The Thorn of Truth

 

If you enjoyed Sue Russell's The Healing Knife, you'll love this. It's a stand alone book while following on from the Healing Knife in that we find out more about Rachel, Michael and Jasper.

A gentle easy read about barrister Anna Milburn who finds herself wrestling with her conscience - whether to defend a local businessman suspected of being a drug dealer when he is arrested for murdering a policeman. It becomes more and more personal and Anna is worried sick about it putting her only daughter in danger.

The characters are interesting. I enjoyed reading about Anna's work colleagues, especially her clerk of chambers, Janet.

I'm giving it 4 stars.

Stories from the Streets

 

This is the inspiring account of the work of Street Pastors by Dr Luke Randall and Sue Shaw.

Stories from the Streets explains how Street Pastors started and what they do including many stories of helping vulnerable or potentially violent party-goers and the homeless. I had already heard of Street Pastors and how they hand out water, space blankets (foil blankets like those marathon runners are given), lollipops and flip-flops. I hadn't realised how valued and respected the teams are or the big difference they make in making our city centres a safer place.

The teams are linked to the CCTV headquarters in each town/city as well as to the police and other organisations. They are useful in preventing potential violent situations from escalating, crime and assaults taking place, and ensuring drunken/high party-goers get home safely. They also provide a listening ear to depressed and vulnerable people as well as signposting when appropriate to night shelters and other charities and organisations.

They are trained in first aid including CPR and are often the first people at a city centre incident on Friday and Saturday nights. They work closely with the police and ambulance service.

I didn't know that Street Pastors get intimately involved with people affected by terror attacks and national tragedies such as Grenfell. They provide on-the-ground practical support to survivors as well as a safe space for emergency responders to open up and talk about what has happened and how they feel.

Linked to Street Pastors are Rail Pastors who provide voluntary pastoral support for rail workers and suicidal individuals. There are School Pastors who do invaluable work in schools. 

Street Pastors are also helping where they can during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Every time a team goes out, there are Prayer Pastors praying in the background. There is one funny story where taxis were needed outside a particular nightclub so the team radioed in and asked the Prayer Pastors to get praying. After a few minutes they had to radio back to ask them to stop: they had too many taxis! Prayer is a vital part of the work.

I found myself gaining a new respect for these selfless volunteers. I had no idea how integral they are to the fabric of society. No doubt we would be a poorer country without their work.

I enjoyed this book; it reminded me of volunteering with a Christian project providing practical and pastoral support to women in the sex industry. I saw firsthand some of the sights recorded in this Street Pastors book. I would happily recommend it and am planning to buy it for a friend's birthday.

The only slight criticism I have is that it became rather repetitive with similar stories from different areas. That could have been condensed and still had the same impact. But that is a very small negative for a great book and a fabulous organisation.

I am awarding this book 4* and am grateful to Instant Apostle for providing me with a complementary copy for the purpose of reviewing it. 

A Caribbean Mystery

 

I love Agatha Christie's writing and ordered some of her books with my Christmas money/vouchers. This was the first to plop onto the doormat.

I prefer Miss Marple to Hercule Poirot (sorry Poirot fans!) and I like this particular story because it leads on to one of my favourites: Nemesis.

In A Caribbean Mystery, Miss Marple's nephew has treated her to a holiday in the tropics to help her recover from pneumonia. While chatting to a fellow guest, she is intrigued by his story of a murderer which is accompanied by a snapshot from his wallet. The next day, that guest is dead. 

Miss Marple does a bit of sleuthing and ends up joining forces with Mr Rafiel, a wealthy businessman who is also there for his health. Between them they prevent another murder from taking place.

I enjoy the characters in this book. Miss Marple, obviously. But also Miss Prescott and her canon brother. The accounts of the two ladies' conversations especially when the canon is around illustrate the era perfectly. Men were always to be seen as right and to be respected as such, even if the respect was more lip service than heartfelt. It amused me.

I like this easy-read book and happily give it 4*.

Hide and Secret

 

Hide and Secret follows the story of Ruth and her mum as they move from Egypt where her mum has been working as an expat nurse until the hospital closes. They return to her mum's home city of Edinburgh.

