Book Review: The Brief by Simon Michael

The Brief 

by

Simon Michael

This book was given to me by the publishers Sapere Books to read and review. Massive thanks goes to them for the chance to do this, I really appreciate it. The Brief is book one of the Charles Holborne Legal Thriller series and is the first book I have read by this author.

"A dark and gritty legal thriller set in 1960's London. I loved it"

Blurb:

Guilty until proven innocent… 

London, 1960

Barrister Charles Holborne is not popular. A Jewish East Ender with a rough past, he is ostracised by his anti-Semitic and class-conscious colleagues who don’t want him in their prestigious Establishment profession.

And the bitterness Charles feels at work is spilling over into his personal life, putting his marriage under strain.

When a high-profile murder case lands on his desk, Charles is hopeful his fortunes will turn around.

But after a shocking crime is committed, he finds himself on the other side of law…

Can he outwit those trying to frame him? Will he manage to unmask the real criminal?

Or will he find himself on trial for murder…?

Review:

When it comes to legal thrillers, I have not really read that many. I am not really sure why, because the ones I have read I have always loved. I have recently just finished Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh and I wondered why yet again. Well.... Along came The Brief by Simon Michael. Not only did I love the sound of this book but it was set in the 1960's, and I thought that would be great to read, and also a good learning curve as to what the legal system was like back then, when they did not have all the technology they do now.

The story itself started off at a great pace. You were introduced to the main character and a brief outlook as to what he does and where. The scene was set, and you were knuckling down to get stuck in. I mention it quite a lot on my reviews but there is nothing worse than a book that takes 50+ pages just scene setting. These are the books that I normally start to switch off on, and normally don't like. The Brief was not like this at all and I knew from those first few pages I would love this book. Twists & turns a plenty kept you guessing throughout which I also found really enjoyable. Another part of the book which I loved was the dark side of London which was portrayed, moving from east to west, north to south you felt no one was safe. Cameos from the Kray Twins added to the darkness of this story... I mean, how could it not. There was a little mention of the Great Train Robbery, along with other real life stories which put you there on the streets with the characters.

The main character Charles Holborne was an interesting person to follow throughout the book and when it came to it he had to go back to a younger version of his self to survive. This added to the excitement of the book. I cannot wait to read the next in the series and see how the author follows up with this character.

Was there anything I did not like? just a very small bit really, there was not that much court action as I was expecting but this did not ruin any part of the book for me. Hopefully in the next books we get to see Charles in court action a lot more.

Overall this was a really enjoyable book, which I found easy to read and like I've said I cannot wait to read the next book in the series, I hope it is as great as this.

Have you read this book? What do you think? Do you agree with me or not? I would love to know.

Speak soon

CBailey31

#BlogTour The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh

#BlogTour

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy 

by

Alexandra Walsh

Hello, and welcome to my stop on the #BlogTour for The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh. Firstly, please can I say a massive thank you to Sapere Books and the author Alexandra Walsh for a copy of this book to read and review, I really appreciate the opportunity to do so.

Blurb:

What secrets were covered up at the court of Henry VIII …?

Whitehall Palace, England, 1539

When Catherine Howard arrives at the court of King Henry VIII to be a maid of honour in the household of the new queen, Anne of Cleves, she has no idea of the fate that awaits her. 

Catching the king’s fancy, she finds herself caught up in her uncle’s ambition to get a Howard heir to the throne. 

Terrified by the ageing king after the fate that befell her cousin, Anne Boleyn, Catherine begins to fear for her life…

Pembrokeshire, Wales, 2018

Dr Perdita Rivers receives news of the death of her estranged grandmother, renowned Tudor historian Mary Fitzroy. 

Mary inexplicably cut all contact with Perdita and her twin sister, Piper, but she has left them Marquess House, her vast estate in Pembrokeshire.

