Book Review: Fallen Idols by Neil White

Genre: Crime Fiction
Published by: AVON, a division of HarperCollins (2007)
Pages: 500
ISBN-10: 1847560075
ISBN-13: 978-1847560070









Synopsis:

A Premiership footballer is murdered on a busy London street, and a country is gripped by terror. Who lies behind this apparently motiveless killing - and who's next?

Crime-beat reporter Jack Garrett is convinced that this is no celebrity stalker. Aided by DC Laura McGanity, desperately trying to juggle police life with motherhood, the trail leads them to Turners Fold, Lancashire - Jack's home town.

What's the connection between the recent assassination and the murder of a young girl there ten years before? Could it be that people are not all they seem - and will do anything for their fifteen minutes of fame?

First Line:
"Sunny afternoons in London shouldn't happen this way."


This was Neil White's debut novel and it is the best crime fiction I've read this year.


From the first page to the last I was swept along on a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns, with the odd red herring here and there for good measure. We were introduced to freelance journalist Jack Garrett who I liked straight away, and his 'girlfriend' DC Laura McGanity, who I felt wasn't very developed as a character throughout the novel, maybe in subsequent stories we learn more about her.


This is an excerpt from near the beginning when the murderer is getting ready to shoot the footballer -

"She closed her eyes and prayed as she listened to the rifle being assembled, the soft clicks joined by Ben's deep breaths and the chatter and movement of Old Compton Street, the soundtrack to a glorious afternoon in Soho".

It really was a book that I just couldn't put down, every few pages was a cliffhanger, and just when I thought Neil White was taking the story one way he turns and takes it in a completely different direction.

He has been compared to crime writers such as Mark Billingham which is high praise indeed. If you're looking for someone new I would definitely recommend him, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Extras:
Neil White's other novels :
Lost Souls (2008)
Last Rites (2009)




I'm looking forward to hearing him talk when he appears at our local Library next month.

Book Review: The Unicorn Road by Martin Davies

Genre: Historical Fiction
Published by: Hodder & Stoughton (2009)
Pages: 324










Synopsis:
On the coast of Southern Spain, an English father waits for his son. It is many years since Benedict, then still a child, set out with the famous scholar Antioch on a mission to find and collect the mysterious beasts of the East. In all those years there has been no word, and the expedition is assumed lost. But the boy's father is not the only person asking questions on the harbourside that summer, and as he learns more about his son's companions, he comes to realise that the fate of the expedition has implications for people far richer and more powerful than himself.

My Thoughts:
After reading Martin Davies' debut novel The Conjuror's Bird I was looking forward to reading The Unicorn Road, and I was certainly not disappointed.

First Line:
To lose a small boy in a world so wide is an easy thing.

These are the words of the father as he waits for Benedict. Every trader he meets he asks for news of his son.

Throughout the novel we return to the father who is visited by various people who are also looking for his son but for their own selfish reasons. I felt so much sympathy for him all the way through and I really longed for him to be reunited with Benedict and to be proud of him. This is my favourite passage from the book as his visitor asks a question:

'Tell me, merchant,' he said. 'In all these years, you say you've had no word. Nothing to give you hope. You ask me to believe that. But why else would you remain here, waiting?'
I felt sorry for him then. Sorry, because for all the cleverness in that sharp face of his, there was something absent, something lost. Somewhere in his forty years he had forgotten how it feels to love.
'I wait here,' I told him, 'because this is all I can do.'

The first part of the story concerns the journey of Benedict and Antioch to the city of Lin'an, also travelling with them is a young woman named Ming Yueh who is meeting her betrothed, together with an Interpreter and a cruel General who, we gradually learn, each have their own reasons for travelling.

I loved Martin Davies' descriptive writing style - this is an excerpt as the travellers are nearing their destination:

Lin'an, the lake city, city of poets, girdled by pleasure gardens, bejewelled with palaces, pitted with brothels; part fantasy, part mystery, part dense, steaming slum. A city that had outgrown itself, so tightly squeezed between the lake and the mountains that beyond the public squares and avenues its streets narrowed to fetid alleyways. There, dwellings jostled for space so fiercely that they leaned upon their neighbours or climbed over them, until they stood three or four storeys high, cutting all light from the passages below.
Fires were the scourge of the city, taking hold in seconds, blazing for days. But in their wake, the houses grew up thicker and faster and the city began to sweat in the heat once more.

It is when they meet the Emperor in Lin'an that we find out everyone's secrets, where men do deals and not everything is all that it seems.

The novel is set in medieval times but we never know the exact year. I was fascinated in the womens secret script, that no man could decipher, that was their own way of communicating between and within the towns. Indeed, the footnote at the end of the book mentions that the last woman to have learned this recently died so this ancient skill is now lost forever.

