Shropshire Ghost Stories by Richard Holland (Review)

Shropshire Ghost Stories by Richard Holland

Blurb

Shiver your way around the scariest places in Shropshire. But only look if you dare! Be frightened be very frightened. These stories collected from around Shropshire will have you on the edge of your seat and you’ll be way too scared to turn off the light at night.

Review

I bought this book on my recent trip to Hay on Wye because I was intrigued to see what ghost stories there were about where I live and near by.

The book is only short but it gives a great description of the places that are supposedly haunted and what kind of hauntings have taken place. The book begins in Shrewsbury with the haunted pubs and then moves on to the other places in Shrewsbury that have ghost stories. The book then moves on to the other haunted towns in Shropshire.

The last two chapters focus on two legends ‘The Roaring Bull’ and ‘The Legend of Wild Edric” and they go into a greater depth than the previous chapters have.

I enjoyed this book and really want to visit some of the places mentioned however I would have liked a bit more depth on each place but I understand that the book is just an introduction into the different hauntings. The book has definitely made me want to learn more about the hauntings and actually mentions some more books that go into greater detail that I think I will hunt down and read. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Richard Holland is a freelance corporate copywriter and editor and is the author of eleven books.

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Chess by Stefan Zweig (Review)

Chess by Stefan Zweig

Blurb

On a cruise ship bound for Buenos Aires, a wealthy passenger challenges the world chess champion to a match. He accepts with a sneer. He will beat anyone, he says. But only if the stakes are high. Soon, the chess board is surrounded. At first, the challenger crumbles before the mind of the master. But then, a soft-spoken voice from the crowd begins to whisper nervous suggestions. Perfect moves, brilliant predictions. The speaker has not played a game for more than twenty years, he says. He is wholly unknown. But somehow, he is also entirely formidable

Review

Well this book was very much a wild card for me. I spotted this book hidden on a bookshelf of much bigger books whilst on holiday in Hay on Wye and although I had never heard of the author I felt drawn to the story. At only 76 pages this book was a quick read for me that I completed in one sitting and it was an interesting read.

The narrator of the book is an Austrian who is on the cruise ship bound for Buenos Aires. The cruise ship also has on board a world famous chess player called Czentovic who will happily play a game of chess if the money is right. The narrator tells us of how Czentovic is challenged by a wealthy man and so the game of chess begins. However, just as it looks like Czentovic has won, a stranger lends some helpful advice to the wealthy man. After that the narrator finds out all about the stranger and why he is so good at chess.

This short story is beautifully written and is concise and just the right length. I sometimes find that a short story feels rushed and leaves you wanting a longer story but this one is paced perfectly and leaves you satisfied you have read a short story with no details missing. I really enjoyed this story and I plan on reading more books by Zweig. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Stefan Zweig was one of the world’s most famous writers during the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the U.S., South America, and Europe. He produced novels, plays, biographies, and journalist pieces. Among his most famous works are Beware of Pity, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles. He and his second wife committed suicide in 1942.

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Borderlands by Brian McGilloway (Review)

Borderlands by Brian McGilloway

Blurb

The corpse of local teenager Angela Cashell is found on the Tyrone- Donegal border, between the North and South of Ireland, in an area known as the borderlands. Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin heads the investigation: the only clues are a gold ring placed on the girl’s finger and an old photograph, left where she died.

Then another teenager is murdered, and things become further complicated when Devlin unearths a link between the recent killings and the disappearance of a prostitute twenty-five years earlier – a case in which he believes one of his own colleagues is implicated.

As a thickening snow storm blurs the border between North and South, Devlin finds the distinction between right and wrong, vengeance and justice, and even police-officer and criminal becoming equally unclear.

Review

I received this book as one of my Willoughby Bookclub books and to be honest it just went on my never ending TBR pile but the other day I was looking for something different and I found this and decided to give it a go. I am so pleased I gave the book the chance because I loved it.

It took me a little bit of time to get used to McGilloway’s writing style but once I had there was no going back. The opening scene immediately hooked me in and I wanted to know more. The corpse of a teenage girl has been found on the border between North and South of Ireland so first the decision must be made of who has jurisdiction of the crime but eventually it is decided it is the Garda and so Inspector Devlin is put in charge.

Devlin is an average man, working in a police station that is very lacking in facilities, which leaves Devlin and his team working out of a store cupboard. Devlin is married with two children and a dog but he also has a past that interferes with his marriage at times and I must admit that when this happens in the book it does show that Devlin at times can be a rather weak character.