Perdita sets out to unravel their grandmother’s motives for abandoning them, and is drawn into the mystery of an ancient document in the archives of Marquess House, a collection of letters and diaries claiming the records of Catherine Howard’s execution were falsified…

What truths are hiding in Marquess House? What really happened to Catherine Howard? And how was Perdita’s grandmother connected to it all?

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy is the first book in the Marquess House trilogy, a dual timeline conspiracy thriller with a twist on a well-known period of Tudor history.

Review:

When it comes to history books, I only read maybe 1 in 25 that are set before the 1980's. I love history of all forms, ranging from art to the building of the pyramids, but not when it comes to reading books. I am not sure why really. This book however jumped out at me when I first read the blurb, and I could not wait to get started. Who does not love a good conspiracy theory? Especially when it means that what we have known for 100's of years could be all wrong, covered up by secret societies from around the world.

It did not take me long to get into the story at all. A little bit of scene setting and introduction of the characters was all that was needed. I love how the book was written, with the story flicking between 1539 - 1543 & 2018. This helped with the building of the story and made you want more. You needed to know what was happening next but had to carry on from where you left off previously in the other century. It was like reading two stories but about the same thing. The book had me excited all the way through, and I had to keep reading to finish it. There were times when chapters finished at 1am but I had to carry on even though I was up at 6:30am for work. I kept thinking I will deal with the tiredness in the morning.

The Characters (in 2018) were greatly written and I loved each one. There was always a sense about them, that you could not trust. This kept you guessing as to who was telling the truth, who were keeping secrets and who could be basically part of some society that has been running for 500 years.

  

Before starting this book I thought about having a little recap about Henry VIII and his life as King along with his wives, but decided against it. I made the right decision because the author explained a lot about what happened around that time and who people were in relation to King Henry VIII. If you have no knowledge of this period then do not worry at all. 

Now the author states that this is a work of fiction..... Well...… She says that, but do I trust her? I would love to think that the events in this book were true. I was a little sad when the book finished but also very excited as book two of the trilogy is out in June and I will definitely be buying this as I need to know what happens next. I thought this book was amazing and to think I would not normally have chosen to read it. I am so happy I did though.

Have you read this book? what do you think? Do you agree with me or not? Let me know...

Speak soon

CBailey31

About the Author:

From tales spun for her teddies when she was a child (usually about mermaids) to film scripts, plays and novels, Alexandra Walsh has always been a storyteller. Words are her world. For over 25 years, she has been a journalist writing for a wide range of publications including national newspapers and glossy magazines. She spent some years working in the British film industry, as well as in television and radio: researching, advising, occasionally presenting and always writing.

Books dominate Alexandra’s life. She reads endlessly and tends to become a bit panicky if her next three books are not lined up and waiting. Characters, places, imagery all stay with her and even now she finds it difficult to pass an old wardrobe without checking it for a door to Narnia. As for her magical letter when she was 11, she can only assume her cat caught the owl!

Alexandra’s other passion is history, particularly the untold tales of women. Whether they were queens or paupers, their voices resonate with their stories, not only about their own lives but about ours, too. The women of the Tudor court have inspired her novels. Researching and writing The Marquess House Trilogy (Book One: The Catherine Howard Conspiracy) has brought together her love of history, mysteries and story telling.

Website: http://www.alexandrawalsh.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/purplemermaid25?lang=en

Book Review: The Haunting of Alice May by Tony Lee Moral

The Haunting of Alice May

by

Tony Lee Moral

Firstly I must thank the author Tony Lee Moral for giving me a copy of this book to read and write an honest review for him. I am really appreciative of this. The Haunting of Alice May is the second book by Tony Lee Moral that I have read, having read Playing Mrs. Kingston. I really enjoyed that book having put it in my top 5 best books of 2015, so I was looking forward to this from the off.

