The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths (A Dr Ruth Galloway Mystery) (Review)

The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths (A Dr Ruth Galloway Mystery)

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.

Blurb

The past is reaching out for Dr Ruth Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson, and its grip is deadly.

DCI Harry Nelson is receiving anonymous letters, and their resemblance to those that first drew him to the Saltmarsh, and his first case with Dr Ruth Galloway, has left him uneasy. After all, the author of those letters is dead.

Or are they?

Then he gets a call from Ruth. She is digging on the Saltmarsh, on the site of a henge – a stone circle. And she has found the bones of a young girl.

When the body is identified as that of Margaret Lacey, a twelve-year-old who went missing thirty years ago, the North Norfolk police reopen the cold case. Are the letters a coincidence, or did someone really know all along where Margaret could be found?

Then another body is discovered. Is this death linked to Margaret’s? It seems that feelings run high and someone is guarding their secrets. What else might they know, if only Ruth and Nelson can find them?

Review

I have never read a book by Elly Griffiths before but I saw this one in Waterstones and loved the blurb so thought I would give it a go. I am so pleased I did as I absolutely loved it and I could not put it down. When I should have been sleeping I was reading but being tired in the morning was worth it. I am fast becoming addicted to crime mystery books, I only really started reading them last year and now I am hooked and discovering more and more favourite authors.

Having not read any of the previous books I was a little worried that I would not follow the storylines between the characters but I soon found the book was possible to read as a stand alone. I also loved that there were mini character biographies at the back of the book, this helped me a lot to understand a bit more about what type of people the main characters were. The first thing that became clear was that most of the police force have complicated relationship histories, which is probably made clearer in the previous books.

This book had me hooked just with the first page, the mysterious letter, I immediately wanted to know more. I loved the idea of an archaeological dig uncovering more than expected and the mystery involved behind it.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, most crime novels centre around the chief detective but this centres around a Doctor and not any Doctor, a forensic archaeologist. Seeing the crime from Dr Ruth’s point of view is very interesting and eye opening. I found Ruth an interesting character, she loves her daughter deeply and is still madly in love with the father of her child even though they are not together. She also lives for her work and should be thinking of progressing up the career ladder but can not seem to bare leaving Norfolk, for many complicated reasons.

My first impression of Harry Nelson is that he does not know what he wants in life and is a bit like a lost little boy but he is an excellent police officer who can work out any crime and does not let his problems in his personal life get in the way of his work.

I really enjoyed meeting Harry Nelson’s team and would love to know more about them and so I definitely plan on reading more of the books, I have in fact bought the first one in the series to read next. The other element that I absolutely loved was that I had no idea who the culprit was, I had the completely wrong person in my mind. Quite often with crime mysteries I guess the culprit quite early on, but not this book.

I can not recommend this book enough, I could not put it down. If you love crime mysteries and archaeology then this book is for you, but I must warn you, you might end up with a few sleepless nights because you can not put it down. I gave this book a massive 5 out of 5 Dragons.

Purchase from Waterstones

Lady Book Dragon

The Story of Brexit: A Ladybird Book by J. A. Hazeley and J. P. Morris (Review)

The Story of Brexit: A Ladybird Book by J. A. Hazeley and J. P. Morris

About the authors

J. A. Hazeley and J. P. Morris are best known for having written episodes of Miranda and That Mitchell and Webb Look.

Review

I have not read all of the new Ladybird books for adults mainly the husband and wife ones as when I got married my husband and myself got them for Christmas off the family for a joke. As I mentioned in my last Waterstones post this one was at the till and it just jumped into my hand.

I did find this book funny to start with but then it started to drag a little and was just a bit repetitive along the lines of ‘those who voted out did not understand what they were doing’ etc. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been shorter, short and sweet was the key in this case. It would have also been better if it had been a bit more balanced and made fun of both sides.

The illustrations as per usual were excellent and went brilliantly with the writing and added to the book.

