Book Review: WHERE WOULD I BE WITHOUT YOU? BY GUILLAUME MUSSO

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Published by:  Gallic Books  (April 2011)
Pages:  348  (Paperback)
My Rating:  7/10

About the Book:

Parisian cop Martin Beaumont has never really got over his first love, Gabrielle.  Their brief, intense affair in San Francisco and the pain of her rejection still haunt him years later.
Now, however, he's a successful detective – and tonight he's going to arrest the legendary art thief, Archibald Maclean, when he raids the Musée d'Orsay for a priceless Van Gogh.
But the enigmatic Archibald has other plans.
Martin's pursuit of the master criminal across Paris is the first step in an adventure that will take him back to San Francisco, and to the edge of love and life itself.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, it had all the ingredients of a fascinating story, the enigmatic cover of a woman alone on a beach, an unrequited love, a cop looking for a world famous art thief, set in France and the USA, obsessive characters …........ but in the end I just felt quite disappointed.

I thought the main storyline was too coincidental, it just didn’t feel plausible to me.  If I said what it was it would be a huge spoiler.

I didn’t really empathise with the main characters either, Gabrielle, Martin and Archibald. I didn’t feel that I really knew them any more by the end than I did at the beginning.  They didn’t seem to know what they thought and kept changing their minds so I didn’t know their inner mind workings, and therefore I found myself not caring too much about what happened to them.

I also wondered whether there was such a thing as product placement in a book?  I lost count of the number of times a particular brand of fizzy drink was drunk, or a certain mp3 player was used, I actually found that quite annoying by the end.

I did think it was well translated though, if i didn’t know it was originally written in French, I wouldn’t have known, the writing flowed very easily and the dialogue seemed natural.

So, even though it was not my type of book I’m sure that some people would enjoy it, after all the cover reads that ‘over 1 million copies sold worldwide’!

Many thanks to Gallic Books for sending me this book to review.

Body Care Product Review: LIVING NATURE TINTED MOISTURISER

Living Nature Tinted Moisturiser is perfect and light if you don't like wearing heavy foundation all day.

There are three colours to choose from: the mypure website gives you a good indication of what each colour looks like -

1. Dawn Light
2. Day Light
3. Evening Light

I chose the Dawn Light as my skin is very fair.  The moisturiser is quite easy to rub in -- if you’re quick!  Otherwise it dries on the skin and it becomes harder to rub in.  It is a nice thick consistency and the smell is not over-powering.  It gave my skin a nice even tone, covering wrinkles etc.  I was really impressed to find that it lasts all day too.

It is packed in a small black box inside of which is a container measuring approximately 4.5” x 2”.  I am also using the Living Nature Nourishing Daily Moisturiser which comes in a white container -- my review of that product is here.

Living Nature was founded by Suzanne Hall and is New Zealand's most popular natural toiletry and cosmetic brand, they have been making natural products for over 20 years and are respected worldwide for their uncompromising purity.

Everything sold by mypure is sulfate free, paraben free & phthalate free.

You can find the Living Nature Clear Lights Tinted Moisturiser at mypure.co.uk
It is priced at £17.99 for 50ml/1.7 fl. oz.

For more Body Care Product Reviews please click here

Book Review: MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH BY ARIANA FRANKLIN

Genre:  Historical Fiction
Published by:  Bantam Books  (May 2008)
Pages:  525  (Paperback)

My Rating:  9/10

About the Book:

Adelia Aguilar is a rare thing in medieval Europe – a woman who has trained as a doctor. Her speciality is the study of corpses, a skill that must be concealed if she is to avoid accusations of witchcraft.
But in Cambridge a child has been murdered, others are disappearing, and King Henry has called upon a renowned Italian investigator to find the killer – fast.
What the king gets is Adelia, his very own Mistress of the Art of Death.
The investigation takes Adelia deep into Cambridge; its castle and convents, and streets teeming with life. And it is here that she attracts the attention of a murderer who is prepared to kill again…

In the first of a series of novels featuring Adelia, we are introduced to this woman from Solerno, Italy who has come to England to help find the killer of several children without disclosing the fact that she’s a real doctor.  It wasn’t easy for her but she understood peoples superstitions and was careful not to be regarded as a witch.

