tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81060662948636136282024-02-20T12:09:47.033-08:00Barking Mad Book BlogBarking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106066294863613628.post-11462527215199654712020-06-17T10:05:00.000-07:002020-06-17T10:05:23.098-07:00Half Year round up<div>
<span style="font-family: arial;">Greetings all</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Long time, no blog it seems. And the reason for that is that I feel I've run out of words to say.....let me expand....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At the beginning of the year I set myself a book reading target of 60 books in 12 months. That's probably peanuts for most of you, but being a total book sloth in terms of reading speed, I though it was quite ambitious but fairly achievable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then COVID-19 happened</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I found myself stuck at home, nowhere to go, nothing to do. I started this blog. So far, so good! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lockdown continued</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I began buying more books and reading more books. My TBR list has grown exponentially over the last couple of months and I found myself going from an average one book a week to three. Most of them have been fantastic and I realised that I felt I'd run out of superlatives, adjectives, synonyms, metaphors etc. to be able to review and gush about how wonderful they have all been. It felt like I was saying the same thing every time, especially when I read so many other amazing reviews from more articulate bloggers than me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hence why I've not blogged for a while (oh, and also because the day job has been getting in the way a bit more too!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, what I thought I'd do, as we approach the half way stage of my book challenge, is bring you up to date on where I am and what I've read along with a brief "three words or less" summary of each book - then you'll realise why I've ground to a halt with reviews when you see my shockingly limited vocabulary!!</span> <div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ok, so as it stands today, with my target of 60 books by the end of the year, I have read....</span></span><br></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">(Insert drum roll here.....)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">37 Books!!! š®</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">More than half way to my goal at the "not quite half way point". Pretty chuffed with that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So....what have I read? In no particular order, thanks to the new Blogger interface which is, quite frankly, rubbish, here we go.......(and just a note....depending on how you're reading this - phone, tablet, computer etc - the comments might not match up with the cover pics, so have fun working out what goes where!!) Damn you Blogger interface!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life Affirming Chillingly Prescient Violent Fun</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Superbly Shocking Spooky Brilliance Action Packed Madness</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Authentically Historic Caper Sadly Disappointing Twisted Genius</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Empowering Superb Debut Brilliant Dystopian Nightmare</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Twisted Thrill Ride Aaah....Tilly!! Gripping Page Turner</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Don't Judge Me! Just Excellent Butt Clenching Thriller</span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-TpfWyK73FZV99P1PmpU1SkaLCezOttGBZ3b7m1UxwSgpsCu5Gm_Q3kNVtso-R5EA0Do7ujTtYvGTSYwp6W8jB4UPXeXXu4O6ArCpUyXWl96OvfZ8p-Ya7Oo6HMGHUkaKvMPHLH4edc/s218/81m%252BAwsMi5L__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-TpfWyK73FZV99P1PmpU1SkaLCezOttGBZ3b7m1UxwSgpsCu5Gm_Q3kNVtso-R5EA0Do7ujTtYvGTSYwp6W8jB4UPXeXXu4O6ArCpUyXWl96OvfZ8p-Ya7Oo6HMGHUkaKvMPHLH4edc/"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhW8dAr41h1Yle5cdi-YPCRu-YvW5pLd57V2jOw_bQAGhTlr5uedA_BxO-GZKl-w1q9ma-A8h979cPBwpc0YFW6xT767dnTz2NnD89vGkSlxp6dvRN1XL2x8a3tYo3lPPrwtevqTDn-w/s218/81QJq1UTTuL__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhW8dAr41h1Yle5cdi-YPCRu-YvW5pLd57V2jOw_bQAGhTlr5uedA_BxO-GZKl-w1q9ma-A8h979cPBwpc0YFW6xT767dnTz2NnD89vGkSlxp6dvRN1XL2x8a3tYo3lPPrwtevqTDn-w/"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3STfmsUaeTcTTenR3-ryfyi2VMHEFw78mwi6vkFA3LR_qjC_9_QQttdI8vYys1Dbb8zZAjknANQPmrQJfJLD5xCk6m1F8l888XDLQUftDCjr11CSvh7wqn36_pnO422QcYEHA-R4MRE/s218/81vOj%252BMdjcL__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3STfmsUaeTcTTenR3-ryfyi2VMHEFw78mwi6vkFA3LR_qjC_9_QQttdI8vYys1Dbb8zZAjknANQPmrQJfJLD5xCk6m1F8l888XDLQUftDCjr11CSvh7wqn36_pnO422QcYEHA-R4MRE/"></a><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sick, Twisted Brilliance Utterly Joyous Bonkersness Intriguing Thriller</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Fantastic Totally Absorbing Sheer Masterpiece</span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTkjYUZ6jxxHMQPhj4ZR7Fy5o3mpxtrWDmj7Xp4PmUnX5CgwSIVabq-_UmbAZp17Iz20qMT7JRT-OImn8H-6IdsNDqnKkBCKc9F_Acdx0afN_OVrkvOpyFPX2S05ESNv-QdYyqObv1-I/s218/91abHOrLM9L__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTkjYUZ6jxxHMQPhj4ZR7Fy5o3mpxtrWDmj7Xp4PmUnX5CgwSIVabq-_UmbAZp17Iz20qMT7JRT-OImn8H-6IdsNDqnKkBCKc9F_Acdx0afN_OVrkvOpyFPX2S05ESNv-QdYyqObv1-I/"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIV5IDgpkbMj1GYHIgjNCE0mVX0rvuXl2hC66ftX2Pz6mqpPQHszRCd6BxIXKzP_prllGS2VC_95T7vVT9Rmy3YPx1OI6AUO9PIX74B2GACpg7Jnb4Z91RyBZtc22zgtTEofeqN2Ap8o/s218/91ax6CxEA6L__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIV5IDgpkbMj1GYHIgjNCE0mVX0rvuXl2hC66ftX2Pz6mqpPQHszRCd6BxIXKzP_prllGS2VC_95T7vVT9Rmy3YPx1OI6AUO9PIX74B2GACpg7Jnb4Z91RyBZtc22zgtTEofeqN2Ap8o/"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50vVD8l8ECkt14O9IvJbyyWspYQQo8JpYjEdFm03XkieJoJ1pNjk3qSJP1HjUDbhp5mC_ZB8OCNTma2PZD8aWge_-rIRRwFQMOMyie5iP8ldLQk5ODYjGmbJRbhTB0UWeI1dXZDJJoqs/s218/91MWIktnBOL__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50vVD8l8ECkt14O9IvJbyyWspYQQo8JpYjEdFm03XkieJoJ1pNjk3qSJP1HjUDbhp5mC_ZB8OCNTma2PZD8aWge_-rIRRwFQMOMyie5iP8ldLQk5ODYjGmbJRbhTB0UWeI1dXZDJJoqs/"></a><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Superb Collection Original and Gripping Just Loved