Sunday, 11 June 2023
What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 23
Sunday, 4 June 2023
What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 22
Friday, 2 June 2023
Book review : In The Shadows - Jane Isaac
The recently released In The Shadows is the fifth book in the series by Jane Isaac, featuring the determined female police officer, DCI Helen Lavery. I have yet to read the others but nevertheless really enjoyed this book and I felt as if I really understood the lead character and her motivation.
As a popular school reunion disco at a busy pub winds to an end, all hell breaks loose as some of the guests head outside. With gunfire puncturing the stillness of the night, five victims are left lying on the ground and the assassin has fled into the shadows. Who is behind these murders and why has the peaceful town of Hampton been targetted ? Could this be linked to the past investigations of DCI Lavery and her detective father and the criminals they put behind bars?
Helped by the counter-terrorism unit, Lavery leads the investigation into this bloody crime. But that is not all she has on the cards. The trial of Chilli Franks is being arranged and this organised crime boss has Lavery and her family in his sights as revenge for being put in prison back in the 1990's. Helen's teenaged son Robert is best friends with Zac, who just happens to be the nephew of Chilli Franks. DCI Lavery has her hands full, trying to solve the case, track down the criminal but also look after her family.
With short chapters packed full of action, the tension builds as the narrative progresses. The constant references to the issues going on in DCI Lavery's personal life help to see her as more than just a police inspector and help us to understand the stresses that she is going through.
It's a gripping read and has definitely made me want to go back and catch up with the previous titles. The only bad point in my view is that I frequently read way past my bedtime and felt tired the next day, but it was definitely worth it !
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £8.99
- Publisher : Legend Press (25 May 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1915643899
- ISBN-13 : 978-1915643896
Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Degustabox May 2023 review : BBQ and Garden Party
Temperatures have been rising over the last couple of weeks and the sun has been putting in an appearance on a fairly regular basis, so there's no doubt about it - summer is definitely on the way ! That ties in perfectly with the theme of the latest Degustabox : BBQ and Garden Party. Quick, get the parasol out and pass the sun cream !
Monday, 29 May 2023
What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 21
Monday, 22 May 2023
What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 20
Tuesday, 16 May 2023
Book review : The Brink - Jamie Fewery
- Publisher : Legend Press (4 May 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1915643872
- ISBN-13 : 978-1915643872
Saturday, 13 May 2023
Book review : Cuckoo In The Nest - Fran Hill
Just one look at the colours swirling around on the front cover of the book was enough to take me back to my 1970's childhood. I'm actually about a decade younger than the central character, a 14-year-old girl going through her troubled teens, but even so, I could recognise the meals, the music and the family pastimes from my own childhood. The seventies was a long time ago but it is a great book for bringing up old memories of what now seems like such a simple lifetime.
Things are not quite so simple for Jackie Chadwick though, the lead character. Since her mother died of cancer several years before, her father has gone off the rails. He's lost his job as a fireman and fallen into a hopeless life as an alcoholic, leaving Jackie to keep the family going by providing food however she can and avoiding her father's belligerent attacks. A broken wrist leads her to reveal details of her unsatisfactory home life which makes Social Services step in and whisk her away to a foster family, the Walls.
Uncle Nick, a supply teacher, and Bridget (who Jackie can't manage to call Auntie Bridget), along with their daughter Amanda, also fourteen like Jackie, make up her new family, along with the dog, a dalmatian called Spotless. While things seem pretty perfect for a while, cracks start appearing in the surface of the family unit, but Jackie, supported by her social workers, seems ready to accept that life and families (or foster families) don't need to be 100% perfect for everything to turn out ok.
Despite some of the darker moments in the story, it's ultimately a positive, uplifting book, showing how life can get better and people can find their happy ending however much of a bad start in life they were dealt. The book is based on author Fran Hill's own experiences of being fostered in the 1970's, which is probably why it seems so historically and personally precise and believable. For me, it was an enjoyable step back in time.
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £8.99
- Publisher : Legend Press (26 April 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1915643910
- ISBN-13 : 978-1915643919