H.M. Holten's Blog, page 5

Goldcrest

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Is it possible that something this tiny can fly?

Yellow and green

With hollow bones to reduce weight

This feathered miracle ends his flight

Between the paws of an excited cat.

Braced for his thrill the meowing ogre

Starts to play with his prey but

Someone must thwart his lust

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It is hard to wrench a greedy cat���s jaws open

Take out the motionless

Still breathing

And

Wet creature.

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Holding a bird in gentle hands

Is wondrous,

Heat emanating from his feet

He rests

A little

*

Then he flies off to recover on the roof.

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�� HMH, 2023

Volcanic Landscape

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Watercolour on Paper ��1984

This is another of the Lanzarote-inspired watercolours.

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�� HMH, 2023

Almost-spring

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With a push and a shove, the wind lifted you

And sat you down in another reality.

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Blue skies and a Gibbous waxing moon watched from above.

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Wind waves swirled

From every corner of the compass

Swashbuckling

Rumbustious

Clearing your head of old fog.

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New life and green sprouts grew from dark stems.

*

Hesitating, spring

Quivered

Doubtful

Until an icy gust

Sent it away

*

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��HMH, 2023

Blog Tour, The First Cut, Jane Renwick Series

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It is a great pleasure to welcome Val Penny to my pages, on her blog tour to celebrate the new edition of The First Cut.

Author Biography

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.

Val Penny

The First Cut ��� Blurb SPB

It���s hard to escape a brutal past.

A vicious killer is on the loose and victims include an academic and members of Edinburgh’s high society.

DS Jane Renwick is banished to the side-lines of the case and forced to look on impotently when the hunt for the killer ramps up, because the Murder Investigation Team finds out that the killer is her relative.

Has someone from Jane’s birth family returned to haunt her? Is one of her relatives involved? Where will the killer strike next?

This gripping police procedural is set in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The exciting novel is the first in Val Penny���s new series of Scottish thrillers.��

Here is my review:

A Case Hanging on the Perpetrator���s DNA

Jane Renwick, born Smith, experienced a troubled childhood but pulled herself out of trouble and achieved self-respect. Her life is fulfilling, with friends and colleagues, including her wife Rachel Anderson, at her job as DC in Edinburgh.

A series of murders occur in Edinburgh, and it is up to the combined forces of local police and MIT Glasgow to catch the murderer. The hunt is urgent, especially because of the grisly aspect of the killer���s MO and possibly psychopathic traits.

Ms Penny brings her usual storytelling skills to the fore with twists and turns, notably the genetic complications that keep Jane from taking part in the chase. All in all, Ms Penny leaves it up to the readers��� perception to figure out, who���d done it. Her characters are fleshed-out, believable humans that appeal to any bookworm���s emotions.

The story is fast-paced, and its point of view fluctuates between Jane Renwick���s and the murderer���s heads.

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��HMH, 2023

��Landscape with Palms

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Watercolour on Paper

Several years ago a friend showed me photos from Lanzarote. The volcanic landscape inspired me to a series of watercolours. This is one of them.

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�� HMH, 1984

The Diary

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It was easy to open the lock on her sister���s book. She just needed a pin and, hey presto, the latch gave way. Now she could find out if her suspicion was correct. Oh, look ��� a heart. Prudence had even drawn a heart. This was going to be funny.

���Nobody knows how wonderful he is. Dare I mention his name? Nobody will read what I write of course, but ��� he���s too perfect. Martin. There, I did it. When Sandy talks about how much she fancies Pete, I have to smile. How can she? When Martin is there?���

Mary sniggered. Martin ��� that fool ��� arrogant and a know-it-all. Should she read on? Perhaps. It might be her only chance. On the other hand, Prudence wouldn���t be home yet. Look at her handwriting. Prudence was hard hit. No doubt. Her hand must���ve shaken as she wrote this. What a lark.

���His eyes are deep and brown to die for and drown in. He���s so witty.���

WITTY. That was hard to believe. Did he ever open his mouth? She gurgled with laughter and dropped the book. Something fell out and the lock disappeared under a piece of furniture. Better get it out. She scrambled to her knees and tried to fit her fingers under the chest. The gap was too narrow. She was sweaty now. There was a ruler on the desk. She grabbed it and pushed it in. Careful. There was the lock; a few scratches and some dust to wipe. She���d be fine.