It! </span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuuW9i9Ge_LLFak2_otzcZM9lhK0LddFf17j1wPr49hhuhyphenhyphennbOEiAMyFtcrxbzY8MbWsR7d4NwEUQBKEBimu0jFnbqGS7PdBHh53BVSiT_55QbUski2fZ1zlppOIYA-ylUo86HxzGARM/s218/91pRtjZaTNL__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuuW9i9Ge_LLFak2_otzcZM9lhK0LddFf17j1wPr49hhuhyphenhyphennbOEiAMyFtcrxbzY8MbWsR7d4NwEUQBKEBimu0jFnbqGS7PdBHh53BVSiT_55QbUski2fZ1zlppOIYA-ylUo86HxzGARM/"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrdEioXs1hAOnlaea4jZVZ0pm6oTU6tnswVSKoOs0EBhD8Ly7n0qNDPzXlkLaxe46v7CAJjVbD3pgg4ePQXPNXJSuQbXcrZSwpY2zCeA8y2LWkB-z668g4DmLLgB4oMhy8ZcRnu6Oa9I/s218/91TJnyi282L__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrdEioXs1hAOnlaea4jZVZ0pm6oTU6tnswVSKoOs0EBhD8Ly7n0qNDPzXlkLaxe46v7CAJjVbD3pgg4ePQXPNXJSuQbXcrZSwpY2zCeA8y2LWkB-z668g4DmLLgB4oMhy8ZcRnu6Oa9I/"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYBcW1XOaLfQ58T5IL30VvCuA6S-TuvJ40fICdZFIsZhFQP5znbQzb48GroUELlnvq5kweMoYJJCtvpKqjfGfE6rW4CnZwVaxDhD-VSKVSh7S8IZ8sE-ZZsUSDJHZJjOfvrPz9o1nxcg/s218/91XwYFfgoML__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYBcW1XOaLfQ58T5IL30VvCuA6S-TuvJ40fICdZFIsZhFQP5znbQzb48GroUELlnvq5kweMoYJJCtvpKqjfGfE6rW4CnZwVaxDhD-VSKVSh7S8IZ8sE-ZZsUSDJHZJjOfvrPz9o1nxcg/"></a><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Glorious Riveting A Good Read</span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdDQERyZQS6AZZQ30zFvVDZFyO9E9Ool4JL69hwCbeXjsLcfkXCPtgclPOH3InRSjPTnG9fmjjHNcfAQs8WDeL8FqCyzTiLeCryBfBMTOFrSVlNOeY-Z5eREg_jKK_vDPh80ak8XK_eU/s218/416nS%252Be2rKL__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdDQERyZQS6AZZQ30zFvVDZFyO9E9Ool4JL69hwCbeXjsLcfkXCPtgclPOH3InRSjPTnG9fmjjHNcfAQs8WDeL8FqCyzTiLeCryBfBMTOFrSVlNOeY-Z5eREg_jKK_vDPh80ak8XK_eU/"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0umNgpH5DuMqtbf0SmgiEHgCAhchNkdZzEjd-PgmzixQlLylpIYPFeTqdQHI1vNDfkX7p3mIVRGZB8bmRMVHa0pcEgXatEAhYuk81TWO7xBpeB4UZw2OspNS2V1ehw7mZD-E7Ech7G-o/s218/712leQ2zKqL__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0umNgpH5DuMqtbf0SmgiEHgCAhchNkdZzEjd-PgmzixQlLylpIYPFeTqdQHI1vNDfkX7p3mIVRGZB8bmRMVHa0pcEgXatEAhYuk81TWO7xBpeB4UZw2OspNS2V1ehw7mZD-E7Ech7G-o/"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZR3CVPatUg51WBmkLAXW8RsCWvth8avKPEHqWjZ8WH89B_dgvtKNHiQs70dKpA0KyKCe96jTE8uoZkIGtyE5nsX0tgv5KT-3IVY8g3xw6QjCAqh8-aknwWFfBgmmEDacgmm069iM0l08/s218/714v0a9zaPL__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZR3CVPatUg51WBmkLAXW8RsCWvth8avKPEHqWjZ8WH89B_dgvtKNHiQs70dKpA0KyKCe96jTE8uoZkIGtyE5nsX0tgv5KT-3IVY8g3xw6QjCAqh8-aknwWFfBgmmEDacgmm069iM0l08/"></a><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shocking Heart Warming Excellent Debut</span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHgOCucS8m_vijyyGJ38LYs83ZP0EfmX75-8Ggup36jjBFtLm-x86mO5epH9UXTMSXDhhUjzC12SqMfasSj9F2Vpg0qTjlsQFRE7IgoP8xW6JduOfBYqLY327zUwg3j4v7Ae8o-UdS0M/s360/814kMuCYVtL__AC_SX480_SY360_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHgOCucS8m_vijyyGJ38LYs83ZP0EfmX75-8Ggup36jjBFtLm-x86mO5epH9UXTMSXDhhUjzC12SqMfasSj9F2Vpg0qTjlsQFRE7IgoP8xW6JduOfBYqLY327zUwg3j4v7Ae8o-UdS0M/s320/814kMuCYVtL__AC_SX480_SY360_.jpg" style="height: 230px; width: 130px;" width="212"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1M-m1o_BwpFM7BENb0wT_DeSNTZveqJ41nufUHz6I9rhNiK7bd8SVY2oXjg2UUxxa1Kmg6Bqt8t26b1AWj3l3EirH4ywyT2z_M7YqJbaLumg_FhyphenhyphenbUXefFXAg_0Ctb9v1D1GKLOpqYoY/s218/819Q0unqLrL__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1M-m1o_BwpFM7BENb0wT_DeSNTZveqJ41nufUHz6I9rhNiK7bd8SVY2oXjg2UUxxa1Kmg6Bqt8t26b1AWj3l3EirH4ywyT2z_M7YqJbaLumg_FhyphenhyphenbUXefFXAg_0Ctb9v1D1GKLOpqYoY/"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJDXQASGR-2Hdx3cko0L7n3GUtw6ehGZ_QZr6CSDC0Xrcpq7k3cje1X85Z58smNE4lxWbmKFxlncPGDCSAUQPwGFmG5gInC8tyTwG1rNroaVLn1In3d7qFBB6kVPehb-GVg5N4VOmB_E/s218/910oc8EY-9L__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJDXQASGR-2Hdx3cko0L7n3GUtw6ehGZ_QZr6CSDC0Xrcpq7k3cje1X85Z58smNE4lxWbmKFxlncPGDCSAUQPwGFmG5gInC8tyTwG1rNroaVLn1In3d7qFBB6kVPehb-GVg5N4VOmB_E/"></a><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Masterful Storytelling Nail Bitingly Good Another Page Turner </span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSI4-2DA3oYwHbG3eA4VddGqaxablTavrE8wKdCers-bm9s7xc86wpEPawI1D2AcTj6lEdemBibitLnSBLfEgKBykAUulQ_69rDKwvjnTFJ1mjKuItBcQs1dic68Kni3nM7Ura5-AbxMk/s218/7122tUBYxRL__AC_UY218_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSI4-2DA3oYwHbG3eA4VddGqaxablTavrE8wKdCers-bm9s7xc86wpEPawI1D2AcTj6lEdemBibitLnSBLfEgKBykAUulQ_69rDKwvjnTFJ1mjKuItBcQs1dic68Kni3nM7Ura5-AbxMk/"></a><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sick, Twisted Brilliance #2</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So there you have it!</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I feel I should explain myself with one of those selections...can you guess which??</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yes, Olivia Newton-John was my first boyhood crush, at the tender age of just six, singing "Take Me Home Country Roads" on Top of the Pops wearing Hot Pants (not me, Olivia). I was smitten and this was way before Grease with the skin tight pants.......!! She still is a crush to be fair. I still have a signed photo of her too. Stands to reason I had to buy her autobiography then surely? That's my excuse, my blog, my rules and I don't care!</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Maybe you've read all of these, some of them, or have gained some ideas of what to read next - except perhaps one?? š </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Either way, it's a been a pretty diverse and brilliant year of reading for me so far, and with an ever expanding TBR list, who knows what the next six months will bring?</span></div><div><br></div><div>Huge thanks to all of these authors who have helped me escape into other worlds and saved my sanity on many occasions. In this current strange and quite frankly depressing world we are living, books have been an absolute godsend! <br>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span>As always, t<span style="font-family: Arial;">hanks for reading, stay safe, stay well. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Brian</span><br>
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Barking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106066294863613628.post-5118998966936240862020-05-31T01:17:00.000-07:002020-05-31T01:17:00.640-07:00Blog Tour - The Guest<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hi all</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Something different today as I am happy to present a Spotlight post as part of the current Blog Tour for Cathryn Grant's brand new psychological thriller The Guest. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In these current times of lockdowns and social distancing, I should think many of us are actually looking forward to the days when we can have a guest around - but what if they overstay their welcome? What if their arrival changes the dynamics of your household? And what if you find yourself increasingly attracted to them?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What might that all lead to?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Here's the blurb.....</span></div>
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<b><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She told him
to make himself at home. He did. </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Life has
been good to Ellie ā she owns a successful art gallery, is deeply in love with
her husband, Seth, and has two beautiful children, Brandon and Simone.