I just wanted to mention one small observation - Geography was never my strongest subject at school, so I really would have liked a map to plot all the different routes along the way, something similar to one in The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova which I referred to often while reading that book.

I felt that the character of Ming Yueh was most interesting, how her life changes so much throughout the book, and how she copes with everything with dignity and strength and how her strong will helps her survive.

Long after I'd finished the book the characters stayed with me, Martin Davies has written such compelling and fascinating personalities that I felt as if I knew them.

This is a wonderful story of love, hate, greed, kindness, cruelty, courage, religious bigotry, friendship, loss and power that I was completely absorbed in and couldn't put down.

I eagerly anticipate his next novel.

Book Review: Hollywood Undercover by Ian Halperin

Genre: Non-Fiction
Published by: Mainstream Publishing (2007)
Pages: 221










My Synopsis:
Ian Halperin is commisioned to film a documentary by Canadian TV about aspiring Canadian actors trying to make it in Hollywood. But while interviewing many luckless actors he realises how cliched it all is, so he decides to do something different - he will go undercover as a gay actor called 'His Highness Halperin, the King of the Jews', and try to make it into the movies himself. Some of his adventures include a poker game with the 'Queers of the Round Table', a short affair with the ill-fated Anna Nicole Smith, hearing sordid secrets of the stars, a course at the Scientology Church where they attempt to turn gays straight, and many more.

My Thoughts:
I'm not really sure why I picked up this library book as it is definitely not my usual genre, but I thought I'd try something different.

Ian Halperin comes across as a likeable enough person though a little egocentric. I thought there were too many coincidencs, for instance, he met so many Hollywood stars who wanted to tell him all their secrets. This is a typical passage from the book where he's at a party and meets the 50's starlet Debbie Reynolds who starred in Singin' in the Rain -

'Every man I ever dated in Hollywood turned out to be gay', she revealed. She had actually famously been married to Eddie Fisher - father of her daughter Carrie, aka Princess Leia - whom she stole away from her old friend Elizabeth Taylor, causing one of Hollywood's all-time greatest scandals. I didn't have the guts to ask her if that applied to Fisher as well.

Also, all the people he met who were working in Hollywood were only too happy to start telling him secrets about this or about that actor (no names were mentioned in the book, unless they were deceased), who was gay, took drugs, had an affair with them, etc etc. Even one elderly woman walked up to him one day and told him all about her affair with Charlie Chaplin. I felt it was maybe a bit too exaggerated.

Maybe I'm doubting Ian Halperin too much, I don't know, it was just the way I felt. Another story that I found hard to swallow was the story from when he lived in London in the 1980's, he had been busking and was sitting on a bench when an elderly lady came by and started talking to him. It turned out that she was Ava Gardner, and he was invited to her apartment where she proceeded to tell him stories about Frank Sinatra. Again, it just seemed too unbelievable.

Here's another couple of excerpts regarding George Clooney -

"The one celeb I seemed to keep bumping into, no matter where I went, was Clooney, who appeared to be omnipresent. I had first encountered George outside the Formosa Cafe on Santa Monica Boulevard back in 1998. He looked fit, was wearing Converse running shoes and was with two gorgous model-types. He was in a great mood.
'George, I like your Chuck Taylors,' I said. 'I guess it gets the women.'
'Probably does,' he responded. 'I thought it was my hair, but you have made me re-think.'

The next time I bumped into him I was back in Montreal and he was directing and shooting Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. I saw him several times that summer - at a health club, at a bar, at a coffee shop and walking downtown. Everywhere I went George seemed to be there. I started to wonder if we were stalking each other."


But, having said all this, I did enjoy the book, it was well-written, fast flowing and kept my interest throughout, it was never boring. It is a book for people who enjoy magazines like Heat with lots of gossip. There was so much name-dropping involved!

There were some colour photos in the middle of the book corroborating some of his stories and there were also links on You Tube as well.




Extras:

Ian Halperin has written several other 'celeb' books including -

Love and Death: A New and Explosive Investigation into the Murder of Kurt Cobain















Bad and Beautiful: Inside the Dazzling and Deadly World of Supermodels

Book Review: Playing with the Moon by Eliza Graham

Genre: Fiction
Published by: Macmillan New Writing (2007)
Pages: 276











Synopsis:
Shattered by a recent bereavement, Minna and husband Tom retreat to an isolated village on the Dorset coast, hoping to find the solitude that will allow them to mourn and rebuild their foundering marriage. Walking on the beach one day, they unearth a human skeleton. It is a discovery which will plunge Minna into a mystery which will consume her for months.
The remains are soon identified as those of Private Lew Campbell, a black American GI who, it seems, drowned during a wartime exercise in the area 50 years before. Growing increasingly preoccupied with the dead soldier’s fate, Minna befriends a melancholy elderly woman, Felix, who lived in the village during the war. As Minna coaxes Felix’s story from her, it becomes clear that the old woman knows more about the dead GI than she initially let on.

