Release Date: 06/04/17
Publisher: Bloomsbury
SYNOPSIS:
Packing a heavy punch and offering a fresh new look at Japanese food, Kurobuta prides itself on reworking the 'Iazakaya', Japanese pub style of relaxed eating and drinking. Kurobuta serves 'insanely delicious delicacies' (Jay Rayner, The Observer). Food that is both Incredibly inventive yet comfortingly familiar – signature dishes include Barbequed Pork Belly, with a Spicy Peanut Soy Sauce, Tea Smoked Lamb, and Kombu, Roasted Chilean seabass – food full of flavour, achievable to create at home and guaranteed to wow friends, family and hungry gatecrashers.
Chapters with titles such as Snack, Junk Food Japan, Significant Others, Something Crunchy and On the Side give an idea of the gastronomic fun that is to be found within. Featuring approximately 100 recipes brilliantly showcasing Scott's wild and inventive style, Junk Food Japan will present Japanese classics with twists and turns, even in the Sushi and Sashimi sections, alongside a selection of new, stunning Scott-conceived dishes, including Tuna Sashimi Pizza and Wagyu beef sliders.
Superb photography from legendary photographer David Loftus will feature throughout.
REVIEW:
In todays modern world, I love the chance to try not only what many refer to as foreign food but get to revel in the various flavours that are brought to my palette.
This book from Scott, is a title that really has opened my eyes to Japanese Cuisine with a huge selection of recipes (demonstrating that its not all sushi) as well as an easy step by step guide to make it a real household treat. Its beautifully put together with beautiful photography to show the food off and of course presented for ease by catagory.
All round a wonderful book and one that I'll be using for quite some time to come.
Release Date: 22/10/15
Publisher: Bloomsbury
SYNOPSIS:
I'm not a typical lawyer. I don't maintain a pretty office filled with mahogany and leather. I don't belong to a big firm, prestigious or otherwise. I don't do good works through the bar association. I'm a lone gunman, a rogue who fights bad systems and hates injustice . . .
Sebastian Rudd takes the cases no one else wants to take: the drug-addled punk accused of murdering two little girls; a crime lord on death row; a homeowner who shot at a SWAT team.
Rudd believes that every person accused of a crime is entitled to a fair trial - even if he has to cheat to get one. He antagonises people from both sides of the law: his last office was firebombed, either by drug dealers or cops. He doesn't know or care which.
But things are about to get even more complicated for Sebastian. Arch Swanger is the prime suspect in the abduction and presumed murder of 21-year-old Jiliana Kemp, the daughter of the assistant chief of police. When Swanger asks Sebastian to represent him, he lets Sebastian in on a terrible secret . . . one that will threaten everything Sebastian holds dear.
Gritty, witty, and impossible to put down, Rogue Lawyer is the master of the legal thriller at his very best.
REVIEW:
A British King that I’ve always wondered about as whilst I know the supposed history attached to him, a lot of what I know was propaganda at the time, emphasised by those who took over the realm as well as accepted by writers like Shakespeare as he didn’t want to upset the royal personage of the day who was related to Henry VII.
The book is one of discovery, both for the author and the reader with the former doing a lot of digging to try and flesh out the Kings life. Its well written, brings the time into focus for the reader and helps them paint a picture of their own about the crippled king in their own right. Whilst it will always be subject to conjecture as to who killed the princes in the tower, many including the author allude to Richard’s knowledge of the act, however personally I’m more a believer in it being Margaret Beaufort (as it set her son Henry VII in a solid position for Kingship.)
All round it’s a well written book and one that I got quite a lot from making David an author I’ll be keeping an eye on for future outings. Magic.
Release Date: 24/09/15
Publisher: Bloomsbury
SYNOPSIS:
From insidious murder weapons to blaze-igniting crinolines, clothing has been the cause of death, disease and madness throughout history, by accident and design. Clothing is designed to protect, shield and comfort us, yet lurking amongst seemingly innocuous garments we find hats laced with mercury, frocks laden with arsenic and literally drop-dead gorgeous gowns.