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</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But not
everything is perfectā¦</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lately,
Seth seems to have something on his mind and has become cold and distant. And
things donāt improve when he invites mysterious stranger Ace to stay in their home.</span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ace is
charming, but Ellie canāt help feeling thereās more to him than meets the eye,
that he has some kind of agenda. Sheās also aware that she is dangerously
attracted to him. </span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then a
girl at Brandonās school is murdered, and Ellie is beyond devastated when the
police tell her they think her son might be involved. </span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ellie knows in her heart that
Brandon is innocent and she feels certain that Ace is somehow connected to the
disturbing things that are happening. She starts to dig for the truth and uncovers
the terrible secret that will change her life in ways she canāt imagineā¦</span></span></span></span></span><div><br></div><div><b><i>The stunning psychological thriller, perfect for fans of K. L. Slater, Teresa Driscoll, and Andrew Hart.</i></b><br>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Guest is <span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Published by Inkubator Books and released today, 31<sup>st</sup> May
2020 in digital format</span></span></span></span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><strong>About the author</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cathryn Grant is a new author to me so how about we find out some more about her...</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WQdUtwF894orypGiST_mowaGoMUtdAc3jnUvAKcQcQ2BOu-W5Fcv69ccNwOfXaLtr3LnDl7ZYDp341G_DiKmzUUfpESJ5E5O2ZJFGIzJ3ry_oczKpy1cfxv4ntTXy_fWbV7SAvKSayw/s1600/Cathryn+Grant+Pic+2-min.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WQdUtwF894orypGiST_mowaGoMUtdAc3jnUvAKcQcQ2BOu-W5Fcv69ccNwOfXaLtr3LnDl7ZYDp341G_DiKmzUUfpESJ5E5O2ZJFGIzJ3ry_oczKpy1cfxv4ntTXy_fWbV7SAvKSayw/s200/Cathryn+Grant+Pic+2-min.png" width="200"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cathryn Grant writes psychological thrillers,
psychological suspense, and ghost stories. Sheās the author of twenty-three
novels; two psychological thrillers, seven suburban noir novels, the Alexandra Mallory series, Haunted Ship trilogy, Madison Keith Ghost Story series as well as short fiction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sheās loved crime fiction all her life and is endlessly
fascinated by the twists and turns, and the dark corners of the human mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When sheās not writing, Cathryn reads fiction,
eavesdrops, and tries to play golf without hitting her ball into the sand or
the water. She lives on the Central California coast with her husband and two
cats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cathryn is the author of The Good Neighbor and many other
crime thrillers. Her fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines as well as several anthologies. THE GUEST will be her third novel published with <a href="http://inkubatorbooks.com/">Inkubator Books</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cathryn can be contacted via the following platforms:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Social Media:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Twitter:
<a href="https://twitter.com/CathrynGrant">https://twitter.com/CathrynGrant</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CathrynGrant.Writer/">https://www.facebook.com/CathrynGrant.Writer/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Website: <a href="https://www.cathryngrant.com/">https://www.cathryngrant.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cathryngrant_fiction/">https://www.instagram.com/cathryngrant_fiction/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amazon
Author Page: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cathryn-Grant/e/B004G1I484?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1566901527&sr=8-3">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cathryn-Grant/e/B004G1I484?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1566901527&sr=8-3</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">To purchase your copy of The Guest just click on the links below:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Purchase Links:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Amazon UK: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B088HB7Y9W?pf_rd_r=DYV1M9KQZVRFXFV3PG7T&pf_rd_p=e632fea2-678f-4848-9a97-bcecda59cb4e">https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B088HB7Y9W?pf_rd_r=DYV1M9KQZVRFXFV3PG7T&pf_rd_p=e632fea2-678f-4848-9a97-bcecda59cb4e</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><br></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Amazon US: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Guest-psychological-thriller-shocking-twist-ebook/dp/B088HB7Y9W/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+guest+cathryn+grant&qid=1589630685&sr=8-1">https://www.amazon.com/Guest-psychological-thriller-shocking-twist-ebook/dp/B088HB7Y9W/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+guest+cathryn+grant&qid=1589630685&sr=8-1</a><br>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">And don't forget there's still time to check out the rest of the stops on this blog tour which are all detailed below:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPdlONldPjyKBr8ImTROAFfJLlwJMIo5yolyxdKoujjPc7zmmbeo0_CuAD_5G9hY30pny-HdbnXkCeqBkBrzkhCFtXbmbuyn3xIrZkwjWEMIn_EBSKiq4Y0mMKapZG61nwSPnJeAcUmE/s1600/The+Guest+banner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="1600" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPdlONldPjyKBr8ImTROAFfJLlwJMIo5yolyxdKoujjPc7zmmbeo0_CuAD_5G9hY30pny-HdbnXkCeqBkBrzkhCFtXbmbuyn3xIrZkwjWEMIn_EBSKiq4Y0mMKapZG61nwSPnJeAcUmE/s640/The+Guest+banner.png" width="640"></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ļ»æ</span></span></span></div>
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</div>Barking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106066294863613628.post-8317598982344978252020-05-09T03:39:00.000-07:002020-05-09T03:39:17.813-07:00I Am Dust<br>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As the lights in the auditorium faded, the excited
mutterings of the attending crowd diminished to an occasional stolen whisper. A
single spotlight illuminated the stage as a bearded man strode confidently
towards it from the wings, taking up his position. As he turned to face the
crowd, his eyes gave away his nervousness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">āLadies and gentlemenā, he enunciated to the back row, the
clipped tones struggling to hide his common south-east London vernacular;
āthank you for coming. May I remind you to remain seated following our feature
presentation for an additional bonus performance.ā He paused for dramatic
effect. </span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">āAnd now, without furthā¦ā¦.ā he halted mid-sentence and
stooped to pick up a medium sized black dog which had wandered on stage to steal
the limelight. Forgetting the microphone was still on, the man whispered in the
dogsā ear; āBuckley, I told you I will take you for a walk as soon as I finish
this blog post. You canāt keep interrupting me.ā He coughed, remembering where
he was and with Buckley tucked under his arm he continued.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">āWithout further ado, I am proud to present the Barking Mad
Book Bloggers review ofā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦.ā</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Iām no stranger to treading the boards. As a teenager I
spent every Saturday at the Croydon Warehouse Theatre attending their Youth
Theatre Group in the day, then working front of house for the main events in
the evenings, taking tickets and selling ice creams in the interval ā never
understood why stem ginger and acacia honey was always a sell-outā¦ā¦ā¦in Croydon!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A few years later, I became involved in Amateur Dramatics
and spent several years performing in numerous productions. I was even lucky
enough to perform on Broadway two years running! (Lewisham Theatre, Catford
Broadway ā Annie Get Your Gun in 1992 and My Fair Lady in 1993)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Then, three years after giving up the grease paint I had a
very successful tenure as drummer and backing vocalist for Kentās top Rock
covers band (possibly) Contraband, which continued for eleven years.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I present
the following as photographic evidence m ālord.... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">(I think given this last photo we should have stuck to the original band name idea.....Betty & The Swallox!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span></span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I digress. The point I am making is that Louise Beechās
I Am Dust is dripping with so much atmosphere and authenticity that it
immediately brought all my thespian memories flooding back to centre stage. If
ever there was a prime example of the adage āwrite about what you knowā, then
Louise has done this to the max, with brass knobs on! You can almost feel the
buzz of a busy backstage and the contrasting eeriness of when a theatre āgoes
darkā throughout the book, as Louise expertly draws on her own knowledge of the
arts to bring us a gloriously rich and evocative tale of teenage angst,
unrequited love, spine chilling paranormal activity, betrayal and murder. I Am
Dust has got it all, and I loved every single page of this superb novel. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But what is it about, I hear a cry from the cheap seats!
