The Bleiberg Project by David Khara

The Bleiberg Project

by David Khara

A guest review from Lady Techie

I received an e-copy of The Bleiberg Project by David Khara from Netgalley. 

I have to admit when I think about reading anything related to the Holocaust it makes me want to run the other way. Knowing everything that was done and probably not being aware of some things makes it a hard subject to digest. I have to admit this is my first foray into reading about this topic for that very reason. But, when I read the synopsis I thought this sounds really good and just maybe there is a good enough ending that I will not feel totally depressed afterwards. 

The characterization in the story was done really well. I have to admit that Jeremy Corbin, even without knowing his secret, makes it hard to like him. He is quite witty and also so darn down on himself it makes you want to avoid him. But, as the book goes on you start to become invested in his pain and hope that somewhere down the line things get better for him. Oddly enough his thoughts about Jackie Wells at first seemed a bit off to me, then as I read on I decided he is just a bit self-centered and immature and kind of thinks of her in high-school terms. Jeremy takes body blow after body blow in losses and as he deals with them throughout the book you start to see him maturing and growing and realizing how he lost more than he realized with his father.

I love reading books based in other countries, especially Europe and Eastern Europe. This book did a good job of giving me a bit of armchair travel. There was not a lot by way of describing the sites in the different places they visited when they arrived in Switzerland and made their way across to Poland but, there were enough of the descriptions that it grabbed my interest. What was really great was the tie-in to some of the rumors of some of the medical testing that happened in the camps. They were nicely woven into this book. But, my all-time favorite part of this book was Eytan Morg. I love reading about and seeing stories on television about the Kidon unit of The Mossad. Granted they are not nice people but, this was my first book that I got to read about some of what they do and what is known about their skills. It took me back to my favorite parts of NCIS and the character Ziva who was also Kidon. Eytan was larger than life and not just due to his size. He was this amazing, scarred man who didn’t allow himself to have anything other than the work he did and we find out why in The Bleiberg Project. That part of the story was riveting. Eytan’s fight scenes were awesome and jumped off the page when you read them. Interestingly enough at the beginning of the book you don’t know whose side he is on so he comes off as if he might be one of the bad guys but, he is so much more.

I just read on Goodreads that this is the start of a series and I have to say a very good start and I look forward to following this series every step of the way!

 
Review can also be seen along with more great information about The Bleiberg Project by David Khara here.

Family Likeness by Caitlin Davies

Family Likeness

by CaitlinDavies

When Rosie arrives in the lives of Jonas Murrey and his two children, he can have no idea of what is to come. Because for Rosie this isn’t just about landing a new job as a babysitter; it’s an attempt to find herself in ways that will only become clear as the story progresses.

Rosie’s narrative alternates with that of a small child called Muriel who, in the 1950s, is abandoned by her mother and left to the not-so-tender mercies of the children’s home system. The two narratives are linked by a number of themes: identity and belonging; missing parents; race and genetic roots. They weave around and echo each other as the story progresses and the links between the two women and their respective situations are revealed.

As with her previous novel, 'The Ghost Of Lily Painter', Caitlin Davies has also woven in a historical strand based on reality, in this case the true story of the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle. In the novel it is seeing the portrait of Dido, a young black girl living in an aristocratic white family in the 18^th Century, which leads Rosie, and Jonas’s young daughter Ella, to research and reflect on some of the issues of race, equality and identity that also feature in their own lives. By doing this the historical thread adds a different facet to the story and shines a brighter light on the central themes.

Full of intrigue and suspense this novel really does keep you guessing what its ultimate outcome will be right until the very end. Along the way it avoids taking the story in obvious directions in favour of more subtle and unexpected outcomes. A mix of compelling family story, exquisite historical detail and layers of mystery, this is a very satisfying novel indeed.

One of this summer’s must reads!

Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book. 

You can find out more and buy a copy here.

You can find my review of Caitlin’s previous novel, 'The Ghost Of Lily Painter' on Bookersatz.

Summer Of '76 by Isabel Ashdown

 

Summer Of 76

By Isabel Ashdown

I’ve seen a few comments online saying that Isabel Ashdown seems to have brought about a summer heatwave through the sheer power of her book ‘Summer of ‘76’ which recreates the hot summer of 1976. Well, I read the book just before the current heatwave started and I have to say that it made me believe there was intense sunshine and an impending drought in the outside world even when it was actually raining and unseasonally chilly.

