Frank Derrick's Holiday of a Lifetime by J B Morrison

review by Maryom

Frank Derrick is about to be whisked away from cold damp Fullwind on Sea and his life of charity shop trawling and free bus-rides to the 'big Sainsburys', heading off to sunny California. He may be 82 but he's never been one to act his age so when his daughter Beth phones to tell him two pieces of bad news, he decides he must go and see her - after all what are fathers for if not to help out in a sticky patch? The main problem is Beth lives at least a 12 hour flight away. Then there's the minor issue of how to fund the trip; Frank doesn't exactly have money to spare - more like unpaid debts - but where there's a will there's a way to find the cash. So Frank buys a 'new' set of suitcases from the charity shop, gets out his best Hawaiian shirts and heads west. Arriving in California, he discovers granddaughter Laura has laid on an itinerary not only to show him all the sights, but for a family reunion to bring happiness back to her mum's life.

  Frank's holiday is like a dream come true - he visits all the famous locations he knows from movies and TV, sees the homes of Hollywood stars, walks in their footsteps, and is as over-joyed as a child - but the greatest happiness comes from being with his family again. At the same time, the book is tinged with sadness for even the best of holidays has to come to an end, and what will Frank do then?

 I loved  The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, age 81 , and this second instalment of Frank's adventures is easily as funny as the first. Filled with wry humour, heart-warming without being schmaltzy, JB Morrison's tales of eighty-something Frank are a delight.

Like Extra Ordinary Life, this is a story about seizing opportunities, embracing new things, and not letting age be a reason to slow down and opt out. I hope there are many more adventures still to come for Frank.

Maryom's Review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Pan Books
Genre - adult fiction, humour

Renegade by Kerry Wilkinson

review by Maryom

Silver Blackthorn and eleven other Offerings have escaped from Windsor Castle, managing to evade the clutches of King Victor, the Minister Prime and their guards the Kingsmen. But merely escaping isn't enough; getting out was - if not the 'easy' part - the obvious thing to do, beyond that Silver never really had any plans. She can't just go home - even if her family are still there, there'll surely be Kingsmen lying in wait - but what should she do? Everyone seems to have plans for her - to act as figurehead for the various dissident groups, to use her knowledge, or to manipulate her actions to suit their own plans.
With the silver streak in her hair, Silver is never going to be anonymous or able to hide in a crowd. And if the Kingsmen can't catch Silver then retaliation for her actions will be taken on her family....

 Renegade is the second book of Kerry Wilkinson's very British dystopian series, the Silver Blackthorn trilogy and, as such, picks up from the point at which Reckoning ended. There's such a lot of world-building and character development in the first book that it's best to start there; Renegade hits the ground running (rather literally as Silver and the other Offerings try to avoid re-capture), expecting the reader to be up to speed with the plot so far.
Having been chosen as one of the Offerings for King Victor and uncovered the abuse at the heart of his government, Silver's first thoughts had been of escape - for her and as many of the other imprisoned teens as possible. Now she's finding that personal freedom isn't enough, eventually someone is going to have to bring down King Victor and his supporters. A variety of groups are seemingly ready and waiting to do this, and Silver could easily fall into the role of their figurehead....but will she? There are hard choices to be made, choosing between the safety of family and friends, and the bringing down of King Victor.

There's more chance for the reader to get to know the other Offerings this time - particularly Faith who steps out of Silver's shadow with a heart-breaking story-line and some very hard choices to make.

The story is as action-packed and nail-biting as Reckoning, with both support and betrayal to be found in unexpected places as Silver tries to pick her way between conflicting emotions and advice. The only downside is the long wait for the third, series-concluding book.

Maryom's Review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Pan Books
Genre - teen/YA dystopian, action adventure, thriller

Cover Reveal - Renegade by Kerry Wilkinson

 Today we welcome Kerry Wilkinson to the blog - to reveal the cover for Renegade (Book 2 in the Silver Blackthorn Trilogy) and talk about judging a book by its cover......

Despite everything I've been told growing up, I always judge a book by its cover. Not only is it natural but it's where publishers put all the fancy quotes from people who like it. Hey, if they didn't want you to judge a book on its cover, those quotes would be hidden away somewhere else.

That was fine when I was simply a reader deciding what to buy, but now, on the other side of the fence as an author, it's altogether trickier. The people who create these covers are real-life designers, with real-life feelings, so to say 'I hate it', that you feel as if a tiny piece of your soul has been stamped upon repeatedly - even when that's the truth - is hard.

And I have been shown covers that I've really hated.

I say this precisely because I only had one look at the Renegade cover - and loved it. I still do. After last year's Reckoning, someone had the bright idea of a bronze-silver-gold colour scheme for the Silver Blackthorn trilogy. Book one, Reckoning, is bronze - and this is the silver. The colours, the rain, the castle, Silver's battered kick-your-arse gaze is perfect for the tone of Renegade.

Maryom's review of Reckoning can be found here

Losing It by Helen Lederer

review by Maryom

50-something Millie has problems - she's divorced, in debt and over weight. When she's asked to front an ad campaign for a new diet pill she thinks she may have found the answer to two of those, if not all three - surely if she were thinner she could find at man to take her to the cinema at least? Life isn't that simple of course and when the weight doesn't instantly drop away poor Millie finds herself harassed and harangued into all manner of 'helpful' activities from jogging to tantric sex ....


Losing It is the debut novel from comedian and actor Helen Lederer, and, as you'd expect from someone who's served their time in TV comedy and stand up, it's an incredibly funny book, packed full of ludicrous situations just waiting to trip heroine Millie up. However you describe it - chick lit for grown-ups/almost-oldies or Helen's preferred mid-lit - it's a delight to read. Although the emphasis is definitely on the comedy, the author shows enough perception and insight for the characters to ring true. Heroine Millie is someone the reader can easily empathise with; she's a mid-fifties singleton, with worries about her finances, her weight, and her daughter's career and love life, but still naively optimistic - even if we've not quite been there, these are all feelings we can relate to. Millie's attempts to get her life, and weight, back in order lead to the most cringe-making moments imaginable.
Anyone who regularly reads my reviews knows that in between the deep literary works and the nail-biting crime thrillers, I like some 'down-time', something lighter but not mind-deadening, and I think Helen Lederer is going to be a great addition to my favourite chick-lit authors - Sophie Kinsella, Hester Browne and, err, Matt Dunn. I loved Losing It and I hope there'll be further follow-up adventures for Millie soon.




If you want to hear more from Helen Lederer about Millie and Losing It check out our Q+A with her, part of a blog tour celebrating the book's launch.

Maryom's Review - 5 stars
Publisher - Pan Books
Genre -chick lit, humour,

The Future for Curious People by Gregory Sherl

review by Maryom

Imagine that when you embarked on a relationship, you could see its future course....  No more trying to build a future with an unsuitable partner. No more committing of time and emotion, just for everything to fizzle away.  This is what 'envisioning' offers - a scientific way to check out the long-term viability of a relationship.
For some there's a vision of beautiful grandchildren, tennis whites and yachting, but not for all.
Evelyn decides that the glimpse she's given of her and boyfriend Adrian singing Happy Birthday to their dog and arguing over cheese isn't good enough - so she dumps him!
Godfrey, meanwhile, has proposed to Madge and is prepared to take the leap into an unknown future in the old-fashioned way but Madge insists they check it out first....

The Future For Curious People is a story of people searching for that most elusive of things, true love; helped, or hindered, in their search by a pseudo-scientific procedure that gives tiny glimpses into the future. Is such a small sample enough to base a life on, or reject a lover out of hand? It's certainly enough to sow the seeds of doubt in Evelyn's mind and leave her searching desperately among her past boyfriends for someone who could offer a more interesting future.
It's fun and quirky, and rather reminiscent of The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The characters are slightly odd-ball but engaging and I found I wanted events to turn out happily for everyone. I loved it and I'm now pressing it on to my teen as I'm sure she'll enjoy it too.

