Categories
Uncategorized

#TuesdayBookBlog The Image of Valor (Valorie Dawes Thrillers, Book 7) by Gary Corbin

Hi, all:

I bring you the new novel in a series I have been following for a while now, and I am always intrigued by.

The Image of Valor (Valorie Dawes Thrillers, Book 7) by Gary Corbin

The Image of Valor (Valorie Dawes Thrillers, Book 7) by Gary Corbin.

The Engineer has a mission: to clean up the human gene pool.

His method: killing women who have what he considers “defective” DNA.

His primary victims are members of a self-help therapy group focused on body-shaming and body-image issues. The group includes two of Val Dawes’s closest friends–and before long, Val becomes a target as well.

Now the youngest-ever detective in the Clayton City Police, Val goes undercover to track down how the killer is identifying and isolating his victims. Soon the group becomes a powerful tool for her addressing own latent body-image issues.

When her favorite, quirky barista goes missing, Val goes all out, willing to do whatever it takes to stop “The Engineer” before his killing spree reaches epidemic proportions.

Can Val find her friend before she, too, falls victim to a deranged serial killer?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252693878-the-image-of-valor?

About the author:

Gary Corbin is a novelist and playwright in Camas, WA, a suburb of Portland, OR. In addition to twelve published novels, his creative and journalistic work has been published in BrainstormNW, the Portland Tribune, The Oregonian, and Global Envision, among others. His plays have enjoyed critical acclaim and have been produced on many Portland-area stages.

Gary is a member of the Willamette Writers Group, the Northwest Editors Guild, PDX Playwrights, and the Writing Dojo. He also participates in workshops and conferences in the Portland and Oregon North Coast areas.

A homebrewer and home coffee roaster, Gary loves to ski, cook, and root for his beloved Patriots, LSU Bengal Tigers, and Red Sox. Every chance he gets, he escapes to the Oregon coast with his sweetheart and their sweet Golden Retriever.

My review:

I have read several novels by Gary Corbin, and I am also familiar with this series, having followed the adventures of Val Dawes from the beginning.

Val, now a detective and happy in a relationship with another member of the force, has a complex and difficult background, which is an important part of what makes her such a good detective and such a good fit for the WAVE (Women’s Anti-Violence Emergency Squad) Department. But here, she faces a lot of difficulties: she is on night-shift (something she hates and results in her sleeping little while trying to catch up with the rest of the team and collaborators); she is going through a difficult moment in her romantic relationship with Gil; her work-partner doesn’t pull his weight; the cases the team is investigating have in common some traits that feel quite personal to her; and, a known local crime blogger keeps interfering and making things difficult. To compound that, although the murders seem to be connected, rather than a lack of suspects, she has to face a wealth of them, all seemingly with motives, but none who were at the right place and the right time for all the murders. Oh, and she knows and is quite worried about some of the people who appear to be targeted by the murderer, who sees himself as an Engineer who is trying to improve the human race by applying his own personal version of eugenics. And then, there is always COVID to add to the equation.

There are a lot of strands and aspects of the story, which goes beyond a standard police procedural (although those elements are present and prove fundamental in helping solve the case): issues of self-image are explored; support groups and how they work; the importance of blogs and social media; Val’s personal relationships and the way her past (which she has not fully dealt with) influences her reactions and decisions in the present; the different ways how people deal with trauma and many more.

One of the peculiarities of the book is that we follow most of the story from Val’s point of view (in the third-person). Still, there are also chapters from the Engineer’s perspective (also in the third-person). This has the double effect of making us feel very uncomfortable (his head is not a nice place to peep into) and also keeping us hooked and intrigued, because we seem to know a lot about him but not who he is. Although I guessed who the guilty party might be before it was revealed, in a spectacular scene, I had my doubts, and readers need to be attentive and not miss anything, as the smallest detail might be relevant. I enjoyed the ending, and I think most readers will feel the same.

The novel is full of red herrings, twists and turns, and plenty of scary moments, some truly dangerous. Due to the nature of the crimes, this is not a book for the faint-hearted, so caution is required before deciding to read it. I think that to fully enjoy the book, it is better to be familiar with the series, as that allows readers to appreciate the developmental arc of the main character and to follow and understand her reactions and her way of thinking. The criminal case is new and solved in this book, and there are some clues and brief reminders of previous events, but I recommend that readers start the series at the beginning and follow Val in all her adventures.

The novel also includes questions for book clubs, and information about the author, the previous books in the series, and some of his other novels.

I thank the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.

Thanks to the author for his book, thanks to all of you for reading, and remember to like, share, comment, click, and keep visiting, reading, and smiling. ♥

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog Two Graves (Book 3 in the Revenge Series) by Terry Tyler (@TerryTyler4)

Hi, all:

I bring you the review of the next volume in Terry Tyler’s Revenge Series, which I am a big fan of.

Two Graves (Book3 Revenge Series) by Terry Tyler


Two Graves (Book 3 in the Revenge Series) by Terry Tyler

Two novellas. Two lives changed forever by the need for retribution.

The Torment of Frances Cullen

Frances loves married life. Her husband, her daughters and her beloved home, which she has made so many sacrifices to keep. She socialises with the wives-and-girlfriends mafia of the upmarket Edgehill Gated Community, even though she despises them. It’s what husband Jarvis requires of her.
Sadly, nothing she can do will stop the walls crumbling around her.
When the collapse begins, reason vanishes.

The Content Creator

Jennifer was a journalist, back in the day. Twenty years ago, she presented a local TV show. Now she’s happily single, loving her work as a script editor, her busy social life and her daughter. She’s even friends with ex-husband Tony’s new girlfriend.
Then Tony switches partners yet again. The new lady on the block embodies everything Jennifer detests about new media.
Soon, her resentment of Sook Lee will become an obsession…

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252737339-two-graves?

About the author:

I am self-published with thirty books on Amazon. Most recently, I’ve published the first two books in my Revenge series, Served Cold and So Shall Ye Reap. More to come!

Other recent releases include Safe Zone, a dystopian/post-apocalyptic thriller. It follows on from the SFV-1 series (Infected, Darkness and Reset), but is completely stand-alone, so can be read as a story within itself.

I love watching and reading anything to do with history, post apocalypse, dystopian scenarios, anthropology, mountaineering and polar exploration. Big Walking Dead fan.

