Sammy Feral's Diaries of Weird by Eleanor Hawken

Review by The Mole

Sammy Feral is a normal boy whose family own a zoo and whose family are just a little bit weird. In the first Sammy Feral (Sammy Feral's Diaries of Weird) book his family were all turned into werewolves. He met Donny and Red, cryptozoologists, (who are also a little bit weird - in their own way) as he tried to find a way to get them back to normalish. I say normalish because he's hardly normal himself - he can talk to weird animals that don't exist. These are fun books that are captivating for the younger reader with lots of black and white illustrations.

 Yeti Rescue


A Mongolian Death Worm turns up at his zoo, he’s not that surprised. The Death Worm needs help: his best friend, Bert the Yeti Chief, has gone missing. 
 Can Sammy summon the Ministry of Yetis and rescue Bert? He’s going to need help from his old friends Donny and Red, not to mention a very reluctant Wish Frog…


The Hound Curse

To make some extra money for Feral Zoo, Sammy, Red and Donny decide to promote their cryptozoology business – investigating animals that don’t exist. What could possibly go wrong?
Everything! Hired to check out sightings of a ghost dog, the friends uncover the terrifying legend of the Hell Hound. Anyone who is seen by this terrible beast is struck with a death curse. So when Sammy’s best friend Mark runs into the deadly dog, Sammy knows he doesn’t have long to figure out how to save him!

Publisher - Quercus Kids 
Genre Children's 8+ supernatural adventure

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A London Year compiled by Travis Elborough & Nick Rennison

Review by The Mole

A collection of observations from diaries, letters and journals from over the centuries and presented as 365 daily entries.

These are not 'fuddy duddy' entries but lighter side comments and observations by more than 200 contributors stretching back to the sixteenth century right through to modern times and generally on different subjects. Every day has 2, 3 or more contributions spanning several centuries. These contributors each have a short biography at the back that helps to answer that all important "Who was that chap?" question although many will probably go unread as they are well known. There is also a bibliography explaining the sources used and finally an index where you can look up a person and find what entries they have written.

All in all whether you use this book as an entry a day, try to read it all in one go or choose a contributor and look up all their entries then this is a very enjoyable book that will make you smile, think or just reflect on things of the past. Myself, I am opting for the day by day reading and very enjoyable it is. It would also make a nice Christmas present for that person who's almost impossible to by for - it's not fattening and exercises the mind.

Publisher - Frances Lincoln
Genre - Non Fiction

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The Red Man Turns to Green by Dickson Telfer

Review by The Mole

This eclectic collection of stories is based on life - stories that vary from young to old, from love to death and that desire people harbour all too often... to take people down on their behaviour towards each other.

One of these stories is just two lines long while others stretch to nearly 20 pages, so they are coffee time length reads. But perhaps that's not the best time to read them because they will mostly cause you to stop and think and getting anything done after coffee time may be seriously impaired.

I maintain that short story collections are best when they are from a collection of authors but here the author has achieved a wide enough group of subjects, being told by a very wide group of characters (including a dog) and raised a great breadth of topics in a hauntingly enough manner to satisfy even me.

An excellent collection that will leave readers thinking for long after they have put the book down.

Publisher - Fledgling Press
Genre - Adult short stories

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Linked by Imogen Howson

review by Maryom

 As long as she can remember, Elissa has suffered from distressing hallucinations in which she feels she's seeing the world through someone else's eyes - a world which is full of white masks, machines, wires and above all, pain. Doctors have tried to help in various ways but things have only got worse. Now as a last resort, an operation is being planned which will remove part of Elissa's brain. But at almost the last minute, she discovers that she actually IS seeing through someone else's eyes - those of Lin, the twin she never knew she had but has always been linked to telepathically. Together they try to outrun the people who have subjected Lin to years of scientific abuse - and uncover a secret agenda that the government will kill to protect.

