As the author of the Miriam bat Isaac Mystery Series, folks often ask me which mysteries are my favorites. Hard question. I’ve read mysteries my entire life and still do. But the following three in no particular order stand out as my all-time favourites. 1) The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle The…
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1) Rainwater by Sandra Brown My thoughts: This was no bodice-ripping, muscle-bound hero story, just as such elements don’t exist in my books. It’s a beautiful novel set in the Deep Depression in Texas. Ella, who runs a boarding house, has a new boarder – Mr. Rainwater who is dying of cancer. He manages to…
Continue ReadingI love Young Adult fiction and that’s why it’s very difficult for me to choose my favourites. So here goes. My best three YA books feature two books from some years back and one very current work. 1) Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz Alex Rider is a hero of mine. Created by the highly prolific…
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In 2010, I had a mid-life crisis after I lost my job in the recession and couldn’t pay the bills. After months of struggling, feeling sorry for myself and failing to improve, I thankfully discovered personal development. Wandering through WH Smith newsagents, too embarrassed to venture into the self-help section, a magazine called SUCCESS caught…
Continue Reading1) The Billy Bunter series by Charles Hamilton The first book, indeed set of books, I remember reading at the Library in Ebbw Vale was The Billy Bunter series. Every Saturday morning I sat near the window overlooking the High Street reading Chapter after Chapter. It was the first time I ever recall laughing out…
Continue ReadingI cut my teeth on action heroes before the age of ten, in love with H. Rider Haggard’s African adventure stories and Zane Grey’s hauntingly atmospheric Westerns. Yet for some reason I didn’t graduate to being a thriller reader as an adult. I tried a few modern thrillers, but got bored. All those clipped military…
Continue ReadingSee ALL the 90 books I read in 2017, HERE. And for my FINAL ‘Best of 2017’ Best of 3! Following on from the great dystopian (and highly cinematic) read, The Feed – I thought I would take a look at 3 of my favourite reads that I reckon should DEFINITELY be movies or TV…
Continue Reading1) The Polish Officer by Alan Furst Alan Furst is a criminally underrated writer. His books are mainly set in and around the second World War, and he writes about the compromised, overlapping worlds of espionage, resistance fighters, collaborators, diplomats, and spies. To my mind he’s as easily as good as Graham Greene or Le…
Continue ReadingWhat a delicious post to write! If reading is like eating, then a truly well-written book is like a five-star, gourmet feast. There are literally hundreds of books I could have chosen for this post, but I thought I would restrict myself to delights I have recently read. 1) The Essex Serpent – Sarah Perry What…
Continue ReadingSee ALL the 90 books I read in 2017, HERE. I love a good, literary, thought-provoking read … so these 3 were my top picks for 2017. Check out my 2-line reviews and/or click on the links to see my full reviews on Goodreads for them. Enjoy! 1) Everything I Never Told You by Celeste…
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