Adelia Aguilar is now one of my favourite historical characters, she’s a woman in a man’s world, way ahead of her time, intelligent, witty, independent  and obsessed with the dead and what their bodies tell her.....and she’s not afraid of speaking her mind!

I thought the storyline was compelling …. there was a little romance … some gruesome details describing the childrens deaths and their injuries …... some wonderful warm and quirky characters, especially Gyltha the cook and housekeeper who is a big softy despite her rough exterior …... a few nasty characters …... a good steady build up to the killers identity, which I didn’t guess...... all simply told.

I would recommend this one for all medieval murder mystery fans.  

Sadly, the author Ariana Franklin passed away earlier this year but she leaves us with three more in this series --

The Serpent’s Tale (aka The Death Maze)
Relics of the Dead (aka Grave Goods)
A Murderous Procession (aka The Assassin’s Prayer)

This is my 3rd and final read in The Great Transworld Crime Caper Challenge

This is my 4th read in the Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge 2011 hosted by Book Chick City

For more on Ariana Franklin please click here

Book Review: CHECKOUT: A LIFE ON THE TILLS BY ANNA SAM

Genre:  True Stories
Published by:  Gallic Books
Pages:  174
My Rating:  7/10

About the Book:
Anna Sam spent 8 years as a checkout girl in France.  This book is a witty look at what it’s really like to work in a supermarket: the relentless grind and less-than-perfect working conditions, along with people-watching and encounters with every kind of customer from the bizarre to the downright rude.

If you’ve ever wondered what life is like on the other side of the checkout as you buy your weekly shopping, then wonder no more as Anna Sam talks to you as if you were applying for the job yourself.

I learnt that supermarkets in France don’t supply their customers with free bags anymore, unlike the UK where they’re given out every day in their thousands and then thrown carelessly away, cluttering up the rubbish dumps.

I also discovered what the three most common questions the till operators are asked, and which European country uses the most toilet rolls!  Oh yes, this book is full of gems like this.

I quite enjoyed her easy style of writing and short paragraphs with titles such as ‘Embarrassing Items’ and ‘My Till, My Love’.  
But I started to get a little bored about ¾ of the way through and I was glad it was just a short book (only 174 pages).  It is a unique and very quirky read and there were some funny parts.

Even though Anna worked in France, I’m sure it is equally relevant wherever it is set, as I’m sure retail workers can identify with the many amusing, awkward and downright rude customers!

I must thank Gallic Books for sending me this book to review - you can read a sampler chapter on their website here

BOOK NEWS: HMV considers selling Waterstone's

• 
  Troubled retailer HMV denies it is in takeover talks but confirms it may sell book chain and Canadian operation
• 
  

HMV's board is 'exploring strategic options in respect of Waterstone's', according to the company. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

HMV confirmed this morning that it is looking at selling off theWaterstone's chain of booksellers, but insisted that it is not in talks about a takeover for the whole group.

Shares in the troubled retailer jumped 7.5% to 18p, a rise of 1.25p, after it updated the City on its plans, which could also include finding a buyer for its Canadian operation.

Speculation has swirled that its shareholder, the Russian oligarch Alexander Mamut, could break up the business ever since HMV posted a shock profit warning following poor trading over Christmas.

Mamut has now assembled a 6.1% stake in HMV. There has been speculation that Tim Waterstone, the entrepreneur turned novelist who founded the bookshop in 1982, is plotting a bid for Waterstone's with Mamut. He previously teamed up with Mamut to invest in Bookberry, a now bankrupt Russian bookstore chain.

"In response to press speculation, the board confirms it is exploring strategic options in respect of Waterstone's and HMV Canada," HMV said. "The board also confirms that no discussions are taking place with respect to an offer for the group."

Amid worries that it could breach loan covenant tests, the company stressed that its lenders "continue to be supportive, our banking facilities remain fully available and the group is continuing to maintain a regular and constructive dialogue with its lenders".

