so much a kind of romantic interest, as he sees her as a challenge, a puzzle, and for a centuries old vampire things like that are important. Life must get a little bland after so many years, an intellectual challenge of working out who and what she is, keeps life interesting for him. Like all vampires though, that doesn’t mean he’s trustworthy. They’ve got a kind of understanding currently, where both have helped the other and feel…well…a sort of friendship even if on Alice’ side, that’s kind of guarded.

Once more we’ve a tightly woven adventure, bringing in issues from the past and setting up more for the future.
Alice is hired to find a missing child, an unregistered one, with rare talents that would make him a target for unscrupulous cabals. She can’t just abandon a child, even though finding and rescuing him once more puts her life in danger, and this time maybe her long hidden secrets too.
If they come out how will those around her react? What will it mean for her relationship with Sean? And will it make her an even bigger target to the supernatural world than she currently is?

Stars: Five, another cracking read, and i’m keen for more. Some series tire as they continue, I can see Alice has lots of adventures to go before that happens 😉 hurrah. If you like fantasy with a side of romance that doesn’t dominate, just supports the story this read is one for you.
Book via KU. The whole series is currently available on KU and its one worth reading

Drawing: Horses, Walter Foster

Drawing: Horses, Walter Foster

Genre: , Arts & Photography, crafts and hobbies

This is a fabulous book BUT its not for beginners, whatever the blurb says. Each illustration has just 3-4 “steps” although the shading and rendering of individual parts of the horse is covered in more detail separately.
I know when I first started painting I needed the more detailed step by step books, those with about ten steps. I found with less my paintings would go from looking like the illustrations more or less in the early stage, to nothing like. I’d be thinking “but how did they do that bit?” and found it frustrating.
I could follow this book easily now but as a beginner I know I’d have struggled and been discouraged.

I think focusing on specific parts of the horse, and the tips on shaping and shading really useful. I liked that the book covers different breeds, as a horse lover and former owner I know just how different a Shetland is to a Shire or an Arab, and if you want your horses to look real, not a generic blend of horse shape this is essential.

Overall its a brilliant book IMO for those with some drawing skills and a little confidence but it is NOT one for beginners. If you do buy it and don’t have that experience I think you need to practice drawing the parts of the horse, hooves, muzzles etc before tackling the whole horse.

Stars: Four, its a fabulous book, full of tips to help draw realistic equines, but I’ve dropped a star because I just don’t feel this is suitable for beginners despite the description.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

The Horse Dancer, Jojo Moyes

The Horse Dancer, Jojo Moyes

Genre: General Fiction (Adult),Women’s Fiction

Ah no….usual moan 😦 Why, why do we have women’s fiction as a category? Why assume men won’t/don’t read romance – they do, they write it and read it.

….anyway, the book. Its my first Jojo Moyes read, I was put off after reading that Me before You had a sad ending – for me I like a happy ending. But as a lifelong horse addict I felt I needed to read this book. I’m a real dressage lover too and the Spanish Riding School and the Cadre Noir were my childhood dreams.
The horse parts were well done, very believable and I know there are little backyard stables such as the one where Sarah kept Boo. The legal stuff, I’ve seen some criticism of that but to back up Natasha’s character and actions we needed that in a certain amount of depth.

The issues I has were that for a long time we had three stories, the initial one of Henri and Florence, then Natasha and Mac, then Sarah, and it was well into the novel before the three converged and made sense to me. I didn’t really like the characters either, Natasha, I felt for her and what she’d been through but she was very closed off. Mac, I guess he also was affected and sometimes tragedy brings couples closer, sometimes they fall apart, I just found it hard to believe that such a strong attraction, how two such intelligent people could let themselves drift away. Sarah, I wanted to like her, she’s been through so much, but I guess that made her what she was, and I found it hard to warm to her.

Its a well written novel, not the dumbed down type that so often dominates, but I need to feel a connection to the characters and I just didn’t. The story seemed incredibly slow too, I like long novels but so much of this just felt like filler to me, made me lose attention. On top of that long, drawn out story I then felt the ending was way too brief, rushed almost, and I didn’t have time to mentally adapt to all the changes and accept the turnaround.

Stars: Two and a half. Loved the horse interactions, and Mac’s photography, but just felt the main part of the novel and the characters didn’t really connect with me.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers