Month: April 2015

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Did You Guess Where We Are?

We are staying in Manjimup- as the website, Manjimup Visitors Centre says so well  – “Manjimup is just 307 km from Perth, in the beautiful south west corner of Western Australia – a land of tall timbers, abundant fresh water, rich soils and undulating scenery.”

Can you guess where we had lunch today? Beautiful scenery on the drive to this spot and it was so nice to sit outside and enjoy the sun shine and the meal ( and the cider wasn’t bad either) Bob enjoyed his share of the ham, roasted pumpkin and apple slices.

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The Cidery - Bridgetown

The Cidery – Bridgetown

 

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Post Script: Humber Boy B – Ruth Dugdall

Hummer Boy B

Humber Boy B

Ruth Dugdall

Legend Press  

ISBN: 9781910394601

 

Description:

A child is killed after falling from the Humber Bridge. Despite fleeing the scene, two young brothers are found guilty and sent to prison. Upon their release they are granted one privilege only, their anonymity. Probation officer Cate Austin is responsible for Humber Boy B’s reintegration into society. But the general public’s anger is steadily growing, and those around her are wondering if the secret of his identity is one he actually deserves to keep. Cate’s loyalty is challenged when she begins to discover the truth of the crime. She must ask herself if a child is capable of premeditated murder. Or is there a greater evil at play?

 

My View:

Ruth Dugdall writes novels that captive, prick at your conscience and demand that you think hard and look deep at the issues. Ruth Dugdall reminds us that issues are not simple, clear cut, black or white. She allows us to walk in someone else’s shoes for a short while and discover lives where options are often limited and many circumstances conspire and lead to a dire situation or a bad judgement and so it is always with great trepidation, apprehension and anticipation that I start a Ruth Dugdall book. I know that I am going to feel uncomfortable at some point, I know my conscience will be pricked and poked and that I will be reconsidering some past notions or judgements and for that I thank you Ruth, you are our social conscience, you write with sensitivity and intelligence and authenticity that comes from your first hand experiences as a Probation Officer.

 

I can’t wait to read the next in the Cate Austin series – Nowhere Girl.

 

 

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Script: Missing You – Kylie Kaden

Missing You

Missing You

Kylie Kaden

Random House Australia Pty Ltd  

Bantam Australia

ISBN: 9780857987167

 

Description:

Missing You is a tantalising love story and a seductive suspense novel: ‘Our lives were built around the strength of a kiss between strangers. Yet seven years on, look where it led us . . .’When Aisha met Ryan she fell hard for his good looks and easy charm. Why worry that he didn’t want children or a 9 to 5 job? Nothing and no one would come between them. But with the birth of their high-needs son, Eli, their extraordinary love is shackled into an ordinary life, their passion blunted by responsibility. Until Ryan can’t take it anymore. Then, following a mysterious phone call late one night, Aisha leaves four-year-old Eli in the care of her elderly father Patrick – and doesn’t come back. As Patrick struggles with the grandson he barely knows or understands, his frustration with his missing daughter and absent son-in-law quickly turns to fear. Particularly when blood is found in Aisha’s abandoned car . . .

 

 

My View:

I determine a great read by two characteristics – either the book captivates me and I read in one sitting or it evokes such apprehension, a tingling of the spine, that I want to put off the ugliness I know is coming. This is a book that captivates, that you will pick up, start reading and the next thing you know the house is quiet and you are the only one still up and you are still reading!

 

A narrative told through the eyes of three of the protagonists – Aisha, Patrick and Ryan. I particular loved the honesty of Patrick’s outlook and how his character mellowed and grew as the book progressed and his life experience grew. I also liked the author’s honest approach to parenting in this novel – a warts and all portrayal of pregnancy and life with children. I think parents/potential parents need to read more honest accounts of family life so they can feel more comfortable in their own parenting. Life is not always like the cover of the glossy mags- clean, beautiful, perfect…All children like routine but sometimes that need can’t be catered to, all children have occasional tantrums, bad moods and parents are often tired and juggling lots expectations and responsibilities in their life. Life can be difficult at times and we need to see that that is ok. Rant over.