Fabulously gory and gruesome, Fashion Victims takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the lethal history of women s, men s and children s dress, in myth and reality. Drawing upon surviving fashion objects and numerous visual and textual sources, encompassing louse-ridden military uniforms, accounts of the fiery deaths of Oscar Wilde s half-sisters and dancer Isadora Duncan s accidental strangulation by entangled scarf; the book explores how garments have tormented those who made and wore them, and harmed animals and the environment in the process. Vividly chronicling evidence from Greek mythology to the present day, Matthews David puts everyday apparel under the microscope and unpicks the dark side of fashion.
Fashion Victims is lavishly illustrated with over 125 images and is a remarkable resource for everyone from scholars and students to fashion enthusiasts.
REVIEW:
We’ve all heard the expression “Fashion Victim” however I’ve always wondered where it originated and reading this book pretty much helps you discover the hidden truths that were under our noses, such as the dyes utilised and their origins through to various garbs that at certain periods were all the rage.
It’s a great book, full of illustrations and presents what to some would seem like just plain information in an entertaining as well as making it accessible to readers. All round a top notch title and one that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading as well as helping me understand how much times have changed and thank the gods that I live in the modern era.
Release Date: 27/08/15
Publisher: Bloomsbury Sport
SYNOPSIS:
Rugby has always been a sport with as much drama off the field as on it. For every thrilling last-minute Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal to win the World Cup or Jonah Lomu rampage down the touchline for a try there has been a split, a feud, or a controversy.
The Oval World is the first full-length history of rugby on a world scale from its origins in the village-based football games of medieval times to the globalized sport of the twenty-first century, now played over a hundred countries. It tells the story of how a game played in an obscure English public school became the winter sport of the British Empire, spreading to France, Argentina, Japan, and the rest of the world, and commanding a global television audience of over four billion for the last World Cup final. It also explores how American football and other games, such as Australian, Canadian, and Gaelic football emerged from their English cousin.
Featuring the great moments in the game s history and its legendary names David Duckham, Serge Blanco, Billy Boston, and David Campese, alongside Rupert Brooke, King George V, Boris Karloff, Charles de Gaulle, and Nelson Mandela The Oval World investigates just what it is about rugby that enables it to thrive in countries with very different traditions and cultures. This is the definitive world history of a truly global rugby.
REVIEW:
As a grandson of a Rugby Fanatic I like to try my best to keep up with things and as such thought a book on the subject would not only give me snippets of factoids to throw at him but also help keep me up to speed with the sport. However whilst the book was full of information, one thing that really annoyed me was the fact that there were no images within. Yes you can describe things but as they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
Whilst it is well written and easy to follow alongside lovingly researched by the author all round I have to say that I was disappointed with the book. I wanted a bit more passion within to allow readers to really get the feel for the sport and what keeps many glued to the matches rather than just a book that didn’t exude this key sporting emotion.
Release Date: 02/07/15
Publisher: Bloomsbury
SYNOPSIS:
Under the heartless vault of the Greenland's arctic sky the body of a girl is discovered. Half-naked and tied up, buried hundreds of miles from any signs of life, she has lain alone, hidden in the ice cap, for twenty-five years. Now an ice melt has revealed her.
When Detective Chief Superintendent Konrad Simonsen is flown in to investigate this horrific murder and he sees how she was attacked, it triggers a dark memory and he realises this was not the killer's only victim. As Simonsen's team work to discover evidence that has long since been buried, they unearth truths that certain people would rather stayed forgotten. But the pressure is on as it becomes clear that the killer chooses victims who all look unsettlingly similar, a similarity that may be used to the investigators' advantage, just so long as they can keep the suspect in their sights…
REVIEW:
I love my Scandinavian Crime and to be honest I had high hopes for this book. Sadly it failed to deliver right from the get go. The characters were sadly 2d, the plot was easy to see and whilst it might have had something going for it early on, it soon fell into farcical proportions with sheer lack of sense as well as complete ineptitude of the investigating officers.
Sadly whilst I would like to blame it all on the writers, I do wonder if a lot of the problems was due to translation going more for the literal rather than helping it flow into the English language. All round a book that I’d suggest you skip completely and await the next Scandinavian Thriller to emerge.
Release Date: 14/03/14
Publisher: Bloomsbury
SYNOPSIS:
Alex joins his father on a business trip to Amsterdam. During the day he hangs out with the daughter of a family friend. They visit the usual sights but also coffee shops and flea markets off the beaten track. At one of these markets Alex spots an ancient-looking mask. Before he knows what he's doing he buys it. Later, in his hotel room, he feels compelled to put the mask on. Alex is sucked into a parallel Amsterdam, one from centuries before which begins to reveal the dark past of both the building he is staying in and the little girl who once lived there ...edging stealthily towards the terrible twist.
REVIEW:
I love a ghost story that brings in for me, the chance to travel to somewhere I’ve never been and whilst for some Holland (and in particular Amsterdam) isn’t exotic, it’s a place that I’ve heard about from people who have been and told me that it can be quite an eerie place to visit at times.
That really gets my imagination going, so when I have an author basing a story there, I love the chance to explore (if only in my imagination.) What Chris does well is bring the city to life and works the format around it pretty well. I loved the journey that the book took me on, I enjoyed the characters exploration but for all that, for me the characters felt a little flat against a bustling breathing environment.
All round it’s a solid enough story and the concept was ideal, however when the characters feel flat, that really takes me longer to get through a title as I don’t have that emotional attachment.
Release Date: 20/08/13
Publisher: Bloomsbury
SYNOPSIS:
The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford - a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die. The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.
REVIEW:
This is a book that whilst I’ve heard quite a lot about it for some time is one that I kept on the back burner for a time when I felt that that I wanted something different, something genre breaking and of course a story that I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to get.
This tale by Samantha is all of this and yet it also breaks Science Fiction boundaries, adds a good dollop of Urban Fantasy and also blends within a good helping of criminal mystery that all round makes this a book that will be a firm favourite of book clubs up and down the country. It’s one that is going to get a tremendous amount of hype behind it and whilst a fair few of these are overrated, I’ve been lucky enough to read this before it really got going.
It is a book that has great characters, the author really knows how to weave a cracking story with great pace and prose which all round, alongside a lead character that I just loved so spend time with, made one of my reading experiences of the year so far. It really is going to take some beating and definitely something I’d recommend a lot of others to try.
Release Date: 06/06/13
Publisher: Bloomsbury
SYNOPSIS:
On a cold Monday morning before school begins, two children make a gruesome discovery. Hanging from the roof of the school gymnasium are the bodies of five naked and heavily disfigured men. Detective Chief Superintendent Konrad Simonsen and his team from the Murder Squad in Copenhagen are called in to investigate this horrific case - the men hanging in a geometric pattern; the scene so closely resembling a public execution. When the identities of the five victims and the disturbing link between them is leaked to the press, the sinister motivation behind the killings quickly becomes apparent to the police. Up against a building internet campaign and even members of his own team, Simonsen finds that he must battle public opinion and vigilante groups in his mission to catch the killers. A nerve-wrenching look at justice and retribution, The Hanging is a spectacular crime tale straight from the heart of Scandinavia.
REVIEW:
I’ve been a huge fan of Scandinavian Crime fiction for a number of years, they’ve known how to wind me in, give me a cracking story and for me the landscape fits the culture wonderfully giving each story its own feeling behind the lines.
Add to this a story arc that just grabbed me and to be honest this book was thrust to the top of my TBR pile before anything else. What unfurled sadly was a story that felt like the old fashioned Video’s where the blurb is so much better than the actual product. In short, the pace was jumpy, the prose misplaced so that you would even have to reread lines to get them to make sense and sadly the suspense that I was expecting was over to fast as the criminals were revealed way to early. All in, this could well have been a book that would have been better as a novella rather than the full fledged book that arrived. A great shame all in.