All of this may sound a little far fetched but shortly after I'd read The Future for Curious Peoples I accidentally came across an article saying you can apparently get your dna checked to see if you're compatible - relationship dna test It's not such a great step from that to 'envisioning' the future!

Maryom's Review - 5 stars
Publisher - Pan Books
Genre - YA/adult fiction, 

Reckoning by Kerry Wilkinson

review by Maryom

England at some future time, and along with the other 16 year olds from her village, Silver Blackthorn is awaiting the Reckoning - this test 'grades' adults and determines their social position - Elite, Member, Inter or Trog. Also, each year a number of teenagers are chosen as Offerings to serve King Victor in his castle at Windsor; everyone sees this as a privilege but, when she finds herself among those chosen, Silver begins to have doubts. Arriving at the castle, her misgivings multiply; the atmosphere there is one of rumour and suspicion, no one will speak of what happened to the previous years' Offerings, and King Victor is not the charismatic leader everyone believes him to be but a brutal drunken bully. Keeping quiet and unnoticed is the first step to safety, and the next is finding a way to escape.....

Set in a post-civil war future England, Reckoning is a dystopian action adventure/thriller bound to appeal to fans of The Hunger Games. There are, to be honest, a lot of similarities with other teen dystopian novels - oppressive regime, a self-confident heroine, a love triangle in the making and a rebellion about to kick off - but that doesn't stop this being an excellent read. The story starts quietly and a little predictably - Silver will obviously be chosen as one of the Offerings - but the action increases and the tension mounts. Considering that the panning out of the story-line is fairly obvious, the author does an excellent job of screwing up the tension and keeping the reader on the edge of their seat.
Silver is a likeable heroine, resourceful and quick-witted but not so over-confident as to lose the reader's sympathy; she's ready to face up to authority rather than meekly accept its dictates. The choice of villain can make or break a book - and I rather liked King Victor in this role; with his ginger hair and piggy eyes, his choosing and discarding of the most attractive girls, his drunkenness and random violence has a definite touch of the elderly despotic Henry VIII about him.

The main snag is the all-too-common first of a series one and the long wait till Book 2.


Maryom's Review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Pan Books
Genre - teen/YA dystopian, action adventure, thriller

The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, age 81 by JB Morrison

review by Maryom

Frank Derrick has just turned 81 - but his only birthday surprise was being run over by a milk float. Now, with a broken arm and fractured foot, he's not looking forward to the next few weeks cooped up in his flat with only Bill his cat for company. He didn't get out much before - a trip to the charity shop to pick up some 'bargains' or to the care home where his friend, former punk rocker Smelly John, lives. Now Frank's to take things easy (as if any easier were possible), and to make sure he does, his daughter has arranged a 'carer' for him. Frank's dreading the arrival of a strict no-nonsense matronly type, so young, cheerful Kelly Christmas is a bit of a surprise. In a Mary Poppins sort of way, Kelly doesn't confine herself to housework but sets out to widen Frank's horizons with trips to the beach and the 'big' supermarket. Frank is enchanted but Kelly has only been hired for a few weeks - how will he manage without her?

Rather like The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules or The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel , this is a novel that challenges the way we 'youngsters' see those older than us; they're not all 'old dears' ready to settle for a life of slippers and vegetating in front of daytime TV - some of them at least are still wanting to live things up a little! Frank's life hasn't been special in any way, other than being his life, and now he finds himself lumped in with all the other old folk; all expected to think alike and share the same tastes in music or TV. To say he finds the prospect dreary is an understatement! Kelly's influence turns him around and re-awakens his interest in the world beyond his flat and the charity shop; there are still adventures to be had (maybe on a small scale, but adventures nonetheless), new things to discover (couscous and tattoos) and still some dreams to fulfil.
It's a gently humorous tale which I really enjoyed; it has its sad, moving moments but the overall feeling is upbeat and positive  - and maybe Frank could teach us all something about not giving up on our hopes and dreams?