Well, twenty years after the musical āDustā was abandoned following the murder
of its leading actress in her dressing room, Chloe finds herself working at the
same theatre as an Usher. The events from two decades ago has resulted in the
theatre gaining a notoriety for being haunted and the star dressing room, where
the murder took place, is somewhere that Chloe canāt bring herself to enter.
There are certainly some incredibly chilling scenes right from the outset which
set the tone and pace of the story and immediately draw the reader into Chloeās
world and the ominous surroundings she finds herself in. Then, news comes that āDustā
the musical is to be revived to celebrate its twentieth anniversary, and is
returning to the very same theatre. As a huge fan of the original production,
Chloe is excited by this prospect, however as the weeks countdown to opening night,
events start to trigger dark memories of her teenage years which are all
intertwined with that fatal night many years ago. As the spirits grow
increasingly restless, and flashbacks from her past become manifest, Chloe
finds herself caught between two worlds; determined to solve the āwhodunitā
mystery from twenty years past and making sure that history does not repeat
itself. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A little tip before you dive into this book ā donāt start reading
it late at night before bedtime! It can lend itself to some pretty vivid dreams
resulting in shouting yourself awake and glaring warily into the shadowsā¦. Iā¦erā¦.
*cough*ā¦. imagine. I Am Dust is a seriously creepy book with some very visual
scenes of ghostly goings on. The tension and pace of the story does not wander
at any point; if anything, it gets increasingly claustrophobic and more
terrifying as it builds to its heart stopping climax. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Louiseās writing has always had lyrical and poetic undertones,
and I Am Dust is no exception. Incorporating lines from the musicalās songs within
the pages adds a lot of depth to the narrative as it brings to life the passion
and tone of the play that made Chloe fall in love with so much ā a bit like Les
MisĆ©rables does for me ā and you begin to understand how obsessive and
entrancing the world of the theatre can be. Chloe is a troubled protagonist but
incredibly likeable and you will find yourself completely consumed by her
journey. Louise has also assembled a superb cast of supporting characters, including
the brilliantly comic Chester who provides some light relief to contrast what is
essentially a dark and disturbing tale. Yet at its heart, I Am Dust is a story
of love and friendship and the importance of not letting anything get in the
way of that as they are the fundamental aspects of how we live our lives. It
even bought a lump to the throat of this grizzled old blogger! </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I absolutely loved I Am Dust, which for me has
claimed the book of the year title so far. Louise is such a versatile author
with a passion for storytelling and an expertise in drawing the reader into her
vivid imagination. I canāt wait to see what she brings us next. </span></span></span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, if you were paying attention I mentioned a ābonus
performanceā at the top of the page? Well, as Iām on a bit of a "Louise Love-In",
I thought it would be nice to copy my pre-blog review of her previous novel
Call Me Star Girl here which I originally posted on Amazon. Itās not as wafflely
as my blog posts youāll be pleased to know!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Call Me Star Girl showcases the
talent of a writer at the top of her game. Although Louise's first thriller
novel, this is essentially a story about love and passion and the intense
emotions that surface as a result of giving yourself completely and utterly to
one person. Louise skilfully intertwines this with an atmospheric and highly
charged whodunit relating to the murder of a young woman and a mysterious
caller who keeps phoning into our protagonist Stella McKeever's late-night
radio show claiming he saw what happened.<br>
<br>
The scenes set within the radio station are incredibly
tense and claustrophobic, with a creeping paranoia that intensifies as Stella
becomes increasingly drawn into the mysterious callers' world. Turn the page
and the reader is drawn into a passionate and, at times, incredibly sexy love
affair that's almost voyeuristic to read. The story twists and turns until both
worlds collide with shocking results.<br>
<br>
Call Me Star Girl is a highly addictive read which
further reinforces Louise Beech as one of the best authors to have emerged over
the last few years. Her ability to effortlessly cross genres from her
incredibly emotive and personal previous novels such as How to be Brave and The
Mountain in my Shoe, to this dark and disturbing mystery reflects a highly
skilled writer and one whom I believe has only just begun to show us what she
has to offer despite an already incredible back catalogue of work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Both books are published by the
fabulous Orenda books and you can purchase them now by clicking <span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://orendabooks.co.uk/">here</a> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">As always, thanks for reading and
have a great weekend. </span></span></div>
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Barking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106066294863613628.post-45118247736078088022020-04-29T07:58:00.000-07:002020-04-29T10:34:24.663-07:00Scratchman
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The door squealed noisily back on its hinges as I entered
the room. The semi-circle of faces within all turned to me with accusing eyes
as I nervously made my way to the one unoccupied chair. As I sat, with my head
sheepishly gazing at my feet, I heard a voice say, āokay, I think weāre all
here now, so as is customary, shall we start with our newest attendee?ā</span></div>
<br>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I looked up to see everyone staring eagerly at me. </span></div>
<br>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">With legs wobbling like a day-old blancmange, I nervously
nodded and rose to my feet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">āHā¦. hello everyone,ā I stuttered. The silence was palpable.
I looked down at the floor again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">āTake your time,ā said the bodiless voice. </span></div>
<br>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I cleared my throat and with a sudden surge of bravado I blurted
it out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">āHello everyone, my name is Brian and I am a Doctor Who fanā</span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The applause was deafeningā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦.</span></div>
<br>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes folks, confession time. I AM a Doctor Who fan. There. Iāve
said it now. Luckily, Iāve made this statement on my own blog, so no-one will
read it anyway! </span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think itās fair to say that back in the late 70s and early
80s, and certainly during my school days, such a confession would have got me
beaten up in the playground. There is still a stigma attached to ābeing a fanā
of Doctor Who, and for other genre shows too, to be honest, however, I think
that the reboot of the show in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston and the subsequent
brilliant regeneration into the excellent David Tennant did bring it some
credibility in the modern world. And Jodie Whittaker is just āfantasticā, as number
9 would say (little in joke for any whovians that may have stumbled on here by
mistake!)</span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But back to the 70s. It was around 73/74 when this then 6-year-old
boy gained his first female crushā¦. The Doctorās assistant Jo Grant, a.k.a Katy
Manning. Jon Pertwee was the Doctor and I was immediately hooked on his famous
Venusian Aikido moves, flamboyant character, Bessie his car, and the Whomobile.
This weird man with white hair and velvet jackets, with his gorgeous blonde
sidekick, fighting monsters and aliens and supported by a secret division of
the British Army ā whatās not to love? </span></div>
<br>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then along came Tom Baker. Tom Baker IS <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>the</u></b> Doctor in my opinion. He is the template by which, for
me, all subsequent Doctorsā need to defer to. His incarnation/regeneration
cemented my love of the show which continues to this day. Iām not the obsessive
I was back then, (although I still have a Tom Baker/Who Action figure, Target
Novels, back issues of Doctor Who Weekly, poster of Jo Grant posing naked with
a Dalekā¦ā¦ahem!) but I still enjoy watching it and have fond memories of my childhood
attached to it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Soā¦.it was inevitable that when Tom wrote a novel based on
his abandoned Doctor Who film proposal, surely it was a given that it was a
book I just had to buy, right? Too rightā¦.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back in the 70s, Tom and his co-star Ian Marter, who played one
of his companions Harry Sullivan, developed a script for a potential big screen
Doctor Who adventure. Sadly, the project never got off the ground and the script
became lost until 2006 when it was discovered by the British Film Institute.
