I Am Death by Chris Carter is a book I borrowed from the mobile library. I’ll be honest and say that when I started reading I nearly stopped because of a writerly tick that I won’t bore you with as it’s personal and I wouldn’t want it to put anyone else off. However, I didn’t and in the end I was glad of it.

I will give out a little warning though that this book is gruesome in places, makes for decidedly uncomfortable reading in others and has a predator in it of the scariest sort: one who appears perfectly normal. Shudder.

Chris Carter writes serial killers and his main character, Robert Hunter, catches them. Although that takes a while. He reads a lot, and you’ll find out what that means should you read this.

Anyway the main thing I wanted to say in this review is that there is a terrific twist that I did not see coming until right at the last second. Cleverly done it then it has you scrabbling at the pages to find out how and why. Recommended for those with a strong stomach.

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When I started this writing caper I decided to review everything I read. I posted those reviews to Amazon in the UK and US (you could in those days without having to spend $50 with them first! #JustSaying!) and Goodreads. It didn’t cross my mind to post them on my blog… duh! As I’m aiming to stick to a blogging schedule – oh, how we laughed! – and as I read desperately slowly I shall add in these retro-fitted book reviews when I don’t have a current one to post.

I took up the offer of reading and reviewing this book in exchange for a free copy. I was a little dubious at first wondering how I was going to get on with it as it is not the sort of book I would usually choose but I didn’t need to be. I loved Whitehead’s character descriptions throughout and he couldn’t have portrayed Seth as being more average if he had tried before pronouncing him as the new Messiah, albeit a reluctant one.

For me this book wasn’t ‘laugh out loud’, apart from the bit describing God’s wrath which probably says more about my sense of humour, however it was very entertaining. Whitehead’s dry wit is effortless throughout his writing and I found his observational humour brilliant. I would also add that at no time did I find this book offensive so well was it written. This would really have got a 4.5 stars from me had I the option and I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind.

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The Indie Author Mindset: How changing your way of thinking can transform your writing career.

I read this book recently as I felt my writing career, and I, needed a kick up the backside. Who better to turn to for advice than the hugely successful writer, Adam Croft. It wasn’t always that way though and Adam makes it clear that a lot of work and time has gone into him becoming what appears to be an overnight success – but isn’t that always that way?

This book is easy to read, is written in manageable chapters and is full of common sense and good humour. It covers the professional, visionary and business mindset needed looking at the problems you will face – encountering doubt, overwhelm and burnout – as well as the positives of how, where and when to publish.

The Indie Author Mindset talks about short v long term thinking, when to listen and when not to listen, wide v exclusive and the power of a mailing list. It also covers data, and its importance. This is an area that I have been extremely poor on in the past, barely managing to get a promotion together let alone analysing whether it was effective or not. So I found this section particularly useful and I know I will be returning to it again and again.

I think this book would be useful for writers of all levels of experience because it gives a lot of information to guide those who are starting out as well as being full of useful reminders plus new learning, of that I am sure as things change all the time, for those of us who’ve been doing this for a while. Highly recommended.

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I chose to read The Christmas Ghosts as a member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team and received a copy from the author but that has not affected the content of this review.

Guardian – Henry is on his way to stay in a cottage with his fiancée, Billie, when he gets lost on Bodmin Moor in the snow. Help arrives unexpectedly but Henry is even more surprised when he finds out who his rescuer was.

Hot Toddy – This was a lovely story of an elderly woman’s special tradition at Christmas. She has all her family staying with her, or at least nearly all, and this ritual is all about that missing element. Thoughtful and wonderfully written and I really enjoyed this one.

Rodger Reed and the Road Kill Rabbit – Rodger is a horrible, horrible man. He is on his way home for Christmas, not because he wants to see his family but because he wants to make sure his father is leaving him exactly what he wants in his will, as he should. He kills a rabbit on the way with little remorse but lives to regret his lack of care.

Old Man Symmonds – Hayley is having a horrendous time under her new boss, Carol. She leaves and gets a temporary job in retail. Given the task of locking up one night she gets some overtime to clear up the stock room on the strict understanding she is to leave by 7pm. However, Hayley loses track of time, something she soon bitterly regrets.

The Christmas Ghosts – Eloise has made a career out of housesitting and is booked to look after a wonderful Victorian, very large cottage on the Cornish coast. She is a writer working on her first novel and is planning on getting a lot done on it during that month. It sounds idyllic to me – a writers’ retreat, you get paid to go to? What’s not to love!

Eloise was planning to spend Christmas Day with her family but after a row with her mother she returns to the cottage, and is astonished by what she finds going on there.

These stories are all very well written and are an entertaining and enjoyable read I’d highly recommend.

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In a bid to read more in what seems to be my genre, romantic suspense, Close Cover by Lexi Blake was my next choice after reading Holy Island by L J Ross which I reviewed here, and it shows just how broad the romantic suspense genre is as it’s completely different to Holy Island. Again it was one I picked from the top of the charts.

This is a novel from the Masters and Mercenaries series (which is a huge one to get into!) and is a crossover novel where authors combine the worlds they have created with those of another author which sounds like a fascinating opportunity for letting the imagination run wild.

Remy Guidry works for McKay-Taggart doing whatever they pay him for and he’s made a solid group of friends there with Declan, Riley, Shane and Wade and I enjoyed their banter.

Everyone in the book seems to play at a BDSM club, Sanctum, started by the founding members of McKay-Taggart, although there is only one visit to the club in this book. The Daley family, also members of the club, book Remy to be bodyguard to the youngest of the Daley sisters, Lisa, but she is not to realise that’s what he is doing.

This is due to be Remy’s final job for McKay-Taggart before he’s due to return to Papillon to buy back the family bar.

The problem is that Lisa and Remy have fancied each other from afar for a long time but after Lisa approached Remy months before and was rejected by him, for perfectly valid, and honourable, reasons, things get off to a sticky start. What follows is a series of misunderstandings and problems caused by the usual lack of communication that happens in relationships.

The sex is definitely not behind closed doors and although some may consider it a little close to erotica when it does happen it doesn’t dominate the book.

Although this was fine to read as a standalone I did feel a little like I’d walked into a party where everyone already knew each other. Settings and characters were already well established and would probably be familiar to regular readers of Blake’s.

This was an enjoyable, easy read with plenty of other books to sink your teeth into if one book is not enough for you.

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When I started this writing caper I decided to review everything I read. I posted those reviews to Amazon in the UK and US (you could in those days without having to spend $50 with them first! #JustSaying!) and Goodreads. It didn’t cross my mind to post them on my blog… duh! As I’m aiming to stick to a blogging schedule – oh, how we laughed! – and as I read desperately slowly I shall add in these retro-fitted book reviews when I don’t have a current one to post.

I was drawn into buying this book because of a very entertaining blog post by Craig Stone. Then having bought it I was a little concerned how I was going to get on with it never having read this sort of book before. However I shouldn’t have been. I found it incredibly interesting and thought provoking. There are many things I shall never think about in the same way again, not least of which is Richard Dawkins! Or as I now prefer Richard Porkins! The writing and settings are strangely weird and beautifully brilliant and I feel that anything else I might now read could seem a little ordinary, a little bland in comparison. I would encourage anyone out there to give this book a go – you don’t know what you might be missing until you do!

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