Release Date: 11/04/13
Publisher: Bloomsbury
SYNOPSIS:
Caroline Paul was recovering from a bad accident (she had been flying a plane when it happened) and thought things couldn't get worse. But then her beloved cat Tibia disappeared. She and her partner, illustrator Wendy MacNaughton, anxiously waited for his return, before resigning themselves to their loss. But weeks later, Tibia waltzed back into their lives. His owners were overjoyed. They might also have been a bit jealous. All right, they were very jealous! Where had their sweet anxious cat disappeared to? Had he become a swashbuckling cat adventurer? Did he love someone else more? His owners were determined to find out. Using methods as diverse as GPS technology, cat cameras, psychics, the web and animal communicators, they embarked on a quest to discover what their cat did when they weren't around. Writer Caroline Paul tells the warm and poignant story of their discoveries, alongside Wendy MacNaughton's elegant and hilarious full-colour watercolours. Lost Cat is a book for animal lovers, pet owners and anyone who has ever done anything desperate for love.
REVIEW:
As a feline servant, this title more than piqued my interest when I read the synopsis on the back cover. It sounded like a story of the madness that we all go through when a pet goes missing and luckily this one has a happy ending. The book also deals with the full range of emotions from not only the human point of view but also delves into the mindset of the kitties in order to get a fuller picture.
Its funny in places, sad in others and to be honest the main thing that I’ve learned from it is that our feline masters can help us meet not only other cat “friends” but points out how little we know about our own neighbours in a time when its become common to look after your own interest only. All round a book that I was gripped to from start to finish with some wonderful illustrations to help get the point across on a journey of discovery.
Release Date: 12/04/12
SYNOPSIS:
WINNER OF THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION 2012 Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
REVIEW:
I’m a fan of the old epics and whilst this is a new take on a small part of the Iliad, it’s a story that deals with the life and love of Achilles as told by Patroclus, his lover and whose death brings the hero back into the Trojan war. The story is mainly the love story between the two but when backed by the history alongside the authors love for getting the story across to the modern reader, makes it something that is readable.
Personally I prefer David Gemmell’s telling of the whole saga, but if you want a more personal telling of Achilles part delving into the minutiae of the characters life, then this is the book for you. Finally add to the mix that the author clearly loves the time period and has done a reasonable job of bringing it over to the reader then this could be a book worthy of your time.
Release Date: 05/07/12
SYNOPSIS:
This bestselling guide to all areas of the media, now in its 106th edition, has been completely revised and updated. With 100 articles written by successful authors and publishing insiders, it advises, guides and inspires writers and artists on how to get published. The 2013 edition includes new articles on, amongst other topics, memoir writing, apps, libraries and contains a wealth of practical information on a huge range of topics including copyright, finance, submitting a manuscript and marketing yourself and your writing. With nearly 4,500 entries in its up-to-date directory of media contacts, the Yearbook is an in invaluable companion 'The one-and-only, indispensable guide to the world of writing' - William Boyd 'Even established writers can feel as though they're climbing a mountain. Think of the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook as your sherpa' - Ian Rankin 'Full of useful stuff. It answered my every question' - JK Rowling
REVIEW:
Whilst many people tend to think of writing and art as something that’s just a nice past time, for those afflicted with the ability, its something that has to be done rather than something we choose, almost as if something within our inner selves demands that we spend time nurturing and growing that skill.
So whilst it may seem strange to some, many of us have finished scripts or pieces that we’ve poured ourselves into but not a clue what to do with them afterwards. That’s where this book comes in as its full of information to help you reach not only the right people but also lets you know others submission guides alongside the rates of pay.