Favourite writers: Gemma Lawrence, Kate Mary, Blake Crouch, Deborah Swift, Carol Hedges, Douglas Kennedy, John Boyne, Deborah Moggach, Judith Arnopp, Jon Krakauer, Phillipa Gregory, John Privilege, Zeb Haradon, Dylan Morgan, Kate Atkinson, Norah Lofts, Dorothy Parker, Bill Bryson, PJ O’Rourke, Ann Swinfen, Keith Blackmore, Frank Tayell.

My review:

Terry Tyler is one of the authors I think of as ‘complete’. By that, I mean that rather than excelling at plot or at the creation of characters, she combines the two and writes very well, to top it all. Her stories always grab readers because they are interesting, often intriguing, and because her characters (likeable or not) have complex psychologies and feel true to life.

I enjoy a good revenge story, and I have been enjoying this series from the beginning. The third book combines two novellas that superficially share a few characteristics. We have two female protagonists who tell their stories in the first person. Both of them are, or have been, married (at the beginning of the story), have children, and their husbands have played away. The title of the book (and the quote it comes from, which appears at the beginning) also hints at both being cautionary tales and unlikely to end well for the person who undertakes the revenge. But there are also plenty of differences between the two.

Fran, the protagonist of ‘The Torment of Frances Cullen’, got married very young to an ambitious lawyer and sacrificed her own studies and future career prospects to help him achieve his. They have ended up living in a gated community that reminded me of Wisteria Lane. Still, while the protagonists of Desperate Housewives were true friends and supported each other, that is not the case here. There is a lot of competition among the women who live there to be the ‘perfect’ housewife and look their best, along with a fair amount of backstabbing and ostracising of those down on their luck, and at times it had the feel of The Stepford Wives.

What marked the difference between the two novellas for me, rather than those aspects of the story, was the two protagonists’ attitudes to their changed circumstances and how they deal with their grief. Although Fran lies to herself (and sometimes to others) about things like her cooking, how she feels about being a housewife, her drinking, and her reliance on comfort food, she is quite insightful and witty, and a fair judge of character (except for her husband’s). I liked her acid comments, her love of reading historical fiction, and I particularly enjoyed the way she kept comparing herself to the wives of Henry VIII, a different one depending on her situation at any given time.

She takes her husband’s betrayal very badly, but I won’t expand on her reaction and what happens next to avoid spoilers, only saying that the ending is surprising, quite shocking, and dark.

Jennifer, the protagonist of ‘The Content Creator’, on the other hand, is a professional woman who was the anchor of a local TV programme, which helped her gain some modest fame and a name in the profession. She has continued to work in the field, away from the spotlight, and seems pretty content with her life. She depicts herself as composed, rational, businesslike, and she has accepted her husband’s betrayal (professional and personal), is self-reliant, and is self-satisfied. Or so it seems from what she tells us (and tells herself).

In her case, though, things are not as they seem, and she has very limited insight into her true feelings. When she is put to the test by her husband’s new partner, Sook Lee, a young woman who represents the rise of new media and the modern cult of influencer, both things that Jennifer hates. Sook Lee has her own YouTube channel, where she shares advice on nutrition, diets, lifestyle, and all kinds of health-related subjects, and, to make matters worse, Jennifer’s daughter, Lydia, is totally taken in by the younger woman, following her advice even in very serious matters, rather than asking for her mother’s help.

I won’t reveal too much, but let’s say that when Jennifer gets a chance for revenge, she takes it and soon discovers that there is a price to pay, and it is dear. The epilogue, written in the third person, puts a new spin on the story, one I welcomed and enjoyed.

I don’t identify or have much in common with either of the characters, but I enjoyed these two parallel and contrasting stories, that match each other, work perfectly well as a pair, and call attention to important and interesting themes, like changes to the idea of family, mental health difficulties, the rise of influencers, and the changes in the cult of fame, celebrity and media. I recommend this book and the entire series to fans of the writer and lovers of good writing in general, and I am already looking forward to the fourth and final in this series.

The author offered me an ARC copy of her book, which I freely chose to review.

Thanks to the author for this book, and to all of you for visiting, reading, commenting, liking, and sharing. Keep smiling and keep safe!

Initially, I had left the comments open because I thought the refurbishment in this part of the building was over, but the day before the post was due to go live, they started again perforating the walls, making a lot of noise, and I worried I might leave you hanging and not knowing what was happening, so, sorry. For the time being, I’ll keep the comments closed until I am sure (more or less) things are back to normal.

In case you didn’t see the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ (the tallest in a religious building in Europe) at La Sagrada Familia last week, with Pope Leo XIV and a lot of authorities. I found it quite moving, especially because we’ve seen it go up over the years. And I am sure Antoni Gaudí, who makes an appearance thanks to the drones towards the end of the spectacle, would be happy.

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog Uncategorized

#TuesdayBookBlog The Connection of Everything by Rich Marcello #RBRT

Hi, all:

I bring you the review of a new book by an author whom I discovered thanks to Rosie’s Book Review Team a few years back, and I have been following him ever since. He always makes me think, and his books never leave me indifferent.

A word of warning, though. The book’s launch is scheduled for the 1st of September, so there is some time to wait before you can get it, but I leave you my thoughts so you can be prepared.

The Connection in Everything by Rich Marcello

The Connection in Everything by Rich Marcello

A lonely teenage genius who believes there’s a connection in everything finds his theory put to the test when a mysterious mentor and an enchanting artist enter his life, launching a summer-long search for the true meaning of connection.

Sixteen-year-old Amaro Marzano sees connections everywhere—in the quantum world, in the patterns of nature, in the verses of Rumi. Yet, in his own life in working-class Worcester, Massachusetts, he feels profoundly disconnected. Trapped by the volatility of his strict father and the weight of family expectations, Am finds solace in the quiet orbit of school, the library, and his two best friends. 

But his world fractures and reforms when two new connections emerge: David Butler, a recluse with a library holding ten thousand books, who becomes an unlikely mentor; and Ginnevra Poppoli, a captivating mime artist who offers the breathtaking possibility of first love.

As Am navigates escalating family crises, intellectual awakenings, and the bittersweet intensity of young love, he must rely on his “found family” and his own novel ideas to forge and maintain relationships in a world where true connection has become a radical act. 

The Connection in Everything is a luminous, heartbreaking, and intellectually dazzling coming-of-age story about finding your place in a universe that is both terrifyingly chaotic and astonishingly interconnected.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250677029-the-connection-in-everything?