As the story progresses another murder takes place with seemingly no link to the previous murder and this adds to Devlin’s workload. At the same time he must protect his family from attack and work out what the mysterious wild cat that is supposedly attacking local sheep actually is.

As things start to develop Devlin has some difficult decisions ahead and he is unsure of who he can and can’t trust. I loved this book and have bought the following two books in the series which I hope are just as good. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

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About the author

Brian McGilloway is an author hailing from Derry, Northern Ireland. He studied English at Queens University Belfast, where he was very active in student theatre, winning a prestigious national Irish Student Drama Association award for theatrical lighting design in 1996. He is currently Head of English at St. Columb’s College, Derry. McGilloway’s debut novel was a crime thriller called Borderlands. Borderlands was shortlisted for a Crime Writers’ Association Dagger award for a debut novel.

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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Review)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Blurb

Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Then, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with an apparent drug overdose.

However, the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information, but before he could finish reading the letter, he was stabbed to death. Luckily one of Roger’s friends and the newest resident to retire to this normally quiet village takes over—none other than Monsieur Hercule Poirot . . .

Review

Is there anything better than reading a book where the great detective Hercule Poirot is first introduced on the scene by him hurling a marrow over his garden fence? In my humble opinion no and I burst out laughing when it happened. I just love how eccentric Poirot is in the books which they never capture in the TV series, he is far too serious on TV in my opinion.

The book is narrated not by the usual Hastings but by Doctor Sheppard. The good doctor lives with his sister Caroline who is a spinster who lives to find out all the gossip of their tiny village. This leaves the poor doctor rather exasperated and you can tell his life with his sister is one that he would happily like to escape at times. This means that the doctor jumps at the chance to be the sidekick of Poirot as Poirot investigates the murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Roger Ackroyd is a very wealthy man with a step son who always needs money and a sister in law and a niece who are now in his care and also want his money. But Roger Ackroyd is very tight with his money, he also knows too much. So when Roger Ackroyd is found murdered his friend Poirot is asked to investigate.

Poirot has apparently retired from his detective work and is now growing marrows in the country. However, you can tell that he relishes the chance to investigate the crime and leave his marrows to themselves. Poirot is on fine form in this book and I just love how quite often the inspector and Dr Sheppard think that Poirot has lost the plot and is not what he used to be. But in true Poirot fashion that is exactly what he wants people to think.

Christie throws so many red herrings at you in this book that I spent all my time thinking it’s him! it’s her! I have no clue anymore! I definitely did not see the ending and even now I’m still not sure that the ending is all as it seems. Is Christie still holding something back? I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

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About the author

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections. She also wrote the world’s longest running play, The Mousetrap. She also wrote 6 novels under the name Mary Westmacott.

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The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie (Review)

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

Blurb

What is The Secret of Chimneys? A young drifter finds out when a favour for a friend pulls him into the heart of a deadly conspiracy in this captivating classic from Agatha Christie.

Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would place him at the centre of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn into a web of intrigue, he begins to realise that the simple favour has placed him in serious danger.

As events unfold, the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté gradually converge on Chimneys, the great country estate that hides an amazing secret. . . .

Review

This was the next book in my Christie challenge and I think it is probably my favourite so far. I really could not put this book down and just loved all the red herrings that Christie throws at you.

Now I will be honest there is an element of the ridiculous in this story and usually that annoys me but this time I just found it added to the story. Anthony Cade is doing a favour for a friend because the money is good and because he likes an outrageous adventure and he thinks that this favour will throw him into some interesting circumstances and he is not disappointed.

As the story moves on Cade is drawn to the house Chimneys which is the setting of a house party for political reasons. Virginia Revel is also at this house party and she is definitely the star of the show. Virginia is a woman that men find themselves drawn to and she knows how to use this to her advantage. She is also a woman who likes a weird experience or adventure and because of this she finds herself dealing with the mysterious events at Chimneys.

This is essentially a political thriller with a few surprises and some fun characters. The book is fast paced like Bundle’s driving, who I also think was my favourite character. I must admit I did not see the ending at all which was really good because I hate a predictable book. I happily give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase links

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About the author

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In the Shadow of Queens by Alison Weir (Review)

In the Shadow of Queens by Alison Weir

Blurb

Behind every great king stands a queen. And behind every queen, the whole court watches on…

Over the years of his reign, six different women took their place beside King Henry VIII of England as his wife and queen.

But the real stories of the six Tudor queens belong to those who lived among them. Played out in glittering palaces and whispering courts, these are tales of the people who loved and served these women, and those who lied and betrayed them.

Collected together for the first time, In the Shadow of Queens reveals thirteen startling stories from the Tudor court, told by those at the very heart of that world.