Add to this advice from known authors who’ve already been there to help not only encourage you but to give you experience that they had to learn through hard graft and it’s a book that really is a holy grail within itself. Finally add to the equation a full list of Agents alongside Publishers and magazine contacts and this really is a book that you can’t ignore.
Release Date: 05/07/12
SYNOPSIS:
At last, the star of BBC2's The Great British Bake Off reveals all the secrets of his craft in How to Bake. The son of a baker, Paul Hollywood is passionate about busting the myths that surround baking, sharing his finely honed skills, and showing that with the right guidance, anybody can achieve success time after time. With this in mind, he has filled this book with easy-to-follow, clearly explained, utterly delicious recipes. Having taken you through the basic techniques, Paul explains how to make an abundance of breads, pastries, cakes and biscuits including wholemeal loaf, tin bread, ciabatta, focaccia, sour cherry and chocolate loaf, Roquefort and almond bread, fresh croissants, milles feuilles, quiche, classic Victoria sponge, lemon drizzle cake, chocolate temptation cake, buttery shortbread and fiery ginger biscuits. Time to get baking ...
REVIEW:
It will probably not come as a surprise but I have a major weakness in the supermarket, I love the smell of fresh baked bread, so much so that my mouth waters and I’ve often been tempted to rush off to the butter isle, grab one and rip into the soft doughy middle of many loaves.
But why buy an E-Numbered laden version when you can bake so many varieties at home yourself?
What this book by Paul does, is bring skills and recipes learned the hard way to the home baker. It’s easy to follow and whilst time consuming well worth the effort for that rewarding feeling inside. Add to this something for everyone and it’s a great addition to your own range of books after all bread is one of the basic staples of life so it should be something that is celebrated. Great stuff.
Release Date: 01/04/12
SYNOPSIS:
With more than 20 million visitors each year, the Lake District retains its fascination for people from all over Britain and abroad. Ian Thompson, who grew up in nearby Barrow-in-Furness and went fell-walking from an early age, is well-equipped to reveal the area's allure. He tells how it was the chance combination of a fascination with the Alps and the outbreak of the Napoleonic wars that provided the spark for a national obsession. And in brief elegant chapters he shows how Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey and De Quincey transformed the perception of the region from one of 'horrid mountains' to 'vales of peace'. Later the work of J. M. W. Turner, John Ruskin, Beatrix Potter, Arthur Ransome and Alfred Wainwright, the great populariser of fell-walking, all in their different ways contributed to making the region what it is today. Crammed with fascinating detail and illustrated with Thompson's own superb colour photography and more than 80 other colour illustrations, The English Lakes is sheer delight.
REVIEW:
Having spent a lot of my formative years in the Lake District I’ve grown up with not only the heritage but the sheer beauty of the area and even met some of the characters including Tony Warburton as well as Alfred Wainwright. This book by Ian Thompson is a wonderful tribute to the area taking you through the history as well as allowing people to see the sheer abundance of places to visit when they made either their day trip plans or their holiday ones.
Add to this a book that is written with great affinity to the area by an author who clearly wanted to bring the subject to the masses and with great description and wonderful photography alongside image reproduction and all in this is a book that will be thumbed through quite a few times.
Release Date: 01/03/12
SYNOPSIS:
Herbs are the most liberating and confidence-boosting of ingredients: grow some and you feel like a proper gardener, bring some into the kitchen and you feel like a proper cook. They allow you to experiment and bring individuality to your cooking while, at the same time, anchoring you in sound culinary tradition because herbs are often responsible for those key flavours that 'make' a dish. Not only that but they are a step on the road to a more self-sufficient, homegrown, organic way of eating. In the first part of the book, Nikki explains how to get the most from herbs. She outlines the basic choosing, picking and using guidelines. The second part is a catalogue of herbs, each with grow-your-own notes, flavour descriptions and mini-recipes. Among the forty herbs that Nikki describes are basil, bay, bergamot, chives, coriander, dill, fennel, horseradish, hyssop, marigold, marjoram, mint, parsley, perilla, rocket, rosemary, sage, scented geranium, tarragon, thyme, wild garlic and winter savory. Following this are over fifty wonderful and adaptable recipes for everything from herb-scented cakes and biscuits to soups, stuffings and tarts, where more than one herb is, or can be, used. With an introduction by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and full-colour photographs, Herbs is a must-have book for every kitchen.