First Line: " Our second wedding anniversary. I'm about to tell Tom our marriage is over when he spots something in the sand."

The story is narrated by Minna, and I really liked her character. She was suffering so much and didn't know how to make things better as she had withdrawn into herself a great deal. I felt that this is where her friendship with Felix helps her so much to come to terms with her loss, as she realises that she's not the only one to lose someone she loved. In a way, Minna becomes quite obsessed with Felix's story and finding out exactly what happened to Lew.
Their friendship is a healing process for both of them.

This is an excerpt from early in the story when Felix comes back to the village, after the discovery of Lew's body in 2006, and wanders round the utility room in her old home that she was evacuated from in 1943 when she was 14.

Her fingers touch paper jammed up against the wall in the far corner. She pulls out a small yellowed sheet. She blows on it and the dust disperses to expose a cormorant, poised to dive, head slightly tilted, eyes intent on its prey. Seeing the bird is like receiving an electric shock; she remembers Lew drawing it as though it was yesterday.

Felix slides the drawing back onto the shelf. It belongs in Rosebank House, with the girl she once was. Away from the valley, it would disintegrate. After all, she did.

The writing throughout the book was pacey, it never drags, it was never boring. Eliza Graham kept me interested and I really wanted to know more of what happened in Felix's life in the village in 1943 and after she left. I wanted her to find happiness.
I loved the way the story easily went back and forth in time.

This is another excerpt with Felix, Lew and Felix's friend David talking on the beach

'Just look at that moon' Lew pointed up through the cave entrance at the big yellow circle. 'You could just reach out and squeeze it like a lemon.' He began to sing in a low voice. 'Do you want the moon to play with, the stars to run away with?'

This is such an engaging and simple story, delighfully told, of guilt and loss and how it affects lives. It will probably never win any awards but I do hope it will win plenty of readers. This is Eliza Graham's debut novel.

Why Did I Pick This Book: I was instantly attracted to the book title and I loved the picture on the cover. I just had a good feeling from those that I would enjoy the book and I'm pleased that my instincts were right.

Any Negatives?: There were a couple of coincidences near the end of the story that I did find hard to believe, but I don't want to spoil any of the story for anyone so I won't say what they were!

Would I Recommend It?: Yes, definitely.

The 20 Best Selling Hardback Non-Fiction Books of 2008 in UK*

As promised, I'm listing more of the best selling books of last year.

1. Guiness World Records (Guiness)
2. At My Mother's Knee by Paul O'Grady (Bantam Press)
3. Dear Fatty by Dawn French (Century)
4. Jamie's Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver (Michael Joseph)
5. Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking by Delia Smith (Ebury)
6. That's Another Story by Julia Walters (Weidenfeld)
7. Parky: My Autobiography by Michael Parkinson (Hodder)
8. For Crying Out Loud by Jeremy Clarkson (Michael Joseph)
9. The Big Book of Top Gear by Richard Porter (BBC (RH))
10. Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson (Chatto & Windus)
11. Look Who It Is! by Alan Carr (HarperCollins)
12. Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver (Michael Joseph)
13. Jordan: Pushed to the Limit by Katie Price (Century)
14. My Life, My Way by Cliff Richard (Headline)
15. The Mighty Book of Boosh by Barratt & Fielding (Canongate)
16. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Simon & Schuster)
17. Fern: My Story by Fern Britton (Michael Joseph)
18. Ripley's Believe it or Not by Robert le Roy Ripley (Random House)
19. Dreams That Glitter by Girls Aloud (Bantam Press)
20. Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite by Gordon Ramsay (Quadrille)

*For the 52 weeks ending 27th December 2008. From Nielsen BookScan - www.neilsenbookscan.co.uk.

