Diver's Clothes Lie Empty
8.5
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From the acclaimed author of Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name comes a taut, spellbinding...
Thriller mystery fiction
Keep Clear: My Adventures With Aspergers
9.0
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A wonderfully bittersweet, funnystrange account of living unwittingly with Asperger's syndrome. ...
Aspergers Autobiography Non-Fiction
The Plus One
5.0
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‘So funny. And the sex is amazing – makes me feel like a nun! JILLY COOPER The Plus One [n]...
A Day in the Life of a Caveman, Queen and Everything Inbetween
Jess Bradley and Mike Barfield
10.0
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A colourful and comical tour through history from cartoonists Mike Barfield and Jess Bradley. The...
Big Shot (A Big Murder Mystery #1) by Kirsten Weiss
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Small Town. Big Murder. The number one secret to my success as a bodyguard? Staying under the...
Cozy Mystery
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Sugar Plum Poisoned in Books
Oct 12, 2023
This is another fun entry in the series. The plot did a good job of setting things up, so when the murder happens, we are off and running. I did find a couple of minor things got dropped and the ending was a bit rushed, but neither is a big deal since things are wrapped up. Plus, we get to spend more time with Mel, Angie, and the gang, which is always a delight. Since the series is set in Arizona, we don't get a traditional cold, snowy Christmas, but we still get a very funny subplot for the holiday. And we get recipes for five Christmas themed, drool worthy cupcakes. Fans new and old will gobble this book down as quickly as they can.
There are some funny parts, and I did feel sorry for Sophie at times, but my overwhelming urge was to give her a good shake and tell her to get some self respect. But then, Sophie seems to be one of life’s loners, and she doesn’t have a friend to steer her in the right direction. She seems to latch on to people who aren’t quite right for her, and whilst that gives the reader some laughs (and I DID laugh), I actually came to realise that I was uncomfortable with that - I was laughing AT her, not WITH her.
She’s immature, getting herself into ridiculous situations, and thinks that everyone should just know how she feels, even though she doesn’t tell them.
I was frustrated for a lot of this book, and if I hadn’t been listening to it, I would have put it down and walked away. I’m glad I listened to the end though, because I promise you, she does improve. This may well be a spoiler, but I like to think that if you’re going to read it, there’s a good reason to carry on!
Have you ever wondered how your body works? Author Mark Murphy has his theory. The human body is full of little creatures known as min, and it is no different for 34 year old Will. Min live in every part of the body doing different jobs to make each part of the body work they way it should. However, these min are much like the humans they inhabit: they have their own jobs, their own lives, their own feelings and their own opinions.
Penelope Potts is a bored 15 year old min living in the left ear department with nothing much to do. Yet one day life becomes much more exciting when she and her best friend Henry are selected to take part in the trials to try and win themselves a position in Central Head.
Whilst this is taking place, however, the evil leader of the min, Sananab (incidentally bananas spelt backwards) has come up with a malicious plan that may change the life of the min forever. When Sananab discovers that Penelope is doing very well in the trials he becomes very interested in her. But when Penelope discovers his evil plan her life is immediately in danger.
Murphy’s ideas are very imaginative but are also similar to the <i>Numbskulls</i> in the <i>Beano</i> – perhaps this even had some influence on his novel? It is fun to envisage tiny beings living in human bodies making sure every organ works properly. The min themselves are an interesting bunch. Apart from Penelope, none appear to be that intelligent leading to humorous scenes, which could have the reader laughing out loud.
<i>Minology</i> despite the <i>“ology”</i> is not a heavy read and can be taken at the reader’s own pace. Whether they want something to read leisurely or something to read quickly this book will be more than adequate. And, if you like the min so much and want to read even more about their funny lives, there is a second book!
ClareR (5674 KP) rated Happy Family in Books
Oct 29, 2019
Germaine was a difficult character to get an understanding of, but I think in view of her childhood that was reasonable. The other characters who also relied on Tom Hannah in some way were actually very amusing - whether they were supposed to be or not, I don’t know, but towards the end of the novel, their antics descended (or ascended!) into slapstick. For various reasons that I won’t go into (I don’t want to spoil it!), this was both sad and funny - there was a healthy dose of black humour throughout really.
I read this on The Pigeonhole, and the other readers had a real mix of opinions: it seems to have been a real ‘marmite’ book. Personally, I loved it. It ticked a lot of boxes for me, first and foremost being it’s quirkiness. There was some gaming talk, but it was relevant to the story and the characters, and I don’t actually think there was that much considering that it was set against the backdrop of the game (and lets face it, I have two teenage sons who are obsessed with the Xbox 🙄).
I really enjoyed this book, and thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising it.