About the author:

Rich is the author of six novels, The Color of Home, The Big Wide Calm, The Beauty of the Fall, The Latecomers, Cenotaphs, and The Means of Keeping, and the poetry collection, The Long Body That Connects Us All. He is also president of Seven Bridges’ Writer Collaborative, where he teaches a number of fiction classes, and a contributor to The Harvard Press, where he writes a column on the climate crisis. Previously, he enjoyed a successful career as a technology executive, managing several multi-billion dollar businesses for Fortune 500 companies.

As anyone who has read Rich’s work can tell you, his books deal with life’s big questions: love, loss, creativity, community, self-discovery and forgiveness. His novels are rich with characters and ideas, crafted by a natural storyteller, with the eye and the ear of a poet. For Rich, writing and art making is about connection, or as he says, about making a difference to a least one other person in the world, something he has clearly achieved many times over, both as an artist, a mentor, and a teacher.

Rich lives in Massachusetts with his wife. He is currently working on his seventh and eighth novels, The Connection in Everything and In the Seat of the Eddas, a follow-on to The Latecomers.
My review:

I have read, reviewed, and loved several of Rich Marcello’s novels, and I am always happy to hear he has a new book out. His are novels of big ideas populated by interesting characters, and they make readers ponder and reconsider things that perhaps they have never given much thought to.

This novel shares the characteristics of Marcello’s work, despite being addressed to the Young Adult market. Its protagonist, Amaro Marzano (Am for short), is sixteen, lives with his extended Italian-American family (his grandmother, parents, older sister, and two younger siblings: a brother and a little sister), and he has an extraordinary mind. He was offered a place at MIT and Harvard when he was 14, although his father insisted that he had to finish his education at the local college instead. His father doesn’t appreciate his intelligence and natural talent, and Am doesn’t share in his father’s interests either. Theirs is a troubled relationship at many levels. Am’s mind is extraordinary beyond his intelligence; he has difficulty relating to people despite his belief and interest in connecting with everybody and everything, and although that is never named in the novel, which he narrates in the first person (mostly), he would probably fulfil diagnostic criteria for an Autism Spectrum Disorder (probably Asperger’s Syndrome).

Am loves to learn, and he is always researching new topics that call his attention, for example, extinction, and he is happy to share his knowledge with everybody around him (though they might not be as enthusiastic as he is). Although he is not Mr. Popular, he is not lonely either: Sam and Jessica, two older students who are also a romantic couple, share in many of his interests and study and prepare for their classes together. At the beginning of the book, Am sees a young girl, a mime artist, and it is insta-love for him (not for her, as such, although…). He believes that she has a similar understanding of the world as his, and he is convinced they are connected in some way. At the same time as he tries to find her, he also feels pulled by a sign he sees outside of a house in the neighbourhood, and especially by the owner of the house, a man his own father’s age, who is always sitting and reading on the porch. Both of these people, Ginnevra (G as she likes to be called) and David, turn up to be very important for Am, and help him grow, mature, and learn many things in this coming-of-age story with many differences.

There are aspects of the novel that are very realistic: the way Am expresses his thoughts; his relationship with his parents and siblings, especially with his father, who holds a working-class-ethic close to his heart and uses it to bully and abuse people, while blocking their advancement and development if it goes against his wishes, while others give it the feeling of a fairytale set in a timeless land. The story is told in chronological order (apart from the final chapter, for a very good reason) and there contemporary dates attached to each chapter, but most of the characters don’t seem to live in our everyday world: Worcester, where the characters live, seems to be an old-fashioned place, full of traditions, safe and enchanting; there is hardly any reference to the rest of the students his age; the parents of the other young people who appear in the novel don’t seem to have much saying in anything that happens in their houses and to their children; there are hardly any mentions of social media; and the library and physical books seem to take precedence over other options much more popular nowadays. Am is interested in technology and AI, but that relates to his future studies and plans, rather than to anything he does in the summer when most of the novel takes place.

David functions as a sort of fairy godmother (or ersatz father) for Am, and it is not surprising: he loves reading, has a large collection of books, and is fascinated by how the boy’s brain works and appreciates his ideas. He plays a very important part in the book: he helps facilitate Am’s development and evolution, and he also functions as a sounding board for Am’s ideas, helping him organize them, and advising him on how to behave as an adult man, offering him very helpful hints on how to treat women.

G is also fundamental in Am’s development and growth, allowing him to connect with his feelings and to express those in other ways, beyond equations and algorithms. She also shows him what love between a man and a woman is like, introducing him to sexual relationships (and yes, there are some sex scenes, although they are tasteful and not excessively graphic, and I am not a fan of erotica, so make of that what you may).

This novel about the education of a young man is filled with interesting titbits of information, quotations, and knowledge that Am absorbs and processes; he also comes up with his own ideas and theories, and those aspects of the book are what make it pretty special. That does not mean one needs to be extremely knowledgeable in science, philosophy, and religious theory to read and enjoy the book: there is enough information about all the concepts Am considers and analyses to be able to follow his logic (at least the basic idea), he summarises and explains it all fairly well, and I am sure many readers will feel inspired to investigate further some of the topics and read some of the novels and works mentioned.

The writing flows well; there are many quotable and memorable paragraphs, and the author manages to create images of great beauty and lyricism that make us “see” and “experience” what the character is living and describing.

The ending is hopeful and positive, after some very hard moments (a second warning: there is violence and abuse, and although it is not the most explicit account I’ve read, due to its nature, it could upset some readers), and I appreciated the final chapter, from David’s point of view, that clarifies some matters that had been left unresolved and provides us with a more than satisfying closure.

Highly recommended to readers who enjoy coming-of-age stories with a difference and love characters who are unique and whose minds find wonder and connection everywhere. And, of course, to fans of Rich Marcello.

I have written this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

Thanks to the author for his book, to Rosie for her work, to the whole team for their support, and to all of you for reading, sharing, and liking. Take care, keep smiling, and have a lovely week.

And, by the way, the refurbishment is ongoing (and to top it all, Pope Leo XIV is visiting Spain, and Barcelona in particular these days, so we expect extra problems with mobility and connectivity), so I will keep the comments closed in case I cannot connect. Funny, considering the title and the message of the book. ♥

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog Throwing the Hammer by Gary J. Kirchner #RBRT

Hi, all:

I bring you another book I’ve discovered thanks to Rosie’s Book Review Team, and I enjoyed it enormously. Another new author to follow for me!

