REVIEW: Dying Light by Stuart MacBride

Dying Light (DS Logan McRae #2) by Stuart MacBride

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction

Read: 27th November 2016

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★★★★★ 5 stars

Love MacBride's wit and dark humour interwoven into the oftentimes serious nature of the plots. Typically fantastic instalment in the DS Logan MacRae series, though I have to sympathise with Logan always getting the rough end of the stick particularly where the crass and vulgar DI Steel is concerned who has no concept or respect for personal time or privacy. Or missing out on the credit for a job well done where he has done the hard work and doesn't get rewarded. I like him. And DC Rennie's incessant monologues of his TV serials which Logan finds himself tuning out to. I love both of them and of course the sweetie munching "on the road to diabetes" DI Insch. I much prefer Logan working with Insch than Steel. Though I love the descriptions of Steels unruly hair...lol. Can't wait to read more of these gritty stories and the tales and woes of DS MacRae.

REVIEW: The Child by Sebastian Fitzek

The Child by Sebastian Fitzek

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery 

Read: 27th October 2016

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★★★★ 4 stars

This book started off slow, having just read The Girl on the Train in 2 days, but it soon picked up pace and gave a twist even I didn't see coming! What can I say? It was a thrill ride from start to finish that kept me turning pages (albeit digitally...lol) well into the night.

When you start you wonder if this is a thriller or a paranormal mystery. And it leaves you questioning right through to the end. How? Why? And just what the hell is going on? But always remember one thing....nothing is what it seems.

REVIEW: The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne

The Ice Twins by S. K. Tremayne

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Read: 16th October 2016

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★★★★ 4 stars

Very haunting and atmospheric. I really felt for Lydia/Kirstie at school, being teased. A victim of schoolyard bullying and the cruelty of children myself I could feel her her pain. A real twisted psychological thriller that keeps you guessing. The final chapter "six months later" has a bit of a twist you didn't expect. The setting in the Hebrides was perfect for its isolation and barrenness.

REVIEW: A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey

A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey

Genre: Historical Mystery 

Read: 28th September 2016

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★★★ 3 stars

It wasn't bad, though I found the older style of writing a little difficult to get my head around since this was written about 100 years ago in the early 20th century. I read it simply because I wanted to watch Alfred Hitchcock's "Young and Innocent" from 1927, and discovered in the opening credits that it was based on this book by Josephine Tey. So I decided to read the book first and then watch the movie. As I said, it wasn't bad. Probably brilliant for its time. But I did find it hard to follow in parts. And the guy mentioned near the end? Rimnik? I've no recollection of him and where he fit in. And I was a little disappointed with the outcome of Brother Aloysius after all the watching and waiting at the monastery. And the shilling for candles reference... Is that a time/era thing? Anyway, judge for yourself. Everyone's tastes are different and though this wasn't entirely mine I did enjoy it somewhat.

REVIEW: Trauma, Shame & the Power of Love by Christopher E. Polleski

Trauma, Shame & the Power of Love by Christopher E. Polleski

Genre: Biographical

Read: 7th July 2016

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★★★★★ 5 stars

There need to be more books like this for society to read and gain a better understanding into what child pornography really is. Yes, it is a crime. Yes, it is illegal. But as Dr Pelloski pointed out in his own research is that not all viewers of this media are paedophiles or child molestors, and most in fact are less likely to reoffend or will ever evolve into a "hands on" offender. But society does not understand this. Nor do they understand the differences between children and teenagers - to them they are all paedophiles. But that is not correct. There are three categories for child sex offenders....

1. Infantophiles - those attracted to babies to 3 year olds
2. Paedophiles - those attracted to children from 3 to 11 (pre pubescent)
3. Haebophiles - those who are attracted to adolescents to 16 (legal age of consent) and beyond....(probably the most common form of sex offender)

But society is not ready to hear it. A sex offender to them is a sex offender without any rights and not worth spitting on. To them they are all deviants. This is a sad perspective because, while I do not condone the viewing of child pornography and that in doing so perpetuates the rape and abuse of a child, I also know that these offenders are human too. They are people who made some bad choices. And as in Dr Pelloski's case, many had suffered some form of abuse in their childhood; most had an experience in their formative years of around 7 or 8 which affected their development - attachment or significant loss or trauma...or even something simple that the then child in them perceived in a way that halted something inside. There is so much more to this than society understands but don't want to know. Well done Dr Pelloski for standing up and taking responsibility...and for sharing your story.

REVIEW: The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson

The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson

Genre: Drama, Crime 

Read: 6th May 2016

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★★★★★ 5 stars

Dorothy Koomson writes at the end that this book's theme is about domestic violence. Overall it is, but it is also more than that. It is about another taboo topic. The grooming and seduction of underage girls, which is another crime in itself. Men who groom and seduce young teenage girls are predators of the worst kind. Not only are they looking for their own interests, but they know how to recognise those who are more vulnerable, more lonely, those who would be flattered by his attention and more susceptible to his attentions. And more willing. To fall into his arms, his bed and his control. What Marcus did to Serena and Poppy was more than domestic violence - it was child grooming and child sexual abuse. And then he used each of the girls against the other. He was a manipulative controlling child abuser...and he damaged both of those girls irreparably for life.

