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Sunday 10 July 2016

Without a paddle

Without a paddle is a new and very entertaining book by seasoned world traveller David Moffatt.

David Moffatt had no intention whatsoever of leaving the comforts and familiarities of his native Tyneside where he had grown up during the post-war years.

But his university tutor set him something of a challenge. Would he like to travel with him to the other side of the world to Mato Grosso, in Brasil?

His love life was a bit troubled, his beloved football team seemed doomed to relegation. So a year living in the Brazilian jungle seemed very appealing.

But the events that happened during the next twelve months were to change David's life forever.

David found himself thrust into an entirely different world. A world of real and genuine dangers and challenges, of no running water, no electricity, no 'phones and no radio.

But it did give David some truly awesome stories!

There was Taituba, the guide who David had to disarm when things started to get nasty.

But then David was bitten by the bug, well by the bug of travelling and several other bugs along the way!

There was the incident in which he saved an elderly entomologist who David had to save from the very wasps he was there to study, a dangerously incompetent camp cook, threats of kidnap, an unfortunate incident in the bathroom of a Cairo hotel, getting lost (caused by the right-hand swing factor) and trying to work out the exchange rate for eggs versus coffee and sugar.

We also follow David to The Gambia in Africa, Egypt and many other points around the globe.

It's a fascinating read illustrated with a number of photographs.

The book is published by Matador at £10.99 and is an ideal read for the armchair traveller.

You can buy the book at the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, which is to be found to the right hand side of this book review.

Macboo and the Monster of Scab Hill

Macboo and the Monster of Scab Hill is a new novel by Jean McIntosh.

This is the latest fantasy story by Jean McIntosh that is aimed at children.

It takes an entertaining look at the troublesome and difficult journey that children take when they progress through their school days.

Who is MacBoo? MacBoo is a student. But he is no ordinary student! MacBoo is a student at the Lonely Dell Ghost Academy!

But unfortunately for MacBoo, things go more than a little awry and when he fails his tests, the headmaster decides to pack him off to Scab Hill. Where MacBoo will have to practice his ghosting skills!

He has just one week in which he must practice his skills. Then he must return to the Lonely Dell Ghost Academy where he must re-sit his exams. However, should he fail again, well, let'#s just say that he really doesn't want to contemplate his future should he fail again!

But there's a monster at Scab Hill! A monster with murderous intentions!

At the castle of Scab Hill, MacBoo meets up with three rather bothersome creatures. however, all is not quite what it appears to be and the four decide to combine their skills and resources to beat the monster!

Can MacBoo and his new friends beat the monster? Will he succeed or not?

The book is published by Matador at £6.99 and can be bought at the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, which can be found to the right hand side of this book review.

The Rocky Road of Naughty Neurons Our Journey with Young Onset Alzheimer's Disease

Sylvia Bryden-Stocks's book, The Rocky Road of Naughty Neurons Our Journey with Young Onset Alzheimer's Disease, is a very important book.

Because it offers a vital insight into the shattering and highly emotional journey into the world of Young Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

Sylvia and Brian were husband and wife and they were enjoying a fantastic relationship that was filled with mutual love, respect and fun.

And then Sylvia found herself trapped in a new and horrible world, a world in which she had to quickly learn how to deal with Young Onset Alzheimer's Disease, when Brian was diagnosed with the condition.

The story that Sylvia has written takes the reader through a long journey, from their life pre-diagnosis to the trauma of the diagnosis itself and then through the new life that was thrust upon them as the condition progressed right through to the current day when Brian is in receipt of full-time care.

Sylvia was able to draw upon a wealth of knowledge of holistic healing and coaching which she was able to bring to bear to help not only Brian but also herself through the more trying moments.

The book is a very moving analysis of what happened, but it is also a highly useful guidebook for other people who are going through this very difficult process. I only wish that it had been available when a couple I used to know very well went through the same trauma of the husband being diagnosed as having Young Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

This book belongs in every library and in the resource section of every doctor's surgery and every hospital and carehome in the UK and anyone who is facing this diagnosis in themselves, a family member or a friennd also needs to have a copy.

It is published by The Book Guild and costs £9.99. It's available to purchase at this link https://goo.gl/WnXwQT.

The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness

The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness a debut novel by Craig Stone is a partly factual and partly fictional story.

It tells Craig's story. How he dreamt of writing a book whilst he worked at his job in the financial hub of the City.

So he decided to throw in his job and began writing his novel. But without a steady income he was unable to afford the rent on his flat, thus rendering himself as homeless.