An OK little book to read with a mug of tea and a biscuit, if you are not too easily offended about Brexit. I only gave this book 3 Dragons out of 5 and probably would not bother to read it again.

Lady Book Dragon.

A Blue Poetry Paintbox chosen by John Foster (Review)

A Blue Poetry Paintbox chosen by John Foster

Blurb

You’ll find castles and giants, and dragon to dance with, races to run and snow to have fun with, monsters, monkeys, magicians and foxes, in this fourth colourful Poetry Paintbox anthology, for children aged six years and over.

Review

Ok, so I know I am way over six years of age and not a child but I like to think I am a child at heart. I have been sorting through some of the books that are still at my parents’, house and found my first ever poetry book out. This poetry book holds a lot of memories, I believe I got it from the Book People who used to come into schools and you could order books from them. I also remember bringing it into school for an assembly and the teacher borrowed it and then lost it, I was devastated and my mom was furious. Thankfully the teacher found it about two years later just before I left school. The other day I sat down and happily read it cover to cover remembering my old favourites and the poems I did not enjoy so much.

As a child I did not appreciate how this book was laid out, I never realised that all the poems are linked in pairs. So there are two poems about dragons, two poems about the sea and so on and so forth. The poems are by different authors and all have wonderful illustrations. The two poems about dragons were my particular favourites as a child.

The only thing that annoyed me with certain poems was that they went rolling along and then the last line makes the whole poem stumble, because it does not feel like it quite fits. However this could be because the adult me is now getting too picky.

There are 54 poems in the book, some better than others but mainly all enjoyable and a fun read for children and adults. I gave this book 4 Dragons out of 5 Dragons for all the happy memories it has brought back. I leave you with one of my favourites.

There was an old pirate

There was an old pirate called Pete

Who captured a whole fishing fleet.

He said ‘Don’t be scared.

All your lives will be spared.

I only want something to eat!’

Wendy Larmont

Lady Book Dragon.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (Review)

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

About the author

Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850. He studied law at Edinburgh University. Stevenson was against the Presbyterianism of both Edinburgh’s professional classes and his devout parents, but the influence of Calvinism started his fascination with evil. After much travelling Stevenson eventually settled in Samoa with his wife, he passed away at the age of 44.

Blurb

Published as ‘shilling shocker’ in 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson’s dark psychological fantasy gave birth to the popular idea of the split personality. Set in a hellish, fog-bound London, the story of outwardly respectable Dr Jekyll, who unleashes his deepest cruelties and most murderous instincts when he transformed into sinister Edward Hyde, is a Gothic masterpiece and a chilling exploration of humanity’s basest capacity for evil.

This edition also includes Stevenson’s sinister story ‘The Bottle Imp’.

Review

This is another book I am ashamed to say I have never read and just recently I bought a lovely little edition from Waterstones and it has been sat on my TBR pile ever since. I decided it would be a good book to discover Robert Louis Stevenson’s work as I have never read any of his work before.

The first and main story is Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and I went into it with high hopes, however it quickly started to disappoint. Mr Utterson the lawyer and good friend of Dr Jekyll is a perfect gentleman and shows the reader that you would be blessed to consider him your friend. Mr Utterson in fact was my favourite character and he was probably the only reason I kept reading. Mr Hyde was also a good character, he was bad to the bone and showed a man with no morals to guide him or conscience, he was happy with his actions, showed no remorse and was dangerous to all around him.

Dr Jekyll is the character which I disliked greatly! He was weak and pathetic he had bad desires within him and a perverted mind that lay hidden because of his status in society and his title. We have no idea what horrors he performed in his past but they are hinted at, now due to getting older the desires are still there but he can not act upon them without losing everything or facing the gallows. Then Mr Hyde comes along, Mr Hyde is Jekyll’s answer to everything, Hyde does all the horrors and faces the gallows and Jekyll remains the good Dr. In my opinion Jekyll is evil, he just does not show it.