I will not complain about the justice system and how the court case was unrealistic, as others have done, because that is not what this book was about. If that's what was expected then one would read a police/crime procedural novel. This was about two girls and how their lives intertwined and ultimately how they were damaged and affected by their relationship with Marcus. This was their story. Serena and Poppy's. And it was beautifully told.

While this is not a true story in itself, it is certainly one that happens every day all over the world. And while the nature of this book is very dark and emotional, it is also a fantastic read. I had seen the mini series a couple of years ago and loved it, and I enjoyed the book just as much. I will not spoil the outcome as to who did kill Marcus (the ongoing debate between both women who believed the other did it)...that is the climatic twist at the end that adds the perfect touch to the end of the book.

REVIEW: The Sleeping and the Dead by Ann Cleeves

The Sleeping and the Dead by Ann Cleeves

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction

Read: 29th April 2016

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★★★ 3 stars

A standalone book, this is a little different to the Shetland and Vera series. Whilst remaking in the third person throughout, it does change perspective from the main characters. It starts off from the perspective of Peter Porteous and his Sgt. But then it switches to that of another central character Hannah so we don't see the story from behind the police scenes. That's ok I can deal with that...but as a result, the ending is seen from Hannah in one chapter, her daughter in the next, back to Hannah, then it results in the murders being solved and we missed the police procedural part of the story because we were given Hannah's instead. Despite this, it was a good book, but I was disappointed with the rush to ending where we missed seeing it come together. Maybe I'm used to seeing the puzzles fall into place to make the big picture that it clouds my judgment slightly...but it still is a good book. Great read, with a story that really gets you in.

REVIEW: Downton Tabby by Chris Kelly

Downton Tabby by Chris Kelly

Genre: Humour

Read: 23rd April 2016

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★★★★ 4 stars

For lovers of Downton Abbey or lovers of cats...or both! Doesn't matter which, for if you're a lover of one or the other you are bound to enjoy this delightful little read. Filled with anecdotes, tales (or is that tails?), humour and the "uninvited but necessary" witty cat quips from the Dowager Catness, Downton Tabby is a light and pleasurable read. The only drawback I found was that it was a shorter than short read - my Kindle app out it as 45 minute read. I would have liked to see it slightly longer and not finish so abruptly...which it did so, leaving me turning the page and thinking "is that it?" An ending to surpass all endings, it should have had. Nonetheless, I give it four stars for being such a delightful, if not short, read. The highlights being without a doubt, the Dowager Catness' uninvited but necessary quips...

REVIEW: Lambs to the Slaughter by Debi Marshall

Lambs to the Slaughter by Debi Marshall

Genre: True Crime

Read: 18th April, 2016

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★★★★★ 5 stars!

I started this book, couldn't put it down and read it in four days.
Although I've heard about these murders, reading about each victims carefree life before their horrible deaths and that of their families before and after their deaths humanises them more than them just being another statistic labelled as "the Wanda Beach murders" or "the abduction and murder in Warneet the day man landed on the moon" or "the Beaumont children". Seeing how each crime can and may be connected to Percy is interesting, whether or not he was responsible. One thing is for sure - he was a sick depraved individual who lacked the emotional connection from an early age from an absent father and a domineering mother. 

I find Percy's childhood somewhat sad. Do I feel sorry for him?For the adult Percy, no; but for the child Percy? Somewhat, yes. He very acutely displays signs of abuse somewhere in his childhood. Something so significant to rewrite his destiny in sick fantasies he craved, wrote in diaries and sought a private gratification from. Whatever lead Percy down this depraved emotionless path stemmed from somewhere subconsciously deep in his childhood that prevented him from making the transition from child to adolescent to adult. His sick and twisted fantasies were a monstrous albatross that prevented him from leaving curiosity behind and transitioning into adulthood. Instead he played on them, dwelled on them, lived and breathed them until he acted on them. In a time when mental health was not even an understood concept, the warning signs Percy very probably displayed would have either been laughed off or ignored. Had he received treatment for his "urges", how many crimes would have been prevented? We will never know. Derek Percy took those secrets, his secrets, to his grave on 23rd July 2013.

REVIEW: IT by Stephen King

IT by Stephen King

Genre: Thriller, Paranormal

Read: 8th Dec 2015 - 11th April 2016

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★★ 2 stars

Oh my god! Four months it took me to read this. So long and drawn out that half I ended up skipping as unnecessary subplot. It started out great, got sidetracked with a zillion subplots about each and every bloody character in Derry, got moderately interesting, sidetracked again...and again...to the point you wondered what was happening with a couple of the characters - namely Tom and Henry - because they weren't mentioned again until nearing the end, up to an ending that was really an anti climax - a bit like Bev and the boys underground in 1958. Seriously? They were 11! How is Bev whoring herself to all 6 boys in the tunnels going to get them back? Talk about way off track ridiculous. For a book that has been hailed a sensation I must say I was a little disappointed. I think the most consistently interesting of them all was Pennywise! And he was the bad guy...who ended up being a female IT!

I hope the movie is better because the book was just way too long and convoluted with unnecessary crap.