Book Review: Day by A.L. Kennedy

Genre: Fiction
Published by: Jonathan Cape Ltd. (2007)
Pages: 288











Synopsis:
Alfred Day wanted his war. In its turmoil he found his proper purpose as the tail-gunner in a Lancaster bomber; he found the wild, dark fellowship of his crew, and - most extraordinary of all - he found Joyce, a woman to love. But that's all gone now - the war took it away. Maybe it took him, too. Before Hitler and the bombs he was a boy in Staffordshire, helpless to defend his mother, to resist his abusive father. The RAF gave him order, skills, another family and a way to be a man. It taught him how to burn through lifetimes on night ops and brief, sweet leaves, surviving the unsurvivable. But it didn't prepare him for capture, for the prison camp and the chaos as the war wound down. It didn't prepare him for an empty peace. Now it's 1949 and Alfred is doing the impossible again, winding back time to see where he lost himself. He has taken the role of an extra in a Pow film. Shipped out to Germany and an ersatz camp, he picks his way through the cliches that will become all that's left of his war and begins to do what he's never dared - to remember. He is looking for some semblance of hope: trying to move forward by going back.


Unfortunately, I just couldn't finish it. I found the writing difficult to understand and confusing. I got to about page 40 and I really didn't want to carry on. I have too many other books to read to waste time on one that wasn't making any sense and that I just wasn't enjoying reading.

A.L. Kennedy's story goes backwards and forwards in time and the words did not have any structure, they were random words in paragraphs.

Sorry, but it just wasn't for me.

Book Review: Coming Up Next by Penny Smith

Genre: Fiction
Published by: Harper Perennial (2008)
Pages: 327











Synopsis:
A darkly comic novel about the fall and rise of a TV presenter. When Katie Fisher, morning TV presenter, returns from holiday it's to discover that she's been publicly sacked from her job as anchor of Hello Britain! and replaced by a pert young thing, she does what any self-respecting thirty something would in these circumstances -- she makes a dash for her parents and hits the bottle. But Katie, sooner or later, has to face the world, the photographers, and the backstage intrigue of morning television: the cut-throat, lecherous producers, the ambitious but vacant Keera, and Mike, her co-host, a trustworthy friend or just another one of the many back-stabbers? Humour is Katie's only weapon and, as things hit rock-bottom, it could provide a perfect solution to life after the sofa.

If you're looking for a story with a deep meaning where you'll expand your vocabulary and learning, then this is not the book for you.

But if you want a book to read on the beach or by the pool on holiday that doesn't stretch your mind then you could do a lot worse than pick this.

The story centres around Katie Fisher and the people, family and friends who surround her, many of whom are predictable 3d characters who are instantly forgettable. There are some quite funny quotes in the book, most of which are too rude to print here! There is lots of back-stabbing and the story is somewhat predictable but that's not always a bad thing.

Katie Fisher was a likeable character and I felt a little sympathy for her predicament, so I did find myself hoping that her circumstances would change for the better.

My overall thoughts are that it's a fairly enjoyable, easy to read story that doesn't pretend to be something that it's not.

First Line: In hindsight, the holiday had probably not been a good idea.

What I Liked About It: Easy to follow plotline.

What I Didn't Like: Too many characters! I just couldn't remember who they all were, I actually had to write down their names/jobs so that I didn't get confused.

6/10

Trivia:
Penny Smith has a new book coming out in June 2009 - After The Break.

Book Review: The Conjuror's Bird by Martin Davies

Genre: Historical FictionPublished by: Hodder & Stoughton (2005)Pages: 306







Synopsis: It seems a long time ago that Fitz and Gabby were together, with his work on extinct species about to make him world-famous. Now, it's his career that is almost extinct. Suddenly, though, the beautiful Gabby reappears in his life. She wants his help in tracing the history of The Mysterious Bird of Ulieta, a creature once owned by the great 18th Century naturalist Joseph Banks. It soon becomes clear that Fitz is getting involved in something more complicated - and dangerous - than the search for a stuffed bird. To solve the puzzle, he must uncover the identity of the amazing woman Banks loved - a woman who has disappeared from history as effectively as the specimen he is hunting.

The book has two parallel stories, separated by almost 300 years. The 1700's story gave you a real feel of how difficult and different life was for a young woman with no prospects at that time, and how dependent they were on men looking after them. This contrasts sharply with both Katya and Gabby, the two very independent women in the present time who face no such problems.

Alternate chapters effortlessly blended into each time line with ease so you didn't feel as if you were getting confused.

Combined with an usual mystery about a stuffed bird this is a lovely mix of history (Captain Cook's voyages) with a little romance........who was the mysterious woman in the woods that Joseph Banks becomes captivated by? And how is she connected to the missing bird?

Martin Davies slowly and tantalisingly reveals the connection between the different eras without giving too much away too soon.

This is an enjoyable mystery with a difference - not just for ornithologists!

First Line: "That Thursday evening I was working late, removing the skull of a dead owl"

Favourite Line: "The cage-reared bird will always partly fear the sky"

What I Liked about this book: How Martin Davies skilfully ended each chapter on a cliff-hanger

What I didn't Like: It was a little slow in the middle

8/10

Back from Budapest !