Jekyll tries to reform himself but this soon fails and Hyde starts to take over. Hyde was always going to take over because Jekyll is weak but also enjoys what Hyde does, if he was truly horrified and repulsed by Hyde’s actions he would have beaten Hyde and got his life back. Jekyll did not deserve the life he had or the dedicated friends like Mr Utterson in my opinion because he was as guilty as Mr Hyde.

This story annoyed me greatly because Dr Jekyll is shown in a light where the reader should feel sorry for him but I disagree with that. Dr Jekyll was weak and evil and in my opinion worse than Mr Hyde because he had the power to stop Hyde but did not. This story on its own would have only got 2 Dragons from me.

The second story in this book is The Bottle Imp and that was my favourite out of the two. This story is about a magical imp that lives in a bottle and can grant you any wishes, however it comes with conditions that could leave the owner going to hell.

The story contains many topics greed, love, hopelessness, despair, faith, courage and much more. I really enjoyed how Stevenson came up with the story and the morals behind it. Keawe is not a greedy man he does not ask for millions off the imp he asks for enough for his dream house that he can live in for the rest of his life and enjoy it. Kokua is the woman that Keawe falls in love with and risks everything for and she in turn risks everything for him. Their love is so strong they will do anything for each other. Others in this story do not show such selflessness and greed is the dominant trait in their characters. These two people are not greedy they just want to live happily together for the rest of their lives, but can they?

A real love story that was beautiful to read and not too long. I gave this one 4 out of 5 Dragons, so overall balancing the results I gave the book 3 out of 5 Dragons.

Lady Book Dragon

Lemon Slices Recipe Review

As promised I have had a go at making one of the recipes from The Book Lover’s Guide to Tea, which I reviewed here. I let my husband choose which one to make and he chose the Lemon Slices. The Lemon Slices are paired with the book The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde and the tea is Earl Grey.

The plan was to eat a slice with a nice cup of Earl Grey, you will soon see the result.

Firstly, I found the recipe to be a little like The Great British Bake Off technical challenge, as there was no picture to see what they looked liked. It is also the first recipe where I have had to measure everything with cups, thankfully we have some rather cute cat cups.

Here is the recipe:

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup melted butter

4 eggs

2 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup all purpose flour

5/8 lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9x13in pan.

(Temperature was a guess for us as we have an AGA so adapting the temperature is rather tricky as we have to use a cold shelf to get the AGA to a better temperature. Also I do not have a big enough square tin so it had to be a circular pan.)

2. Stir the 2 cups of flour and confectioners’ sugar together. Blend in melted butter, and press into the bottom of the pan.

(I was guessing I was aiming for a biscuit texture like a cheesecake, hopefully that is correct.)

3. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. In another bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder, and flour, and stir into the eggs. Add the lemon juice, and pour over the prepared crust before returning to the oven.

(The first problem was baking the base and trying to prevent it from burning in the AGA, the edges started to catch slightly so we decided it was time to add the topping and bake for 30 minutes.)

4. Bake for another 30 minutes or until bars are set. Make sure to let cool completely before cutting.

(We had to use two cold shelves to bring the temperature down so the top did not burn but we think it came out rather well.)

It reminds me of a giant custard tart!

As I said at the beginning we planned to eat a slice with a nice cup of Earl Grey, however we were impatient and attempted to cut the Lemon Slice before it was fully cooled, this ended in disaster. Yes, it fell apart, as shown below.

For the Earl Grey I got out the best china cups and side plates, these were my aunts who sadly passed away last year and I inherited her china. My aunt never drank tea out of a mug, it was a china cup and saucer or nothing. My aunt also drank more tea than anyone I have ever met, she was a true tea drinker, oh and a tea bag would never do, always loose leaf! It was really nice to use the china and enjoy our tea and think of my aunt telling me Earl Grey is not real tea, whilst drinking her tea with her little finger delicately pointing out. Sadly there is no teapot with the set so we used our little one that we use for loose leaf tea.