Linked is an exciting, fast-paced, sci-fi, conspiracy theory read - and just in case that doesn't tick all the boxes for you, there's a little romance as well. This book had been sitting on my TBR pile for quite a while with me vaguely thinking I'd get round to reading it sometime - and I SO wish I'd picked it up sooner. The premise of twins separated at birth but still telepathically linked had me intrigued - especially with the hint of government secrets and cover-ups - but I hadn't imagined it would be as compelling as I found it. It's the kind of book that draws you in instantly and doesn't let you go till the very end. I was a little worried when I saw an advert for a sequel, but it's a perfectly rounded-off stand alone novel.
Although set on strange planets with interstellar travel, it isn't about aliens from outer space but is primarily a conspiracy-theory  thriller about the horrors that one sector of society will inflict on another in the name of scientific advancement. It's aimed at teens and young adults, but I feel it could appeal to many older readers too.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Quercus
Genre - teen/ YA  sci-fi, conspiracy theory, thriller

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The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Review by The Mole

FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare has been pursuing Nicholas Fox, a major con man, for some time and finally brings him to book. Before Fox gets to court he manages to escape and O'Hare is removed from the case. O'Hare takes time off work and decides to pursue him on her own time only to find that she is forced to work outside the law to catch a much bigger fish than Fox.

The Heist is one of those books that you know the ending to long before you get there - a bit like a fairy story but for grown ups. Kate is an ex-navy seal. No, there aren't and haven't been any female navy seals and the authors acknowledge that - but it's a work of fiction! Yes, Kate could single handedly take on a division of the best in the world and come out unscathed - but so can Arnie.

Technically you might call this a thriller and yes it is but compare it to a roller coaster ride - not a lap around Brands hatch on the back of a professional motor cycle champion! And like a rollercoaster you will come away smiling from ear to ear. It's not the greatest plot, you could drive a bus through some of the oversights but you will enjoy the read. I thought Kate was a great character and I felt the same about Nick - but Kate and Nick? That bit didn't convince me.

I wouldn't normally compare books I've read but this had the same feeling to it as J T Brannan's "Stop at Nothing" so Brannan's fans should enjoy this one (and vice versa, obviously).

Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult thriller

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Tich: Dragonslayer by Pete Barrett

Review by The Mole

Tich is bored and his dad gives him an old board game to play. Playing slaying dragons is fine, but when game and reality overlap life becomes problematic. How do people react to a fire breathing dragon in the shopping centre?

This is the second "Tich" book I have 'read' (the first being Tich Vampire Hunter). I say 'read' because with children's books I have a tendency to read the first of a series and for sequels I tend to skim them to reacquaint me with the characters/author/style and just get the gist of the plot. I picked up Dragonslayer and started that and found myself reading cover to cover. I'm not sure if that says something about Tich, Barrett - as the author, or me! But I loved it!

I would say one thing about it though, of which I did not approve - whenever things go wrong (and what would be a kids book where they didn't go wrong?) he keeps saying things like "bollards, bollards, bollards". I just feel this encourages or normalises such speech patterns for young readers although it may offend some.

Putting that to one side, Tich is a grand character who's not exactly snow white in his behaviour but harmless and fun while Barrett's story telling really drags any reader in and compels them to read as he propels them to the end.

Publisher - Playbackbooks
Genre - Children's fantasy fiction 7+

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The Dead Men Stood Together by Chris Priestley

 review by Maryom

Lured by tales of adventure and far-off lands, a boy jumps at the chance to join his uncle's latest voyage. This trip won't be like any he's previously made with his father, up and down the coast - and before long, he's wishing he'd never set sail! A storm takes the ship and blows her hundreds, maybe thousands, of miles off course into a frozen waste where icebergs loom and the sea freezes. As the ship becomes held fast by the ice, the crew become restless and bored. The monotony is only broken by the visits of an albatross, who quickly becomes a pet of the crew. Then the unthinkable happens, showing off about his skill with the crossbow, the Uncle shoots the bird - and the real trouble starts. Suddenly freed from the ice, the ship is blown to an area of intense heat and lies becalmed, at the mercy of whoever, or whatever, may find them.

In case you hadn't guessed by now, The Dead Men Stood Together, is a re-telling of Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. If you've memories of a dull, dragging, endless poem, stumbled through in the classroom, then think again. While keeping a 'period' feel to it, Priestley casts a fresh eye on the tale; telling it from the point of view of the Mariner's unnamed nephew - sharing his delight at heading off to sea and then his growing horror as events unfold. I was absolutely gripped!

A story to delight lovers of both sea-faring and horror stories, although aimed at older children and teens, its wonderfully tense and atmospheric style will have adults hooked too. With most children's books I try to get inside the head of the supposed reader, but with Chris Priestley's I don't have to - he doesn't talk down to his readers and his The Dead of Winter is one of the scariest books I've read!

Maryom's review -  5 stars
Publisher - Bloomsbury
Genre - children's fiction, horror


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