Budapest is such a lovely city ............. from the wide streets to the magnificent buildings, statues and monuments which are dotted around commemorating uprisings, war victories, and heroes in all of this country's long and interesting history.




Me studying my indispensable Budapest Guidebook!

I would definitely recommend this pocket book guide to all the sights along the River Danube ........... we could plan out just where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see ........... lots of descriptions of the various museums, parks, historic baths and spas, hotels, eating places, popular shopping areas, etc etc. Everything you could possibly want and more!




Published by: Dorling Kindersley (Feb 2008)
128 Pages

Book Review: Keeping The World Away by Margaret Forster

Keeping the World Away by Margaret Forster

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I really liked the idea of the book ............ a painting owned by different women and the effect on them ............ but I couldn't finish it, I just found it too boring.




View all my reviews.

Book Review: Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell (Kurt Wallander, Book 1)

This is Henning Mankell's 1st book (of 9) in the Inspector Wallander series.

My review is based on the abridged audio version recently serialised on BBC Radio 7.

Synopsis:
One frozen January morning at 5 am, Inspector Wallander responds to what he believes is a routine call out. When he reaches the isolated farmhouse he discovers a bloodbath. An old man has been tortured and beaten to death, his wife lies barely alive beside his shattered body, both victims of a violence beyond reason. The woman supplies Wallander with his only clue: the perpetrators may have been foreign. When this is leaked to the press, it unleashes racial hatred. Kurt Wallander is a senior police officer. . But now, with winter tightening and his activities being monitored by a tough-minded district attorney, Wallander must throw himself into a battle against time and against mounting xenophobia.

This is the first Henning Mankell book I've read/listened to and I know that he is a very popular Swedish best selling author.

Kurt Wallander is your typical over-worked Detective, working long hours but has tremendous dedication for the job at hand. In this book, Wallander has very few clues and no obvious motive for the horrendous murders of a farmer and his wife in their isolated farmhouse. There are some red herrings along the way and also some lucky breaks. It was an easy book to listen to, the writing is fast and pacy, but not too fast that you get confused.

What I Liked About This Book ~ It was a good murder mystery book and I certainly didn't guess 'who dunnit' which is always a bonus!

What I Didn't Like ~ The Swedish names were hard to remember but I know that's just me being pedantic! It is based in Sweden after all!

Why Did I Read It ~ I love a good detective story and I'd heard good things about Henning Mankell's books so I thought it was time that I tried one.

Would I Recommend It ~ Yes, and I'll certainly be looking out for his other books in the series.


Here is a list of the other books in the Kurt Wallander series ~

The Dogs of Riga

The White Lioness

The Man Who Smiled

Sidetracked

The Fifth Woman

One Step Behind

Firewall

The Pyramid

Book Review: The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block

Abel Haggard, 70, all alone on his farm in Texas, lives on memories of the family he has lost. Once he lived there with his brother, who had Alzheimer's disease, his brother's wife and their daughter. But since they've been gone, he has steadily sold bits of his farmland to the developers who have built 'mansions' all around him, his house is now ramshackle and he is just waiting...........

Hundreds of miles away, 15 year old Seth Waller (who's ambition is to be a Scientist) lives with his mother and father. Over the years Seth has come to realise that his mother is not well but doesn't know what's wrong with her. After an incident at home it is decided that it is for the best if she goes into a home. So begins Seth's quest to find out more about his mothers condition.

Each chapter is narrated by either Abel or Seth and we learn more of their past and how they come to this point in their lives. At first we think they have nothing in common but as Seth begins his 'empirical investigation' to uncover the roots of the disease we realise they are inextricably linked.

They also share the knowledge of a mythical land called Isidora where no-one remembers anything, no-one has a name and all is peaceful and happy. In some ways this reminded me of Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin which has a story within a story.

I can't believe that this is Stefan Merrill Block's debut novel...........he writes with such experience and assuredness for one so young.

Favourite Lines From The Book ~ 'Theorists support the hypothesis that our success as a species is based as much, if not more, on our ability to forget more than on our ability to remember'

What I Liked About This Book ~ The way the words just seemed to flow along with ease. I liked the way the author delved back and forth in time so we slowly began to learn the secrets of each family.

What I Didn't Like About The Book ~ I could have done with less of the scientific diagnoses, I thought they went on for too long and were too difficult to comprehend.

Why Did I Read This Book ~ It was being discussed on the radio a few months ago and it sounded like a book that I could enjoy and learn something from. I had a relative with Alzheimer's Disease and so I was already interested in the subject matter.