We ate the Lemon Slice and it was delicious. Later when it had fully cooled I cut it up and it all stayed together beautifully and worked brilliantly. A definite hit that I will happily make again and goes perfectly with Earl Grey Tea, just like the book says.

In conclusion, as well as loving the little book, I also so far love the recipes and how they are linked to books and teas!

Lady Book Dragon.

Star Trek Discovery: Drastic Measures by Dayton Ward (Review)

Star Trek Discovery: Drastic Measures by Dayton Ward

About the author

Born in 1967 Dayton Ward is primarily known as a Science fiction author who writes Star Trek novels and short stories. Before Ward became an author he served for eleven years in the United States Marine Corps. He currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri and is a software developer when not writing.

Blurb

It is 2246, ten years prior to the “Battle at the Binary Star,” and an aggressive contagion is ravaging the food supplies of the remote Federation colony Tarsus IV and the eight thousand people who call it home. Distress signals have been sent, but any meaningful assistance is weeks away. Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Lorca and a small team assigned to a Starfleet monitoring outpost are caught up in the escalating crisis, and bear witness as the colony’s governor, Adrian Kodos, employs an unimaginable solution in order to prevent mass starvation.

While awaiting transfer to her next assignment, Commander Philippa Georgiou is tasked with leading to Tarsus IV a small, hastily assembled group of first responders. It’s hoped this advance party can help stabilise the situation until more aid arrives, but Georgiou and her team discover that they’re too late – Governor Kodos has already implemented his heinous strategy for extending the colony’s besieged food stores and safeguarding the community’s long-term survival.

In the midst of their rescue mission, Georgiou and Lorca must now hunt for the architect of this horrific tragedy and the man whom history will one day brand “Kodos the Executioner.”

Review

My reaction to this book is just wow. I’m not even sure if I should even use the word ‘wow’ to describe a book but I am going to. The more I have thought about this book since finishing it the more it has made its mark on my mind.

The storyline of this book is shocking but the way the characters deal with the situations and the horrifying circumstances is fantastic. There are so many intertwining storylines and that just adds to the story and makes it addictive. I also really enjoyed how the book gives you more background information on Lorca and Georgiou, it was really good to see a part of their lives early in their respective careers in Starfleet that will affect them for the rest of their lives.

There are so many emotions in this book and it does not hold back or sugar coat anything which is another element I enjoyed. There is anger, grief, fear, denial, cowardice, love and much more. The amount packed into this book is fantastic and was a real surprise to me. I really enjoyed the first book in the series Desperate Hours but it does not have the edge like this one, mainly due to the pace of this book, there was no dull, dragged out moments where I lost interest and it constantly had my attention hooked. I think this just shows that Dayton Ward is an experienced author of the genre and knows what the reader wants to read.

This story also contained a lot of twists and turns and so you never knew what could happen next and that really kept you on your toes. The characters we know so well from the TV series Lorca and Georgiou were brilliantly portrayed in the book and in my mind perfectly linked in with the TV series. The other character I was intrigued by and I really hope we see more of in future books is Captain Robert April, the eccentric captain who likes to wear cardigans over his uniform seems like a real character and I would love to see him featured in a story.

However, my favourite thing about this book is the very last section called Elsewhere. This section has had me thinking a lot since finishing the book and I absolutely loved the idea it is putting across but I will not say more as I do not want to spoil the surprise for you.

So as you might have guessed I love this book and so I rate it 5 Dragons out of 5 Dragons. For all you Trekkie fans out there it is a must read and even if you are not a Trekkie fan but adore a good Sci-fi set in space or on another planet I can not recommend it enough.

Lady Book Dragon

A Tiny Book Review for a Tiny Book: The Book Lover’s Guide to Tea (Review)

The Book Lover’s Guide to Tea

This is a tiny review for a tiny book. This book was in the box with the book tea infuser I blogged about here.

