Monthly Archives: April 2019

A Crime Round up as April ends by Annie Clarke

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In the Blood by  Ruth Mancini

A new voice in crime fiction published by Head of Zeus

A new mother is accused of poisoning her own child, and leaving him to die. But though Ellie is a difficult person, after a troubled upbringing, is she capable of murder? Well, is she?

Sarah Kellerman, a criminal defence lawyer with her own child – one who is disabled, sets out to answer this question. But strangely, her own child becomes unwell. So what exactly is Kellerman caught up in?

This is not unlike a Wire in the Blood I caught up with last night, which I had to watch between my fingers. I find fiction of any sort involving the harming of children not my thing, but others on the team enjoyed this novel and declared it a page turner. So, here we have a page turner from an author who ‘knows of which she speaks’ for Ruth Mancin is a criminal defence lawyer, with a disabled son. Good luck to her as her writing career progresses.

In the Blood. Ruth Mancini. pub Head of Zeus. pb £8.99

 

Twisted Prey by John Sandford.

I more than enjoyed this latest in the Prey series. Lucas Davenport – such an engrossing lead character, so human – confronts an old nemesis, now a powerful U.S. senator. They’ve met before, oh yes, indeed. Taryn Grant is a psychopath who slots effortlessly in to the Senate, (well a psychopath would into the political world) and Lucas expects another murder from her, to add to the three he is convinced she has already committed.

And, readers, there is… Roll of drums.

I long – as I review crime novels – to find an author as richly erudite as Reginald Hill (Dalziel and Pascoe), and as amusing, and quirky, who creates characters so real you know them. And do you know, I am increasingly feeling with John Sandford I might have found one. I sank into it, turned the pages, grinned, turned a page and needed to turn the next one – quick as the tension built. Read it – I insist.

Twisted Prey by John Sandford. pub Simon and Schuster UK

 

Cradle by James Jackson

An historical crime set back in America, Virginia, in 1608.

An intriguing novel, as Intelligencer Christian Hardy protects this new possession on behalf of Prince Henry, heir to the English throne.

But he faces not only the natives, but internal sabotage, and the forces of King James 1 and his spymaster Robert Cecil, desperate to prevent war with Spain.

Add to all this, the starvation the settlement is having to endure, then you have a live or die battle on your hands.

This area of conflict seems popular at the moment, and Cradle not only has a great jacket, but historical knowledge and a whacking pace. Enjoy.

Cradle by James Jackson. pub Zaffre. pb £7.99

 

Full Wolf Moon by Lincoln Child

This New York Times bestselling author is back with a new thriller, which finds Jeremy Logan, the renowned investigator of the supernatural and fantastic on the trail of a killer, who cannot exist.

The first question is, do werewolves exist as a mauled body is found on Desolation Mountain when Jeremy Logan joins a writers’ retreat to finally get to grips with his book? But he has to get to grip instead, with a real life mystery. Well, that’s procrastination for you.

With the discovery of the body, the question is posed – has the savagery proved that the legend has been made manifest – that werewolves abound?

Child packs in action, tension, interesting locales, controversial science so strap on your seat belt as the roller coaster of a ride takes off. Not a dull moment. Give it a go.

Full Wolf Moon by Lincoln Child. pub Corsair. £8.99

Milly Adams, writing Annie Clarke has a new novel Girls on the Home Front pub by Arrow  out on 30th May.

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: APRIL READING ROUND UP

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Susanna:

Have you ever read a book that was so good that, while you looked forward to reading more by the same author, at the same time you couldn’t help feeling a bit wary of doing so – you know, in case the next book didn’t live up to expectations..? For me, psychological thriller writer Linda Huber is one of these writers. Since reading The Cold Cold Sea, I’ve never been able to open another of her books without that little iffy moment of wariness.

Linda Huber’s strength lies in her ability to build a creepy atmosphere that creates a thread that runs throughout each book, growing stronger the further you get into the plot. Her latest book, Stolen Sister, is billed as a ‘gripping family drama,’ but it is much more than this. It is a well-crafted, psychologically complex story that is fueled by strong characterisation. It is a chilling tale of ordinary people in what they gradually realise is an extraordinary situation and I wanted to reach inside the story and tell them what was really going on. A thoroughly gripping read.

 

Jane:

The first of my holiday reads followed me around for a while after I’d finished it – always a sign of a great book as far I as was concerned.

I was absolutely fascinated by the premise of Julie Cohen’s Louis and Louise; one life lived twice in a different gender. As well as being a satisfying story it made me think long and hard about gender identity and how it is shaped from childhood and the choices we make – often unwittingly – because of it.

Julie Cohen is a great storyteller and the small town in Maine where most of the book is set came to life in her skilled hands. It takes Louis and Louise from birth until their early thirties, flashing between the present and the defining moments of their childhoods. I found their relationship with their twin friends (a boy and a girl) echoed their own gender identities beautifully.