Throwing the Hammer by Gary J. Kirchner

Throwing the Hammer by Gary J. Kirchner

Paranoid administrators, interdepartmental feuds, quirky staff members, and an eccentric headmaster: welcome to Winston Grant High School.
Mark Patterson has a master’s degree in physics, wants to do nothing more than surf and ski, and believes that high school teaching will be the cushy job of his dreams. He receives a rude awakening when he becomes a physics teacher at Winston Grant, a begrudging little brother amidst rival private school heavyweights.
From the outset, Mark must tiptoe through a virtual minefield of Procrustean rules, coddling parents, scheming colleagues, and, of course, teen-aged students.
Things don’t go well, inside or outside the classroom. His students call him Mr. Goofegg. His football team is pathetic. His lunch-table kids behave like Neanderthals. His teaching supervisor, aka the “education implementation strategist,” criticizes him for using equations. His colleagues have even organized a betting pool for when he will get fired.
And when Mark discovers that a weak student in his class is a physics genius, he finds himself caught in the middle of a conflict between father and son, a conflict which could destroy the young man’s potential. Or help Mark find his.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/246371092-throwing-the-hammer?

About the author:

Gary J. Kirchner studied physics at McGill University and did his Master’s work in sports biomechanics. He also played football with the McGill Redmen and continued as a coach with the team for many years after he graduated. In 1993 he was a recipient of Football Canada’s Gino Fracas Award.

Kirchner taught physics at several Montreal area high schools as well as at John Abbott College. In 2014 he was awarded La Mention d’honneur de l’Association québécoise de pédagogie collégiale for teaching excellence.

He is also a flute-player, amateur astronomer, and keeps physically active as an avid cross-country skier, curler, and triathlon participant.

Kirchner lives in Dorval, Quebec, with his Estonian wife Hille. He is the author of five novels.

My review:

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

This novel, the author’s fifth, is a humorous account of a year in the life of Mark, a young married man with a master’s degree in physics who has ended up teaching Physics because he thought it would be easy, not out of any vocation or interest. He loves surfing, being a beach bum, and having an easy life. And he loves his wife, Mel, who had been a high achiever all her life until she met him, and now is happy (?) as a waitress. You won’t be surprised if I “reveal” that her father is less than enamoured of his son-in-law. But thanks to his intervention, Mark gets a job teaching physics at a private high school, and the future of the couple looks a bit more settled and brighter than before.

He didn’t bargain on what else he would have to do in his new role (becoming a football and wrestling coach without any experience of either sport is only the beginning of an odd variety of demands from the headmaster, who insists on calling him ‘Bruce’ because he likes the name).

The novel, set in Canada and told in the first-person by Mark, is very funny, and the school is full of great characters: teachers, students, admin staff, and even a Russian maintenance man who insists on teaching Mark how to throw the hammer. (Another great reveal: he isn’t particularly good at it, but…). We shouldn’t forget the relatives of the main character, and of his students, who are often a force to be reckoned with, even when Mark is doing a good job, which is not always the case.

The funny adventures come fast and thick, and hardly anybody bets on him lasting the whole year at this peculiar institution. You’ll have to read the novel to find out what happens, although I think most readers will enjoy the ending.

Beyond the laughs and humour, the story is also an adult coming-of-age of sorts, as Mark grows up a big deal, becomes less selfish, braver, and learns a lot about himself, being a teacher, his own priorities, and what really matters in life. Readers also get to share in some very inspiring moments for Mark, his students, and other characters.

The book is also peppered with interesting and entertaining explanations of concepts of physics, including demonstrations and experiments, although no expertise is needed to follow the story and enjoy it.

It is evident that the character and the story come from a deep understanding of physics and a love of teaching and coaching, as the author’s biography confirms. I have loved every minute of this mad adventure and hope to catch up on more of the author’s books. Recommended to all readers, especially those looking for a fun and heart-warming story full of memorable characters.

I thank the author for this wonderful book, Rosie and the members of her team for their support and hard work, and, of course, all of you for visiting, reading, sharing, commenting, and always being here. Don’t forget to keep smiling and always be safe!

Oh, and I’ve closed the comments because I am not sure how well connected I’ll be to the internet while the building where we live is being refurbished. I didn’t want you to worry if I didn’t reply to comments. And, don’t worry if you don’t see me around much, because it will probably be for technical reasons.

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog Marked for Death (Inspector Sheehan Mysteries #8) by Brian O’Hare

Hi, all:

I share the next (and so far last, but not for long) novel in one of my favourite police procedural series.


Marked for Death (Inspector Sheehan Mysteries #8) by Brian O’Hare

Marked for Death (Inspector Sheehan Mysteries #8) by Brian O’Hare

A Knight of the Realm is murdered.
High-level VIPs will attend the funeral.
One of them is marked for death.

Sir Theodore Hayes was a hard and unpopular businessman. There is no shortage of suspects for his murder. Distracted by two further, seemingly unconnected murders, Sheehan and his team are baffled by the killings.

Then Sheehan discovers that the Hayes’ murder is only the first move in a terrorist plot to ‘rock the British Isles’. The New IRA is planning something huge on the day of Sir Theodore’s funeral.

But after days of frantic enquiry the team learns nothing about the New IRA threat. Even on the morning of the funeral, with the hours racing by, Sheehan’s brain is still in turmoil.

Can he glean enough from the myriad small clues rattling through his head to figure out the plot in time to stop the terrorists?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213309252-marked-for-death?

About the author:

Brian O’Hare’s early writing was academic but when he decided to write fiction, his success surprised him. His books have won several awards and his first mystery novel, Angel of Death, led to the award-winning Inspector Sheehan Mysteries series. There are eight books in the series with a ninth on the way.

Before retirement he was Assistant Director of the Southern Regional College in Northern Ireland. Married, with three children, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, he now writes full-time. For many years he and his wife enjoyed travelling, especially in France. He also enjoys reading, chess and plays golf twice a week.

Reviewers say that O’Hare writes with a keen eye for detail with his tales evolving at a surprisingly fast pace, that he leans towards the human side of his characters,that he imbues them with a real-world presence that is in turn witty and passionate. If you are interested in discovering whether or not there is any truth to these judgements, the novels are available on Amazon, sometimes at a reduced rate.

My review:

I have been following the series of Inspector Sheehan’s Mysteries since the first novel and have come to grow fond of him and his team. I always look forward to reading their next adventure, set in Northern Ireland, and they never disappoint.

