The Soul Catcher - Alex Kava

Synopsis:
FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell and her partner Tully investigate two cases--the murder of a senator's daughter in Washington, D.C., and a deadly shootout in Massachusetts, both of which are linked to Reverend Joseph Everett, who is dating Maggie's mother.

Review:
This is my second attempt at reading an Alex Kava novel, my first book was 'A Necessary Evil' which I believe is later in the series and found it very clunky and did not really get into the story due to that.
Soul Catcher is pretty much the same as Necessary Evil, I could not get into it. There is too much chapter changing, I lost my way and found I was losing half the story and could not remember what happened at the beginning. So way too many short chapters, I personally would not like to write anything over 40 chapters at a push but this was way beyond that. The writing again, I found very robotic and clunky, it did not seem to flow and the short sentences, yes good for effect and fast pace but for me with the short chapters, I do not like it!

Rose West: The Making of a Monster

Description:
Although it's hard to believe now, Rose West was an exceptionally beautiful little girl with long, glossy dark hair and big brown eyes. Strangers would stop and stare at her in the street and she could entrance people from an early age. Looking at photos of young Rosie as a child, it is almost impossible to comprehend that she would grow up to become one of Britain's most notorious female murderers.
What happened to that little girl to make her capable of such violence? Or was there something wrong - a predisposition to cruelty - which she was born with?
Crime writer Jane Carter Woodrow goes back to the start of Rose's life to piece together what it was that turned her into a monster. In doing so, she presents us with a profile of the young Rose West and a fascinating insight into the mind of a killer.
Rose's early life made her the perfect partner for Fred West when they met just before her sixteenth birthday. But the young teenager would kill for the first time a few months later, alone and unaided, while Fred was in prison. Her part in the killings is very different to that which many people believe even today.

Review:
Having read, FRED&ROSE by Howard Sounes last year I received this book for my birthday this one and got straight into it. Jane Carter Woodrow describes how Rose took a more leading role in the murders than original thought, Charmaine for example was killed just a few weeks after her 16th birthday and while Fred was in prison.
Rose and Fred has similar childhoods, both abused and sexual active at a young age. This book covers all the history of Rose and her upbringing and describes all the murders in good detail but it is not really about them its about Rose and how she became the infamous and worse female serial killer and sex offender of all time.

Oysterband

After reminiscing over the past few weeks about the bands we saw at Towersey this year, we have decideded to take some action to ensure that we are not waiting until next year to see these amazing bands again.

First off, we are to see Oysterband tomorrow in Leamington Spa. Here is the miro-bio from their website:
Oysterband make a modern, folk-based British music, acoustic at heart, sometimes intense, sometimes rocking. Since 1978 they've toured in 35 countries  -  festivals, concerts, bars, rallies, jails, bring 'em on!  -  and made 12 studio albums.
Music for the head, the heart & the trousers. And still improving in the bottle.

I have trawled through the videos we took at Towersey 2011 and here is Oysterband Live. (It was taking too long to load our video so I have cheated): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBxvDNmaMX8


So, we thought about what can we do next and have come up with a summer itinery (well, Meg can go to all these I have to work over these dates, something called the Olympics are on!)

Cropedy Folk Festival - 9-11th August 2012 http://www.fairportconvention.com/
Towersey 2012 - August Bank Holiday Weekend. http://www.towerseyfestival.com/

Here is a picture from last years festivals that keeps us all laughing:

Twilight

The time has come again when the next installment of Twilight has arrived at our local cinema. Breaking Dawn Part 1 is premieres at 12.05am (GMT) Friday morning after the first three films shown back to back from 4.30pm (GMT).




Here is the showtimes from Empire Cinema, Rubery:

The Twi-athlon begins at 4.30pm with 'Twilight' (2008, 122 mins). The story continues at 7pm with 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' (2009, 131 mins), the third instalment at 9.30 is 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' (2010, 124 mins) culminating in 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' (2011)  at 0.05.

It will be a tiring night and will not get back until 3am but....it will be worth it but will I will a....

   or     

WAIT AND SEE!!!

Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum

Description:

Broadmoor Revealed gives the reader a glimpse behind the walls of England’s first Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Focused on the Victorian period, the book tells the stories of some of the hospital’s best-known patients. There is Edward Oxford, who shot at Queen Victoria, and Richard Dadd, the brilliant artist and murderer of his father. There is also William Chester Minor, the surgeon from America who killed a stranger in London, and then played a key part in creating the world's finest dictionary. Finally, there is Christiana Edmunds, ‘The Chocolate Cream Poisoner’ and frustrated lover. To these four tales are added new ones, previously unknown. There were five women who went on to become mothers in Broadmoor, giving birth to life when three of them had previously taken it. Then there were the numerous escapes, actual and attempted, as the first doctors tried to assert control over their residents. These are stories from the edge of where true crime meets mental illness. Broadmoor Revealed recounts what life was like for the criminally insane, over one hundred years ago.