Ruth's parents - before her dad died - worked in various places in the Middle East. One of the friends they made was a man called Joe though they lost touch as they moved around.

As Ruth and her mum settle into life in Scotland, a Syrian patient is brought onto her mum's ward in the hospital. He speaks very little English and is suffering from amnesia and various physical injuries. Ruth's mum recognises him as her husband's old friend Joe. She is concerned that he is in Scotland illegally and is reluctant to entrust him to the immigration system while he remains mentally and physically vulnerable. 

She finds Joe a flat to stay in while he recovers and young Ruth is sworn to secrecy.

Meanwhile, Ruth is beginning to make friends of her own, including a lad called Chris. She tries hard to keep the secret of harbouring an illegal immigrant without resorting to lies but it slips out. Chris, too, is sworn to secrecy. The pair of them spend time with Joe, teaching him English and helping him settle down in Scotland. 

But the secret weighs on all of their minds. Especially when the church youth group Ruth and Chris attend discuss the importance of telling the truth. What should they do? Do they tell the authorities about Joe when that may mean him being sent back to Syria? Or should they lie to protect him, knowing they are doing wrong? 

Helen Parker has written a gripping and thought-provoking young adult book which has biblical truth at its heart with its threads of caring for the vulnerable, honesty, bravery, love and friendship. I enjoyed reading this review copy sent to me by Instant Apostle and award it 4*.

The Art Fiasco

I love Fiona Veitch Smith's Poppy Denby series and eagerly read her latest novel The Art Fiasco. 

It is set about three years after Poppy's adventures in The Cairo Brief. Poppy is on annual leave, back home in the Newcastle area for her father's 60th birthday. While there she gets involved in famous artist Agnes Robson's art exhibition. But it is far from straightforward. Agnes has a hidden past and local rumour has it that she murdered her art teacher as a youngster and then fled to Paris. Agnes' past has come back to haunt her and before Poppy knows where she is, she is up to her eyes in Agnes' murder investigation.

I very much enjoyed this gentle whodunnit which reminded me of Agatha Christie's writing. The back story is intriguing and the plot engaging. It kept me turning the pages. It was fun to 'meet' the delightful characters of Poppy's friends and colleagues again: Rollo and Yasmin, Delilah, Aunt Dot and Grace, among others.

The ending was reminiscent of Hercule Poirot with the murderer being induced to confess to a select group how and why the murder had been committed. For me, that part was a little weak with unexplained threads but it didn't spoil the book for me.

I have given The Art Fiasco 4* and hope Poppy goes on to have more adventures. I do enjoy Fiona Veitch Smith's books.

Lion Hudson sent me a paperback copy of the book for the purposes of writing an unbiased review.

The Healing Knife

Ms Rachel Keyte is an up and coming cardiothoracic surgeon. 100% focused on her career, she is intent on saving lives, though her bedside manner needs a little work.

When Rachel's senior colleague has a bicycle accident, she is asked to cover an urgent operation on a young teenage boy. What should have been fairly routine open heart surgery turns into tragedy and the boy dies in ITU. His obsessive mother loses her mind with grief and blames Rachel for his death. The mother vows to make Rachel physically feel the pain she is going through.

Various unpleasant things happen to Rachel that she suspects are due to the grieving, demented mother. In the end she is forced to move to another hospital for her own safety. Except she isn't safe....

The obsessive mother is determined to have her revenge on Rachel and finally succeeds.

Will Rachel's physical wounds heal well enough for her to continue her surgical career? What about her mental and emotional scars? As Rachel's past finally catches up with her, will she be able to face it? And will she ever be able to forgive?

I couldn't put this book down from the opening sentence to the final word. It is intriguing and satisfying. Being a medical secretary I particularly enjoyed the occasional jargon that was dropped in here and there.

I'm awarding 4* to this Christian fiction novel and will look out for more of Sue Russell's books.

The Murder at the Vicarage

This is Agatha Christie's first Miss Marple mystery and is set in St Mary Mead.

Various people, including the vicar, wish the bumptious Colonel Protheroe dead. When he is found murdered in the vicar's study, Miss Marple reckons there are seven clear suspects.

As the police (with unsolicited help from the vicar and Miss Marple) set out to find the murderer, there is much confusion over timings, shots and letters.