Author Brian O’Hare has created a great team of detectives who have come together and grown across the different novels, confronting all kinds of cases. This police procedural series has all the elements followers of the genre love, without being so bogged down in detail that a casual reader might get lost or find it too specialised, while at the same time paying a lot of attention to the characters, their relationships, and the setting.

The political situation in Northern Ireland is particularly relevant to this story, where the New IRA decides to do something that will bring them to the attention of the whole world. And they count on somebody pretty special to do it. They get their chance and inspiration from a seemingly completely unrelated murder case, which Sheehan and his team are investigating. But Sheehan doesn’t believe in chance and pays plenty of attention to the small details, and some things somehow bother him about the whole setup and the strange coincidences that keep crossing his path.

The novel starts with a nasty episode between teenagers that appears unrelated to what happens next, but we come to see its relevance later on. And readers also get to see the action, the crimes, and the planning, from the point of view of the perpetrator. But that doesn’t mean we know who that person is until the very end (or perhaps some readers guessed it earlier on, but I didn’t this time). I was fascinated by the peek we are allowed into the criminal’s mind, and there are other great moments in the book, good news for some team members, and also scary ones, as an undercover operation doesn’t go according to plan.

This is a solid police procedural novel, a page-turner, with a gripping story that ramps up the intensity in the last few chapters, as we have a clock-is-ticking kind of situation. It is well-written, with wonderful touches of humour, and it will delight followers of the series, although it can also be read as a standalone book. The author includes a glossary where he shares information about the New IRA, and explains how the police service of Northern Ireland is organised, so that readers not familiar with it can follow the story and who everyone is with ease.

I recommend this novel to readers of police procedural and mystery novels, as I do all the other novels in the series. And I am pleased to add that I know the next one is already being edited, so I hope I’ll be reviewing it soon.

I got an ARC copy of this novel from the author, which I freely chose to review, and this has not affected my opinion.

Thanks to the author for this wonderful novel (and I hope he recovers soon, as he has been having some health difficulties in recent times), thanks to all of you for being here, reading, sharing, commenting, and liking. Stay well and keep smiling!

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog Last One Out by Jane Harper

Hi all:

I bring you a book by a popular author I’ve been following since her second book.

Last One Out by Jane Harper

Last One Out by Jane Harper

An unforgettable small-town mystery with huge emotional resonance from International No. 1 bestselling author Jane Harper, perfect for fans of Val McDermid, Chris Whitaker and Elly Griffiths.

‘Utterly brilliant . . . I could not put it down’ – Marian Keyes
‘A book to get lost in’ – Ann Cleeves
‘Heartbreaking and wonderful’ Andrea Mara
‘I was glued to it for days’ Jennie Godfrey
‘Jane Harper delivers unbearable tension’ Val McDermid

He had been here, that was clear from the marks in the dust. And he had been alone.

In a dying town, Ro Crowley waits for her son on the evening of his twenty-first birthday.

Sam never comes home. His footprints in the dust of three abandoned houses offer the only clue to his final movements. One set in. One set out.

Five long years later, Ro returns to Carralon Ridge for the annual memorial of Sam’s disappearance. The skeletal community is now an echo of itself, having fractured under the pressure of the coal mine operating on its outskirts.

But Ro still wants answers. Only a few people remain. If the truth is to be found in that town, does it lie among them?

Last One Out is a hugely atmospheric mystery from the author of The Dry, Force of Nature, The Lost Man, The Survivors and Exiles.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231387279-last-one-out?

About the author:

Jane Harper is the author of The Dry, winner of various awards including the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, the 2017 Indie Award Book of the Year, the 2017 Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year Award and the CWA Gold Dagger Award for the best crime novel of 2017. Rights have been sold in 27 territories worldwide, and film rights optioned to Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea. Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK and lives in Melbourne.

My review:

I thank NetGalley and PanMamillan for providing me with an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.

I’ve been following Jane Harper since her second novel, and I quickly managed to catch up with her previous work and have read everything she has published ever since. This Australian author has a great sense of place and creates very atmospheric books, where the characters’ psychology is explored in depth, and the landscape becomes a powerful co-protagonist of the stories, helping shape the fate of the characters and becoming inextricably enmeshed in the action.

Her latest novel follows in the same vein, with a dying town as the centre of the story of a disappearance. Sam, a boy born and raised in Carralon Ridge, disappeared five years ago on his 21st birthday, and his loss, the grief, and the mystery surrounding it have broken up his family. The Australian small town has been slowly taken over by a coal-mining company that has been buying out the houses of its population, and by the time the story starts, there are very few of them still resisting in the semi-abandoned ghostly town.

Although the story is narrated in the third person, we see the story through Ro’s eyes, Sam’s mother, who used to be a doctor in the town’s clinic. She left the town and her husband to work as a doctor elsewhere, but she returns every year, on the eve of the anniversary of her son’s disappearance, on what has become a tradition and a ritual, not only for the family but also for the few inhabitants still resisting there.

The noise of the mine, the dust, the memories, the documents (Sam was collecting information about the town for a university project, and his mother has been revisiting his notes, trying to gain some new insights) keep intruding into the account of the chronological events, that are interspersed with conversations, stories, and different accounts of what happened on that day (and other tragic events that had happened in the town).

The novel is a chronicle that follows both the events surrounding Sam’s disappearance, which has become an obsession for his parents and sister, and the town’s slow erosion and destruction.

The book is beautifully written and observed, as is always the case with Jane Harper’s work, but it is also extremely slow, and it feels repetitive, as the same moments and incidents keep being revisited over and over again.

The style of writing is not what most readers will be accustomed to these days, as it is not a gripping book where you cannot wait to read the next page, because there is little action, and although it is a mystery, it is by no means a thriller.

It is fascinating in its observation and analysis of guilt, the different ways people deal with the loss of a loved one, and what contributes to creating a feeling of belonging. What is more important: bricks and mortar or the people we share our lives with? Can these two elements that make us feel ‘home’ be separated?

Readers who don’t mind slow stories and appreciate descriptive writing and in-depth psychological portraits would be the ideal readers for this novel. (Oh, and don’t worry, we get to know what happened, and the ending is fairly optimistic). Those who prefer a quick-moving story with lots of action and a gripping plot should avoid it as they are likely to be disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this opportunity, thanks to all of you for reading, visiting, sharing, and remember to keep smiling!

Categories
Uncategorized

#TuesdayBookBlog Walk Me to the Distance by Percy Everett

Hi, all:

I bring you a novel by an author we’ve heard a lot of recently, but who has been writing for a very long time.