HMV issued its second profit warning of the year at the beginning of the month, saying trading conditions had remained difficult since the start of the year. It also admitted that it expected to fail some parts of a critical loan covenant test next month and was busy renegotiating borrowing conditions with its bankers.

The company is already planning to close up to 20 Waterstone's outlets and about 40 HMV stores as part of a cost-cutting drive
.

Taken from www.guardian.co.uk

Book Review: WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT BY SARAH WINMAN

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Published by:  Headline Review  (March 2011)
Pages:  336  (Paperback)
My Rating:  7/10

About the Book:

Spanning four decades, from 1968 onwards, this is the story of a flawed family and the slew of ordinary and extraordinary incidents that shape their everyday lives.  It is a story about childhood and growing up, loss of innocence, eccentricity, familial ties and friendships, love and life.  Stripped down to its bare bones, it’s about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

1st Line:

I decided to enter this world just as my mother got off the bus after an unproductive shopping trip to Ilford.

Eleanor Maud, born in 1968, is the narrator of this story, she’s the sister of Joe who is 5 years older and he was different to other boys his age; "an exotic creature who secretly wore his mother’s lipstick at night, it was his outlet against a conservative world, the quiet rebellion of a rank outsider."

The book is rich with eccentric characters, including her best friend, Jenny Penny, who would pull a coin out of her arm and Arthur, (came to stay and never left) who knew his exact date of death and how he would die.  

It is told in two parts, the first is Elly’s childhood and the second is her adulthood.  And this is where my feelings about the book changed.  I loved the first part, it was funny …... I was in stitches reading about the Nativity Play and the rugby match …...... it was touching when her brother gave her a rabbit for Christmas and called it god …....... and the ups and downs of her parents relationship and her friendship with her best friend.  All wonderfully written and a joy to read and I just wanted it to carry on in that era but then the story moves on 19 years and it just wasn’t the same for me.  

The writing was still of a high quality but I found myself not caring as much for the characters and I can’t really put my finger on why I felt like that.  Maybe I just liked them as children but not as adults.

Overall, this was a book of two halves!  That’s why I gave it a 7/10 instead of a 9/10.

Book Review: FULL DARK HOUSE BY CHRISTOPHER FOWLER

Genre:  Crime & Mystery
Published by:  Bantam  (Sept 2004)
Pages:  412  (Paperback)
My Rating:  9.5 / 10

Blurb from the back of the book:

Arthur Bryant and John May of the Met’s little-known Peculiar Crimes Unit are London’s longest-serving detectives.  When a bomb claims Bryant’s life, it ends a partnership that has lasted for over half a century.
Desperately searching for clues to the killer’s identity, May becomes convinced that the answer is to be found in their very first assignment together.  It was in London, during the Blitz, and it all began when a beautiful dancer was found without her feet …....

This is the 1st book in the Bryant & May detective series and it introduces us to the two men who first met over 60 years ago.  Arthur Bryant, the ‘bright-eyed and restless’ young man who was ‘filled to exhaustion with ideas’ , ‘distracted and a little awkward’ and who ‘said what he meant’ ….... and John May, the ‘reserved, serious one’ who ‘meant what he said’.

The story starts in the present on the night that a bomb has obliterated the PCU’s office where Bryant (who was an insomniac) was working.  May is devastated and vows to solve the murder but, on investigating, he realises that the answer lies in the past.

The plot weaves nicely between the present and the past as we are introduced to a whole host of quirky characters in the dark, secret world of Theatre life in 1940.  Bryant and May bicker and argue like an old married couple, trying to solve not one but several murders in the Theatre, and a strange phantom is sighted by several of the cast of the play.  Could this be the murderer or is he just a figment of their nervous imagination?

This is a very enjoyable and dark comedy of a story, the character’s backgrounds are described in detail, the original and intelligent plot is full of twists, and Christopher Fowler’s use of language is very clever.

Bryant and May are two very endearing grumpy old men who complemented each other very well and I did love their humorous conversations!

The narrative driven plot enhanced the story forwards very nicely to its unexpected and surprising conclusion.