"A fun and enjoyable read about Love, with a Ghostly twist that makes you want the good guys to win"

Précis (taken from the cover):

Alice's mother passes away and with her father and little sister, Sophie, she moves to Pacific Grove in California. Alice is deathly afraid of the water despite living in a community surrounded by it. In order to push through her phobia, she joins the Kayaking club in high school.

During a routine kayaking drill, a fog rolls in and Alice becomes disoriented, losing all sense of direction. A large wave turns the kayak over, dumping Alice into the icy-cold pacific. She nearly drowns when a young man dives in after her. . .Henry Raphael.

After Henry's rescue, Alice gains more than her life. Henry is a beautiful seventeen-year-old or more accurately, one-hundred-seventeen years. The relationship between them takes Alice on a journey for which no one could prepare her.

Long distance relationships are difficult - how can Alice bridge a divide between planes? Henry died over a century ago but lives on in the fourth plane of existence waiting for an opportunity to atone for past deeds that caused the death of his ship's entire crew. Their vengeance still hanging over his head, Henry and Alice learn their love will be tested by more than the passage of time and living in different dimensions.

Review:

This book is not normally one that I would choose to read, but this past year or so I have been trying different genre's so that I am seeing what else is out there. I have to say I really enjoyed this book, the story was original and nothing I have really seen before, either in book form or on TV/films. 

Is this a love story? Yes it is, but it's not a soppy romantic book. It's about a teenage girl dealing with a lot a sad and stressful troubles in her life that a girl of that age should not have to go through. It's about her managing this and the horrible and painful matter of falling in love for the first time. The boy she loves is around the same age, well... He was when he died a hundred years ago. An ancient curse has been put on the town meaning that peoples souls are still there living amongst real life people. Like all good love stories there are people, or ghosts as it is in this book that are trying to ruin things and are out for revenge. This story is a fun and enjoyable read about love, with a ghostly twist that makes you want the good guys to win.

The characters were greatly written and very enjoyable to read about. My favourite being Emily & Christian who were Alice's friends that helped and supported her when she needed it. Emily making me laugh throughout. I also loved the sound of O'Reilly, the captain of the ship that sank a hundred years ago. He was kind of like an 1800's pirate. I mean who does not like pirates??

Was there anything I did not like about this book? Very little really, it was easy to read and only took me 6 days, which is good for me. At the beginning of the book there were a few chapters which I thought ended quite abruptly as though there was some story missing, but as the book went on this flowed a lot easier.

Like I have said it is an enjoyable book to read with a great story. 

Has anyone else read this book? do you agree with me or not? Let me know what you think..

Speak soon,

CBailey31

#BlogTour Brotherhood by David Beckler

#BlogTour

Brotherhood

by

David Beckler

Hello and welcome to my stop on the #BlogTour for Brotherhood by David Beckler. Massive thanks goes to Sapere Books and the author David for a copy of this book to read and review.

"A dark and gritty crime thriller that that takes you on a scary ride around the streets of Manchester"

Blurb:

An Ex-Marine forced to confront his troubled past...

Manchester, England, 1998

When Byron Mason's estranged nephew, Philip, rings him out of the blue in desperate need of help, he knows he must put his personal feelings aside to protect his family.

A teenage boy has been murdered, and Philip is one of the suspects. Worse than that, the dead boy was the nephew of Ritchie McLaughlin - a local thug who Byron has clashed with in the past - and Philip has now gone missing.

Desperate to clear Philip's name, Byron enlists the help of hid old friend Adam Sterling to track down the real killers.

Is Philip in danger? Can Byron and Adam find him before the police do? Or has Byron's violent past with McLaughlin come back to haunt him?

This nail-biting new thriller series will have you on the edge of your seat!

Perfect for fans of Lee Child, J.B. Turner, Mark Dawson and David Baldacci...

Review:

David Beckler? Who? You may ask. Well I certainly did. I mean I have never heard of him before being asked to read and review this book. Now I know though, I am so happy. Reading this book has introduced me to a new thriller writer that I will definitely read again.

