Bad Neanderthal: All He Wants is Justice by Glen Batchelor

With some holidays and fine beach weather I got a lot of reading done. Now I just have to write up the reviews. This one was a fun read, but the humour or satire was not too subtle. I think if you liked 80's series 'The Young Ones', this one will be for you. 4 stars and currently only 99p/c.

Even though this world has Neanderthals in it, we firmly recognise it as post-Margaret Thatcher Britain. It is a not so subtle satire of that area, when the miners’ strike was brutally suppressed by police with the full support of the conservative government. This police brutality is echoed in the character of Sergeant Alf Hucker, a bad tempered, Neanderthal hating paedophile. I like the character of   Zeezee as we see his ‘growth’ from docile Neanderthal, who is incapable of lying or violence. To a lying, murdering, well almost homo-sapien in behaviour. But we remain endeared by our Zeezee as his heart is in the right place and he has the welfare and liberation of his people in mind. This book has a lot of humour in it, and most of it is not too subtle either; for example the name of sex worker and Hucker’s daughter Lovely Cox-Hucker. I enjoyed reading this and there was enough plot to make this a well balanced mix of satire and crime.

Tambula by Susan Wüthrich

This is the second book I reviewed by Susan Wüthrich. I like the fact that this writer sets her stories of love and loss in unusual settings and periods. Be it post war Britain or 1970's Africa as in this case. Her heroes are ordinary men and women just trying to make ends meet. I gave this 5 stars.

This book is set in the early seventies which had me scratching my head as I recognised some of the places but not others. Tambula is a fictional country but a reviewer kindly pointed out it would be located in what is these days known as Eswatini and before 2018 as Swaziland. Also the Capital of Mozambique is these days known as Maputo. Maybe the writer could add some info about the locations used before the first part to set the scene. It doesn’t detract however from the touching story of a young couple in 1970’s Africa. What I liked was the fact that Liz and Dek are a very ordinary couple with a young son that are just struggling to make ends meet. This sets them apart from the other expats around them that are rich and their lives revolve around the club. The story of this couple and their unravelling marriage could have been set anywhere, but setting it in Africa adds another dimension and adds a few interesting subplots that test this couple to breaking point.

Well written and kept me interested to the last page.

The Legacy of the Rhino: First Resistance by John Williamson

I see with horror that my last review was about 3 months ago. I kind of got stuck on a book that was so dreadful that I could not force myself to read on. I did not finish so I wont review it. I don't believe in leaving one or two star reviews as the writer must have put their soul into writing it.
Anyway, I had a few weeks holiday and it was beach weather, so the reviews will be coming thick and fast for a while. Here is the first, which I enjoyed and was happy to give 5 stars. Click on the picture to take you to Amazon.

This book taps nicely into the current mood and our concern for the environment. It also echo’s the radicalisation and fanaticism of certain groups in our society. Here a group called the returners have taken their concern about the environment to an extreme level and have plunged Britain back into the dark ages. In this first book of the series we learn how the village of Dockling is coping with this new world where machines are prohibited and any descent is harshly dealt with by the returners. We meet Charlie, a former bus mechanic and a gruff no-nonsense character who is not willing to give up on common sense and the greater good. His decision to build a grain mill secures their survival for the winter but also plunges the village in a heap of trouble. The villagers make a stand against the cruel Returners and the first seeds of rebellion are sown.

I liked the character of Eliza. She plays rather cruel games with the local village boys. She knows men and uses her charms as a weapon. But she is also very courageous and seems to have the greater good at heart. Greg is the young lad falling under her spell. But as he finds his own courage, she begins to see him as more than an innocent boy to be toyed with. I look forwards to finding out more about this young romance and how the village of Dockling will fare. Well written and exciting start to a series.

Adam's Witness by J.C. Paulson

So not that lazy after all, managed to post another review. 😇

Adam's Witness by J.C. Paulson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This sizzling romance/crime thriller is set around Adam (a handsome police detective) and Grace (a reporter and witness to a murder). I like Grace the plucky reporter, it is someone we can like and admire as she bravely reports on the murder. I also like the fact that there are a number of gay characters that are thankfully not stereotyped. Adam as the tough cop with a soft heart is a bit more of a stereotype, but we don’t mind as he seems like the perfect guy for Grace and we are all rooting for the two to get together. Their attraction is clear and smoulders of the pages.
As a romance this works for me and as a who done it too. I was left guessing as to the motive and culprit. Good work.


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Happy for you by Luci Beach

Feeling a bit lazy today, so I've put my review on goodreads on my blog:) Work and other stuff taking most of my time, but still reading and reviewing.

Happy For You by Luci Beach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The concept of this romantic novel is great. To set a story over four seven year intervals is rather clever. A boy and a girl meet during an experiment that follows them from 7 year old children into adulthood. We see Ciara and Max grow from childhood friends into complicated adults. It is clear from the outset that Ciara and Max are attracted to each other, but love is never simple. Luci Beach has created in Ciara an at times frustrating heroine and I found myself shouting at my kindle for Ciara to get over herself and accept her feelings for Max. I could have done with a little less ‘will they, won’t they?’ However this is a well written book with a nice cast of supporting characters. I also liked the sub plot of Ciara creating a catalogue of unsold underwear. It added a good dose of humour.

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The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part Two by Audrey Davis

This is the second instalment in the Hattie Hastings series, and I would say it is as good as the first or even better. Comic and touching the story continues in the same style. Part one I reviewed a few weeks ago and I'm giving this 5 stars.

After reading the first part, I bought part two straight away. I just bought the third and last part just now. If I have one quibble with the book it’s that it is short. I hope the writer is thinking of releasing the series as a box set now part 3 has been released.

This book is great fun as we follow Hattie and her loved ones getting on with their lives. Finding new love for friends Hattie and Cat is not easy. Hattie is not willing to let deceased husband Gary go, understandable as he still drops in now and then. Cat seems to be on the path to true romance, but will one stupid decision spoil it all. Gary knows he is hanging about as there is still a mission to complete, but we don’t get much closer to finding out what it is.

Part three therefore has plenty more loose ends to be tied up and I can’t wait to get to the conclusion. Well written with plenty of humour, but also some touching moments.

Untitled by Pete Hartley

I don't think this will win any prizes for best book covers, but give it a chance as I did and you will be pleasantly surprised. 5 stars for plot and writing.
Click on the pic to take you to Amazon.

It’s an old cliché to say don’t judge a book by its cover. With the picture of a dark haired woman and untitled across the top, it looks a bit unfinished and could be the cover for anything. Nothing alludes to the rather clever and well worked out cold war thriller you will find inside. The reader is swept along by the mystery of an unnamed woman trying to trace her war time lover. But she knows virtually nothing about him. We learn of a rather sweet romance that could probably only have happened in war time, where fleeting moments were all important and couples rushed into engagements and marriage before the war would claim one of them. Gradually the plot turns more sinister as the woman now finds herself caught up in the dangerous world of cold war espionage.

The book is quite unusual both in its style and story line. The writer likes playing with various shades of grey and nothing is ever clear cut or seems as it appears. I enjoyed this and would recommend it to all lovers of spy thrillers, crime and something with a well thought out complex plot.