REVIEW:
Recently when purchasing herbs to make a casserole I was shocked at how much these few additions cost. Not tha they’re a one use item but when you add them up over the course of a year it can be quite a tidy sum.
Growing up I remembered having a Bay Leaf Tree, fresh Chives and a few other fresh herbs around the garden, so when this book from River Cottage arrived I thought why not grow my own. After all, fresh is best and after a little outlay, provided you look after them, you can have fresh herbs for life.
Provided within are tips on how to cultivate you own supplies alongside some wonderful recipes for their usage. All in this is a great book all round and something that will add flavour to your meals and that, is rewarding in itself.
Release Date: 03/10/11
SYNOPSIS:
Even in the twenty-first century, the undead walk among us...Before Twilight and True Blood, vampires haunted the nineteenth century, when brilliant writers indulged their bloodthirsty imaginations, culminating in Bram Stoker's legendary 1897 novel, Dracula. Acclaimed author and anthologist Michael Sims brings together the finest vampire stories of the Victorian era in a unique collection that highlights their cultural variety. Beginning with the supposedly true accounts that captivated Byron and Shelley, the stories range from Aleksei Tolstoy's tale of a vampire family to Fitz James O'Brien's invisible monster to Mary Elizabeth Braddon's rich and sinister widow, Good Lady Ducayne. Sims also includes a nineteenth-century travel tour of Transylvanian superstitions, and finishes the collection with Stoker's own Dracula's Guest - a chapter omitted from his landmark novel. Vampires captivated Victorian society, and these wonderful stories demonstrate how Romantic and Victorian writers refined the raw ore of peasant superstition into a whole vampire mythology of aristocratic decadence and innocence betrayed.
REVIEW:
If you’re a firm fan of many of the modern vampire stories, you really have to read these as they’re just as frightening and eerie as the modern counterparts. They have something for everyone from masters of the genre whether you want the calculating vampire or a lonely vamp or even a good old fashioned noble undead you’ve got some in here as well.
Add to this solid writing, a whole host of talent, great prose alongside dialogue and this is true value for money for any fan of the living dead. A cracking read and a wonderful addition to anyone shelves.
Release Date: 03/10/11
SYNOPSIS:
Until now, home cooking has remained stubbornly out of touch with technological development but Heston Blumenthal, champion of the scientific kitchen, is set to change all that with his radical new book. With meticulous precision, he explains what the most effective techniques are and why they work. Heston's instructions are precise and easy to follow, with lots of helpful tips, and each chapter is introduced with an explanation of Heston's approach to 1) Stocks 2) Soups 3) Starters 4) Salads 5) Meat 6) Fish 7) Sous-vide 8) Pasta and grains 9) Cheese 10) Sides and condiments 11) Ices 12) Desserts and sweets 13) Biscuits, snacks and drinks. Recipes include Green bean and radish salad; Prawn cocktail; Roast chicken; Shepherd's pie; Sea bass with vanilla butter; Liquorice poached salmon; Carbonara; The ultimate cheese toastie; Strawberry sundae; Liquid centre chocolate pudding and Raspberry sherbert. And, of course, Heston's famous Triple-cooked chips. Heston Blumenthal at Home will change the way you think about cooking forever - prepare for a culinary revolution!
REVIEW:
Heston is often seen as the mad scientist of the culinary world and yet the recipes that he comes up with work on so many levels. This book is a title about getting the best taste and flavour from each of the individual ingredients with each recipe. He has simple tests to help demonstrate his point and he also helps the reader make something spectacular out of a lot of everyday ingredients.