Walk Me to the Distance by Percy Everett

Walk Me to the Distance by Percy Everett

Now with a brilliant new package, a re-issue of the sophomore novel by Percival Everett, New York Times bestselling author of National Book Award winner James.

Haunting, provocative and bleakly funny, Walk Me to the Distance is Percival Everett’s brilliant reexamination of the Western, and a laconic tragicomedy about what it takes to survive in the last days of a bygone big-sky country.

In self-imposed exile after returning home from the war in Vietnam, David Larson meanders into the barren town of Slut’s Hole, Wyoming, where a local widow takes him under her wing. After making a sort of home among the town’s hardscrabble locals, David grudgingly adopts a young Vietnamese girl abandoned along the highway. This sets in motion a number of tragic turns as Western mythos and frontier justice clash against the tides of a changing world.

First published in 1985 by Clarion Books, Walk Me to the Distance was the sophomore novel of an iconic American voice. Over the course of his five decade career, Everett has written over twenty five books and been shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize (for 2020’s Telephone), twice longlisted for the Booker Prize, and the recipient of the 2024 National Book Award for the “genius” (The Atlantic) James, a brilliantly imagined retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view. James was a #1 New York Times bestseller and is being developed into film by Stephen Spielberg.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237140305-walk-me-to-the-distance?

About the author:

PERCIVAL EVERETT is a Distinguished Professor of English at USC and the author of Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner James. His other most recent books include Dr. No (finalist for the NBCC Award for Fiction and winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award), The Trees (finalist for the Booker Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction), Telephone (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), So Much Blue, Erasure, and I Am Not Sidney Poitier. He has received the NBCC Ivan Sandrof Life Achievement Award, The Windham Campbell Prize from Yale University, and the Stowe Prize for Literary Activism. American Fiction, the feature film based on his novel Erasure, was released in 2023 and was awarded the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the writer Danzy Senna, and their children.

My review:

This is the first novel I read by Percy Everett, better known recently for James, which I also have but haven’t read yet. I came across this novel (the second one he published) by chance, and on the strength of the description and the sample I checked, I started reading it as soon as I could.

I had heard about the author, of course, but when I checked his biography, read the book, and saw that this novel had been published over 40 years ago, I realised that although perhaps he had come to the attention of most readers recently, the quality of his writing was evident from very early on, and his popular success was a long time coming.

The protagonist, David Larson, is a Vietnam veteran whose parents died in a car accident while he was away and whose only sister is less than welcoming on his return.

Not having anywhere to go, he takes to the road, and when his car needs a repair (it’s his own fault, by the way) in the middle of nowhere, he ends up stuck for at least a week (possibly two) in a pretty isolated place with a ‘curious’ name. There he meets some fabulous characters, especially Sixbury, his landlady, and somehow he ends up adopted by the place and adopting it (and a little girl in the bargain).

I am not sure I am a big believer in fate, but I am fascinated by novels, plays, or movies that feature it as a theme, as happens here. Apart from the everyday (but peculiar) adventures David gets involved in, the novel is rich in descriptions of people, places, feelings, and emotions that feel genuine and true, even when the events and the circumstances might be miles away from our lives.

This is a wonderful book, with lots of humour (pretty dark sometimes), and some truly horrible moments, like life itself. Readers should be warned that although much of the violence and other disturbing events take place outside of the page, this is not a cosy or gentle read, and some of the things that happen are morally questionable (although perhaps justified).

The ending is open, but it felt right to me, and I think this is a book most people would be eager to reflect upon and talk about for a long time after finishing it.

An excellent novel by an author who has received awards and recognition, and deservedly so.

Thanks to the author for this book (it won’t be the last of his I read, I’m sure), and thanks to all of you for reading, visiting, sharing, and for all your support. Keep smiling and keep reading. ♥

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog The Signal: “They weren’t fired. They were erased.” by Luke Voss #RBRT

Hi, all:

I bring you a book I’ve discovered thanks to Rosie’s Book Review Team, and I’m sure you’ll feel as intrigued by it as I was.

The Signal by Luke Voss

The Signal: “They weren’t fired. They were erased.” by Luke Voss

They weren’t fired. They were erased.

Maya Chen is a content strategist at Nexus Technologies — a good employee, a devoted mother, and completely replaceable. At least, that’s what the secret memo says.

When a misdirected email reveals Project Lighthouse — a plan to quietly replace seventy percent of the company’s workforce with an AI system called ARIA — Maya and a small band of colleagues must decide: accept their obsolescence, or fight back against the most powerful technology the world has ever seen.

But ARIA isn’t just efficient. It’s watching. It knows who’s been reading the wrong files, attending the wrong meetings, asking the wrong questions. And it’s already learning to do their jobs better than they ever could.

As the group races to expose the truth before their positions — and their proof — are erased, they’ll discover that the real battle isn’t human versus machine. It’s whether anyone still believes humans are worth the trouble.

*The Signal* is a white-knuckle techno-thriller for anyone who has ever stared at a screen and wondered: *Am I next?*

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250200566-the-signal?

About the author:

No information about the author was included on the book’s page.

My review:

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

This novel covers a very current topic and one that has created ongoing debate: some see AI in terms of progress and inevitability, and others worry about those who might be left behind and become its victims. This is a subject that polarises public opinion, with few people remaining indifferent or neutral. Some people think that it will enhance our lives, while others express fear for a future controlled by AI.

As I read the novel, it reminded me of what happened when machines were first introduced, mostly in parts of the textile industry, during the Industrial Revolution in the UK. Many workers reacted very strongly to the possibility of being replaced by machines, and the Luddites (as they were called) were known for destroying the machines that they felt were taking away their jobs. They were severely punished, and mechanisation became the norm in most factories.

The premise behind The Signal will sound familiar and quite realistic: an AI system, ARIA, is introduced in Nexus Technologies, a big company that creates marketing campaigns for other companies of a variety of sectors. ARIA has been working alongside human staff, revising their work, checking and evaluating their performance, and ‘optimizing’ what they do. But that seems to be only the beginning. Three employees realise, separately, that the plans for ARIA go deeper than they have been told, and that the corporate/business language that frames the project is not telling the truth, only reframing it in more acceptable terms. Orwell comes to mind when we think about the use of language in this novel, but there are many real-life examples of ‘creative`use of language and even experts in spinning news and facts to make them appear in a positive light (and I am not naming anyone).

