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Ride a White Swan: The Lives and Death of Marc Bolan
Book
From mod folk artist to flower power pixie elfin to the king of glam rockers, Marc Bolan was the...
After the Titanic: A Life of Derek Mahon
Book
Over forty-five years have elapsed since Derek Mahon announced his arrival at the forefront of Irish...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated A Trail of Lies in Books
May 14, 2021
Tracking the Truth
With her boyfriend unavailable due to an assignment with the police, Jazz Ramsey has promised to look in on Kim, Nick’s mother, to make sure she is already. While Kim is an alcoholic, Jazz still wasn’t expecting the frantic middle of the night phone call announcing that Kim killed someone in her backyard. Jazz hurries over to find no body in the backyard, and the cadaver dogs she brings in give a split decision about whether someone died there. Then a body does turn up in a park, and Kim clams up. Can Jazz figure out what is really going on?
I came to author Kylie Logan because of her fun cozies. This book has a more serious tone. It deals with Kim’s alcoholism and its effect on Nick pretty realistically, for example. But those moments are lightened by the dogs that Jazz works with, especially her new puppy. The result are characters that are very rich. I love Jazz, and her family and friends do a wonderful job of rounding out her character while also being real themselves. The mystery is strong with plenty of suspects and events to keep us confused until Jazz finally begins to piece things together at the end. All of the books in this series are wonderful. If you’ve missed them, start them today. If you’re already a fan, you’ll enjoy this one.
I came to author Kylie Logan because of her fun cozies. This book has a more serious tone. It deals with Kim’s alcoholism and its effect on Nick pretty realistically, for example. But those moments are lightened by the dogs that Jazz works with, especially her new puppy. The result are characters that are very rich. I love Jazz, and her family and friends do a wonderful job of rounding out her character while also being real themselves. The mystery is strong with plenty of suspects and events to keep us confused until Jazz finally begins to piece things together at the end. All of the books in this series are wonderful. If you’ve missed them, start them today. If you’re already a fan, you’ll enjoy this one.
ClareR (5721 KP) rated That Reminds Me in Books
Jul 30, 2020
That Reminds Me was a book that immediately made me sit up and take notice. The language is poetic and raw, and that reflects the experience of the main protagonist, K. It’s presented as a series of memories, so some memories are clearer and easier to understand than others - and this is mostly down to the K’s Bipolar disorder, I think, but also down to how we remember our own past. The clearest descriptions seem to be when he is self-harming, drinking and his descriptions of his alcoholism.
K has a very disjointed childhood: he’s taken into care as a small child, in a largely white community, but his foster parents, and in particular his foster mother, seem to take notice of him and spend time with him. This comes to an end when his foster mother dies of lung cancer. K then goes to live in Tottenham with an aunt. Here he is able to explore his Ghanaian roots, whilst living in poverty in a community where knife crime is commonplace, Grime is the music of choice and God rules all.
There is so much in this short book that I could talk about, but then I’m sure that I’d ruin the readers own experience. I think it’s a book that’s well worth reading and experiencing, but be warned: this is not a book that is wholly comfortable or enjoyable. But is it good? Oh yes, it most certainly is.
K has a very disjointed childhood: he’s taken into care as a small child, in a largely white community, but his foster parents, and in particular his foster mother, seem to take notice of him and spend time with him. This comes to an end when his foster mother dies of lung cancer. K then goes to live in Tottenham with an aunt. Here he is able to explore his Ghanaian roots, whilst living in poverty in a community where knife crime is commonplace, Grime is the music of choice and God rules all.
There is so much in this short book that I could talk about, but then I’m sure that I’d ruin the readers own experience. I think it’s a book that’s well worth reading and experiencing, but be warned: this is not a book that is wholly comfortable or enjoyable. But is it good? Oh yes, it most certainly is.
Merissa (12051 KP) rated Wish (Indigo Dreams #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018 (Updated Jun 7, 2023)
This is the story of Indigo, a sixteen-year-old girl who dreams of being a ballet dancer. Having taken ballet lessons for years, she understands that it isn't something that will just happen without a lot of hard work. However, she is struggling at the present due to family circumstances. Wish tells her story, about the circumstances and decisions made that set her on the path to her future.
This was very well-written with characters that were believable and fully dimensional. The storyline was well-paced and continued to hold my interest throughout. The romance between Jesse and Indigo actually takes a back seat in the story behind the ballet which makes a nice change in a Young Adult book. You never know which way things will go until you get there. This is not just some "everything is peachy" fluffy book, it is a book that deals with a serious subject, alcoholism, in a very realistic way and shows how it impacts not only the drinker but friends and family too.
This is a very different book that is well worth the time it takes to read. I would like to read more about Indigo and her dreams. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 12, 2015
This was very well-written with characters that were believable and fully dimensional. The storyline was well-paced and continued to hold my interest throughout. The romance between Jesse and Indigo actually takes a back seat in the story behind the ballet which makes a nice change in a Young Adult book. You never know which way things will go until you get there. This is not just some "everything is peachy" fluffy book, it is a book that deals with a serious subject, alcoholism, in a very realistic way and shows how it impacts not only the drinker but friends and family too.
This is a very different book that is well worth the time it takes to read. I would like to read more about Indigo and her dreams. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 12, 2015
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated A Kill for the Poet (Chaser on the Rocks #2) in Books
Nov 18, 2019
Burdening your detective characters with personal problems has a long tradition. Alcoholism, messy relationships and lack of respect for authority are common. But Maltman delivers a cut about all of these with Brian Caskey, a fiction author with mental health issues which mean he really shouldn't be getting out of his depth.
Yet that is what happens when a mysterious surveillance job turns into something far more sinister and despite himself Caskey can't help but try to unravel the mystery. Like picking at a scab this is something he feels compelled to do but it's really only going to make things worse. The main story is woven through with Caskey composing his latest novel featuring his 1940s detective Billy Chapman investigating a murder.
Despite the complexities Maltman creates for himself in both his main character and the book within a book, both plots work well together. The Billy Chapman sections serve to break up the main story, like sorbet between a twelve course meal. Caskey, despite his problems, is an engaging character and very believable even when the plot he gets caught up in veers towards being wilfully obscure. There is an obvious comparison to Bateman's Mystery Man, another Nothern Irish detective with mental issues. But where Mystery Man is often a tragic and self-defeating character, Caskey is nothing like that and embraces his flaws.
Above all this stands up as a good solid detective story (indeed two of them). Maltman has a flair for producing interesting and very readable books and this is no exception
Yet that is what happens when a mysterious surveillance job turns into something far more sinister and despite himself Caskey can't help but try to unravel the mystery. Like picking at a scab this is something he feels compelled to do but it's really only going to make things worse. The main story is woven through with Caskey composing his latest novel featuring his 1940s detective Billy Chapman investigating a murder.
Despite the complexities Maltman creates for himself in both his main character and the book within a book, both plots work well together. The Billy Chapman sections serve to break up the main story, like sorbet between a twelve course meal. Caskey, despite his problems, is an engaging character and very believable even when the plot he gets caught up in veers towards being wilfully obscure. There is an obvious comparison to Bateman's Mystery Man, another Nothern Irish detective with mental issues. But where Mystery Man is often a tragic and self-defeating character, Caskey is nothing like that and embraces his flaws.
Above all this stands up as a good solid detective story (indeed two of them). Maltman has a flair for producing interesting and very readable books and this is no exception
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