This is my 3rd read in The Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge 2011 hosted by Book Chick City

This is my 2nd read in The Great Transworld Crime Caper Challenge

There are another 7 books in this wonderfully quirky series and I look forward to reading them all! They are --

• The Water Room (2004)
• Seventy-Seven Clocks  (2005)
• Ten Second Staircase  (2006)
• White Corridor  (2007)
• The Victoria Vanishes  (2008)
• Bryant and May on the Loose  (2009)
• Off the Rails  (2010)

For more on Christopher Fowler please click here

Have you read any or all of these books?

Which one do you think is the best?

Leave a comment and I will put a link to your review

Book Review: WAVE ONE: SHORT STORIES BY ML PONCELET

Genre:  Short Stories
Published in eBook format:  December 2011 by Ocean Blue Press

My Rating:  7/10

This is a collection of 14 very short stories/flash fiction.
Some of the stories are funny, some are interesting, some are silly, and some of them I just didn’t understand!

One of my favourites was Gwen’s Dilemma …... about a woman who is opening a new flower shop, and how she becomes trapped inside while waiting for the locksmith to come and mend the door.  Very funny!

I also enjoyed The Spill ….. featuring Stephen, unemployed, stressed, who’s had a run of bad luck in the last few years, he’s moved house, been divorced and lost his job. And now his neighbour is giving him a headache with the noise he’s making, so he goes next door to investigate. With surprising results.

Mystery at Highward’s Lodge is a fascinating little story about a reporter looking for a well-known bank robber and gambler who was shot dead at the Lodge. Nice twist!

Some of the stories had twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.
I thought the writing was very good throughout with interesting characters.
Overall, I enjoyed some of them but some just ended too abruptly and to me they didn’t make any sense.

If you enjoyed reading very short stories here is a nice collection to download to your Kindle or eReader.

It is available to download from Amazon.co.uk for only 71p

It is available to download from Amazon.com for only $3.44

Prices correct as at 13 March 2011

For more info on ML Poncelet and Ocean Blue Press please click here

Thanks to Michelle for sending me this download to review.

Book Review: A CLOCKWORK ORANGE BY ANTHONY BURGESS

My son, David, has read and reviewed this book




Genre:  Fiction
Published by:   William Heinemann  (1962)


Rating:  9 / 10






As I grow older my taste in books and films changes and I am finding myself drawn more towards the so called “classics”.  So when my girlfriend conveniently left her copy of “A Clockwork Orange” in my room one day I jumped at the chance to read Anthony Burgess’s famous tale of a young boy in a dystopian society doing as he pleases and eventually getting his comeuppance.

I’m sure everyone has heard of the book, thanks to Stanly Kubrick’s motion picture adaptation, of which i wasn’t too keen.  Although they have quite a few differences the theme is still true, our protagonist or “your humble narrator”, as he likes to call himself is Alex, a 15 year old boy who during the day goes to school and listens to his classical music collection (most notably Ludwig Van) whilst during the night he is joined by his gang and partake in a bit of violence and rape.  Although the subject matter is quite harsh at times, Burgess manages to fill every page with humorous dialogue and comical situations.  The language Alex and his “droogs” or friends use is one of the biggest talking points of the novel, it took me personally about half the book to get used to it and figure or unlock it in my brain, but once I did I was loving it and laughing along as our narrator gets himself deeper and deeper in trouble.  I’ve heard that some newer versions of the book have a glossary even for all the new words Burgess invents for his characters.  A kind of cross between English and Russian slang.  Women become Malchicks, seeing becomes viddy and laughing to yourself is referred to as “having a good smeck”.

Anthony Burgess has said on numerous occasions that he is displeased with how popular this book has become as it wasn’t one of his favourites and doesn’t like it taking away attention from his other works.  If that is true then i must check out another of his novels as “A Clockwork Orange” has  quickly become one of MY favourites and one that I most certainly will be revisiting.

It isn’t very long and there’s a small chunk in the middle that can drag quite a bit but despite its shortcomings it is a very pleasant, funny and, once you get through the initial slang talk they use, it is a very easy read.