Cutting a long story short, we (time) jump to 2019 and Tom, along with writer
James Goss has adapted the script into a novel, thus Doctor Who: Scratchman is
re-born (should have said re-generated, damnit!!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let me say from the start that Scratchman is utterly
bonkers. It is so audaciously 70s in atmosphere and tone, and 100% Tom Baker
through and through. Unusually for a Doctor Who novel it is written in the first
person, which is where it gets a bit weird. This is Tom Baker, writing as
Doctor Who, but sounding just like Tom Baker. He also flits between first
person and third person, implying that the Doctor knows what other characters
are doing, saying and thinking without him actually being in that particular
scene at that time. Probably not an award winning literary style, but hey, itās
Tom so he can get away with it. And to be fair, he does.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You cannot read Scratchman without doing so in Tomsā
gloriously rich tone. This is a true 1970s Doctor Who adventure, including the
wonderful Sarah Jane Smith and hapless Harry Sullivan joining him as his
companions. The crew land on a remote Scottish island which quickly becomes
over-run by murderous scarecrows. After facing them through a series of typical
Who style and āterribly Britishā set pieces, it soon becomes evident that the
scarecrows are the least of the Doctors problems, as part two of the book then
descends into what can only be described as sheer, unadulterated, drug-induced hokum,
as the Doctor comes face to face with Scratchman, a Devil incarnate who throws
him and his companions into a range of mind-bogglingly and completely off the
wall situations which could only come from the mind of Mr Baker himself.
Seriously, if Tom was not drunk, high on medication or sniffing something when
he wrote this, then he should start bottling his brain cells for posterity or
start marketing his DNA ā itās psychedelic stuff!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Aside from this however, there is a genuine love and warmth
for the character and the show radiating from every page. Die-hard fans will
love the nods that Tom gives to past and present incarnations of the Doctor, as
well as some of his adversaries. The characters of Sarah Jane and Harry are
lovingly and accurately portrayed, and the inclusion of anecdotal interviews
with Tom and Ian about the original Scratchman concept may bring a lump to the
throat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whilst its appeal to long term Who fans is apparent, there
is still enough in Scratchman to also cater to those with a passing interest in
the series, and for any science fiction fan overall. There is a hint of the
madcap 1970s sci-fi of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and The New Avengers and
even the outlandishness of The Goodies about it, along with a touch of the slightly
more modern Red Dwarf. It is gloriously ridiculous, terribly British and truly reflective
of the national treasure that is Mr Tom Baker. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scratchman will help you escape this current āGroundhog
Dayā world we currently live in and transport you to somewhere you would never
even begin to imagine. Or would probably want to! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Scratchman is published by BBC Books and available in all
formats. The audiobook is read by Tom Baker himself so I should imagine that
being an immersive and somewhat hallucinatory experience!</span></span></div>
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Barking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106066294863613628.post-20118031567327303132020-04-24T03:38:00.000-07:002020-04-24T03:38:26.688-07:00King of the Crows<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greetings peeps</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">How are you all bearing up in this Groundhog Day world we are currently living in? It's all a bit weird innit??!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thank God for books then eh? There's so many great new releases around at the moment, and superb deals on e-books and paperbacks, especially from indie bookshops and publishers - a veritable pick 'n' mix of literary treats and I have certainly been filling my, ahem, sack with plenty of selections over the last few weeks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you follow me on Twitter (and if not, why not?) š, and/or if you read my previous review for the excellent Slow Bear in my Double Whammy Weekend review post, then you'll be aware of my love for the awesome publishers Fahrenheit Press, and the gibbering anticipation I have had for their forthcoming blockbuster King of the Crows by Russell Day. Well, the day of release is nearly upon us, with publication due on 1st May and if you're very quick and get your pre-order in soon, like, NOW, Fahrenheit have indicated a mysterious announcement to be made which may be of benefit - no idea what it may be but look - you can go to the Fahrenheit Press site <a href="https://fahrenheit-press.myshopify.com/">Using this link</a> and pre-order your copy now, along with any other of their superb titles, and I'll wait for you to come back before I continue. Go.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Done?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Need a bit more time?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Finished?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Great</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So.......what can you expect from King of the Crows? Well, I and a select few other bloggers have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to read it so without further ado may I present.........</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I donāt even know how to start reviewing Russell Dayās King
of the Crows to be honest, and even this review took several drafts, believe it or not! I think it is fair to say that it is probably one of the most
unique books I have read in terms of its style, structure and content. This is
no ordinary novel; its intricate plot threads and set pieces deserve some
attention so itās not a book to read lightly. Although that might just be me,
who knows!</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Looking at recent entries on Twitter, there appear to be
some fledgling authors seemingly trying to ācash inā on the current Covid-19
outbreak by submitting works based on current events, causing some agents to
denounce them and refuse to look at them. I agree that this is wholly
inappropriate and definitely not something that I think many people would want
to read at this time. Taking this into consideration, I can totally understand
why publishers Fahrenheit Press were in two minds whether to go ahead with the
release of King of the Crows. It is after all a novel about a pandemic that
hits Europe and the UK and the resulting impact this has on the global economic
and political infrastructure, not to mention the social and health implications
for the public. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, Russell Day wrote and developed King of the Crows
back in 2016 which in itself is scarily prescient and uncanny; add to this he
is currently working on the frontline in the NHS helping to fight Covid-19. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whilst the timing may seem unfortunate, this
is not a novel based on actual events as they currently stand, albeit there are
some unnerving parallels that could be interpreted as such, like an inept U.S
President and a UK Government that seemingly favours power and patting
themselves on the back over helping the struggling majority in a time of crisis.
To that extent, it does reflect a somewhat damning indictment of the world we
are currently living in. But I agree that Fahrenheit Press made the right
decision to release it, after delaying it for some time. Whilst comparisons
could be made, King of the Crows is an utterly absorbing and addictive read,
and outrageously funny in parts as well. To that end, I think itās exactly the
right time to lose yourself within its pages.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">King of the Crows reads like a masterclass in creative
writing, in that Russell presents the story using a range of assorted styles
and perspectives across an eight-year timespan yet still manages to maintain a
tight storyline filled with chilling imagery, darkly black humour and scarily
accurate portrayals of modern society in the grip of madness. Incorporating passages
from main character Colin Robertsonās memoir; pages from the big budget
Hollywood screenplay of his life (hilariously highlighting the skewed āartistic
licenceā for portraying accuracy that such films have); internet forum
chatrooms; chapters from academic research and papers, as well as army records,
a police procedural investigation, interviews, eye witness accounts and the
third person perspective of the main story narrative itself, King of the Crows
is a huge literary jigsaw puzzle with every piece slotting together to form a
stylish and compelling novel of chaos and corruption. Ohā¦ā¦and zombies!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes, zombies for want of another word. Although these guys
arenāt the lumbering, flesh eating, walking dead weāve all come to know and
love throughout the movies. If the virus doesnāt kill its victims, it continues
to cause brain lesions resulting in their increasingly psychotic behaviour, leading
to random acts of violence and a developing horde mentality that Robertson and
his āband of merry menā must contend with, whilst plotting the mother of all
heists against the backdrop of a ruined London financial sector. Yes, despite
the apparent apocalyptic demise of Europe as we know it, the lure of being rich
is still enough to risk life and limb it seems. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The tagline for King of the Crows is āOceanās Eleven meets
28 Days Laterā and thatās a pretty fair summary. But for me, add elements of
The Dirty Dozen, World War Z, The Walking Dead and even The Italian Job and The
Long Good Friday into the mix and this gives you an idea of what awaits you
within the pages of this glorious novel. Itās a superb mix of action, horror,
social commentary and pure escapism, albeit terrifyingly realised against the
world as we currently know it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do yourselves a favour, scroll back to the top of the review, click on the link and pre-order your copy now. If you haven't already guessed it, I can't recommend it highly enough. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Huge thanks to Fahrenheit Press for the opportunity to read it and I can clarify that there was no obligation to write a review - I just wanted to!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As always, thanks to you all for reading. </span></div>
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<br />Barking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106066294863613628.post-15905893459053066462020-04-07T09:04:00.000-07:002020-04-07T09:04:51.414-07:00Dead Wrong/Dead Inside<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greetings peeps - how are we all doing? I have lots planned for the Easter weekend......not! Thinking of doing a bar crawl and leaving various bottles of alcohol in different rooms of the house just for a change of scenery! The gutting thing is I would have been flying off to Santorini this weekend - will just have to eat Greek food in the garden instead and smash a few plates, although my wife would say that's nothing different to how I normally do the washing up!</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anyway, back to business and my review of Noelle Holten's gripping new thriller Dead Wrong. I have also reproduced my original review of her first book in the series Dead Inside - I say reproduced, I mean copy and pasted it! š</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dead Wrong is the second book in a series featuring DC
Maggie Jamieson, however it is also a great ensemble piece, giving the reader
further insights into the characters of psychologist Dr Kate Maloney; Maggieās
boss DI Rutherford and her colleague Nathan Wright, all of whom share some of
the spotlight throughout the story. Although a direct follow up to Noelleās
debut in the series, Dead Inside (see my review below), there is enough
background info here to allow it to be read as a stand-alone novel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Plot wise, Dead Wrong is a page turning cat and mouse
thriller with Maggie Jamieson going head to head with not only convicted serial
killer Bill Raven, but also her boss and colleagues as she battles to ensure he
is not released on bail pending his appeal against conviction. The difficulty
being that the body of one of the victims that he confessed to killing three
years previously has just been found, and the pathology report shows she could
only have been killed within the last two days. Maggie is convinced that Raven
is guilty; the trouble is she is walking a fine line between convincing her
boss that she is acting professionally and not holding a personal vendetta against
him. The plot, as they say, thickens ā and in this case, it not only thickens
but twists, turns and gets darker on every page. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As the body count rises, so does Ravenās chances of release.