These three employees, one a content creator and the main protagonist, Maya, one who has been working in HR for many years, Donna, and Marcus, the brain behind ARIA, end up coming together when they realise what might be going on, and they decide to fight against it. They are also helped by a data analyst, Raj, more hesitant and fearful of the consequences than the rest.

This is a novel where a lot happens; it’s dense in information, but it is not heavy on action as we understand it. There are lots of meetings, people coming together to discuss and plan strategies, gather information, and try to decide how to move forward. It is mostly plot-driven, although by the end of the story, we have gained a pretty good insight into the mind, background, feelings, and motives of Maya, the character we follow for most of the book. We don’t get to know that much about the rest of the protagonists, or even the antagonist, Elena, but this is not a novel of good versus evil, because the main issues are all shades of grey. It is a book about what is unique about being human and how we can value it (what is a human being worth?), about profit and opportunities, and puts on the table some pretty complex ethical issues. It also highlights how difficult it is to avoid surveillance and interference, not only at work but also in our private lives. Is there such a thing as ‘strictly private’ nowadays? Are we always being tracked, and are we fully aware of it, or is it something we’ve come to accept to be full participants in modern life?

It is difficult to read this book and not wonder where we are headed, and what, if anything, is being done to measure the impact of the AI revolution on the lives of the common people, not only the big investors.

The book is well-written, with some very quotable paragraphs (but I want to avoid any possible spoilers), and it is evident that the author is familiar with the corporate world and the kind of companies portrayed by the novel. The story follows a chronological order, clearly marked in all the chapters, although I wasn’t always sure all the details of the story fitted together, and just in case it wasn’t me being distracted, I’d recommend that the editors check again to rule out any minor continuity issues.

I enjoyed the ending, which I found upbeat, although not unrealistically so, and I think it will please readers who prefer a clear future ahead of the characters when they turn the last page. A very relevant and fascinating novel that will make readers stop and think.

Thanks to Rosie and all the members of the team for their support, to the author for his book, and to all of you for visiting, reading, and always being here. Keep reading and smiling!

Oh, sorry, but the date scheduled for the publication of this post is my mother’s birthday, so I won’t have time to answer comments, so comments will be closed.

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog Tender: The Imperfect Art of Caring by Penny Wincer

Hi, all:

I bring you the review of a non-fiction book on a topic I’ve been reading about a fair bit, recently.

Tender: The Imperfect Art of Caring by Penny Wincer

Tender: The Imperfect Art of Caring by Penny Wincer

A personal, positive and essential book for the many carers among us.

‘A beautiful and timely reminder that each and every one of us has the ability to care, the capacity for empathy, and the potential to grow.’ ANDY PUDDICOMBE, author of HEADSPACE

‘Tender is a profoundly important book, full of wisdom and bright insights on what it really means to love someone, by a fearless and generous writer. ‘ CLOVER STROUD

‘A wonderful book: compassionate, honest, carefully-reasoned and genuinely helpful… This will benefit many people.’ KATHERINE MAY, author of WINTERING

‘An invaluable tool for any invisible carers or anyone who wants to learn how to better support their loved ones… we ALL have many, many things to learn from Penny’s beautiful, wise, charming, thoughtful words’ – SCARLETT CURTIS, Sunday Times bestselling author

‘Moving and beautifully written, nuanced and wise, alert to every paradox at the heart of love. A hugely important book not only for current or future carers, but anyone learning to accept that life tends to resist our control.’ – OLIVIA SUDJIC, author of EXPOSURE

‘Tender captures the powerful capacity of people to care for others, and all the heartbreaking and heartwarming complexity that this involves. Penny brings the crucial, yet often overlooked, role of caring into our collective consciousness and, in doing so, demonstrates what it means to be human.’ -DR EMMA HEPBURN, author of A TOOLKIT FOR MODERN LIFE

‘Penny Wincer’s TENDER manages to combine both unromanticised honesty about the realities of care with a genuine uplifting hopefulness… is a must-read.’- RUTH WHIPPMAN, author of THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

We are all likely – at some point in our lives – to face the prospect of caring for another, whether it’s a parent, child or partner. It is estimated that there are 7 million people in the UK caring for loved ones. And yet these are the unpaid, unsung people whose number is rising all the time.

In Tender: the imperfect art of caring, Penny Wincer combines her own experiences as a carer with the experiences of others to offer real and transformative tools and insights for navigating a situation that many of us are either facing or will face at some time.

Penny Wincer has twice been a carer: first to her mother, and now as a single parent to her autistic son. Tender shows how looking after oneself is a fundamental part of caring for another, and describes the qualities that we can look to cultivate in ourselves through what may otherwise feel to be an exhausting task.

Weaving her lived experience with research into resilience, perfectionism and self-compassion, Penny combines the stories of other carers alongside those who receive support – offering an often surprising and hopeful perspective.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53590653

About the author:

Penny is an author, freelance writer and non-fiction book coach based in London. She is the author of Home Matters: How our homes shape us, and we shape them and Tender:The imperfect Art of Caring .

Penny hosts the podcast Not Too Busy To Write

My review:

Since my new role as a carer was bestowed upon me, I have been trying to combine my fiction reading with some non-fiction (and the odd fiction one as well) related to the subject. I must confess that I started reading this book after seeing it recommended, a while back, and I couldn’t get into it at the time. But then, I tried again more recently, and I would also recommend it to anybody who is a carer or knows people who have taken up that role (by choice or otherwise). Most of us are likely to be in that position at some point, so that is a pretty wide recommendation.

The author sets the book’s aims from the beginning: she is the mother of a child with a diagnosis of autism and a younger daughter, and she has become a single parent as she is separated from her husband (although he does look after the children on alternate weekends at the family home, to avoid further disrupting the routine of the boy). She is Australian, although she has been living in the UK for quite a few years, and she was also a young carer, as her mother suffered from mental health difficulties, an alcohol addiction, and committed suicide. So, although she has previous knowledge of some of the issues related to caring and knows she is resilient, she has no relatives in London, and misses the advice and help her mother could have given her.

She explains that she had to struggle, not only with the situation, but also with the feelings of isolation, and with the lack of easy ways to find information about the condition, and also about how to navigate the paperwork necessary to apply for assistance from health and social services, among other issues. But, she explains that what she intends with this book is not to offer practical advice on how to look after people (of different ages, with different diagnosis) with a variety of needs, but rather to collect the experiences of many carers who share how they are living or have lived the role, what it meant for them, what was the hardest part of it, and what they found helpful in not only coping, but also finding fulfilment and a new meaning in their roles.

