Storm Lake and L-2011

Two reviews this time. The first, Storm lake is by Val Tobin. I reviewed her excellent Injury before on this site. Only one quibble with this book; it was too short and left me with many questions. But the writing as with injury was good. I gave it 4 stars.

Storm Lake by Val Tobin on Amazon.com

Storm Lake has all the elements a good horror story should have. An eerie build-up of tension, a young family alone in a remote cottage and a gradual realisation that all is not as it should be. It ends in a dramatic and gory acceleration of events. My only problem with this well written and exiting story is that it was too short. I hope Val Tobin will revisit Storm Lake at some point as there is much to explore and I have many questions I would like answered. I would say; great introduction to what could be a great horror novel.

 
The second book is by a writer from Glasgow that now lives in Australia; Mark Gillespie. I liked his version of what could have happened with the events leading up to the London Olympics in 2012. I gave it 5 stars:

L-2011 (Future of London Book 1) by Mark Gillespie on Amazon.com

This book is set in the not too distant past and hypothesises what could have happened in the events leading up to the London 2012 Olympics. The fact that the events never happened doesn’t make this book any less enjoyable. It still taps into the events of today like; corporate greed, the social media and discontent with our politicians and the establishment.  I liked this book a lot but I think a little understanding of modern Britain is required to fully get this story. It is well written and moves at a good pace. I liked that the story was told from the POV of Mack, a young white Scottish boy, caught up in the riots, where he finds himself amongst mostly black youths. Events came to a rather shocking climax and I can’t wait to see where Mark Gillespie takes the story next. Part two; Mr Apocalypse is already sitting ready to read on my Kindle.

 

Amie Stolen Future (Volume 3) by Lucinda E Clarke

I reviewed the second book in the series a few weeks ago and I have to be honest and say that I enjoyed that one the most out of the three books. This is the last in the series unless the author is adding another one. The end is open. Overall a series worth reading and I give volume 3 'Amie stolen Future' four stars.

Amie Stolen Future (Volume 3) by Lucinda E Clarke

Amie stolen future is the 3rd and final instalment in this exciting adventure series which I enjoyed from the start. This book was a bit slower to start than the two previous instalments as Amie has to come to terms with rebuilding her life in Togodo after the tragic events at the end of book 2. She is unaware of the threat facing her at home as she gets on with things like hiring maids and sourcing household goods.  The newly appointed maid provides one of the best comedy moments, when Amie discovers the maid is ‘creative’ with the use of her spare time. Without giving too much away, events take an unexpected turn and we are back on familiar ground with Amie having to use her wits and ingenuity to survive. I didn’t find the James Bond style plot too plausible, but Lucinda Clarke writes in such an engaging style that I was willing to let a few things slide.  The end is open so I won’t be surprised if there will be another book in this series. (Any plans Ms Clarke?)

Linda's Closet by Mr. H. Eugene

This story really surprised me. I had some issues with the authors style and plausibility of some of the plot twists, but thought it was a very unusual book. I gave it four stars.

Linda's Closet by Mr.H.Eugene

Linda’s closet has many good ideas. Narrating the story from the point of view of a woman losing her sanity was original. It read at times is a little chaotic and trippy as we were trying to piece together the undoing of Linda’s marriage through her words. The writer has a very distinctive style, but I’m not keen on putting entire words and even sentences in all capitals. It gives the impression of the writer shouting at the reader. Linda’s story is now and then broken up by the notes of her psychiatrists. There are enough twists and turns to spur the reader to read on and find out what was really going on. Some of the plot twists were more plausible than others and in my opinion; I think the writer took it one twist too far. As a bonus there are a few alternative endings if you’re not happy with the first.  I did enjoy this book as the point of view was so unusual. I think this writer has a lively imagination which I wouldn’t mind discovering more of.

 

Competition time

I'm running a competion on my new Facebook page; Tomfoolery. If you haven't checked out the page of the star from Conversations with Tom, you can do this now via the following link:
Tomfoolery

Competition time.

Kindle and cat

One reader gave me a great idea when she posted a picture of herself reading my latest release, Conversations with Tom, with her own ginger cat on the book’s Facebook page. I thought it would be wonderful to have a competition where readers send in their photos of them reading with their pets. The prize will be a paperback copy of Conversations with Tom

Here are the rules:

1.       Go to my Facebook page and like. Tomfoolery

2.       Send me a PM with your email address and photo attached.

3.       The photo must feature a book or kindle and an animal. (Of course I like ginger cats and you get brownie points for featuring my book, but an international jury will pick the best picture and they love all sorts of animals. Although the Irish judge has said she doesn’t like toads and frogs.)

4.       Entries must be in before the 5^th of March.

Here is my photo, but I'm sure you can do better than this.