With mounting pressure from DI Rutherford and a baying press hungry to
scapegoat Maggie for convicting an innocent man, the clock is ticking down to
Ravenās appeal, however Maggie is determined that will only happen over her
dead body ā but is that what Raven wants? Add to this a creepy sub plot involving
Dr Kate Maloney and you have a compulsive and highly entertaining police
procedural in your hands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is a real Hannibal Lecter/Clarice Starling element to
the exchanges between Raven and Maggie as she reluctantly engages with him to āassistā
with her enquiries. He is clearly a manipulative and calculating psychopath, playing
games with Maggie and the Justice System to get what he wants. I canāt help but
think that Noelle has drawn some elements of his character from similar individuals
she would have come across in her previous career. Her years of experience in the
Probation Service have been utilised to great effect throughout, highlighting the
multi-agency approach to public protection and the important work that the
Probation Service does that pretty much goes unnoticed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dead Wrong is dead brilliant ā a slick, well written and highly
absorbing thriller, great characterisation, meticulously researched with an
authentic and intricately woven plot - and one hell of an ending! The third in
the series, Dead Perfect is released later this year and I have already
pre-ordered it. Definitely recommended. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dead Wrong is published by Harper Collins and available on
all formats now</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have nothing but huge admiration for anyone who can write
a book. It's something I would love to do but quite frankly I haven't got the
slightest beginnings of an original idea for a storyline or the patience to
write one so I'll just stick to reading. One thing that is always said when
embarking on writing a novel is for the author to "write what you
know". Dead Inside is the perfect embodiment of someone writing about a
subject matter they clearly have a wealth of experience of. The fact that it is
a debut novel and the subject is domestic abuse and the impact of this upon all
those it affects really raises the bar further.<br>
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Noelle is a former Probation Officer and has clearly drawn on her years of
experience to accurately reflect and highlight exactly how difficult this role
can be through one of the main characters also being a Probation Officer. It's
a refreshing change to see this other side of the criminal justice system being
depicted within a crime novel and I hope it goes some way to really show the
complexities of the job to members of the public as it is definitely one of
those roles you only tend to hear about if anything goes wrong (and I speak
with eighteen yearsā experience myself).<br>
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Dead Inside is a serial killer thriller with a difference. The difference for
me was that I was on the killer's side. Noelle has not shied away from
frighteningly realistic depictions of the horror of domestic abuse and the life
changing physical and emotional scars it leaves on its' survivors. The brutal
acts of power and control acted out by the abusive perpetrators made for some
very uncomfortable reading, so when such characters get their well-deserved
comeuppance, you can't help but punch the air and cheer. Despite my own
professionalism, it is hard not to be affected by such crimes and quite frankly
makes you ashamed to be a man sometimes. Thankfully, these so called
"men" are a minority, but I digress....<br>
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Dead Inside is a fast moving, harrowing and very realistic psychological crime
thriller and the start of what looks to be a fantastic new series from Noelle.
A very confident, no holds barred debut not afraid to tackle an extremely
emotive subject with equal amounts of personal knowledge, experience,
objectivity, respect and understanding. Had me completely hooked from the
opening chapter. Highly recommended.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So there you have it - two fantastic books to see you through the Easter weekend if you have not already read them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just want to also take this opportunity to thank all of you for taking the time to read my silly little blog. I do it for fun, and to share my love of reading. I am in awe of the hundreds of bloggers out there who are prolific and highly professional with their reviews. You might not think it from reading them, but it takes me a while to write a review without resorting to "I really liked this book" every time or sounding like Trump (it's a big book, very big, lots of words, big words and big chapters, also some numbers, some small and some big, bigly big......) and keeping it as original and "spoiler free" as possible. It's just nice to have the freedom to write a review without some of the restrictions of that other site with the jungle river name!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have a fantastic Easter folks, stay safe and well - see you in the next chapter!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span>Barking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106066294863613628.post-29748023340673374182020-04-03T07:58:00.000-07:002020-04-03T07:58:01.687-07:00Double Whammy weekend review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greetings one and all! I know it may not feel like it, but it's FRIDAY! And I have a double hander review to share with you all</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Incidentally, I saw a meme on Twitter earlier which I thought was brilliant and sums up the current climate perfectly....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, back to business.... First up is this gobsmacking thriller......</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are many superlatives I could use to describe The
Chain, none of which I feel would ever give it the credit or kudos it deserves,
or reflect just how brilliant the book is. One word that goes some way to sum
it up for me however is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">relentless.</i> From
the opening chapter, Adrian McKinty aims for the readersā jugular and does not
give up his hold until the very last line. This is a juggernaut of a thriller,
never once taking itsā foot off the pedal and fully deserves every ounce of
hype it has had since itsā release. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, for those of you who donāt know (where have you been?
Anyone would think youāve been stuck indoors and not allowed out for weeks!),
hereās the cover blurbā¦.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your phone rings. A
stranger has kidnapped your child. To free them you must abduct someone elseās
child. Your child will be released when your victimās parents kidnap another
child. If any of these things donāt happen, your child will be killed. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chilling, right? Understatement!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over 20 years ago, I lost my then young son in a busy market.
He let go of my hand, ran off and basically just got swept up amongst the
crowd. Luckily, we found him within what must have been less than ten minutes
or so, standing with an old lady outside a shop. But that was the longest ten
minutes of my life during which I think I must have experienced nearly every
negative emotion around; shock, fear, panic, guilt, anger at myself for not
holding him tighter, I could go on. Iām sure every parent who may have had a
similar experience in the past would know exactly what Iām talking about. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, imagine those feelings magnified tenfold when you find
out your child has been kidnapped, then having to manage those feelings for
four days whilst also trying to plan the kidnapping of someone elseās child.
This is the dilemma that single mum Rachel has to deal with. Adrian perfectly
captures the psychological impact this situation has on her as the story
develops, reflecting the fear, self-doubt and anguish of what must be every
parentsā worse nightmare. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Chain is one of the most gripping and original thrillers
I have ever read. It touches all kinds of nerves and at times can be a
harrowing read given the subject matter. There are clear moral dilemmas raised
within the pages, however given the set-up, knowledge and power that the unseen
instigators of The Chain have over Rachel and their other victims, they are
left with very little choice in the matter. Adrian McKinty has crafted a well
written, meticulously plotted and completely absorbing blockbuster of a novel.
