Carol Naylor's REVIEW it...

                      The Small Hand by Susan Hill. "We stood for a time, which was out of time, held as closely together as the hand of a father and his child." When you read Susan Hill you know exactly what you're getting-a superb ghost story, atmospheric, full of terror and fear for the characters who are mysteriously involved in the occult. The truth unfolds slowly and the intrigue and suspense is expertly eked out before the final shocking revelations at the finale. The settings and actual places complement this remoteness and abandonment, a strong sense of isolation reminiscent of the great Hitchcock. And with Hill you can guarantee the expertise and fluidity of the style which makes for great reading. You just can't go wrong, can you? Adam Snow is an antiquarian bookseller with extremely rich clients in the UK wanting rare book collections such as first folios with contacts in the States and Europe so he is constantly travelling. One time, as he is

           The Great Big Spanish Adventure by Janette Davies. "She could feel the heat of his body. She felt his breath on the back of her head. "Your head smells like peaches."He pushed a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear and kissed her neck." What a rollercoaster of a ride through the Paraiso Apartamentos in southern Spain and what a medley of misfits ambling along in a vice-laden den of money laundering and drug-busting. Is this Spain? Carole dominates this tale and sails through on cloud nine after a few bumpy rides with Lyle and Samantha, his squeeze. But that's water under the bridge. It's good to see a strong female role-model coming out on top, so well done Janette Davies. Even the old crocks, in spite of being professional medical people deserve a second chance and it's exhilarating to welcome Sarah-Jane and Mark as newly- weds second time around. So what if their grown up children disapprove? They'll come round in the end

           Some Day I'll Find You by Richard Madeley. And then, in a shattering instant, it came: the ferocious eruption of total war. The country woke, stunned to find that the long stalemate had evaporated in a single night, in the smoke and fury of an enemy assault so savage, so overwhelming, that all foolish hopes that catastrophe might yet be averted vanished as though they had never been. Madeley chose a pre-war setting of the Weald in Kent with events leading up to the second world war with some insight into the pity of war immortalised by Owen. The Arnolds are deeply affected by the war as one would expect. In the second part, the story moves into post-war mode and the setting is the south of France. The excitement and tension of the war reaches an anti-climax and we are left with a touch of the thriller genre, plunging into the sordid world of the Mafia. The Arnolds were a wealthy and privileged family and contrast sharply with the poverty-stricken James Bla

There's a stillness around the place that I Could not have envisaged. An unwelcoming gloom, A veil of darkness smothering the air, Poisoning the atmosphere coupled with an eerie silence That threatens to invade the nooks and crannies Of existence. No more early morning calls, dawn raids Or catnapping on your favourite chair on the terrace, No leisurely strolling around the garden, sniffing and Stalking innocent birds or late night caterwauling. The end of an era little buddy, life spent, down and definitely out. Copyright 2014. Permission must be obtained from the author before reproduction of this poem.

Jessie 1995-2014. "It's time," he said as I withdrew into my battered shell. Is there ever a right time to go? To leave this earth? To shuffle off this mortal coil? Or to go gently into that good night? To drift from this world into oblivion, to die and go we know not where? Without a soul to live on. No spirit left. Nothingness. No trace of your existence even. Just fading memories. How sad.     When everyone deserted me, you were there, always there, My faithful friend, constant, offering me unconditional love, Well-needed companionship. A well-travelled cat, British through and through, Full of the zest of life until you ended your days here in Spain. Welcoming that eternal slumber to end your pain for ever.     I was there right to the bitter end, holding you, stroking you, already grieving As you peacefully slipped away. "It's time," he said. Goonight Jessie. God bless.   Copyright 2014. Permission must be obta