I went into this book with an open mind. I think you have too when it comes to new authors. I read the blurb and that was it. I did not look up what other people scored it or even wrote about it. The book starts off with violence. This got me to sit up from the off. Now when it comes to violence I am probably the least violent person around but when it comes to books I love it. I don't know what this says about my mind though. The action started and you were gripped. The scenes were being set and the words flew of the pages as you needed to know what was going to happen next. 

About a quarter of the way through though I found the book stalled a little. At the time I was so upset due to the start and was praying that, that was not the end of the good stuff. Thankfully a few chapters later it started to pick up again. It was like being at a crossroads and deciding which route to take. Thanks to David he went all the way to Actionville. The second half of this book was crammed with action, having a good mix of goodies, baddies & the police as well as loads more violence that left a trail of blood and bodies.

The characters I found were so good in this book. Even the goodies were kind of baddies to an extent. Byron and Adam were really fun to follow as they chased around Manchester in their own style looking for the bad guys and Philip. The two main police officers in the book had their part to play, but not in a hero of the story way, which I really liked as this was different to most crime books. As well as the gang boss you also had a former child soldier from Africa, who was adapting to life in the UK. As the book went on you read more about what the child had been through when he was really young and this added a really interesting addition to the story.

If you, like me, like crime thrillers then I fully recommend this book to you. Also if you do read it and find it a bit testing, then make sure you carry on as you will not be disappointed.

About the Author:

David writes crime thrillers full of fast-paced action.

Born in Addis Ababa in 1960, he spent his first eight years living on an agricultural college in rural Ethiopia where his love of reading developed. After dropping out of university he became a firefighter and served 19 years before leaving to start his own business. 

He began writing in 2010 and uses his work experiences to add realism to his fiction.

The Mason and Sterling series centre on two ex-Royal Marines, Byron who now runs a security company and Adam who is a firefighter. A strong cast of supporting characters support his protagonists. Sapere Books are publishing Brotherhood, the first novel in the series, in late 2018.

David lives in Manchester, his adopted home since 1984.

In his spare time he tries to keep fit—an increasingly difficult undertaking—listens to music, socialises and feeds his voracious book habit.

Book Review: Sorta Like a Rockstar

Sorta Like a Rockstar 

by

Matthew Quick

Those that have read my blog before will know that Matthew Quick is one of, if not my favourite author. Not only has he written my all time favourite book in The Silver Linings Playbook (Don't get me started on how woeful the film was) but every single book of his I have read I have really loved. I am a bit worried that one day I will read one though and think meh! Hopefully not anytime soon.

"Another fantastic read that plays with all your emotions as always but leaves you feeling oh so happy. Mr Quick Sir, you are amazing!"


Blurb:

Amber Appleton has a lot to be thankful for.

Or

Amber Appleton has never had it easy.

Both are true. On the one hand, she's got the best friends a seventeen year old could ask for and a loyal dog. Bobby Big Boy. On the other, her mum frequently has too much to drink, Amber's never quite sure where her next meal will come from and ever since her mum's latest boyfriend kicked them out, they have been living in the back of a school bus.

To those around her Amber is an inspiration, a Rockstar - of hope. She's always managed to remain upbeat, to find the light in the darkest of situations. Until, that is, an unimaginable tragedy occurs. Can Amber still be thankful now things are harder than she'd ever thought possible?

Review:

Matthew Quick has this great way of pulling you into a story. Once you are there you never want to let go. Sometimes you may want too as the stories can be quite sad, but you are so involved with the characters that you cannot let them down, you have to stay with them. All of Matthew's books are centred around mental health, and people who struggle through life. Mental Health is very important to me personally and it is great to see that around the world people are starting to talk about it more. However we have so much more to achieve around this subject.