A gentle, easy-reading whodunnit, good for whiling away a rainy afternoon.

I'm happy to give it 4*.

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

I do enjoy PD James' writing; it's like a cross between Colin Dexter's Morse and Agatha Christie - win, win.

This is the story of Cordelia Gray, the junior partner of a private detective agency. It is her first case since her senior partner's death and she has to rely on her wits and instinct as well as everything Bernie had taught her.

Sir Ronald Callender asks Cordelia to investigate the apparent suicide of his son Mark. (This is the days before the internet and it made me realise afresh how time-consuming it was to look up information without having Google and Bing at our fingertips.)

Cordelia slowly pieces together the last days and hours of Mark's life, refusing to be put off by lies and threats.

As per usual for me, I did not anticipate the end of the story at all. Lots of plot twists to keep me turning the pages. I even stayed up till the early hours one night as I couldn't bear to leave the book unfinished. Even when Cordelia discovers the whole story about Mark's death and the case appears to be closed, there is more to come....

I am happy to award this book 4*.

Transformed by God's Love

Transformed by God's Love is the personal account of Sarah who, for more than thirty years, identified as gay. She was one of the first same sex couples to formalise her relationship by civil partnership.

But in 2015, she was called out of a gay lifestyle.

This book is her story, of the internal and external battles she faced as she sought answers to her many questions about sexuality, God and the Church. During the process, she was welcomed and loved - without judgement - by her local church. They gave her the space and support she needed to work things through, trying to make sense of what the Bible says and what she believed.

She writes honestly and directly about the process of trying to understand what God says about human sexuality. She initially researched online and questioned people within the Church for answers. Was being actively homosexual wrong? Or was it okay? But she got hugely differing responses from it being the worst ever abomination to yes, it was fine and God was okay with same sex relationships.

But Sarah wasn't satisfied with the Church's wavering opinions. She wanted to go to the source: what did God think?

This book is the result of months of ransacking the Bible on what it really says about homosexuality. The arguments Sarah offers are easy to follow and backed up by her own testimony. 

It is a powerful and thought-provoking resource for anyone wondering what God says on this hot issue. 

Sarah also challenges the Church to a) stand up for the Bible on this and other issues, and b) to truly welcome all people. 

I, for one, am thankful that Sarah's church welcomed her and gave her space to explore the Bible and a relationship with God without pressure or judgement. May every Christian church in the UK follow suit.

I am delighted to award this short and very useful book 4*.

The Yorkshire Pudding Club

If you've ever read and enjoyed The Fat Ladies Club, you'll like Milly Johnson's fictional The Yorkshire Pudding Club.

The three main characters are: quiet but determined Helen, career-woman Janey and emotionally-complicated Elizabeth. They are best friends who all fall unexpectedly pregnant within days of each other.

Since they are all in their late thirties, one might assume they'd be delighted. But it's not as simple as that.

Helen is desperate for a baby but is worried about her husband who seems less than pleased. Stuck in an unhappy and abusive marriage, how can Helen protect herself and her baby?

Janey's husband is ecstatic - if slightly burdened by guilt - that he is going to become a father. But for Janey, this pregnancy has come at a bad time since she is up for her dream promotion. She doesn't want to spoil her husband's delight in the baby but is unable to share in it.

Elizabeth is consumed with fear that she won't be able to love her baby since she knows so little about love herself after an unhappy childhood. She is determined to push everyone away and remain fiercely independent. Until the return of an old friend who somehow manages to slip through some of her barriers.

In different ways, all three women find themselves empowered by their pregnancies. As their boobs and bumps get bigger, so does their confidence in who they are as women.

I loved this book which is both funny and sad, sensitively touching on some difficult issues without being overshadowed by them. It's a great read and I'm happy to award it 4*.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

I'm a fan of the DVD so was excited to read the book. It's a fun account of a number of retired people who decide against going to a 'home' in the UK but choose to go to a hotel in India instead.

There's a real mix of characters, all with different stories, including a retired BBC career woman, a middle class couple who are very well-travelled, a randy elderly man, and a working class pensioner from the East End who has been mugged.

The one thing they all have in common is the loneliness of old age. Some hide it better than others, but it's ever present.