Would I Recommend It ~ Yes.......in some parts it is quite heavy going, but at the heart of it is an interesting and heart warming tale, a story of loss and faith and of how the mind remembers what's important and forgets the unimportant.

Published by: Faber and Faber Limited
Pages: 310

Libraries!!

Don't you just love them! I use my local library an awful lot, I probably go in there twice a week, armed with a list of all the recommendations I've either read on the internet, heard about on the radio, seen on the TV or just from friends saying how much they've enjoyed a particular book.

I want to praise my wonderful library which, apparently, is one of the most popular and busiest in the UK despite being in a relatively small town.

After a major £1 million refurbishment in 2003, Blackburn Library has reinvented itself as a community resource with a retail feel – bright, spacious and funkily lit. It offers PDAs loaded with ebooks to take on holiday, comfy chairs, self service borrowing and a range of clubs including reading groups linked to others around the world, reflecting Blackburn’s diverse population.

In one corner of the library, near the CD's and DVD's, there is a wall-mounted plasma TV screen showing Sky Sports with comfy chairs, in another part you'll find young adults playing the latest games on a Playstation. Then in the main part is a large range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including many Audio Books, a Quick Choice section (picture shown above) ......... and that's just on the ground floor!

There's the Reference Library, Childrens Library, Learning Centre where the computers have internet access, Reading Room, Community History area for looking up newspapers etc. etc. so many things to mention. It's open 7 days a week, yes, 7 days!

It really is a credit to the people of Blackburn......and of course I mustn't forget there is the warm and friendly staff who are only too ready to help you. What more could one possibly want?!!

What's your library like?
Is it better than mine?
In what way?
Is it worse?
Do you have a library that's nearby or do you have to travel a long way?
Please feel free to leave me a comment.............

The 20 Best Selling Mass Market Fiction Books 2008 in UK*

1. No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay
2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
3. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
4. This Year It Will Be Different by Maeve Binchy
5. Book Of The Dead by Patricia Cornwell
6. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
7. The Outcast by Sadie Jones
8. The Appeal by John Grisham
9. Engleby by Sebastian Faulks
10. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
11. The Secret Life Of A Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill

1. The Kite Runner (Film Tie-In) by Khaled Hosseini
2. East Of The Sun by Julia Gregson
3. Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale
4. Sepulchre by Kate Mosse
5. Thanks For The Memories by Cecilia Ahern
6. PS, I Love You (Film Tie-In) by Cecilia Ahern
7. The Ghost by Robert Harris
8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
9. Exit Music by Ian Rankin

*52 Weeks Ending 27th December 2008 from the Nielsen BookScan (www.nielsenbookscan.co.uk).

It's amazing the effect that Richard and Judy have on book sales. Of the 17 authors in the chart, 11 of them have featured in their Book Club.

I have read

• No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay 8/10
• The Outcast by Sadie Jones 8/10
• East Of The Sun by Julia Gregson 8/10
• PS, I Love You by Cecilia Ahern 9/10

On my Bookshelf to be read

• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale

The 20 best selling Hardback Fiction Books to come next .................

Book Review: The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
Pages: 512


Synopsis:

An unforgettable story of love and adventure, spanning three decades of Jamaican history.Jamaica, 1946.; Errol Flynn washes up on in the Zaca", his storm-wrecked yacht.; Ida Joseph, the teenaged daughter of Port Antonio's Justice of the Peace, is intrigued to learn that the 'World's Handsomest Man' is on the island, and makes it her business to meet him.;For the jaded swashbuckler, Jamaica is a tropical paradise that Ida, unfazed by his celebrity, seems to share.;Soon Flynn has made a home for himself on Navy Island, where he entertains the cream of Hollywood at parties;that become a byword for decadence; - and;Ida has set her heart on marrying this charismatic older man who has singled her out for his attention.; Flynn and Ida do not marry, but Ida bears Flynn a daughter, May, who will meet her father but once.; The Pirate's Daughter" is a tale of passion and recklessness, of two generations of women and their battles for love and survivial, and of a nation struggling to rise to the challenge of hard-won independence.


For 14 year old Ida Joseph growing up in Jamaica in the 1940's, Errol Flynn brings the glamour and glitz of Hollywood to the small town where she lives. She can see Navy Island (which is about a mile from the coast) from her house and she loves the stories associated with it of Captain Bligh and Pirates and buried Treasure and of a ghost that walks the island, Sabine.

Her father becomes friends with Flynn and Ida meets his several times over the course of the next few years and, when she is 16, they become lovers. For Ida, he is the love of her life and she never stops loving him. For him, she is probably no-one special, just another one of his many conquests.

