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Friends this is my review of the book Sea Change by Robert Goddard. Though this book was written 14 years ago I don't recall reading it before, and came across this copy in a charity shop so I thought I would get it.
It is a story set in the early 1700's and concerns the collapse of the South Sea Bubble. The story line is a clever mixture of real and invented characters, woven around one of the greatest financial scandals to hit Britain for over 200 years. The recent banking crisis’s probably exceeds it. The hero of our story is William Spandrel is poor mapmaker who is in serious debt. He is offered discharge of these debts by Sir Theodre Janssen a director of the south sea company if he will convey an important package to a friend of Janssen in Amsterdam, Ysbrabd de Vries. William accepts the job, takes the package to Amsterdam and then things go rapidly wrong for him. Ysbrabd is murdered and he is blamed for his murder. Ysbrabd's wife along with the package then go missing. William quickly realises that he is a pawn in a much bigger picture, all trying to either stop or encourage revolution in England. The only way William can save his life is to get the package back, which means following it across Europe. But once found which chasing party does William give it to. Will he help revolution to occur or help prevent it? I can't really say much more without spoiling the plot twists and turns. This is a classic Robert Goddard story with lots of twists and surprises. Great descriptive detail bringing the characters and story to life. A really enjoyable book to read. This was book 7 week 5 fiction 7 (audio books 1) non fiction 0
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Friends this is my review of the book This Body of Death by Elizabeth George, which I have read recently. This is the a book that continues the saga of the Inspector Lynley mysteries.
Inspector Lynley remains on compassionate leave after the murder of his wife, and Isabelle Ardery is drafted in as his temporary replacement, with the hope of a permanent placement. A body is discovered in Stoke Newington cemetery, and quickly Isabelle is floundering and needs help. Her best chance is to try and persuade Lynley to come back and help her. The story has several amusing subplots, one concerns the tensions between Isabelle and Barbara Havers and Barbara's choice of clothes. Of course Lynley come back and he and Barbara are teamed up together and follow the murder trail into the New Forest. Ponies and past relationships come into play together with long-ago acts of violence, that have poisoned subsequent generations, which has now come to a head. It is a long detailed book with a complex and intricate plot line but it continues right to the end. The ultimate outcome is not obvious as the story has several twists and turns which makes it a really Autumn good read. This was book 6 week 4 fiction 6 (audio books 1) non fiction 0 Friends
This is my review of the book Blue Lightening by Ann Cleeves which I read recently. This is the fourth book in the Shetland series with Jimmy Perez. I was under pressure to finish this as we had borrowed the series of books from a friend and they were going to be returned on Thursday. That being said being read through quickly did not spoil the story but rather helped bring it to life. Jimmy takes his fiancée Fran to see his parents who are living on Fair Isle. It is a community where everyone knows everyone else and strangers are greeted with a Greer of mistrust. When the autumn storms rage the island is cut off and the tension mounts especially when a body is found in the bird observatory. With no way off or onto the island Jimmy must work quickly and find the killer before he strikes again. The descriptions of the island, and the surrounding are fantastic and just bring the story to life. As I was reading it I felt as if I was there trapped on a wind swept hill looking for the clues myself. There is much made about the bird life on the island and it made me realise how little I knew about birds other than those I see flying around on a day to day basis. If I have time I will endeavour to learn more about them a possible resolution for 2015. The story is a page turner and this helped as I needed to finish it quickly but it is very gripping and really sad at the end, but that would spoil the story to say any more. I am so pleased that Ann is continuing the Shetland theme with a new quartet of stories. I really look forward to reading them This was a great book well worth reading and was book 5 week 4 fiction 5 (audio books 1) non fiction 0 Friends