Thrown together at the Marigold Hotel, they form a tight knit community where they are free to be themselves.

Hinduism is mentioned from time-to-time but not in a way that is uncomfortable or intrusive to the story line.

I'm glad I saw the film before reading the book (I pretty-much always prefer book over film).

It was an enjoyable read and I'm happy to award it 4*.

A Mind to Murder

This is the first PD James novel I've read, and I really enjoyed it. The style of this particular book reminded me of Agatha Christie - who is one of my favourite authors.

There has been a murder in the medical records room of the Steen Clinic in London. It seems clear to the police that the culprit must be someone who works at the clinic or possibly a patient.

The murder victim is Miss Bolam, the clinic's abrasive and unpopular admin officer. In some ways, it seems unsurprising that she is the victim although people are not usually murdered simply for being unpleasant....

I was happy with the twists and turns, learning more about the different characters and possible motives for murder. I never have much of a clue whodunnit and this case was no different, but I enjoyed following the plot and was (as per usual for me) surprised at the end by both the murderer and the motive.

I'm looking forward to reading more PD James from the library and am happy to award this book 4*

The L-Shaped Room

I loved The Indian in the Cupboard series by Lynne Reid Banks when I was young so was pleased when I spotted her debut novel The L-Shaped Room at the library.

It follows the story of Jane Graham, a pregnant single woman in her late twenties when there was a lot of stigma around single mums in Britain. When her dad kicks her out, she moves into a bug-ridden bedsit at the top of a house in a poor part of London.

Initially, Jane is determined to keep herself to herself but fellow lodgers Toby and John have other ideas. They offer genuine friendship to Jane and, in time, she learns to value their support.

The book pursues Jane throughout her nine months of pregnancy and beyond: ups and downs in her personal and work life, battling stigma and loss, while also finding life can be okay, even sometimes good, regardless of circumstances.

I found Jane herself quite a fascinating character. She is strong-willed and determined but also vulnerable. At times she berates herself for not being enough or feels guilty and has doubts; she is very human and, therefore, relatable.

There is quite a darkish feel of reality to the book but I enjoyed reading it and can happily recommend it. I have awarded it 4*.

A Time of Green

I love Eleanor Watkins' books and this was no exception. It's the fascinating story of twelve-year-old Juniper and her great-grandma June.

June has recently been diagnosed with dementia and Juniper is determined to learn her great-grandma's childhood stories before it's too late.

As a young child, June was one of many evacuees sent out of London during the bombing in WWII. She found herself on a farm in Wales. At first, she hated it: the mud, the cold, the animals, an outside privy, and a family who were all strangers to her.

A Time of Green is the delightful account of how June settles down and finds her feet on the farm. She especially enjoys the cold mud of winter being exchanged for the vibrant greens of spring. June has some exciting adventures. She and the family work alongside German POWs and Land Girls, and there is all excitement when the American GIs arrive in the village, not to mention an escaped POW....

I really enjoyed this Young Adult book and am happy to award it 4*.

Molly and the Cat Cafe

Molly is a cat and this book is written from her perspective. I'm not a cat person but I enjoyed reading this charming story. (It even gave me confidence to stroke a strange cat and understand that when they arch their backs against your hand, it means they're responding in a good way.)

Molly loves her elderly owner Margery and they live a happy, uncomplicated life together. But it is short-lived. Margery declines into dementia and is moved into a home, leaving Molly alone.

Margery's son arranges for Molly to be taken in by a friend who owns three cat-unfriendly dogs. Eventually Molly has enough of being neglected by the dogs' owner and bullied by the dogs and runs away.

Bedraggled and half-starved, Molly eventually finds Debbie who is a newly-divorced mother trying hard to make ends meet by running a rather run-down cafe. Life is hard; Debbie's teenage daughter Sophie is angry and unsociable and appears to hate Molly.

Outside the cafe, is an embittered old woman who is determined to make life even more difficult for Debbie and Sophie by getting the cafe closed down. But she reckons without Molly, who is an astute feline with a strong sense of justice.

Molly is a lovable and - oddly believable - furry main character. I couldn't help rooting for her in all her adventures. Several times she took me by surprise.

I enjoyed this book and am happy to award it 4*.