There was a loose piece of paper. She���d seen it fall out but where was it now? More to the point: what was on it? She���d better find that fast. This wasn���t so funny now. Where was that stupid paper? Oh, why did she? Never mind. Find that piece of paper and get everything back in Prudence���s diary and back on the shelf. On hands and knees, she searched the floor. There. She���d pushed the chair on top of it and it was crumbled up. Her fingers shook as she tried to iron out the creases.

���And what exactly are you doing here?���

It was Prudence. Oh, blast.

���Nothing. I���m larking around.���

���I don���t think so.���

In two steps, Prudence reached the desk and seized the open book.

���What did you do with this? It���s private������

���Sure, sure, I know. It. It fell off the shelf. I heard it! It ��� the lock fell off and I had to fish it out under your chest of drawers. There was a piece of paper. Where did that go? You���re not helping, Prudence.���

Mary crumbled the paper in her fist and hid it in her apron pocket.

Prudence narrowed her eyes. The lock was open on the desk. She put the book down and grabbed the lock.

���Look, it���s all scratched and horrid. You little scamp, you tried to open it. Why must I put up with my horrid sister? DID YOU READ IT? Tell the truth for once.���

Prudence���s hand came out of nowhere. That stung.

���YOU HIT ME. I���m telling mum.���

Mary ran, slamming the door after her. Prudence shouldn���t hit her. Not ever. She hated her big sister. Well, she still had that piece of paper. Who knew what it hid? Maybe it would be useful later.

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�� HMH, 2019

Autumnal Reverie

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Sweetly fragrant, white roses

Defy the twilit afternoon.

Beautyberries set purple accents

Though their leaves have gone to ground.

Firethorn and autumnal trees sparkle

Orange, red, and Golden

Along bent, narrow streets

*

A lost seagull pines for succour

That won���t come.

Survive at your peril.

A challenge for every bird

Every creature:

To live or die

As nature decides

*

Life is a circle

Where nothing is lost

While nature is ruling.

Upend it, and

The outcome

Will be grave

*

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��HMH, 2022

Tree on a Cliff

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Coloured Pencils on Paper

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�� HMH, 2023

A Posy of Reviews

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John Dolan, The Otford Dictionary

This Certainly Isn’t The Oxford Dictionary

Finished the Otford dictionary and enjoyed some belly-laughs, a few puzzled instants, some titters, and one or two ‘how old is this fellow’ moments. All in all, it tickled my funny bone and was worth reading from start to finish. Have forgotten plenty of definitions even if some were mind-boggling and some cynical. A few were caustic and some – alas – predictable. JD has a sense of humour, he has acidity and irony as well as sarcasm, which he declares to be a British affair. No doubt, brains work in their own way, and some have a huge number of windings.

A book like this, written by a male Brit, would necessarily be hugely different from a continental female approach, but that’s fine by me.

Maybe I can put it like this: it appears that JD has delved into the British English state of mind.

Will I write a review? Apparently. Anyway, The Otford Dictionary made me think when I wasn’t tittering or howling or shaking my head or cackling (loudly). That is something. Don’t forget that some people can make the telephone book sound interesting, and some people can achieve head-spinning boredom with the simplest ingredients. It’s a matter of talent. Is it surprising that it takes as big a talent to be jaw-droppingly boring as it takes to be pant-peeing hilarious?

Grand Guignol is a rare talent.

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Raymond St Elmo, The Blood Tartan

Another Extravaganza from an Inspired Mind

The Blood Tartan. It is wonderful.

RSTE can write. His style is unlike anybody else’s.

Imaginative, ingenious, and quirky, full of surprises. His parallel worlds overlap the natural world. He knows his Blake and is no stranger to razors, specifically Occam’s.

What can I say? He makes you laugh and cry simultaneously. His mad characters sweep up fantastic imagery and his pointy-eared boys recite poetical marvels.

*

Susan Sage, A Mentor and Her Muse

Obsession and Longing

Maggie, middle-aged and white has lost her ability to write after her first, moderately successful book. She works in the library at a school in Flint, Michigan.

Taezha (Tae) is a black teenager with a considerable writing talent. Her mother has several children and lives a chaotic life.

When Maggie and Tae meet, they inevitably form a connection as mentor and muse.

The central part of the novel is a road trip that Maggie undertakes together with Tae. There are faint allusions to Lolita in this, but Maggie is different from Humbert. Maggie is a tortured soul, obsessed with doors that she photographs everywhere. Her secret chamber never opens completely but her contemplations knock on the door from time to time. She is lost in dreams but doesn’t act them out. Tae is attracted to her mentor but also repelled. This creates tension between the two characters, and that is the real suspense in this flawless book.