Review:
This was my first Ebook read in its entirety (I have recently brought a Kindle). And whilst looking at recommended reads this was suggested and due to it being free I thought i would be worth a try.
I am a bit fanatical about British history and history of crime in particular so to find out about the history of the most famous prison in Britain was brilliant, I read this book cover to cover including the references in one day, I could not put it down. All aspects of the history was covered, why it was built, the first doctors who ran the prison and the infamous escapes! Recommend to everyone that would be interested in this piece of history.

A friend in need

The sudden rush of blood, the quick flashes of what if and whys fly through the mind. Your body starts into almost like a programmed response, a learnt skill. Adrenaline makes the muscles tense, the flush of heat as it makes the muscles work faster (Fight or Flight)

The cry for help as it hits your ears, makes all the emotions run wild does not matter who the person is, but when that person is a friend, all the emotions are doubled, tripled and you start to rush to the rescue to do your bit.

That happened to me today, that person was a work colleague, a friend. Myself and the rest of the people who were also working heard the call for help and began our ascent onto the scene. I got there but the situation had been mostly dealt with.



Friends are there to watch your back, get you back on your feet. Friends are important to everyone, and seeing them in situations like today make you see that bond is strong not matter what the problem.

I think this picture shows the help that is needed from friends to get to a common goal!

False Details - My Novel

Here is a post about my writing for a change instead of my feelings on the world we live in!

Well, whilst on holiday a few weeks ago (Check out the post on my blog) I was writing every day. The writing was consistant and was determined to keep up routine even if it was making notes and changing the manuscript I had printing.
I have since the holiday made all the changes that I jotted down and written up all the paragraphs and ideas that I thought of.

Now, I sit here in front of the computer having not written a word for nearly a week on my novel. I have lost the momentum that I gained whilst having my writing hour before holiday, I am out of sync.



I set myself a target of finishing at Christmas, this target is still 40 odd days away but I have reached only 35,000 words.

Can i finish in time for my deadline, I can only try but I need to buck up my ideas and quickly I should think.

Check out Lulu.com for an extract of my novel (the prologue and first two chapters can be downloaded)

http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/false-details/18545321

The Winter Ghosts - Kate Mosse

Synopsis:

The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. Unable to cope with his grief, Freddie has spent much of the time since in a sanatorium. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees - another region that has seen too much bloodshed over the years. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. Shaken, he stumbles into the woods, emerging by a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa, a beautiful local woman, also mourning a lost generation. Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories of remembrance and loss. By the time dawn breaks, he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries. By turns thrilling, poignant and haunting, this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage.

Review:

Pros:
I am not a lover of historical fiction, I think that the market has been flooded with the historical thriller since the Da Vinci Code.
I keep coming back to Kate Mosse though for one reason, her stories are gripping and they keep me turning the pages to find the conclusion to the mystery.
The Winter Ghosts a very good read, the description of another small town in France, the atmospheric writing of the tension locked up in the past and the undercurrent story of Freddie who needs this trip away from his life in England and the troubles he has faced, finding the salvation from Fabrissa and her story has unlocked the emotions from Freddie.

Cons:
Two things that disappointed me, the text was quite large (not always a bad thing when reading in bed before you fall asleep) this meant it felt like a short story stretched over 200+ pages and adding to this the other downfall personally was the pictures, added nothing but expanding the number of pages. 

Fireworks Night

With the weekend now approaching fast and therefore people will be having their firework displays tonight and tomorrow, with diwali last week the fireworks have really been going off sporadically over the past few days really.



When shopping in Harborne yesterday, i saw that Waitrose had put an offer on their firework cabinet, BUY ONE GET ONE FREE. Yes, i understand that they need to make money and this will encourage more sales by getting people in the store.

What I do not understand is there is no restriction for personal allowance, I watched a shopper buy £100 pounds worth of fireworks and then he got another £100 free, that meant that his entire collection was 20 large rockets, and two large boxes of fireworks and sparklers.
How can this be used for personal firework display and unless he lives on a large plot of land, people are going to be too close to the display as the rockets need minimum of 25 metres from the display!



HAPPY GUY FAWKES NIGHT TO ALL, REMEMBER BE CAREFUL....