 

So back to the novel – this is an interesting ‘hybrid’ novel –a mix of cosy romance and thriller with the balance on the thriller aspect. The book immediately hooks you in as you read Aisha’s thoughts, wondering if she is about to die….”I calmly wonder if this is how it feels to die: this strange lightness, drifting in zero gravity. I feel no pain, but I have no control…” The author ensures that you are in no doubt that something sinister has occurred. You are hooked! Pick up this great read – I don’t think you will be disappointed despite the ending was a little to kind to the villain in the piece. 🙂

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Post Script: The Best Of Gretta Anna with Martin Teplitzky – Gretta Anna and Martin Teplitzky

Guaranteed to make you hungry just looking through this book.

The Best of Gretta Anna

The Best of Gretta Anna with Martin Teplitzky

Lantern

Penguin Random House

Penguin Books

ISBN: 9781921383656

 

Description:

The much loved Gretta Anna Teplitzky is to Australian cuisine what Julia Child was to American cuisine, introducing the home cooks of Australia to her own unique style of fabulous French-style cooking, with her practical, non-nonsense recipes that work every time.

 

Here, for the first time, is an updated selection of recipes from her two bestselling books, curated by her son Martin, a talented chef in his own right.

 

What’s more, you’ll find sixty original, never before published Gretta Anna recipes, plus a selection from Martin.

 

My View:

It is a bleak and rainy day here in Western Australia and so I though what better to do on this lazy afternoon than flick through a new recipe book and see what catches my attention – I was already considering making something sweet with bananas or a casseroled beef type main meal (a strange combination I admit but we expecting a delivery of Leeuwin Grass Fed Beef tomorrow and I have some ripe bananas on hand and I am already planning what I might make with these ingredients).

 

Picking up this book was the wrong thing to do- I am now sitting in my office – my stomach is gurgling begging me to start cooking. The trouble is there are so many great looking recipes I don’t know where to start. French style cooking has never looked yummier (the photos are amazing) and so many of the recipes are calling to be made. And they don’t look difficult (is it a myth that French style cooking is intricate and tricky to master?) As the description of the back cover states – these are practical, no nonsense recipes that work every time.

 

Already I have decided to make Anna’s Carrot Cake, the Banana Cake (it is recommended to make a double batch and freeze one as all who try will love this), the Macaroons (a family favourite), the Almond Chocolate and Ginger Cake, and the mix in the food processor; Rol’s Apple Pecan Cinnamon Cake (too easy).

 

For vegetables I want to try the unusual combination of Sweet Potatoes in Lemon and Ginger or Broccoli with Garlic and Chillies or Beans & Broccoli with Chillies and Almonds (the garden has plenty of beans and sweet potatoes at the moment).

 

For the main meal …so many choices leap out at me; the Moussaka looks great (and we have eggplant still growing in the garden), or perhaps The Basic Casserole – can be made with chicken/lamb or beef. Or there is the Pot Roast Chicken or the Perfect Roast Chicken and the Chicken Capitan – it looks delicious too (a Spanish style recipe) or there is the Osso Buco Special.

 

Or perhaps the German Potato Soup would be a good place to start – something nourishing and warming for this wintry day?

 

Too many choices!

 

 

 

 

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Post Script: The Ice Twins – S.K. Tremayne

 

The Ice Twins

The Ice Twins

S.K. Tremayne

HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction/Blue Door

ISBN: 9780007459247

 

Description:

One of Sarah’s daughters died. But can she be sure which one? A terrifying psychological thriller that will chill you to the bone.

 

A year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah Moorcraft move to the tiny Scottish island Angus inherited from his grandmother, hoping to put together the pieces of their shattered lives.

 

But when their surviving daughter, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity – that she, in fact, is Lydia – their world comes crashing down once again.