One thing that jarred a little was the few paragraphs – one quite early on – where the author ‘stepped in’ and explained to the reader what was happening and this really wasn’t necessary.  To me it smacked of over zealous editing on the part of the publisher and was quite annoying being treated like an idiot. Otherwise a great book I’d thoroughly recommend.

Also on holiday I struggled through Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (sorry Cass!), mainly for research purposes, and read Angela Barton’s Magnolia House. This romance has received a ton of five star reviews and tells the story of Rowan, whose life spins apart just after she moves to London and how her new housemates and old friends help her to pull it back together.

But my most amazing holiday read of all was Madeleine Bunting’s Island Song. I’m a fussy reader at the best of times, but this marvellous novel drew me in right at the beginning and held me there until the end. The writing is so natural, so clever, I don’t even really know why it is so effective, but it carried me into a world of wartime Guernsey and 1990s London I was reluctant to leave.

The premise is not an original one; mysterious mother dies leaving daughter to uncover the truth about her life, but the richness of the storytelling and the layers of complexity made it an absolute joy to read. Easily my book of the year so far and I recommend it without reservation.

 

SISTER SCRIBES GUEST: R L FEARNLEY ON ELVES, ENCHANTMENTS AND EMANCIPATION

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Becci is a sister scribe from Reading Writers  – as well as being on the committee together and going to  the regular meetings, we like to write together in local cafés. She writes under the name R.L. Fearnley and is a fantasy poet and novelist, performing her poetry all across the country and delivering creative writing workshops in a variety of settings. Her poetry collection, ‘Octopus Medicine’ was published under ‘Becci Louise’ by Two Rivers Press in 2017. She is working on her first novel.

Lonely children love other worlds. I know this because I was a lonely child. I found solace in alternative landscapes filled with dragons, wizards and magic. The idea of riding on the back of a fire-breathing monster was one of the few things that made me feel powerful. I loved the stories of dragon-riding heroes and farm-boys-turned-champions. It made me feel that anyone, no matter how humble and invisible, could have the potential for more. I devoured these stories with gusto; Christopher Paolini’s ‘Eragon’ was a favourite, as was J.R.R. Tolkein’s ‘The Hobbit’ and C.S. Lewis’ ‘Chronicles of Narnia’. Of course, I wrote my own stories too. Looking back on them now, I see a fatal flaw that I was, perhaps, too young or too socially conditioned to see.

Where are all the women in fantasy stories?

To be fair, they are there. You see them in the flowing golden locks of Tolkein’s Galadriel, the serious and distant personality of Paolini’s Aryen and Lewis’ stuck-up, lipstick-loving Susan, where liking make-up is apparently reason enough to get you thrown out of Narnia. Women in fantasy when I was growing up all seemed to look the same. You knew you were reading a ‘strong, fantastical female’ if she:

  • Was an elf of some description
  • Had almond-shaped eyes (whatever that means)
  • Had high cheek bones
  • Had full lips
  • Had ‘ivory skin’ (looked dead or never saw sunlight)
  • Had long flowing hair, usually black or blonde.

Normally, she was tall, aloof and had no sense of humour. She was ferocious with a sword but devoid of personality. She was almost always the motive for action or the trophy at the end of it. She was, actually, quite boring.

I notice, from my early teenage attempts to write fantasy stories, that all the ones with female protagonists were unfinished. I just couldn’t seem to write them. I thought, in my youth, that it was because I liked doing ‘boy stuff’, like climbing trees and hunting insects, so of course I empathised with male characters more. Now, I think I just read very few fantasy narratives in which women were written as if they were real people.

Fortunately, a recent flurry of phenomenal female fantasy writers is challenging this trend. Jen Williams’ brilliant ‘Copper Cat’ trilogy has a fierce, humorous central female character who knows what she wants and goes out to get it. N.K. Jemisin’s stunning ‘Broken Earth’ Trilogy is populated with female characters displaying the range of human strength and vice, and her female characters are almost exclusively of colour (another thing you rarely see in fantasy!) Naomi Novik’s brilliant protagonist in ‘Uprooted’, who’s growth is joyous to witness, also pushes female-centred fantasy to new heights. And I find, suddenly, that I have plenty of inspiration. I no longer read books where I, a woman, am irrelevant. I realise that I don’t have to write ‘women’ in my stories, I just have to write ‘people’. It should not be a revelation to see that these two things are not mutually exclusive. After all, in worlds where anything is possible, why can’t the quiet, plain girl at the back of the class be the one who takes up the sword and slays the troll?

Michael Rowan gets hot under the collar as he invites you to come to the Cabaret at Bernie Dieter’s Little Death Club.

