P.D.R. Lindsay's Blog, page 10

Wow!

Whoopee! The e-book sale is off already. It's a good feeling knowing that new readers are finding the characters and the stories one has invested so much time and love on when writing their tales.

Tizzie is already selling.and is being featured on Friday May 25th 2018 at www.ebooksoda.com. Check it out for free and bargain ebook deals! 









And my silence has been due to getting this new novel finished! More book reviews soon. And searching through my Japanese photos for research for new stor...

Review of 'Soul of Fire' by Eliot Pattison

Soul of the Fire by Eliot Pattison

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


For those who have not read 'The Skull Mantra', the first in the series, you really ought to do so. Author Pattison is a fine writer with a lucid style and a way of making difficult thoughts and ideas understandable. Whilst every novel stands alone, and can be read without having read the others in the series, a reader will miss the full impact of what the author is asking us to think about and consider.

Each book is not just a mystery s...

Review of 'Soot' by Andrew Martin.

Soot by Andrew Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Impressive until the ending! And did that ending annoy me!

18th C and a murder, a nasty one. An artist who makes silhouettes is found stabbed with his large cutting scissors. No one is discovered as the murder so the artist's dissolute son, who had heard of Fletcher Rigge's ability to solve mysteries, makes him an offer. Rigge is stuck in the debtor's prison, but if he solves the crime he will be free. He is offered freedom for one month, but in that...

Review: The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith

The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Once again we have a delightful story about gentle people and the author uses the story to explore forgiveness.

Those readers used to McCall Smith's bent for philosophy, and who enjoy thinking about what he writes, will enjoy this new episode of the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency. Precious Ramotswe adored her father and treasures his memory. In this story she has to re-examine her ideas on the problems of firs...

Review: The Rat Catchers' Olympics by Colin Cotterill

The Rat Catchers' Olympics by Colin Cotterill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I am still laughing. The idea of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, in 1980, sending a team to the Olympic games in Moscow, which were boycotted by most of the Western world, is hilarious. They didn't have athletes. In fact the Russians come to train them. The trainer's advice to the boxers, 'Take the hit, then lie on the mat until the counting is finished' gives you some idea of the standards.

If you have not met Coli...

Review: 'Dogstar Rising' by Parker Bilal

Dogstar Rising by Parker Bilal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is number two in a series I've had problems getting from the library. Finally I have managed to find the later ones in the series. And the novels do improve as the author becomes more confidant in his writing style and more comfortable with his main character. Certainly the series is well worth reading.

'Dogstar Rising' is an unusual mystery novel set in contemporary Egypt. Young boys are turning up dead and mutilated. In the muddle tha...

Review: 'The Dry' by Jane Harper

The Dry by Jane Harper

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


'The Dry' is meant to be the first of a series. Author Jane Harper will have a hard time coming up with a plot as good as this one is. I wish it was a stand alone book because what the plot does is sort out the main character's past and set him free. To me that's a complete and finished story. What else can one do with that character now? Still that's the author's problem. And she's a lovely tight writer with a sharp eye for thriller plot details.

'...

Review: The Sixteen Trees of the Somme

The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Brilliant! And full marks to the translator who kept the rhythm and lyrical prose in his English translation. This really is a must read for the prose, the story and the ideas.

It's a good job the cover clearly states 'novel' because I could easily believe that this novel was faction, based on a true story. It isn't, but it ought to be! Set in Norway, and the Shetland Isles, with a brief trip to France and the Somme, author...

Review: The Blood Card by Elly Griffiths

The Blood Card by Elly Griffiths




A pleasant read for all who enjoy a bit of a puzzle, and a murder mystery set in the 1950s in the U.K.
This novel is one of a series and whilst you can read each book on its own it is more fun to follow the main characters from the start, in the first novel, when they all worked together in a special secret WWII unit.

The story revolves round Mephisto's magical work - this time he is actually appearing on the new venue of T.V. - and his sidekick, Stephens, the po...

Review: The Kite Runner by Khaled_Hosseini

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


One can see why this book became a best seller. The setting and the two main characters certainly would pull in most readers who are not aware of Afghanistan's history or culture. After 9/11 it would be a book to read to try and understand why.

It is a very personal story and very human. Who doesn't try to wipe out an error and all reminders of it? It's a novel which makes one well aware of how necessary the truth is to avoid further di...