The heatwave itself is an important plot factor in the novel. Everyone is just a bit wearier, a bit tetchier and a bit more likely to fly off the handle than they might have been otherwise. This adds a feeling of edginess to the story which is very effective.

We start the story with two of the main characters back in 1971 and then move forward to 1976 and follow the story of Luke, his parents Joanna and Richard and little sister Kitty from there. As the story starts the heatwave is just beginning to make its presence felt and as the action goes on we see both the heat and the family tensions being cranked up.

The prologue hints at one of the issues that will becoming increasingly important as the story goes on. It takes the reader into the story well because it’s obvious from the start that there is a pretty big secret that is going to surface in the course of the novel.

Set on the Isle of Wight, the novel makes good use of location. The sea, the beach, the holiday camp and the surroundings generally are pivotal to the story. But there is also a feeling of the claustrophobia and isolation of living on an island and wanting to escape as Luke does throughout the story.

I loved all the characters in this book, even the ones who were largely unsympathetic, but I think my favourites were probably Luke’s sister Kitty (an expertly drawn portrayal of a young child), his old friend Martin, his new friend Gordon, and his Gran.

As well as exploring the issues of a particular family, this novel also considers the nature of family itself and comes to some intriguing conclusions that finish the novel in a satisfying way.

This is a fabulous read and I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book. 

You can find out more and buy a copy here.

You can find my reviews of Isabel’s previous novels, Glasshopper and Hurry Up And Wait on Bookersatz.

A Higher Duty by Peter Murphy

 

A Higher Duty

by Peter Murphy

Set in the 1960s, A Higher Duty is a complex tale of law, crime, passion and ambition.

We follow the fortunes of members of Bernard Wesley’s chambers throughout the book.  In particular we meet Kenneth Gaskell, who lets his emotions get the better of him in a potentially disastrous way, and Ben Schroeder, a pupil whose background threatens to make him an outsider in the privileged world of the bar.  

The story starts with a shocking incident which resonates throughout the book, but which you will probably feel differently about before you reach the end, and along the way touches on some dark areas of human life.

The author has had a career in the law and this shows in the richness of detail about life in chambers and in court which is threaded through the book. I liked this aspect of the book, and found the details convincing and absorbing.

A large number of significant characters carry the story and a couple of times during the reading I felt that I was being pulled in too many directions and that my ability to sympathise with all the characters was in danger of being diluted. However, in the end all the strands are pulled together successfully and do need to be there.

The author pulls off a very effective job of making the reader sympathise by the end with characters who at the beginning seem wholly unsympathetic. Again, this makes for a very satisfying read.

Overall, I recommend this as a novel for those who enjoy crime and/or law stories complete with some excellent and unexpected touches.

Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.

You can find out more and buy a copy here.

Della Galton - Ice And A Slice

I'm so pleased to have the very talented Della Galton on my blog today. I've known Della for a few years now and not only is she a brilliant writer of short stories and novels, but she's also a wonderful writing teacher and all round fantastic person.

Della is here to tell us about her new novel. Over to you, Della.

Writing for the Market – or Writing from the Heart?

 

Should we write for the market? Or should we write from the heart?  If anyone has ever read my book, How to Write and Sell Short Stories, you’ll know I advise doing a bit of both.

 

But what should you do when you’re writing a novel?  There’s so much advice out there – lots of it conflicting. After all, it’s such a huge undertaking, writing a novel.  So much time, so much energy, so much pain – pleasure too, of course!

 

We are told to write within a genre. Otherwise publishers won’t buy our books. We are also told to write something that has the X Factor – what’s that exactly? Most publishers or agents can’t tell you – they just say they know it when they see it.

 

We are told to write what we know. But also to be a bit different.  And have you noticed that a lot of those big selling books come from completely left field. Who’d have thought that a story about a guy in a boat with a tiger would be such a best seller?

 

My first two novels, Passing Shadows and Helter Skelter were romances and I wrote them because: a) I love writing romances, and b) I knew there was likely to be a market for them.

 

My third novel, Ice and a Slice, which isn’t a romance, although it has a love story within it, wasn’t written like that at all.  Here’s how it came about.

 

I love writing about issues - things that affect a lot of people. They crop up a lot in my work.

 

I have alcoholism in my family – my father is a recovering alcoholic - so it’s an issue I’m familiar with. But I didn’t want to write a dark book about it. Or not too dark anyway.  I also wanted to write about it from a woman’s perspective.  There are lots of novels that are written about alcoholism, from a woman’s perspective, but fewer that are written about women who are alcoholics themselves.