In all the books that Matthew has written you go on this emotional rollercoaster that tests even the stubbornest of people who believe they will not cry at anything. Now you may be asking why would I want to read a book that is sad and upsetting. Well... Sorta Like a Rockstar like all of his other books is a wonderful story, that not only makes you realise that your life is not actually that bad but takes you on a ride that ends with you feeling so happy inside. As I read the last 50 pages I must have been smiling so much because at the end my jaw was hurting so much. I read this book in just over a week as the words just flew off the pages. If you have a reading challenge going this year I would fully recommend this one to keep your numbers up.

I loved all the character's in this book... Well, apart from one but I can't tell you who as that may ruin the storyline. Amber the main character is a 'Rockstar' who teaches us that it does not matter how bad life gets you should always look to help others even if they say they don't want any help. Amber volunteers at a old peoples home on a Wednesday and the friends that she has there are brilliant and some of my favourite bits from this book happen because of them. I personally did not have a favourite teacher at school but I know that thousands of people do. Not just because they were nice to them but they made a difference in their life. Amber's is Mr Franks and I think his character is also wonderfully written and great to follow through this book.

Was there anything bad about this book? Errrrrrrrm…. Nope!

Sorta Like a Rockstar is once again another classic from Matthew Quick and I can't wait to read the next one of his. Last week I bought The Reason You're Alive and should hopefully read that in the next few months. That and the other 140 books I have in my TBR pile haha.

Have you read this book? What do you think? I would love to know, so comment away...

Speak soon

CBailey31

Book Review: Not Very PC by Alan Craig

Not Very PC

by

Alan Craig

This book was given to me by the author himself for a read and honest review. Massive thanks goes to Alan for this. I did receive this book last year but my life has been very hectic these past 3 months I have not had time to do any blogging so apologies for not keeping up with my reviews. All seems to be a bit calmer now so I shall be catching up in the next few weeks.

"A no holds barred debut crime thriller. Can't wait for the next in the series"

Blurb:

Murder and mystery combined with sexual content and earthy humour in this fast-paced crime thriller set amidst the coastal villages of Fife.

The brutal murder of boatyard owner in a small fishing village sees DS Mark McManus transferred to the Major Investigation Team from his local CID unit.

His attraction to older married women was always going to get him into trouble sometime; probably sooner rather than later when he finds his new boss will be the husband of one of his lovers. 

McManus is teamed up with local officer who knew the victim, a drunken wife-beater and a pervert who preyed on young women. But she carries her own burdens which endangers the investigation.

It seems everyone has something to hide, and McManus soon uncovers sexual connections between the witness, the victim, and members of his own team. Then there is another murder.....

Review:

This is Alan Craig's debut novel and is the first in a series called the Mark McManus Murder Mystery Series. As debut novels go, this read like it was the author's 10th. The story flowed greatly and the attention to detail in all aspects of the story showed great knowledge and you could tell a lot of research was taken before writing. 

It was great to read a book set in Scotland that was not directly in Glasgow or Edinburgh (Although Fife is just north of Edinburgh) This was somewhere new and not knowing the area kept me intrigued as to where people were and going.

The characters were really interesting and great to follow throughout the book. All of them had secrets and you could not trust anyone. Even the lead Mark McManus had secrets which was one of the reason why I loved his character. As leads go in crime thrillers you don't want them to be all about their job, you want them to have an edge to them which shows that they are not perfect or boring. Mark was cocky, funny and mysterious. I really can't wait to read the next book in the series and to see what surprises there are with Mark.

The story itself was very dark, gritty and held nothing back. I really found this enjoyable. I don't know what this says about me though. Sometimes the darker the better. From the outside the story was set in a nice local fishing village but really it is full of murder, drugs, sex & hatred..... Ok and more!

If, like me you love crime thrillers I really recommend you give this a go. You can get it cheap on your E-books or if you are like me and want a book to touch, feel but most of all smell, you can buy on paperback.

Have you read this book? what do you think? Do you agree with me at all? Let me know..

Speak soon,

CBailey31