Maryom's Review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Pan Books
Genre - adult fiction, humour

Never Look Back by Clare Donoghue

review by Maryom

A killer is stalking the streets of south-east London - three young women have so far been found raped and murdered, barely a few yards from help, and the killer is getting more confident, convinced the police can't catch him. DI Mike Lockyer, in charge of the investigation, is in desperate need of a break, something, any thing, that will link the victims and put his team on the trail of the killer before he strikes again. His DS, Jane Bennett, thinks she may have a lead - Sarah Grainger has reported a stalker; an anonymous caller has been telephoning her, at first intermittently but building up to a dreadful night of hourly calls, and he may now be watching her house. Could this be the lead, Lockyer is looking for?

Never Look Back is a compelling, tense and, yes, terrifying debut. It starts with an immediate 'bang', in fact two - a prologue with an insight into the killer and his weird plans, immediately followed by a murder in Chapter 1. Admittedly, a crime novel has to start with either a murder or the finding of a body but somehow, told from the perspective of the victim, this one really got to me.
The plot is extremely well constructed without at any point feeling contrived. The police investigation twines nicely around Lockyer's private life - his troubled relationships with his teenage daughter and autistic brother, and a growing romantic liaison -  and all of these threads pull together at the end.  
Never Look Back is the sort of read that gets under your skin and will have you constantly checking over your shoulder as you walk down that deserted street - maybe best read in the safety of your own home.

Maryom's Review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Pan Books
Genre - Adult crime, police procedural

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

Pensioners Behaving Badly

review by Maryom

Life at Diamond House Retirement Home in Stockholm isn't turning out to be as much fun as Martha and her friends expected. The meals are awful, they're never allowed out and bedtime is 8 o'clock. In fact if TV documentaries are to be believed, they'd be better off in prison! When the management introduce even more cut-backs, Martha and her friends decide it's time to take action. Fuelled by Martha's secret stash of cloudberry liquor, they hatch a plan to break out of the care home and live life to the full, even if it does mean taking to crime....

If you thought all Swedish crime novels were grim and gritty, think again. For fans of Last Tango in Halifax or Waiting for God, this is a delightful, fun tale of pensioners fighting back and refusing to accept that old age brings a life of monotonous passivity, sipping weak coffee glued to daytime TV. Sipping champagne and living in luxury is more their style than the penny-pinching cost-cutting style of Diamond House and its management. They're not going down without a fight - and even when things don't quite go the way they'd expected, Martha always comes up with another, better plan.Their escapades bring lots of laughs and excitement, and even a little romance, into their lives, proving you're never too old for fun.
I know a few elderly ladies who lunch and attend water aerobics classes at the local gym for whom this would be ideal but it will appeal to a far wider readership. You just might never see your old granny in the same way again.

Martha is just the sort of little old lady I want to be. Off to stock up on the cloudberry liquor!

Maryom's Review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Pan Books
Genre - Humour, Crime

Buy The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules from Amazon

Playing With Fire by Peter Robinson

Review by The Mole

Two narrow boats catch fire and the police are left with trying to determine if it's arson or accident. And if it's arson which of the two victims was the intended. And who are the victims anyway. It starts to look more like arson when a second fire destroys a caravan with a third victim inside. Banks and his team have their work cut out.

An admission before I start off... This is the first DCI Banks I have read and I have watched NONE of the TV dramatisations either. There, got that off my chest.

These books have a very popular following and I witnessed this at a Waterstones Nottingham event. It was well attended and the questions that people asked showed that they knew the characters well and considered them personal friends. Well having read my first one I can really understand why. The characters have their foibles and while you may not like everything about any of them then they also have their redeeming features. I am not a 'whodunnit' reader but I have to admit to having 'twigged' this one early on but Robinson had said that he didn't know who the culprit was until the end, so I am left wondering a bit how I got it so early.

If you haven't read any then I recommend crime readers give a DCI Banks novel a go.

Publisher - Pan Books
Genre - Adult Crime Fiction

Buy Playing with Fire from Amazon