The Book of Sand - Theo Clare

 A journey, into the not so unknown. Lives that have crossed paths on many different plains. Family bonds that bind.

The cirque, an unforgiving desolate land. Cities of the Earth, unexplainably 'close' to each other. The past and present a blur. Lives crossed, memories continued.

The time between the 'grey' precious.

A tale on so many different levels, entwined beautifully. The cast of characters differ on so many levels, yet come together as a single family unit.

The quest, to find a somewhat very well hidden item, to carry finish their journey.

This reminds me of a very compacted take on one of my all time favourite series. The Dark Tower saga by Stephen King.

Does the quest ever end, or do we just return to the beginning and start with a clean slate?

Status: Completed

Rating: 4.7/5.0

Nightmare Alley - William L. Gresham

 Welcome to the ten in one travelling freak-show.

Stan a young magician, honing his carny skills. Falls in with the clairvoyant, after accidentally killing off the other half of the show. Learning how to work the crowd, and pass on elicit information through a series of predesigned  tells. 

 

Stan has learnt all he could from the carny circuit, and deeides to go it 'alone'. Leaving with Molly, who was front and centre for a short while. They start by conning an old lady out of her house.

Stan decides to 'rig' the house. Becomes a Spiritual Priest and starts over on his own. Looking for that one big 'mark' that will set him up for life.

The book, is well written, and the characters are strong and well defined. The plot is believable, and the whole thing flows effortlessly. You are drawn into Stan's fight for money, and his charisma, as he can talk himself out if most situations.

Well worth a read as it documents post the stock market crash of the late 1920's

Status: Completed

Rating 4.6/5.0

This Charming Man - C. K. McDonnell

The second installment of The Stranger Times. This Charming Man continues from where the first installment finished (no surprise there I guess).

We join the gang about a month on, with a week to printing and no viable content.

Vampires do not exist, everyone knows that including those in charge. So when they start running amoock in Manchester, heads start turning. And, questions are being asked (and not the easy ones to answer).

Manchester police are very close to opening tbeir own x-files department. With the apparent upturn in inexplainable goings on. And they are getting more bizzare.

As the builders have been in at Stranger Times HQ, a trap laid, but discovered. A man on a barge whom can't touch dry land (or the water surrounding said boat as he found out). Who can tell no lies, a talking dog that isn't owned. A haunted cinema and an apparition hell bent on destroying man (not wo) kind.

A tale, of friendship and virginity. Who would have known that this edition of the Times was going to be so high in content.

Condiment for the book - (stake with) garlic mayo

Status: Completed

Rating: 4.8/5.0

Buried Lies - Jenny O'Brien

I found that this was a nice and easy read, with likeable characters and a plot line that seemed to flow effortlessly. 

 This is the 5th (and my first), in the Gabby Darin series. Do you need to have partaken in the others? The easy answer to that is no. The characters are well rounded, as they should be this far into a series. 

 

Set around Llandudno, and Conwy mostly. 

 

It follows Hannah Thomas, a nurse with a fiance, and a young son. With a jaded past, which has caught up with her.

A break to a spa, with a friend. returning home after a weekend away. To find her fiance dead in his car, apparently by his own hand, and her son missing.

That is as much as I am going to let on.

What lies ahead, the investigation, the private lives and the entwinement of them all.

I read this in two sittings of just over 90 mins each. It really is that easy of a read, and not in a bad way. This was my first book by this author, and I will be looking into her other works.

Status: Completed.

Rating: 4.6/5.0

The Day of the Serpent - Cassandra Clark

 

Not really being one for historical fiction, I found myself being unusually drawn to this.

I  won't lie, it seemed to take an age to read. Almost two weeks from cover to cover. But, I kept finding myself reuturning to it, even if infrequently.

Take one friar, a group of highly trained archers, a disposed (assumed dead) king. And one of the most natural driving forces, revenge.

A tale of men on foot, a fanatical arch-bishop and a wannabe king on a massive power trip driven by madness.

We follow, the friar and the bowmen. Travelling from Pontefract Castle to London, with the assumed dead body of the de-throned King Richard. Following a spate of killings, the travelling party is alert. With their paymaster up in arms about the killing of his men.

The friar is entrusted, to find the person who has commited these crimes. Having alreday fallen in with the bowmen, he suspects them, but never outs them. Friendship holds his tongue.

Chauser, make appearances in the tale, trying to smuggle out his own tales to preserve them for future times.

Like I said, I found it to be a slow read, but read it I did, and it evaded the DNF pile. So it had qualities enough for me to finish it.

Satatus: Completed

Rating: 3.8/5.0

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