Add to this the use of things like thermometers whilst cooking, he states that it might seem high tech but it takes the guesswork out of making sure that the star of the meal is cooked to perfection rather than praying to the culinary gods that its done to a T.
Finally add to the mix a whole host of everyday classics as well as his own take on some special items (such as salmon fillet with a liquorice jelly, yes I know it sounds weird but it’s a beautiful combination) and the reader gets a whole new range of things that they may never have dreamed of, including great recipes for core staples of the kitchen like Homemade stocks.
All in its weird, its wonderful and it’s a book that I’ll enjoy trying things from again and again, which when added with the odd madcap science to try for yourself such as the Ice Cream made with Dry Ice (and yes Heston does let you know where to get it.) and it’s a cracking book all round. I really can’t wait to try it all, which at the end of the day, is what every chef wants.
Release Date: 03/10/11
SYNOPSIS:
When city boy Ren moves to small town USA, he is in for serious culture shock. After a local drunk driving accident, the town has outlawed all forms of teen rebellion-no late nights, no partying, no rock music, no dancing. But there is one thing that keeps Ren from going totally out of his mind- the minister's daughter, Ariel. Ariel has a rebellious streak too, and it's not long before she and Ren are rallying their friends, and proving to the adults that teen spirit, celebration, and yes, a little rebellion, can't be contained-it's downright contagious!
The themes of this classic movie are timely as ever: freedom of expression, the role of religion in community, defining family values, and- the ultimate perennial- rock n' roll and teen spirit!
REVIEW:
OK, I’m about to show my age here as I can vividly recall the Kevin Bacon film of the same name and whilst Hollywood is currently going through a whole host of remakes, its going to take a lot to beat the original for me. What this book does is bring the themes explored within the film back to the readers forefront and whilst everything moves at the same pace, I can’t help but think that the author wasn’t quite as sure of the characters as the reader will be.
It was written fairly closely with the film but part of the problem for me, is what works on film won’t necessarily work on the page and that was the key when trying to bring this title to the reader. It’s clunky in places, the characters don’t feel that they’re flesh and blood and to be honest it wasn’t something I enjoyed reading. A great shame all round and I think I’ll stick with my Kenny Loggins version.
Release Date: 07/11/11
SYNOPSIS:
The greatest ever anthology of Victorian detective stories, The Dead Witness gathers the finest police and private detective adventure stories from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including a wide range of overlooked gems. 'The Dead Witness', the 1866 title story by Australian writer Mary Fortune, is the first known detective story by a woman, a suspenseful clue-strewn manhunt in the Outback. This forgotten treasure sets the tone for the whole anthology as surprises appear from every direction, including more female detectives and authors than you can find in any other anthology of its kind. Pioneer women writers such as Anna Katharine Green and C. L. Pirkis take you from rural America to bustling London, introducing you to female detectives from Loveday Brooke to Dorcas Dene and Violet Strange. In other stories, you will meet November Joe, the Canadian half-Native backwoods detective who stars in 'The Crime at Big Tree Portage' and demonstrates that Sherlockian attention to detail works as well in the woods as in the city. Holmes himself is here, too, of course - not in another reprint though - but in the first two chapters of A Study in Scarlet, the first Holmes case, in which the great man meets and dazzles Watson. Authors range from luminaries such as Charles Dickens to the forgotten author who helped inspire Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', the first real detective story. Bret Harte is here as is Mark Twain, with his small-town lawyer detective. Naturally Wilkie Collins couldn't be left behind. Michael Sims's new collection reveals the fascinating and entertaining youth of what would mature into the most popular genre of the twentieth century.
REVIEW:
I’m a fan of the crime novel and whilst for a lot of people it feels more like a modern addition to the reading material, it’s been something that’s entertained many people for decades as witnessed by this wonderful compendium by Michael Sims who has cherry picked a number of stories to bring the reader up to speed with an England he fell in love with during his youth.