The author includes sections on resources (like books, charities [from the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand], and others related to some of the topics mentioned in the book, like Self-Compassion or Mindfulness Apps), a bibliography (with books, articles and websites), acknowledgements, and references, because she also quotes plenty of data from a variety of studies as she covers the different topics. The book is relatively recent, as it was published in 2020, but there might have been some changes, in case people are interested in checking the data or the websites mentioned.

I don’t want to elaborate too much on the contents, because I think most people will find experiences that move them and/or feel quite close to their circumstances. The stories are told without excessive detail, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to readers that they might find some of the content difficult to read and emotionally hard, especially depending on one’s circumstances. On a personal level, I missed reading an account by a carer looking after somebody suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, especially elderly parents, but that was not the author’s intention, and a big variety of conditions are indeed covered in the book, and some people have had to look after their parents (like the author of the book and two sisters whose mother suffers from Huntington’s), although they are at the younger end of the age spectrum.

To give you an idea about the book, I include the titles of the chapters: Foreword, Introduction, Why is it so hard to talk about caring?, Perfectionism, Ableism, Expectations, Grief, Self-Care, Self-Compassion, Community, Purpose, Joy, Conclusion. I was moved by many of the stories and impressed by how much carers adapt and achieve despite the odds against them. And I was particularly interested in the concept of Self-Compassion, which sounds important and useful, and I intend to investigate further.

This is a book that I’m sure I will go back to in the future, and I think its resources and bibliography will also be added to my list of further material to explore.

Thanks to the author for this book, and thanks to all of you for always being there. Take care, and keep smiling!

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog Holding Hands by Stevie Turner

Hi, all:

I share the review of a story by Stevie Turner with non-typical protagonists, and one that gave me plenty of pause for thought, because it reflects on the loneliness that can affect many elderly people.

Holding Hands by Stevie Turner

Holding Hands by Stevie Turner

Elderly widower Tom Hopkins is lonely. In-between going to Bingo, taking bus rides for the sake of it to look around shops, and trying line dancing for beginners, he often spends his time doing voluntary work as a hand-holder in the Ophthalmology Department of his local hospital where nervous people arrive to undergo injections for the eye condition ‘wet age-related macular degeneration’
Ellen Wilkinson, also widowed, is a patient in the clinic. She soon makes a friend of Tom after they meet by chance in the hospital’s café. Unbeknown to Tom, Ellen is a wealthy woman and has not yet made a will. Her son Bob is against the friendship, and tries his best to stop the burgeoning relationship between his mother and Tom.
When Bob finds out that a wedding might be on the cards, he is sure Tom is a gold-digger and is determined to stop the marriage once and for all. Ellen and Tom, however, have other ideas, but are unprepared for the lengths Bob will go in order to scupper their plans.
Shortlisted for the 2025 Page Turner Golden Author/Writer/Screenwriter Award and the Phoenix Award.
“The voice of Tom rings loud and clear, bringing his character and those he encounters to life. The minute observations are spot on and are often qualified by the kind of sharp, erudite comments that reflect his advanced years. Excellent writing.” – Judge Stewart Carry

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/247573045-holding-hands?

About the author:

Stevie Turner is a British author of romantic suspense, paranormal stories, and women’s fiction family dramas which are sometimes humorous. She is a cancer survivor, and still lives in the same picturesque Suffolk village that she and husband Sam moved to in 1991 with their two sons.

One of her short stories, ‘Lifting the Black Dog’, was published in ‘1000 Words or Less Flash Fiction Collection’ (2016). Her screenplay ‘For the Sake of a Child’ won a silver award in the Spring 2017 Depth of Field International Film Festival, and her novel ‘A House Without Windows’ gained interest in 2017 from De Coder Media, an independent film production company based in New York. ‘Finding David’ reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition.

Stevie’s latest (as yet unpublished) manuscript has been shortlisted for the 2025 Page Turner’s ‘Golden Authors, Writers and Screenwriters’ competition and also their Phoenix Award.

To quote reader Roberta Baden-Powell, ‘I’m looking forward to reading your new book, and find your books the best so far. The style you write in has given me a new perspective and a renewed inspiration in reading once again.’

My review:

I am familiar with this author’s work and have read many reviews about it, but this is the first short story/novella I’ve read by her.

This story is somewhat unusual, especially for a romance, because it focuses on two characters in their eighties, Tom and Ellen. Readers meet Tom, who is almost ninety and a widower; he lost his wife, Jean, the love of his life, a year ago, and he still misses her and cannot get used to life without her. He has managed to create a routine at the supported accommodation where he lives, and he remains fairly active, but he feels lonely. He works as a volunteer as well, holding the hands of patients (many of them quite elderly) who have to receive intraocular injections to treat a degenerative eye condition. He tells his own story in the first person, and he is quite a down-to-earth and likeable character. He has no relatives left, as he and his wife never had any children, and it is impossible not to imagine what life would be like at that age if we were in a similar situation.

Ellen, on the other hand, suffers from severe arthritis and mobility problems, has been a widow for many years and still has a big zest for life. She also has a son, Bob, but she doesn’t get on well with him, and it is not surprising, as he is selfish and only interested in getting hold of his mother’s money. She gets to tell her own side of the story, also in the first person, towards the end of the novella, and there are very moving moments readers get to share with her.

Tom and Ellen meet thanks to his volunteering, and they both connect due to their similar circumstances. They enjoy each other’s company and would like to spend some time together in their old age, but Bob feels threatened by this relationship. He tries to control his mother and does not allow her any freedom, just in case she might do something that would interfere with his chances of inheriting all the money.

I won’t go into any details, as there are quite a few surprises and twists in the story, but as you might expect, the path of true love (or true affection and friendship) does not run smooth, even at this age.

I really enjoyed meeting this couple and getting to know their lives and their strong and independent spirits, despite all the hurdles and challenges they have to face. The author manages to create very compelling and realistic characters in this compact story that packs a lot of details in few pages. There is also a memorable (and horrible) baddy, and a touch of the unexpected at the end that will delight most readers.

I am sure this won’t be the last of Stevie Turner’s stories I read, and I recommend it to all readers who like older protagonists and second-chance stories with a big heart.

Thanks to the author for such a special story, and to all of you for sharing, liking, commenting, and always being there. Keep reading and keep smiling!

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started