 

As winter encroaches, Angus is forced to travel away from the island for work, Sarah is feeling isolated, and Kirstie (or is it Lydia?) is growing more disturbed. When a violent storm leaves Sarah and her daughter stranded, Sarah finds herself tortured by the past – what really happened on that fateful day one of her daughters died?

 

My View:

This is quite a difficult book to review- I didn’t love it but I did enjoy it. I wasn’t “chilled to the bone,” more intrigued and wanting to understand/know the truth. It was very evocative, somewhat creepy and bleak. So whilst I didn’t embrace this book with a passion I did keep having a film play out in my head of the action as I read. I really can see this as a brilliantly disturbing film. The isolation of the island, the bleak settings, the storm, the hint of apparitions, the feeling of being threatened… it could make a great noir film with its suggestion of violence or potential for violence. Film it in black and white with just a hint of colour in the clothing of the twins….perfect!

 

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Post Script: World Gone By – Denis Lehane

World Gone By

World Gone By

Dennis Lehane

Little, Brown Book Group UK

Little, Brown

Hachette

 

Description:

Joe Coughlin is untouchable. Once one of America’s most feared and prominent gangsters, he now moves effortlessly between the social elite, politicians, police and the mob. He has everything he could possibly want; money, power, a beautiful mistress, and anonymity.

 

But in a town that runs on corruption, vengeance and greed, success can’t protect Joe from the dark truth of his past — and ultimately, the wages of a lifetime of sin will finally be paid in full . . .

 

Chilling, heart-breaking and gripping, this is the most complex and powerful novel to date from Dennis Lehane, writer on The Wire and author of modern classics such as Shutter Island, Gone, Baby, Gone and The Given Day.

 

 

 

My View:

When I selected this book to read I knew nothing about the book or the author aside from the authors incredible reputation as a prolific and fantastic writer of crime fiction. I knew I had to check this author out. And I was not disappointed in this read at all.

 

This book was everything that the book bloggers grapevine purported it to be – well paced, exciting and it had an interesting well executed plot and characters that were fully drawn – and should I use the expression it also had a touch of the romantic? Not in the plunging necklines and bare chested stereotypical book cover romance story line but romance as in the reader is drawn to the character of Joe Coughlin, gangster, murderer and villain and yet we end up with a rose coloured glasses notion of this criminal; as the good guy who is a bad guy. We are empathetic to his cause (but maybe not his method of dealing with his problems). We admire his warm and loving relationship with his son and his best friend (and mafia boss) and despite the fact that Joe is a criminal through and through and would terminate in the most deadly manner anyone he perceives as trouble we like him. Is it how he dresses, his manners that he can display in elite company he chooses to sometime keep or that he can mediate and calm down the most difficult situation? Yet despite his positive qualities, Joe Coughlin is still a gangster and it is a brutal world he lives in, and yet we still think of him fondly. I think it is admirable that Dennis Lehane is able to sway our opinion with a few strokes of a key board 🙂

 

This is the 3rd book in the Joe Coughlin series yet not reading the earlier book did not detract from my enjoyment of this book.

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Waiting In Anticipation For This Book To Arrive

 

In the mail sometime in the newt few weeks I will be receiving a review copy of this amazing sounding book.  Lori Lansens’ The Mountain Story is calling me. The book trailer just oozes fear, suspense and evokes spine chilling apprehension.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDz5psqj-f4    This is a  great example where less is more. Can anyone suggest who is narrating the video clip?  I think it is TJ Thyne from Bones?

When a book trailer is done well – it really works as this one does.  Stay tuned for my review , I am clearing my diary for this one,  I just know I will read this one in one sitting.

“Five days. Four hikers. Three survivors. From Lori Lansens, author of the national bestsellers Rush Home Road, The Girls and The Wife’s Tale comes a gripping tale of adventure, sacrifice and survival in the unforgiving wilderness of a legendary mountain.”

 

The Mountain Story

 

Thanks in anticipation Simon and Schuster Australia for my copy of this book.