The author does not judge Flynn or his way of life, that is left to the reader to make their own mind up.

Ida then becomes pregnant with Flynn's daughter, May, the Pirate's daughter of the book's title. The second part of the book is concerned with May and how her mother struggles to bring up her daughter and look after her sick father. To do this, Ida goes to New York to earn some money, when May is 3. She comes back after a few years and the mother and daughter have to learn to get to know each other again and adjust to life together. All the while, knowing that Errol Flynn is living on Navy Island just a short taxi-boat ride away.............

The book also deals with serious issues of the violence surrounding Jamaica's independence and of how close to home it becomes.
I loved the descriptions of the Jamaican way of life, the food they ate, the mountains where Ida's grandmother lived where you had to ride on a donkey cart to reach her house!

An enjoyable read.
8/10

The 20 Best Selling Original Fiction Books 2008 in UK*

1. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
2. The Business by Martina Cole
3. The Gift by Cecilia Ahern
4. Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks
5. Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell
6. Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell
7. Angel Uncovered by Katie Price
8. Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy
9. Thanks For The Memories by Cecilia Ahern
10. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

11. Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella
12. Cross Country by James Patterson
13. Brute Force by Andy McNab
14. This Charming Man by Marian Keyes
15. Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden
16. Just After Sunset by Stephen King
17. The Return by Victoria Hislop
18. Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden
19. The Appeal by John Grisham
20. Doors Open by Ian Rankin


*For the 52 weeks ending 27th December 2008 from the Nielsen BookScan www.nielsenbookscan.co.uk

Book Review: The Kissing Gates by Mackenzie Ford

Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 433
Publisher: Sphere

Synopsis:

'Set against the panorama of the First World War, The Kissing Gates is a poignant love story, a finely woven tapestry of choice, consequence and redemption. Mackenzie Ford explores the ambiguities of the human heart with an unwavering hand, and in so doing creates a haunting and moving tale that will resonate with the reader long after he or she has finished the last page." Pam Jenoff, bestselling author of Kommandant's Girl 'This book is a joy to read. Wonderful period detail, and the atmosphere so convincing it had me looking out the window for Zeppelins. The First World War ? with its no-man's land and valiant nurses ? is disturbingly contrasted to the peaceful idyll of rural England. Even the touching love story, with a secret ticking away like a time-bomb at its heart, has us on a knife-edge of uncertainty. And Ford provides fascinating details of the thrills of the wartime intelligence world. I was swept up in this intimate and captivating story of conflicting loyalties. It's the kind of read that lingers in the mind'

This is, in essence, a love story but with a huge secret at the heart of it.

Hal, the protagonist, is fighting in the trenches in World War 1, when a Christmas ceasefire happens. He, hesitantly, climbs into No Mans Land and meets Wilhelm his counterpart in the German Army. They exchange gifts and Wilhelm gives Hal a picture of himself and asks him to give it to his English girlfriend, Sam, who he met and fell in love with in England before the War started. Hal agrees to do this for him.

Shortly after, Hal is badly injured and goes home to recuperate - for him the fighting is over.

Hal, after recovery, then decides to try and find Wilhelm's love, Sam, and when he sees her he is instantly smitten. They meet accidentally (or so Sam thinks) and, the more Hal gets to know her, the more he falls deeply in love with her and, consequently, he doesn't tell her about Wilhelm, even though he knows that Sam is still in love with him and, indeed, has a son by him (though Wilhelm is unaware of this).

As the War rages, Hal and Sam go to live in London together but there is always Wilhelm's memory in the background. Is he still alive? Is Sam still in love with him? Can Sam ever love Hal and forget him?

As I said this is basically a love story but there is much more to it than that...it's the story of secrecy, guilt, hatred for the Germans, and how the War affected families in so many ways, how it tore them apart.

I have to say that I was disappointed with the last 10 pages or so, I felt that the author rushed it and didn't know how to end it properly. But if I try and put that to one side I thoroughly enjoyed the whole engrossing story, in particular the part Hal played in the Intelligence and also his sister's letters from the Front (she was a nurse) were very interesting.

Overall, an absorbing novel set during the First World War.

8/10

The 10 Best Selling Books in the UK for 2008*

1. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
   
2. Guinness World Records
   
3. At My Mother's Knee by Paul O'Grady
   
4. No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay
   
5. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
   
6. Dear Fatty by Dawn French
   
7. Jamie's Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver
   
8. Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking by Delia Smith
   
9. That's Another Story by Julie Walters
   
10. Parky: My Autobiography by Michael Parkinson
    

* For the 52 weeks ending 27th December 2008 and taken from Nielsen BookScan - www.nielsenbookscan.co.uk

Of the Top 10 I have only read one of the books ............ No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I found it a real page-turner.