 

Ice and a Slice is the story of Sarah-Jane, (SJ to her friends) who discovers she can’t stop drinking.  On the surface her life is fine. She is happily married to Tom (well at least she thinks she is – he works away so much she doesn’t often see him ).  She’s also fallen out with her sister and they no longer speak. But SJ is determined to sort that out one day.

                At least her best friend, Tania, is on her side, although lately Tania is increasingly preoccupied with her own (secret) problems.  SJ feels very alone sometimes and quite scared, but it’s not as though she’s an alcoholic, is it? She doesn’t keep a bottle of vodka by her bed. She doesn’t even drink every day – well not till the evening anyway.    

                It isn’t until she seeks the help of Kit, the hunky guy at the addiction centre, that she realises things may have got a little more out of hand than she thinks. 

 

SJ is by far the most three dimensional character I’ve ever created. I fell in love with her from the very first chapter.  Mostly I think because she is so flawed and so human.  And yes, she is based on someone I’m close to – although I’m not telling you who J  But one of the reasons that I love this novel  so much – and I don’t say that lightly, I’m the biggest self critic around – is because it’s the one in which I think I found my true voice.

 

I didn’t realise it was going to happen.  In fact, after so many years of writing, I thought I’d already found my voice – and I think I have as far as short stories go – but novels are different, aren’t they?  The canvas is bigger, the pace is different – everything is different. Although I loved writing my first two novels, Passing Shadows and Helter Skelter, writing Ice and a Slice was like being in another dimension.  It was easy to write – the words flowed out of me – I didn’t have to plan what SJ would say – she just said it. Being inside her head felt like putting on a second skin.  It was an amazing feeling.  And I’ve had some amazing reactions to this novel.   Since it came out at the end of March it’s had 26 five star reviews on Amazon.co.uk and 3 five star reviews on Amazon.com. I’ve pasted the most recent one below. Not because I want to blow my own trumpet, but because I feel humbled that Ice has touched people enough to say such lovely things about it.

 

I've always loved Della Galton's short stories and I have to say Ice and a Slice is a writing triumph as a novel.

I loved the characters and I can honestly say from when I started reading it I could not put it down - even to go and get a G & T with ice and a slice!

This is a book you must not miss.

Bookworm

 

My book launch for Ice and a Slice is being held on Saturday 13 July at the Red Lion Pub in Sturminster Marshall. I will be there signing books between 11 and 4. If you’d like to come along I’d be delighted to see you.

 

If you’d prefer to read the digital version you can borrow it for free if you’re an Amazon Prime customer. Or buy it for £1.94 (less than the price of a glass of Chardonnay) by clicking here.

If you are a little bit eccentric (as I am) you might also be interested in the fact that SJ has her own Twitter account. You can follow her here.

And also her own Facebook page. You can follow that here.

 

Thank you for reading.

Della Galton x

 

Pulp The Classics

I was recently sent a review copy of this version of The Hound Of The Baskervilles from the nice people at Oldcastle Books.

I'm not going to do an actual review because I read the novel years and years ago, and it has had so much written about it over the years that I don't think I have anything to add.

I did think this little series of books was worth a mention though! I absolutely love the concept of  a range of classic novels reissued with retro pulp covers and complete with orange sprayed page edges.

As well as The Hound Of The Baskervilles, you can also find Pride And Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, Wuthering Heights and more. They'd make a great present for book lovers and collectors who already love the originals or maybe for young people discovering them for the first time.

You can find out more on the Oldcastle Books website here.

My Future Husband by Karen Clarke

My Future Husband

by Karen Clarke


This is a wonderful, imaginative and refreshing read. It's a great romance, with some really likeable characters, and has the added intrigue of a plot including time travel which gives a very different twist on the journey to true love.

Sasha thinks her life is sorted as she plans her wedding to Pete, the only problem appearing to be the mother-in-law from hell. But that's before she meets Elliot, who arrives from the future in a flurry of electrical activity.

Sasha then has some huge obstacles to overcome as she attempts to find the right solution for herself, Pete and Elliot!

The time travel is nicely done and convincing, and the sub-plot involving Sasha's business partner Rosie, who tries to support Sasha whilst dealing with significant problems of her own, is emotional and gripping.

If you like romance that has a twist, and that poses some intresting conundrums and dilemmas, then you'll love this. It's a fun read, but it also has depth and intelligence to lift it out of ordinary.




You can buy My Future Husband here. And, don't forget, you don't need a Kindle to read it as you can download Kindle software to your computer for free.