This is my review of the book the Undertakers Widow by Phillip Margolin, which I read recently. This is the second of Phillips books that I have read (it was book two in an omnibus edition), but it did not disappoint. The star of the book is the battered figure of Richard Quinn. He is an ethical judge and as such he is willing to risk his own life to see that justice prevails in his courtroom. But as sadly he discovers when he presides over the trial of tough-talking state congresswoman Jane Crease, there is not always a clear path to justice. Jane Crease is a cigar-smoking former police officer, and a flamboyant public figure. She now stands accused of the brutal murder of her husband, a wealthy undertaker. But things, however, are not as they seem, and our Judge the hero of the story soon begins to suspect that Jane may well have been set up. As he zeros in on the shocking secret at the heart of the trial, Richard finds that his efforts to do the right thing lead him ever deeper in to an insidious maze of murder and deceit. This was an enjoyable book and I will search out for some more of Phillips stories. This was book 4 week 3 fiction 3 (audio books 1) non fiction 0 Friends
This is my review of the book Red Bones by Ann Cleeves which I read recently. This is the third book in the Shetland series that features detective Perez. Though I have never been to the Shetlands Ann manages to paint a very vivid picture of life in the islands. When a young archaeologist studying on a site at Lerwick discovers a set of human remains - the island community is intrigued. Is it an ancient find - or a more contemporary mystery? Then an elderly lady is shot on her land in a tragic accident. Sandy Wilson the lady's grandson a police man calls in Jimmy Perez to investigate the death. He finds two feuding families whose envy, greed and bitterness has divided the surrounding community. Jimmy is missing Fran who is in London, and he is surrounded by people he doesn't know and a community he has no links with Jimmy struggles to relate to the situation. Then there is another death and this starts to bring things to focus. Can Jimmy solve the mystery before outsiders are brought in to do it for him. Mist fog rain and wind also feature strongly in this story. A snuggle up under the duvet sort of story, but still very enjoyable. This was book 3 week 2 fiction 3 (audio books 1) non fiction 0 Friends this is my review of the book The Burning Man by Phillip Margolin which I have read recently. I don't believe that I have ever read any of Philips books before so was not quite sure what I would get. But I was pleasantly surprised. The characters were well crafted and believable, It was a good story.
Peter Hale is a young upshot attorney who feels frustrated in his father's law firm. When circumstances give him the opportunity to shine, he dives in without thinking and fails spectacularly. He looses a very high profile case. Then his job, then falls out with his father. The only job he can get is as a public defender in a small town legal firm. But again his ego and greed gets in the way and he nearly manages to mess up this up. Fortunately he finally realises what he is doing, retains his job by a whisker and starts the slow process of regaining his life as he works as a public defender. But can he put things right and sort out the mess. He has to choose his priorities. An enjoyable book and I will look out more books by Phillip. This was book 2 week 2 fiction 2 (audio books 1) non fiction 0 p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } Friends
This is my review of the book The Leavenworth Case by Anna K Green which I have listened to over the last month, as a librivox recording. This has been called the first American detective novel Anna Katherine Green may have been the first author to develop the series detective as she wrote several series featuring different detectives. The Leavenworth Case, first published in 1878, is the first in a 12 book series featuring Ebenezer Gryce, a New York detective: When someone shoots Horatio Leavenworth, a wealthy retired merchant, through the head in his library late one night, the evidence at the inquest indicates that no one could have left the victim's locked Manhattan mansion before the discovery of the body the next morning. it transpires that the house was locked up for the night and there are no signs of forced entry leading to the shocking conclusion that it may have been someone inside the house who did the deed. Suspicion thus falls on members of the household, specifically the dead man's nieces, Mary and Eleanore, only one of whom stands to benefit from their uncle's death. Everett Raymond, a junior partner in a New York law firm that had Leavenworth as a client, teams with unassuming official investigator Ebenezer Gryce to seek the truth. As in all detective cases I try to guess who did it but did not manage to guess the real convoluted culprit but the story made the time pass by as I was travelling on the road during September. This was book 1 week 1 fiction 1 (audio books 1) non fiction 0 |
Tim Fuller
Dyslexic doodles on photography, food (growing, cooking & of course eating), faith and other fascinating things. This is a personal blog expressing my views. Archives
November 2015
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