Review

I had already read the first few of these short stories on my Kindle but when I saw that the complete set had been put into a book I immediately ordered myself a copy.

I reread the first few stories and then read the rest of the book. The only story that I really did not enjoy was the very last story. I found it so sad and disgraceful that poor Katharine Parr was not allowed to rest in peace and her grave was opened up and and vandalised so many times over the years.

I must admit the stories got longer as the book went on which seemed a shame because the first few stories were very short in comparison. I would have liked the first few stories to be longer. I really enjoyed how Weir chose her topics for the stories. They were all connected with the queens in some way but some were based on places and some on people even if they were quite obscure people.

I also really enjoyed Weir’s notes about what was historically accurate and what bits she embellished by herself. All the stories offered new view points of the queens lives which was really interesting. I particularly enjoyed the story about the infant Mary Seymour which we sadly know so little about.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I am very sad the series have come to end. I will definitely be reading more books by Weir. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

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About the author

Alison Weir was born in 1951 and is a British writer of history books, and latterly historical novels, mostly in the form of biographies about British Royalty.

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The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon (Review)

The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon

Blurb

In the windswept seaside town of Concarneau, a local wine merchant is shot. In fact, someone is out to kill all the influential men and the entire town is soon sent into a state of panic. For Maigret, the answers lie with the pale, downtrodden waitress Emma, and a strange yellow dog lurking in the shadows…

Review

I was really excited to read this book because I do love a book with a dog in but I always worry at the same time whether it will upset me.

This book finds Maigret on fine form again, and again no mention or sign of his long suffering wife. Where has she gone? He hasn’t seen or spoken to her for two books now. Maigret finds himself investigating a shooting and this brings him to another strange location and staying in another hotel.

A strange yellow dog has shown up in the town at the same time as the shooting and it spends most of its time hanging out at the bar with the waitress Emma. However, as the story continues and more strange things happen the townsfolk begin to get suspicious of the yellow dog.

Someone is out to rid the town of its most influential men but to be honest none of them are very nice so you can see why somebody has taken a dislike to them. Maigret is trying to find out who this person is but he is hampered by the constant pestering of the Mayor to make an arrest. The Mayor will accept any arrest whether the person is guilty or not, anything to stop the town spiralling into panic.

Maigret however lets nothing phase him and pieces together the case. I love the ending as it is quite different from a usual Maigret book and almost falls into a Christie novel. Maigret always appears so laid back whilst conducting his investigations but you can tell he never misses a thing and it is because he looks laid back that people let things slip that helps him solve the case. I struggled a little bit with this book and so I only give it 3 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

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About the author

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was a Belgian writer who published nearly 500 novels and many short stories. Simenon is best known as the creator of the Maigret stories.

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The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths (Review)

The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths

Blurb

The night hawks, a group of metal detectorists, are searching for buried treasure when they find a body on the beach. DCI Nelson believes that the dead man might be an asylum seeker, but he turns out to be a local boy, Jem Taylor, recently released from prison.

Review

I do love a Dr Ruth Galloway novel so I was very happy when I finally got my hands on a copy of this book.

Ruth has moved back to Norfolk and is back living in her little cottage in the middle of nowhere. However, not everything is the same because she is now head of the department she used to work for and that means she has staff working for her and she has hired a new lecturer.

Ruth is called out to examine a site of interest that the metal detectorists were digging when they found a body on the same beach. This means that Ruth is back working with DCI Nelson and even though she tries to not think about him her mind is always drawn to him and wishes to see more of him. Nelson on the other hand does not know what to think but knows his life can not go on the way it is and he needs to make some decisions but one thing is for sure and that is he is not retiring!

As the story unfolds more bodies are discovered some new, some old and one not even human and Nelson and Ruth start to unpick the threads of the case. The one frustrating thing for me was the room that looked like a doctors surgery, why did Nelson not investigate it immediately? Surely it was suspicious to the police because it certainly was to me. The other thing that I found frustrating was the massive clue that Ruth ignored regarding the text messages, as a reader it was obvious so I was screaming at the book at this point.

The character that most annoyed me was David the new lecturer, he was rather rude at times and forced his company on people. Overall, I think he was socially awkward and struggled with people but considering his background it was to be expected. Towards the end though he came across as rather sweet.

I really enjoyed this book but the reason it did not get the full five Dragons and only four from me was due to the characters ignoring alarmingly obvious things which frustrated me whilst reading.

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Purchase Links

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About the author

Elly Griffiths was born in London and began her career in publishing, she then turned to writing full time. In 2016 she won the CWA Dagger in the Library for her work. Griffiths lives in Brighton with her family and the cat Gus.