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But suggests that maybe you should leave your maiden aunt (or uncle) behind

 

If Lisa Minnelli wearing a bowler hat and heavy eye liner is your idea of Cabaret, then be prepared to think again, with a stunning show entitled Bernie Dieter’s Little Death Club, running at the Underbelly on the South Bank, London until the 23rd of June.

Transforming a Circus Tent into a sensuous art nouveau performance space is no mean feat, but only the first of many such feats that skilfully creates the kind of show that is more often associated with the Weimar Cabaret of the 1930s in the heart of Berlin.

In the true spirit of cabaret there are several acts: musical, comedic, artistic and downright mind blowing.

MCeed by the talented Bernie Dieter, whose fantastic voice is matched only by her wicked sense of humour, completely sets the scene. Not only that, but she has written all the original songs which she delivers with a fabulously dry wit.

The evening is an exotic mix of eye-liner, feathers and furs, veils and sequins and yes, a degree of partial and full nudity, but always tasteful, never salacious.

There is a frisson of danger, as some of the acts select members of the slightly petrified if enthusiastic audience, to become a part of the show, but it is done with such good nature that no one seems to object.

Miss Myra Dubois, a drag queen who takes no prisoners, plays with her audience, first with some well- timed banter and then to encourage an inspired  sing a- long of an Elaine Paige/Barbara Dickson duet.

 

 

The contortionist gymnast, Beau Sargent, wearing spangled shorts and little else, performed an eye watering athletic and balletic routine that had many gentlemen in the audience sucking in their stomachs.

Later an aerialist, swathed with gossamer wings performed a seamless routine suspended only by her hair as she twirled above our heads. Shedding her wings, she appears naked in a series of breathtakingly beautiful movements, set seamlessly to the music. A special mention here to the house band, ‘Little Death Club,’ a running gag on ‘La Petite Mort’

 

The Mime artist who did so much more than break the fourth wall, had all of us in fits of laughter as he discussed his performance angst.

If you have ever been on a Roller Coaster ride that lasts a couple of minutes, but feels as though the world has just flipped upside down, this could well be the theatre experience for you. With a running time of only an hour there is time to have a meal afterwards and I guarantee there will be plenty to discuss.

Images courtesy of Alistair Veryard Photography

All details:

 

 

Presented by: Underbelly and Dead Man Label
Price: Tickets from £21.50(includes £1.50 in fees per ticket)
Venue Duration: UnderBelly Festival – Southbank.

60 minutes
Advice: This performance contains real flame. Contains adult language, nudity, smoke effects. Recommended for ages 18+.

 

 

http://www.underbellyfestival.com/whats-on/little-death-club

 

The People’s Play Award to find exciting Northern plays and playwrights has returned: by Annie Clarke

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Images: Jules Dash

It is not just The People’s Play Award that has returned, but this year’s winner (chosen from nearly 100 entries) is VOLTEMAND AND CORNELIUS ARE JOYFULLY RETURNED – written by Leeds-born actor and writer Paul Vates.

 

There is a great buzz about this in the Frost Magazine office because we were lucky enough to see our very own Drama Critic’s play in the early  stages of its development  and LOVED it: we were in turn moved, and amused, and left talking, and thinking,  and knew that when completed it would be something special.

 

Of course Paul  Vates knows the business of play writing inside and out, as he is a professional actor, and also a writer who understands that all writing has to be worked and re-worked to achieve something worthwhile. And believe me, this is, and where better to debut Voltemand and Cornelius are Joyfully Returned than the well known and respected People’s Theatre, Tyneside.

 

So, onto the play: the two central characters are minor characters from Hamlet – or are they? And where are they?

This well paced and amusing play explores the nature of reality, the chaos of war, and the impact of conflict on people’s perception of themselves.

 

Previous People’s Play Award winners include Peter Straughan (BAFTA winner, Best Adapted Screenplay for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), Alison Carr (Iris, Live Theatre; Fat Alice, Traverse Theatre) and Mike Yeaman whose Lucky Numbers has since been performed in New Zealand, Finland and Estonia

The People’s Theatre Newcastle on Tyne was born in 1911 and Norman Veitch, one of the founders, set the sights high right from the start and the policy ever since has been to seek out plays of quality and interest, which the Tyneside audience might otherwise not get the chance to see.

In the 1940s they amalgamated with the Film Society, bbegan to host Art Exhibitions and now, beneath their umbrella host music, the Young People’s Theatre and The People’s Play Award.

Way back in 1971 the BBC made a half hour documentary about The People’s Theatre, narrated by a former People’s actor, Alan Browning, a lead in Coronation Street. And quite frankly, it’s high time the BBC returned to Tyneside to see the vibrant success as The People’s Theatre continues to flourish, innovate and entertain.

The world premiere of Voltemand and Cornelius are Joyfully Returned by Paul Vates is to be held in the 90 seated Studio Theatre.