Firstly, it is possibly one of the cutest books I have ever read, being only 7.5cm tall and 6.5cm wide, it is tiny but surprisingly it is 47 pages long.

Secondly, it all about tea and I love tea. It has some excellent tea and book related quotes in it and the best part is it has some recipes for the perfect accoutrements to afternoon tea. I plan on trying out the recipe for the cookies and lemon squares as they look easy to make and yummy, and it also tells you which tea will go best with the said recipes.

Thirdly, it also tells you how to make the perfect cup of tea with the book tea infuser and gives you timings for the different types of tea.

A perfect little book that took a matter of minutes to read but was an interesting read to enjoy with a cup of tea. I gave this little book 5 Dragons out of 5 and I hope the recipes turn out to be a success, I will keep you posted.

Happy tea drinking and reading.

Lady Book Dragon

Star Trek Discovery: Desperate Hours by David Mack (Review)

Star Trek Discovery: Desperate Hours by David Mack

About the author

David Mack has been writing since 1995 and is best known for his freelance Star Trek Novels. He has also produced a Star Trek script and worked on a Star Trek comic.

Blurb

Aboard the Starship Shenzhou, Lieutenant Michael Burnham, a human woman raised and educated among Vulcans, is promoted to acting first officer. But if she wants to keep the job, she must prove to Captain Philippa Georgiou that she deserves to have it.

She gets her chance when the Shenzhou must protect a Federation colony that is under attack by an ancient alien vessel that has surfaced from the deepest fathoms of the planet’s dark, uncharted sea.

As the menace from this mysterious vessel grows stronger, Starfleet declares the colony expendable in the name of halting the threat. To save thousands of innocent lives, Burnham must infiltrate the alien ship. But to do so, she needs to face the truth of her troubled past, and seek the aid of a man she has tried to avoid her entire life – until now.

Review

After watching the first season of Star Trek: Discovery I was hooked with the series and decided to see if there were any books written based on the series. My cousin who is a major Trekkie informed me there was and I immediately went out and bought all four. I have read quite a few of the books based on the Star Wars films but never any Star Trek books, so this one is a first for me and will definitely not be my last.

I loved this book as it revealed so much about Burnham and Spock and their history together and their respective childhoods. The description of Spock was perfect to what I have always seen on the TV series of the original Star Trek. Burnham was also a perfect fit to the TV Burnham and I must admit I could not help but feel sorry for both of them. They are both troubled and have their own pasts to confront and get over and will need each other eventually to come to terms with their issues.

My other favourite character is Captain Georgiou, she is so strong and powerful, I can just imagine her power and influence on the Shenzhou, she is so full of wisdom and knowledge that her crew can not help but look up to her and be inspired. She is a powerful female lead in the book who holds strong to her principles and is not pushed around by men.

The other element I like in the book is that we get to meet Captain Pike and the USS Enterprise. In all honesty I find Pike to be a bit of a young puppy in comparison to Georgiou but I do not mind that one bit either, it is just another example of Georgiou’s wisdom, firm beliefs and power. Yes she shows weakness and loss of temper but it is also always controlled and just shows she is human.

The storyline of the book I found fascinating and was hooked very early on by the idea of this ancient ship acting out its orders from long ago. I immediately wanted to know more about the ship and where it had come from and could not put the book down.

The two elements which I did not enjoy very much was firstly the character of Saru, sadly I found Saru to be a bit of a wet blanket. He was constantly worrying, being socially awkward and just generally getting on my nerves. Yes, I know it is to do with his species and his genetic make up but at some time I felt like he did not belong in Star Fleet and could be better utilised elsewhere. I was delighted every time Burnham wound him up because I think Burnham and myself share the same point of view regarding Saru.