What could he do then? Go and live in a park and write the story of how he had to live in the park.

He reasoned that if he was destined to be a writer than this book, if he finished it, could be the key to bigger and better things. And a return to society from Park Life.

The park he chose to live in was Gladstone Park which is in North London.

He sat under a tree and began to write about what it was like to live beneath a tree in a park in North London.

He decided that the book he would write would be so unusual, so very unique that it would catapult him out of the park once it was published and that it would put his life back on course again.

However, the narrative of the book might be a little bit uncertain and not completely truthful as Craig admits that the reader might be hard pressed to differentiate between the factual segments of the book and the fictional segments, which he created, whilst in the park, to entertain himself.

The book is published by Matador at £9.99 and is available through the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, which is to be found to the right of this review.

You can catch up with Craig Stone at www.thoughtscratchings.com.


Monday 4 July 2016

Kill or be Killed

Kill or be Killed is a new novel by Barry Johnson.

Jake Robinson is a former Captain in the Royal Military Police, he is Sandhurst-trained, and has a degree in Psychology.

He is described as a leader yet is also, perhaps paradoxically, something of a loner, too.

He was working with a special unit within MI5, yet he has taken the decision to resign from the unit.

In search of a job he finds a position looking after the interests of Jan Lotus, who is a skilled actress at home on both the stage and the big screen, she can also dance and sing.

She needs a bodyguard and Robinson is the man selected for that role.

However after he begins working for her, there is an assassination attempt on Jan Lotus that, unfortunately, succeeds.

With his charge dead, he realises that he must turn the tables on the killers and take them out, before they kill him and take on other targets.

What is the connection between battling drug suppliers?

Is he correct in his gut feeling that the murder contract on Jan Lotus was actually the work of a woman?

But if that was so, who was it? What was their motive?

Can he find this mysterious woman and deal with her?

Can he escape the machinations of the drug dealers and escape with his life?

This exciting novel is published by The Book Guild at £9.99 and will make a good book to take on your holidays.

It is the fifth Jake Robinson novel.

You can buy it from the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, to the right hand side of this review.

Dream Catcher

Dream Catcher is a psychological thriller written by Matthew J. Hancock.

It tells the story of Michael Clocksworth, a man who has all the answers. He, literally, knows everything.

His professional life is well sorted. If he comes face-to-face with a mathematical problem or a question of a scientific nature, it seems that the answers come to him in a flash.

But his personal life is something entirely different, it leaves him totally stumped.

But then there is poor Nicholas Reverie. He is troubled by some particularly horrifying nightmares.

But then his nightmares begin to come true.

Nicholas is desperately seeking help to explain what is happening to him and to bring it to an end, if possible.

He realises that Michael could have the sollution to his problems.

 But will Nicholas be able to find Michael before it is too late?

And should he find him, would Michael actually be able to do anything for him?

This is a genuinely psychological thriller of a novel.

What would it be like to know everything? Would that knowledge do you any good?

Could it change things? Or not?

It's a relativity short book at well under 100 pages and is published by The Book Guild at £7.99.

It's on sale at the That's Books and Entertainment online bookshop (you'll find it to the right of this review.) and if you buy one book this year, please do know that Dream Catcher should be it.

Love in Lindfield

Love in Lindfield is a romantic novel by David Smith.

It centres on Lindfield, which was the home of Charles Kempe.

It relates the tale of Harry. Harry is working for the BBC, researching for locations for a BBC drama that will be set and filmed in rural Sussex.

Whilst in Sussex Harry falls for a savvy and independent local artist called Ellie.

Ellie is undertaking the task of cataloguing what had been the home of the famed Victorian stained glass artist, Charles Eamer Kempe.

This cataloguing was being undertaken under the orders of the current owner of the house, Serena Ross, who is described as being: "unscrupulous and domineering."

Ellie and Harry become involved, unwittingly, in a love triangle that has the potential for a tragic outcome. This love triangle seems to mirror the troubled romantic life of Kempe, himself.

They are unaware that the events that develop are the result of a passion that is both ghoulish and violent, growing from a terrible and insatiable greed.

During his research Harry keeps discovering hitherto unknown facts about the various loves of Kempe.

But Harry's interactions with the Ross family are troublesome, as they are somewhat dysfunctional, to say the least.

This well-written novel contains not only romance, but also mystery, heartbreak and homicide, so there is something for everyone.

It is published by Matador and is available in paperback at £8.99 and hardback at £15.99.

It is available via the That's Books and Entertainment online bookshop, which you will find to the right hand side of this review.