Reviews

‘a dubious gift from a dead man who had little to say while living but clearly plenty upon departure.’ I finished After the Sucker Punch a while ago and have been pondering on this review. Without going into detail this was a painful read for me but I don’t hesitate in highly recommending it because it’s thought-provoking […]

If there is one word that sums up Georgie Connelly for me, it would be irrepressible. However, in False Allegiance, the fourth book in this series and certainly at the start Georgie is more subdued than usual because of what happened in the previous story. The relationships around her are changing with sadly those closest […]

I read this short story Guts and Volts by Robert Bevan although I’m pretty certain that I am not Mr Bevan’s target audience having never played on any sort of gaming platform thingy. I have nothing against them, I’m just not interested. I’m also fairly convinced that I haven’t read anything set in the gaming […]

I have enjoyed reading the work produced by previous students on this creative writing course run at Central College in Nottingham so was happy to buy Eyes Write on its release and get a chance to sample the work of writers who might not have been published before. This anthology is a mix of stories, […]

Eons ago I started putting all the book reviews I’d written on Goodreads onto my blog then things got in the way and that good intention petered out. However, having recently checked through the list that I hadn’t yet posted here there are some really terrific books on it so I’m going to reignite my […]

In The A to Z of Normal Clare lives with obsessive-compulsive disorder, perfectionism and anxiety and as one who is only an untidy pile of papers away from slipping over into this life (hell I even bought a desk with curved edges to prevent me being able to line things up against them) I could […]

I have always enjoyed short stories and this collection is no exception. There is something about being able to read a whole tale in that space of time before sleep claims you that is calming, it gives a sense of completion, if you like. So, firstly the good – it’s tricky to know where to […]

I picked Kobra up at a local writer’s event in the summer and added it to the piles of paperbacks I am still yet to get to. However one day I took a quick peek at the prologue and was hooked. Here is a snippet… ‘Cresting the hill, the two boys stood panting. Beads of perspiration […]

A Gangster’s Grip is the second novel by Heather Burnside, the first, Slur, is reviewed here and her book of short stories, Crime, Conflict and Consequences, here. A Gangster’s Grip is a sequel to Slur though four years have passed and Rita (one of my favourite characters from Slur) has settled down with Yansis and […]

Destiny of Angels is the first book in the Lilith Trilogy and starts with the most wonderful quote which I have to admit I skipped over initially but fully appreciated once I’d finished the read. The story starts with Angel Parsons revisiting her old school for a reunion. She had suffered at the hands of […]