  • INFORMATION –
  • Seating in the Studio Theatre is UNALLOCATED.
  • All tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE.
  • Tickets can be EXCHANGED for another performance subject to availability.
  • CONCESSION PRICE applies to customers who are aged 60+ or under 18, students & unwaged.  
  • Start Time: 7.30pm
  • Tickets: £14.00 Concessions: £11.50

https://www.peoplestheatre.co.uk/whats-on/voltemand-and-cornelius

Annie Clarke’s debut novel Girls on the Home Front will be published by Arrow on 29th May.

Have you seen her by Lisa Hall: review by Natalie Jayne Peeke

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Bonfire night , Anna, Fran and Laurel are enjoying the fireworks. In a heartbeat Laurel is nowhere to be seen. Swallowed up by the crowd .

Laurel’s parents are frantic, before long hours turn into days and still no sign of Laurel . Anna, her nanny is devastated but is hiding a deep dark secret, as is someone else .

As the investigation continues, lies, secrets and deception reveal themselves. Suspects are questioned and houses are searched. Will the police ever find Laurel or unearth the truth behind her disappearance?

I could not put this book down, I just had to read one more chapter. I had to know the truth. I was gripped from beginning to end.

I highly recommend this book to fans of ‘The couple next door’ and similar books

Published 2nd May 2019
Paperback £7.99
Ebook £5.99
Audio download £12.99

Natalie Jayne Peeke: http://www.thebookwormmother.co.uk

You Got This by Bryony Gordon Book Review

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You Got This by Bryony Gordon Book Review

You Got This is a truly fabulous book for teenage girls. Being a teenager is hard, and being a teenage girl even more so. It is a time I would not want to go back to. Especially with all of the toxic message girls get now. The rise of social media has also caused problems. This brilliant book from the amazing Bryony Gordon covers periods, comparisons and has a fantastic chapter letting teenage girls know they are not snowflakes, but are instead brave people who are standing up for equality on the basis of gender and race. I am so sick of the word ‘snowflake’. The generation who calls out racism and sexism anytime they see it are not ‘sensitive’. They are brave and making the world a better place. This book also covers mental health extensively which is to be commended. The mental health of our children is so important and educating them about mental health is essential. I also loved the bit on how girls are taught to compare themselves to others. This book is fun, smart, entertaining and full of everything I wish I had been told when I was a teenager. Absolutely brilliant.

 

I wanted to be a unicorn. I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to be an astronaut.

But the thing I really wanted to be more than anything else, was a little less like me.

It was only recently that I realised not wanting to be me was at the heart of every dumb decision I ever made. And so now I am writing this book containing all the life lessons I wish someone had taught me.

A book for the teenage girl in me. And for every teenage girl out there. Because the most powerful thing you can be when you grow up is yourself.

You Got This is available here.

 

The Moment of Lift By Melinda Gates Book Review

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The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, the moment of lift, Melinda Gates, book reviewThe Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World

Melinda Gates is the perfect example of an extraordinary woman who does not get the credit she deserves because she just happens to be married to a rich, famous man. It would be easy to dismiss her on the basis of privilege, and many people do. But to judge a woman by her husband is sexist. Melinda Gates stands as a giant in her own right. She has done so much for women’s rights and to make the world a better place. Her new book, The Moment of Lift, should be read by every single person in the world. Then the world would be a better place for everyone. Full of blistering facts and, yes, some harrowing tales; The Moment of Lift is a call to action. The book is powerful and puts up the fights for women’s rights. I hear that women have never had it so good a lot, and yet there is still so much to be done. I challenge anyone to read this book and not be inspired. When you read it you want to do something. The book covers so many aspects of gender bias: from FGM, contraception and inequality at home. Even the fact that most women do most of the domestic work is in here, and so it should be. Only recently was childcare and domestic world including by economists when it came fo GDP. Women’s work has been largely invisible and, in many ways, still is. Melinda also writes about herself and her marriage in this book. She is honest and brave. Her voice is in this book and so is her strength. It is powerful stuff. This book is essential reading and gets Frost’s Gold Standard stamp of approval. Only the second thing so far to do so.

 

A debut from Melinda Gates, a timely and necessary call to action for women’s empowerment.

“How can we summon a moment of lift for human beings – and especially for women? Because when you lift up women, you lift up humanity.”

For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down.

In this moving and compelling book, Melinda shares lessons she’s learned from the inspiring people she’s met during her work and travels around the world. As she writes in the introduction, “That is why I had to write this book – to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live.”

Melinda’s unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention – from child marriage to lack of access to contraceptives to gender inequity in the workplace. And, for the first time, she writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world – and ourselves.

Writing with emotion, candour, and grace, she introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another.

When we lift others up, they lift us up, too.

The Moment of Lift is available here.