It has a lot of twists, the reader can veritably smell the environments and the stories are written by the heavy hitters of the day that have made them names that have stood the test of time. Its entertainment at great value and for a crime fan such as me, it takes you away to a time where things were just as complex. Cracking.
Release Date: 01/08/11
SYNOPSIS:
It is May in Aberystwyth, and the mayoral election campaign - culminating in the traditional boxing match between candidates - is underway. Sospan the ice-cream seller waits in his hut for souls brave enough to try his latest mind-expanding new flavour, and Louie Knight, Aberystwyth's only Private Detective, receives a visit from a mysterious stranger called Raspiwtin asking him to track down a dead man. Twenty-five years ago Iestyn Probert was hanged for his part in the notorious raid on the Coliseum cinema, but shortly afterwards he was seen, apparently alive and well, boarding a bus to Aberaeron. Did he miraculously evade the hangman's noose? Or could there really be substance to the rumours that he was resuscitated by aliens? Now, as strange lights are spotted in the sky above Aberystwyth and a farmer claims to have had a close encounter with a lustful extraterrestrial, Iestyn Probert has been sighted once again. But what does Raspiwtin want with him? And why does Louie's investigation arouse unwelcome interest from a shadowy government body and a dark-suited man in a black 1947 Buick?
REVIEW:
I love a story that is completely different to the myriad of books out there, so when I was recommended this title by staff at Bloomsbury I thought that it would be worth a shot if only to see what the only PI in Aberystwyth had to offer. The story is quirky, the lead character, Louie Knight even more so and all in a tale so fantastical and unlikely that it should have been a complete mess, but with so many things that could have been wrong it made something so right and I found myself loving every minute of the book.
Add to this a great sense of pace, cracking dialogue and a smart mouth that keeps the lead character in more trouble than he can really handle which made this such a satisfying read.
Whilst this was the sixth title in the series I didn’t feel that I’d missed out to this point and because of that its warm enveloping sense of humour and friendship really won me over. I really will be looking at picking up the other titles by Malcolm when time allows as this little gem really did bring a smile to my face throughout the read. Malcolm really is quirky, humorous with a Noir sense of darkness lurking the edges of his mind. Great stuff.
Release Date: 04/07/11
SYNOPSIS:
It is winter in the mountains of northern Greece and as the snow falls in the tiny village of Vrisi a coffin is unearthed and broken open. But to the astonishment of the mourners at the graveside, the remains inside the coffin have been transformed, and as news of the bizarre discovery spreads through the village like forest fire it sets tongues wagging and heads shaking. Then, in the shadow of the shrine of St Fanourios (patron saint of lost things), a body is found, buried under the fallen snow - a body whose identity only deepens the mystery around the exhumed remains. There's talk of witchcraft, and the devil's work - but it seems the truth, behind both the body and the coffin, may be far stranger than the villagers' wildest imaginings. Hermes Diaktoros, drawn to the mountains by a wish to see an old and dear friend, finds himself embroiled in the mysteries of Vrisi, as well as the enigmatic last will and testament of Greece's most admired modern poet. The Whispers of Nemesis is a story of desperate measures and long-kept secrets, of murder and immortality and of pride coming before the steepest of falls.
REVIEW:
I love a crime book that takes me either somewhere exotic or an area of the world I’ve never been before as this presents me with the chance to explore not only the seedy underbelly of society there but also the beliefs as well as rites that are common for the area to add a bit more mystique as well as spice to the tail.
What this book by Anne Zouroudi presented for me was a wonderful piece of escapism as I was taken by the hand to a land rich in folklore as well as modern interpretations. It’s cleverly written, the plot line spectacular and when added with a lead character that was multifaceted so that I could get to grips with him, it really made the story sing. Add to this the multi-layered perspectives of the principle players and it was an omnipotent title for the reader to digest. All in a wonderful addition to anyone’s Crime Fiction library and one that I will definitely endeavour to read the earlier titles for in order to get the full impact of this wonderful author.