Over the next week or so (time permitting) I will be breaking down the Best Selling Book Lists into Top 20 Original Fiction - Top 20 Mass Market Fiction - Top 20 Hardback Non-Fiction - Top 20 Paperback Non-Fiction - Top 20 Children's Books and Top 20 Paperback Fiction.

Book Review: Q and A by Vikas Swarup

Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd.
Pages: 384

Synopsis:

Ram Mohammad Thomas has been arrested. For answering twelve questions correctly on Who Will Win A Billion? Because a poor orphan who has never gone to school cannot name the smallest planet in the solar system, or the plays of Shakespeare. Unless he has cheated. Reviewing TV footage of the show, Ram tells us how he won, and takes us on an amazing tour of his life. From the day he is rescued from a dustbin, to his encounter with a security-crazed Australian colonel, and a spell as an over-creative guide at the Taj Mahal, Ram's survival instincts are infallible. Stunning an audience of millions, he draws on a store of street wisdom and trivia to provide him with the essential keys, not only to the quiz show, but to life itself. Set in modern India, "Q & A" presents a kaleidoscopic vision of the struggle of good against evil, and what happens when one boy has no choice left in life but to survive.


I had picked up this book and put it down at the library so many times before I finally decided that, yes, I would read it. And I am so glad that I did.

The word 'karma' is never used in the book but that is the word that, to me, sums it up.

The book begins with poor orphan boy Ram being arrested and taken into police custody after being accused by TV producers of cheating in a TV game show. He is tortured by the police who want him to confess, and we know that he is innocent as the game show owners admit to themselves that they just didn't have the money to pay him. Just as Ram is thinking of signing the confession papers to end the torture a young female lawyer comes along and stops the police and takes him away to her home. It is here that we slowly and amazingly learn the story of Ram's life and how he has been able to answer all the questions correctly.

From living and working for an aged film star to being a tour guide at the Taj Mahal and meeting good and bad people inbetween, Ram's faith in the goodness of life does not desert him and his unselfishness and kindness is rewarded when he needs it most.

This is not a book that preaches to the reader - it is a fascinating story that, okay, is full of coincidences, but I feel that life is like that sometimes.......coincidences do happen all the time. And not everything that happens to Ram is good, he does have his fair share of bad luck too.

I really loved this book, in some ways it is such a simple story of rags to riches but with a few twists and turns.

9/10

Book Review: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

Genre: Modern Fiction
Pages: 416
Publisher: Transworld Publishers

Synopsis:

Cambridge is sweltering, during an unusually hot summer. To Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, the world consists of one accounting sheet - lost on the left, found on the right - and the two never seem to balance. Jackson has never felt at home in Cambridge, and has a failed marriage to prove it. Surrounded by death, intrigue and misfortune, his own life haunted by a family tragedy, he attempts to unravel three disparate case histories and begins to realise that in spite of apparent diversity, everything is connected...

At the beginning of the book the first 3 chapters each describe an event - the first one is of a missing little girl, the second is of a seemingly random murder of a teenage girl and the third is of a wife murdering her husband with an axe. All the events happen in different years.

In the present time, Jackson Brodie is approached by the missing girl's two elder sisters to enlist his help in finding her - the axe murderer's sister also asks Jackson to look for her niece - and the teenage girl's father contacts him to find his daughter's murder.

As the story unfolds we learn of family secrets and of friendships and liaisons in the past and the present. As Jackson attempts to track people down he also realises that someone is trying to kill him...........is this all connected to his work?

Who is the random woman we are introduced to in one chapter after another that seems to have no connection with anyone?

Most of the questions are answered and neatly tied up at the end. It all comes together in an interesting and well-written novel.

I do like the way that Kate Atkinson writes her stories......some with humour and tongue in cheek. This is the second book of hers that I've read after Behind the Scenes at the Museum and I look forward to reading more in the future.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery with a few twists and turns.

8/10

Most Borrowed Library Books in the UK

Here are the 10 Most Borrowed Library Fiction Books in the UK from June 2007 to June 2008

1. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
2. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
3. Relentless by Simon Kernick
4. The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
5. The Quickie by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
6. The Sixth Target by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
7. The Savage Garden by Mark Mills
8. Cross by James Patterson
9. Step on a Crack by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
10. The Overlook by Michael Connelly

James Patterson is still the most borrowed author in the UK for the second year running, with Nora Roberts the second most borrowed and Josephine Cox the third.

No surprise to learn that JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was the most borrowed Childrens Fiction Library Book with Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in second place and Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend by Franscesca Simon in third place.