Itās a real race against time thrill ride that will leave you breathless and
probably make you want to keep an extra eye on your children in future. Cannot
recommend it highly enough. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Chain is published by Orion and available everywhere ā
not that you can go everywhere to get it but you know what I mean!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next........the small, but perfectly formed.....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNAPAyBOhAlMVygifa9ZPuimOaPyiGT1PwNHYUhwKPukf61jpce8La_e_NBQSBj7NW9uveGyeUwaYelEwz44xWFNeJN7JYSGqID934GS0BbdaXfwxZoSwV3itDAOjhgqs71LB0SG3ojQ/s1600/Screenshot_20200402-192951_Chrome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1263" data-original-width="803" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNAPAyBOhAlMVygifa9ZPuimOaPyiGT1PwNHYUhwKPukf61jpce8La_e_NBQSBj7NW9uveGyeUwaYelEwz44xWFNeJN7JYSGqID934GS0BbdaXfwxZoSwV3itDAOjhgqs71LB0SG3ojQ/s320/Screenshot_20200402-192951_Chrome.jpg" width="203"></a></div>
<br><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine a mash up of Mad Max, Kojak and The Dukes of
Hazzard, directed by Quentin Tarantinoā¦ā¦. say hello to Slow Bear!</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Micah āSlow Bearā Cross is a mess quite frankly. Heās a grizzled,
angry, one armed, ex reservation cop, filling his days hanging around the bars
and casinos of North Dakota, flirting with the Bar lady, Kylie and trying as
best he can to mind his own business. But there are people with other ideas for
him, and after becoming involved in an (unintentionally hilarious) ātricky
situationā shall we say, Slow Bear finds himself working undercover (badly) to
try and bring down one of the head honchos of the area. </span><br>
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</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slow Bear gets inadvertently teamed up with Kylie (whom he
calls The Lady, somewhat ironically) and what follows is a fast paced and
frenzied tale of rednecks, roughnecks, bar brawls, shoot outs and overall
mayhem. Itās rude, crude, dark, violent and a whole lot of fun. Despite his
many faults, you canāt help liking Slow Bear, and credit must go to Anthony
Neil Smith here for his character development and giving the reader enough glimpses
of his humanity to want to be on his side and care about what happens to him. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Iāve been to Dakota. Iāve driven through it, stayed in a
dodgy motel overnight and got stopped by the Highway Patrol for speeding. Itās
very flat. And boring. Slow Bear brings it to life, albeit a very dysfunctional
life, and probably not a great advertisement for the tourist industry either,
however despite all the violence, corruption and dirty deals depicted, thereās
also a kind of warped and abstract charm about it that you canāt help weirdly
admiring!</span><br>
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</span><br>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At barely 130 pages, Anthony Neil Smithās novella is the
perfect escape to fill a couple of hours of isolation! Believe me, a lot can
happen in 130 pages and I finished this book desperately wanting more. It
genuinely has the makings of what could be one of the most graphic TV cop shows
around -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can already see the title ā āSlow
Bear and The Ladyā. Thankfully, I believe Anthony is working on a sequel which
is fantastic news and I canāt wait. Go grab yourselves a copy! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3Qwvia7q8EFjpCMvzSABSglSCpmJDCzoNHb5ME33MLWZtUYdHzw-xiPiAxhc76T4nkd78M8fVHclofRbE9ntMI5aTYpkG62XE9qcDAkiF5dicw1qJAJpbv0j5Nprp6NDO2jzaCggw14/s1600/Screenshot_20200402-193043_Chrome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="824" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3Qwvia7q8EFjpCMvzSABSglSCpmJDCzoNHb5ME33MLWZtUYdHzw-xiPiAxhc76T4nkd78M8fVHclofRbE9ntMI5aTYpkG62XE9qcDAkiF5dicw1qJAJpbv0j5Nprp6NDO2jzaCggw14/s200/Screenshot_20200402-193043_Chrome.jpg" width="191"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Slow Bear is published by the powerhouse that is Fahrenheit Press
and is typical of the type of content they unleash upon the world. No holds
barred, no cares given, no frills attached original and daring works of brutal
and honest noir at its finest. This is a publisher that thinks outside the box
to bring us the best that money can buy. And at the moment, if you havenāt got
the money, you can download a different e-book every day FOR FREE direct from
their website! Howās that for generosity? As well as books, you can also grab
some cool t-shirts, mugs and even their very own branded Hot Sauce! See what I
mean about thinking outside the box?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As well as Slow Bear, Fahrenheit will introduce you to the
delights of Jo Perryās sublime āDead isā¦.ā Series of Charlie and Rose (his
ghost dog) adventures; Derek Farrellās hilarious Danny Bird mysteries; Ian
Patrickās Rubicon and Stoned Love (the former now optioned for a BBC TV series)
and so many more. Plus, if you buy the paperback, you get the e-book to download
for free too! They are hugely interactive and very entertaining online, and very
receptive to their followers, as are their authors. There is even a bi-annual festival
of all things Fahrenheit in February, āFahrenbruaryā, co-curated by my good
friend Mart <em>@LaughingGravy71</em> and the equally brilliant <em>@ThatMattKeyes</em> on
Twitter. I know Iām the new kid on the blogging block and you probably already
know them, but go and check <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">out their respective blog sites ā The Beardy Book
Blogger<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://beardybookblogger.com/"> Here</a> </span>and Itās an Indie Book
Blog <a href="http://itsanindiebookblog.com/">Here</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fahrenheit are also imminently about to release the long
awaited and highly anticipated zombie heist, yes, Iāll say it again louder, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ZOMBIE HEIST</b> novel King of the Crows by
Russell Day ā any day now. I have been gibbering for this since it was originally
announced what seems like aeons ago so will be snapping this up as soon as itās
released. There is a very cool website where you can register for more info
about the book<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <a href="http://kingofthecrows.com/">Right Here</a> </span></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But anyway, donāt just take my word for it ā go and check out
Fahrenheit Press<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <a href="http://fahrenheitpress.com/">Here</a> </span>Sign up to their newsletter for exclusive
discounts and exclusive offers too, youāll thank me later!!</span></div>
<br>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NB: - I have not received any incentives or payment of any
kind for this review. Purely sharing the love of Fahrenheit Press and will
gladly do the same for other independent publishers and bookshops doing their
bit to bring us the best in fiction and keep their heads above water in these
current unprecedented times. </span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks for reading and have a fantastic weekend!</span></div>
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ļ»æ</div>
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Barking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106066294863613628.post-13145312367319855942020-03-30T09:01:00.000-07:002020-03-30T09:01:28.278-07:00The House Guest review<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63kaw0AlX35APQpQsJX9ykxzgb_3yH1oQTExfrRBVWO4nzQk-SbW-RGad9T-xO3r2oRvJW0eqmVgFUSXIH4-uV1rxnDezK2NDjp8507ISa876r555tTl5BLlAt76IfXdU1vDXac_slu8/s1600/house+guest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63kaw0AlX35APQpQsJX9ykxzgb_3yH1oQTExfrRBVWO4nzQk-SbW-RGad9T-xO3r2oRvJW0eqmVgFUSXIH4-uV1rxnDezK2NDjp8507ISa876r555tTl5BLlAt76IfXdU1vDXac_slu8/s320/house+guest.jpg" width="214"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I mentioned in my first post last week, I was extremely lucky to win a signed ARC of Mark Edwards' soon to be released new thriller, The House Guest via a Facebook competition he recently ran. I am a huge fan of Mark's work; his solo thrillers and those he co-wrote with the equally brilliant Louise Voss, so you can imagine how over the moon I was to win this. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Despite it not actually being released until later this year, I am beyond excited and proud to announce that Mark has allowed me to post this - spoiler free - review of The House Guest on my humble and very new book blog - so no pressure at all!!</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I actually think Mark Edwards is a pseudonym. His real name is Ron Seal because he does exactly what he says on the tin, or book cover to be precise....</span><br>
</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Ron Seal.........Ronseal.........Ron...........no????</span><br>
<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a6eaWWj3lwkoOLUKtRfbisP0Hvfvss_JnIv1h7mywOlJE-DweETLSAfVsSeUm4cr6_GloV1yzbZq8NSHHd1G5tzLugYH33dKyDXtqgJIuf0M9mQ4S7ZwhaLgLGaMzXyc-_vKGAOlfvs/s1600/Tumbleweed_rolling_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="597" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a6eaWWj3lwkoOLUKtRfbisP0Hvfvss_JnIv1h7mywOlJE-DweETLSAfVsSeUm4cr6_GloV1yzbZq8NSHHd1G5tzLugYH33dKyDXtqgJIuf0M9mQ4S7ZwhaLgLGaMzXyc-_vKGAOlfvs/s1600/Tumbleweed_rolling_2.jpg"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clearly showing my age and/or poor sense of humour!!</span></div>
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<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Let's try <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">again</span>...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If Stephen King is the Master of horror, then surely Mark
Edwards has to be the King of psychological thrillers. Markās ability to turn
every day domestic situations into nightmare scenarios of epic proportions is
astounding. His previous thriller, Here to Stay, had me shouting at every page in
the same way that those gripping binge watch TV series do (or if youāve seen
Tiger King on Netflix recently youād be shouting at the TV for completely
different reasons)!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The House Guest is no exception to this. Donāt be mistaken
from the title alone in thinking that this is a similar premise to Here to Stay,
which involved the in-laws from hell that completely overstayed their welcome.