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The Carter of La Providence by Georges Simenon (Review)

The Carter of La Providence by Georges Simenon

Blurb

What was the woman doing here?

In a stable, wearing pearl earrings, her stylish bracelet and white buckskin shoes!

She must have been alive when she got there because the crime had been committed after ten in the evening.

But how? And why? And no one had heard a thing! She had not screamed. The two carters had not woken up.

If the whip had not been mislaid, it was likely the body might not have been discovered for a couple of weeks or a month, by chance when someone turned over the straw.

And other carters passing through would have snored the night away next to a woman’s corpse!

These questions lead Maigret into an unfamiliar world of canals, with its run down cafes, shadowy towpaths, and eccentric inhabitants.

Review

I have been enjoying the Maigret books and I read this one in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down.

Maigret finds himself investigating another murder case and this one is a big mystery. A very finely dressed woman has been found dead in a stable and nobody knows how she got there. Nobody heard a thing, not even the two carters who were sleeping in the stable with the horses. This means Maigret finds himself having to learn all about lock gates and the ways of the canal.

The people of the canal are an eccentric bunch and you can tell this annoys Maigret at times but not as much as having to stay in such a run down hotel. Maigret really does like his home comforts. This was another book that I felt sorry for Mrs Maigret who was not even mentioned in this book and Maigret never even bothered to ring her the whole time he was away on the case.

Maigret slowly pieces together all the evidence to eventually get to the answers he needs to find out who the murderer is. I will be honest the murderer was a complete and utter surprise to me and I did not see it until Maigret revealed who it was. There were so many other possibilities of who the killer could have been.

I will be honest the character I most despised was the Colonel in this story and to be honest I disliked the whole party from the yacht and found it all very suspicious and weird. Maigret also felt the same way I think.

My favourite part of the book was the very long bike ride that Maigret did to catch up with a boat and Maigret realising he had been cycling for hours and hadn’t even stopped for a beer. The bike ride was probably also the longest part of the book where Maigret did not have his pipe clamped between his teeth.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and give this 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Book Depository | Foyles | Waterstones | Wordery

About the author

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was a Belgian writer who published nearly 500 novels and many short stories. Simenon is best known as the creator of the Maigret stories.

The King’s Seal by Amy Kuivalainen (Review)

The King’s Seal by Amy Kuivalainen

Blurb

The search for the legendary ring of King Solomon has begun, and Penelope must sift through its long and convoluted history of lost emperors, crusaders, and other famous historical figures—including one with whom the magicians share their own complicated past— if she hopes to find it in time.

As Penelope’s magic continues to grow stronger with the coming high tide, she and Alexis will have to depend upon each other more than ever to keep everyone they care about safe from the continuing attacks by Thevetat’s priests.

When the magical high tide finally peaks, the long-awaited battle against Thevetat will begin, and Penelope, Alexis, and the magicians will have to rely on both powers of old and new if they hope to defeat their enemy once and for all.

Review

My first thought when I got this book was sadness because I did not want this to be the last book of the series. Thankfully, this book was just as good as the previous two books and I could not put it down.

I will be honest I felt rushed with this book but that might be because I wanted a longer book. I just felt like all the answers the magicians needed suddenly arrived in quick succession. However, this might be because the magicians had the added help of Elazar and Constantine.

Penelope and the magicians are on the trail of King Solomon’s ring and with their investigations they get some help from Constantine. Constantine is a brilliant character and really made me laugh but he is also a very thoughtful and deep thinking character. Constantine is a big help to the magicians and not because he is a good shoulder to cry on for Zo.

Obviously the main characters are Penelope and Alexis but the secondary characters are just as strong. Zo is my favourite magician and I must admit I would have liked to see more of him in this book but at least he had a bigger part than Galenos who was barely in it. All the magicians have such fascinating pasts and are brilliant characters. I would love to have more stories about them.

The final battle came and went within a blink of an eye and I must admit was the rushed part for me and it did seem over simplified as I was expecting something big and spectacular but it was still good. I loved the book and couldn’t put it down. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Product Links

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About the author

Amy Kuivalainen is a Finnish-Australian writer that is obsessed with magical wardrobes, doors, auroras and burial mounds that might offer her a way into another realm. Until then, she will write about fairy tales, monsters, magic and mythology because that’s the next best thing. She is the author of The Firebird Fairytales Trilogy and The Blood Lake Chronicles series that mash up traditional tales and mythology in new and interesting ways.

Reviews of books in the series

The Immortal City

The Sea of the Dead