The second issue I had with the book was occasionally I found it to be a bit slow and I wanted it to move on quicker, this was mainly with the Burnham and Spock interactions. I just found them to be long winded, as the reader I knew the point that was being put across and did not need it dragged out like it was. I was desperate to know what was going to happen next and did not have the patience to deal with the twaddle that was present at times.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and at times could not put it down and that is why I have given it 4 out of 5 Dragons. I highly recommend it to any Trekkies out there and sci-fi lovers who are not necessarily Star Trek fans. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished it I started to read the next in the series Drastic Measures.

Lady Book Dragon.

Caste – Off by Jeffrey Archer (Review)

Caste – Off by Jeffrey Archer

About the author

Jeffrey Archer was born in England in 1940, he is a former politician and author. Archer was a member of parliament from 1969-1974 but did not seek re-election due to a financial scandal that almost bankrupt him. Facing bankruptcy Archer began to write and in so doing revived his fortunes. Archer’s political career has been filled with scandal and in 2001 he was sent to jail for perjury and perverting the course of justice, in 2003 he was released. All his life experiences influence his writing and make for interesting reading.

Blurb

Jamwal Rameshwar Singh, a hedonistic playboy prince, assumes he will never fall in love but this all changes when he meets Nisha Chowdhury. Their blossoming international relationship continues as she completes her degree at Stanford but even as their love grows, Jamwal knows that his family will oppose the match as Nisha is not of their caste. Will Jamwal choose love or will his family’s wishes prevail?

Review

After reading a few of these short stories I am starting to sense a theme, basically a man sees a beautiful woman and drops absolutely everything to chase her. I picked up this short story over breakfast and soon had it finished and it was a perfect start to the working day.

A classic tale of forbidden love that I absolutely loved. Archer set the book in India which I did not expect at all and was a nice surprise, I particularly liked the random cows on the road during the car race at the beginning. Jamwal is a typical playboy with a phonebook full of women he can call on whenever he feels like but very hard working and a successful businessman. Nisha is a Stanford student studying fashion, who is the most beautiful woman Jamwal has ever seen and guess what when he first sees her he drops all his plans in pursuit of her.

The story is beautifully written and the imagery and detail is fantastic. I loved how Jamwal’s and Nisha’s blossoming relationship is squeezed into the short story and yet it does not feel rushed or in anyway lacking, which proves Archer’s talent as an author. The question of whether Jamwal will choose his family or the love of his life has you on tenter hooks and there was no way I was putting the story down until I had finished the book.

This story took about 20 minutes to read, so an excellent read when you have a bit of time for a mug of tea and your feet up. It is free on Kindle and a wonderful read I can not recommend it enough. I rated this story 5 out of 5 Dragons.

Lady Book Dragon.

As Kingfishers Catch Fire by Gerard Manley Hopkins (Review)

As Kingfishers Catch Fire by Gerard Manley Hopkins

About the author

Gerard Manley Hopkins was born on the 28th July 1844, he was an English poet and Jesuit priest. His two main themes in his poetry are nature and religion. He died in 1889 of what is believed to be typhoid fever. His work was largely ignored during his life but was published posthumously.

Blurb

Considered unpublishable in his lifetime, the Victorian priest’s groundbreaking, experimental verse on nature’s glory and despair.

Review

Oh dear, as I have mentioned in the past I struggle with poetry and this book has been a massive challenge and although I persevered I did not enjoy the poetry.

The second book in the Penguin Little Black Classics is a series of poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins and titled after possibly his most famous poem As Kingfishers Catch Fire.

The main thing I struggled with was that I found the poetry stilted and lacking fluency. I also found his use of imagery a bit strange and his wording a struggle to grasp.

Overall I just struggled full stop and would not read anything of this author again, if it was not for the fact the book was so short I doubt I would have finished it. I have problems appreciating poetry but have recently been enjoying reading through some poetry books and discovering new poets that I enjoy to read. Sadly though this book did not appeal and I only give this little book of poems 1 dragon out 5.