The House Guest will send you down a path which is both unbelievable, yet completely
plausible in equal measure! Hereās the cover synopsis;</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When British
twenty-somethings Ruth and Adam are offered the chance to spend the summer
house sitting in New York, they canāt say no. Young, in love and on the cusp of
professional success, they feel as if luck is finally on their side.</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, the moment Eden
turns up on their doorstep, drenched from a summer storm, it seems only right to
share a bit of that good fortune. Beautiful and charismatic, Eden claims to be
a friend of the homeowners, who told her she could stay whenever she was in New
York. </span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They know youāre not
supposed to talk to strangers ā let alone invite them into your home ā but after
all, Edenās only a stranger until they get to know her. </span></i></div>
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</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As suspicions creep in
that Eden may not be who she claims to be, they begin to wonder if they have
made a terrible mistakeā¦</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mark hits the ground running from the very first page and
does not let up in this compulsive, page turning read. Although from the outset
there is a clear sense of unease and foreboding which cloaks Edenās arrival, itās
not until the end of Part One of the book when things really change gear and
the nightmare becomes reality. The plot then takes the reader down a dark path
of mayhem and mistrust, with twists and turns coming thick and fast on every
page. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have deliberately avoided saying anymore as to do so would deprive readers of the jaw drops, OMG and "didn't see that coming" moments that I experienced reading it. What I will say however is that for me, there were some visually imaginative elements of Gone Girl, Single White Female and Roman Polanski's Frantic peppered throughout, wrapped in an almost "Hitchcockian" blanket. This is purely my own comparison and absolutely does not suggest anything to do with the plotline</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As always, Mark has taken what could be an ordinary tale of
life in suburbia and twisted it in his own inimitable style to provide a fast paced,
often uncomfortable, but totally nail-biting thriller. Great characterisation, visually
descriptive depictions of a hot, sweaty New York summer and gripping scenarios
that will have you turning the page for that āone more chapterā at bedtime. I genuinely
could not put it down, and aside from (reluctantly) having to go to sleep,
pretty much read it in one sitting. The only downside to this now of course is
that Iāve got an even longer wait for his next release!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The House Guest is published by Thomas & Mercer and will
be released in print and e-book format on 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> June 2020</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you don't already, (and if not why not), you can follow Mark on Twitter @mredwards, join his <span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://markedwardsauthor.com/">Mailing list</a> by clicking on the link where you will also be rewarded with the "Short Sharp Shockers" box set, or find him on Facebook and Instagram on Mark Edwards Books and @markedwardsauthor respectively.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Once again, huge thanks to Mark for allowing me to post this review, and thanks for reading!</span><br>
<br>Barking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106066294863613628.post-14459941767009546732020-03-25T09:50:00.000-07:002020-03-30T07:09:27.567-07:00Welcome to the Barking Mad Book Blog<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hi all</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, I know...just what the world needs....ANOTHER book blog! Well, we can blame the COVID-19 virus for this one, as working from home and self-isolating has given me some time on my hands to the extent that I thought I would give this book blogging a go!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those of you who know me from Twitter will know that I tend to post mainly about three things.....books, dogs and music. My original plan for the name of this site was going to be a play on that classic Ian Drury and the Blockheads song and call it "Books and Dogs and Rock 'n' Roll" but that's a bit of a mouthful, so in keeping with the dog element, and me going a bit stir crazy, the Barking Mad Book Blog was born!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is my first ever attempt at any kind of blog, so pretty much a work in progress. I take my hats off to my good friend The Beardy Book Blogger @laughinggravy71 on Twitter, and all of you superb bloggers that I follow for your excellent reviews and recommendations - The Tattooed Book Geek, Bibliophile Book Club, The Reading Closet, It's an Indie Book Blog to name just a few. I doubt very much this thing will reach the quality and consistency of your blogs, but I guess as long as I'm happy and sharing my love of books, that's all that matters.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, enough of the waffling, let's crack on......</span><br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Current Read</span></u></strong><br />
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I'm just over half way through this at the moment. It's a perfect piece of escapism from the current bonkers world we're living in. Teagan Frost is "blessed" (probably more like cursed) with psychokinetic abilities and works with a misfit covert government organisation. When a murder is discovered that looks like only someone with her abilities could have done it, Teagan is obviously blamed and her own team turn against her. She then has only 22 hours....yep they don't even give her a full day.....to clear her name and find the real killer.<br />
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TGWCMSWHM as I'll now call it is like The A Team meets the X-Men. The cover blurb suggests Alibi meets X-Men but I've never seen Alibi so wouldn't know. It's fast moving, funny, blood spattered and great fun. A follow up is due later this year. I understand the author, Jackson Ford, is a pseudonym for a well known sci-fi writer. I don't read a lot of sci-fi so don't recognise the style and have not been able to find out the true identity so if anyone knows give me a shout! </div>
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<b><u>TBR List</u></b><br />
Top of my list is this beaut..... </div>
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I was lucky enough to win a recent competition run by Mark Edwards and received this ARC of his latest release, due out in June. I love Mark's books so really looking forward to getting stuck into this as soon as I finish TGWCMSWHM. This has jumped straight to the top of my TBR pile which currently includes Adrian McKinty's The Chain; Lucas Veste's The Six; Vanda Symon's Overkill and Linwood Barclay's Elevator Pitch to name a mere few. I read as much as I can but I'm not the fastest ......I should have called this The Book Sloth Blog as that's probably a better reflection of my speed! </div>
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<u><b>2020 reads to date</b></u><br />
My aim was to try and read at least 5 books per month this year which I thought was achievable, even for a sloth! Got off to a great start in January, then buggered off to Asia for three weeks in February so reading took a back seat apart from one (but it was a cracker!!) Some stupid virus thingy has also scuppered plans a little bit so far this month but slowly getting back on track. So far I have read.....</div>
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<b>January</b></div>
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Nothing important happened today, Will Carver. <br />
Violet, SJI Holliday<br />
Black Summer, MW Craven<br />
The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell<br />
Arrowood, Mick Finlay<br />
Your Deepest Fear, David Jackson<br />
The Executioner, Chris Carter<br />
Single, K L Slater</div>
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<b>February</b><br />
The Alibi Girl, CJ Skuse</div>
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<b>March</b><br />
Vox, Christine Dalcher<!--/data/user/0/com.samsung.android.app.notes/files/clipdata/clipdata_200325_162735_410.sdoc--></div>
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The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, Jackson Ford </div>
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Hopefully I'll be back to my minimum five a month next month!</div>
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Think that's about it for now. I have posted a lot of reviews on Amazon previously, under the name Mr C so if you get a chance, take a look. Might give you an idea of what to expect on here in the future....I <i>may </i>have just shot myself in the foot there!! </div>
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I would seriously appreciate any feedback anyone has however. As I said, this is a definite work in progress so plenty of room for improvement. If you've lasted this long without getting bored, I thank you and will (hopefully) see you again soon </div>
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Cheers and happy reading</div>
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Brian</div>
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Barking Mad Book Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12895963423095124201noreply@blogger.com0