Multiple points of view can be difficult to execute, but Susan Sage dissects her main characters in her exceptional rendition of an existentialist and somewhat troubling study.

*

Tia Fanning, Fleeing Haven

Fantasy Realm with a Rigid Code of Honour

In Haven, women are supposed to be good wives and breeders.

Sara, instructor in healing arts at the Royal Academy for Girls, has other dreams. After an abusive marriage, her only wish is to hide away and keep the secret of her royal blood.

Princess Ischka, of marriageable age, studies at the academy and wishes that she could stay and hone her magic.

Can the two women escape their preordained fate? Can they avoid falling in love? Is there a way to avoid becoming caught in the erotic pull of their ideal partners?

Their only chance is to flee Haven.

There will be consequences that they can’t foresee.

Tia Fanning presents a complex tale of women’s liberation and magic that is well worth exploring.

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David Toft, A Legacy of Butterflies

A Vision that Could Become Real

Gordon Aldridge is the son of Mark and Susie, the main characters of A Gift of Butterflies, who died when he was a baby. He has been reared by Becky and Dan, who found his parents after they died. Now Gordon has grown up and his heritage has manifested.

Europe has changed since then. Gordon is on a mission to save American hostages from the heart of fundamentalist England.

It is no surprise that David Toft can spin a web to catch his readers and create a plot that is both thrilling and thought-provoking. The biggest question is to find out if humanity can survive if they don’t stop violence, single-mindedness, and fundamental ideas. The chance is minimal.

With the Chaos Theory still looming in the background, David Toft has done it again.
 

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CW Hawes, Death Wears a Crimson Hat

Outsiders Beware

Small towns have much in common. There’s the gossip and there’s the wish to keep outsiders apart. That Magnolia Bluff also has a Crimson Hat society with a leader who savours character assassination is another weird attraction to this small town in Texas Hill County.

Harry Thurgood of the Really Good Wood-fired Coffee Shop is an outsider with a past.

Ember Cole is the new reverend of the Methodist Church. She too guards a secret.

All in all, these two make the ideal targets when a spate of murders occurs, and their only chance is to turn into amateur sleuths.

If you’ve read one or more books by CW Hawes, you know what to expect. Wit and quirky characters, an intelligent plot that you might not be able to figure out before he lands the only possible mystery solution. The one you never saw coming.

Death Wears a Crimson Hat is the first in a series of nine books written by nine authors, members of the Underground Authors. Every month for nine months a new book will dazzle its readers. Hold on to your hats and make a visit or nine to Magnolia Bluff. In my opinion, you won’t regret it.

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Caleb Pirtle III, Eulogy in Black and White

A Dash of Hammett and Chandler

After reading Death Wears a Crimson Hat, I was hooked. The Magnolia Bluff series lives up to every expectation. I did not doubt that Caleb Pirtle III would ace the second part of the Magnolia Bluff series.

Welcome back to Texas and a small town that buzzes with mystery.

We meet Graham Huston, a troubled character, who deals with his personal nightmare. As if that isn’t enough, he must deal with a murderous riddle once he drops from the frying pan into the fire in the small town, known as Magnolia Bluff.

The May 23rd Murders are unrelated or so it seems. Nobody has been able to connect the dots and recognise the picture.

Will Graham succeed where others failed?

You must read Eulogy in Black and White to find out.

Caleb Pirtle’s writing will pull you into this dark and murky story of death and friendship, guilt, and possible redemption.

*

Christa Nardi, A New Place, Another Murder

Cosy Mystery – Amateur Sleuth

As I purchased A New Place, Another Murder, it didn’t occur to me that it was connected to the Cold Creek series. After all, it was book one in Sheridan Hendley Mysteries. I’ve no complaint about this, except for the uneasy feeling that I should’ve known some of the characters (perhaps in a former life). It was easy to get involved with newlywed Sheridan, her husband Brett, and his daughter Maddie. Likeable characters all.

The plot ticks all the boxes in a cosy mystery, and if you are a fan of them, you’ll have a great time following the troubles that meet the residents of Clover Leaf, Appomattox.

*

© HMH, 2022

Spring Morning

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Cool and watery the sun rises

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Is there a change in the air?

Tentative vapour wafts over the field

And reveals green hue floating over damp soil

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Will aconites and daffodils

Open their eyes to look at a new world?

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Wish that it be true.

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Soon the lark will rise

Soon the air turns rich

Soon exploding buds must colour the world

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Balmy air and rising sap

Inspire lovers to lust

To love

To kiss

And nest

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© HMH, 2022