Carol Naylor's REVIEW it...

The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg. "She got what she deserved. That hussy was going to come to grief sooner or later." We are presented with a combination of romance and murder, a lighter version of a Scandi thriller. This is the first book in the series involving Erica Falck the writer and Patrik Hedstrom her lover. It is set in Fjallbacka, an old fishing village, the hometown of Erica and the scene of a cold-blooded murder where she returns after the tragic death of her parents. She had already published four books and was working on the draft of a fifth one on Selma Lagerlof but was behind schedule because of funeral arrangements and cleaning out the family home. Her Stockholm flat had been sub-let as she planned on remaining at her parents' house for the foreseeable future. Eilert Berg, a resident had been keeping an eye on the house belonging to Alex Wijkner. He was the one who discovered her lifeless body. He stumbled out in the street and foun

A Woman Scorned by Christine Smith. This murder mystery is the third book by local writer Christine Smith set mainly around Mojacar in Almeria, Spain. "She needed a sanctuary to return from the madness of her career, a safe haven of love and happiness. A place for normality." Robert Taylor represented that "normality" so desired by Clare White. He was a section leader for the local council, thirty-one years of age leading a mundane life: drinking every Friday night with Jim from work and lunch with his parents on Sundays. Not much of a hell-raiser! A domestic emergency disrupted the Friday routine and as Jim made a hurried exit, Clare White made a dramatic entrance and headed to where Robert was left supping his pint solo. Not a bad substitute, especially one that was beautiful. "Robert sat mesmerised; she was like some exotic creature, the like of which had never crossed his path before." Abruptly she disappeared telling Robert she wa

                       Manipulated Lives by H.A.Leuschel. "My emotions felt like they had tumbled from a great height, crashing onto sharp, rough rocks below. I started to doubt my own intuitions and judgements and there were some days when I was feeling like an empty shell." This is a collection of five short stories conveying a message that manipulation can ruin lives. Themes of deception and untrustworthy testaments distort the truth and it results in mayhem. Sophie, the narrator was tall, blonde with green eyes. She epitomises beauty. She worked part-time at a P.R. firm writing literary reviews for women's magazines as a freelancer. The story is set in London with a relaxing break to Brighton. It was when Sophie was visiting her private sports' club that she noticed a small and delicate boy who seemed to have been abandoned sitting in the children's play area. "He looked like a beautiful, fantastical character who'd walked straight out

                 Die Again by Tess Gerritsen.          "The circle of life is also a circle of death."           " Six years ago, in the bush, I found out what it's like to die. Don't ask me to die again?" For those of you who like gory and gripping thrillers with plenty of action then this is for you. This is Gerritsen's eleventh book in the Rizzoli and Isles series. If you're a Gerritsen fan  then you'll be aware of the hit t.v. series Rizzoli and Isles starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander. We  begin with a two week safari in Okavango Delta, Botswana, the experience of a lifetime for a group of seven: Millie Jacobson, one of the narrators with boyfriend and writer Richard Renwick, creator of MI5 hero Jackman Tripp, Sylvia and Vivian from Cape Town, Elliot from America and the Matsunagas from Japan. Unfortunately, Millie has been forced to accompany Richard but it doesn't take long before she feels despondent when she rea

         The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling. " We are the guardians of something unique. We are the custodians and the stewards of a shining principle. We do not turn our backs and look away from people in need." The tv drama was written by Sarah Phelps and produced by Ruth Kenley-Letts. Rowling herself was one of four executive producers. Set in what seems an idyllic setting, fictional Pagford turns out to be a village divided between the privileged do-gooders, the hypocrites in society with the trappings of middle-class affluence compared to the working class and their dodgy deals and drug abuse living in the Fields, a council estate on the doorstep of middle England. It might be said that Phelps and Rowling share a passion for social justice which is a myth in "The Casual Vacancy." Don't expect any. The story is heart-breaking. Phelps rewrote the ending which was bleak and too devastating for words. She went in search of a redemptive moment after t

                     Tess and Tattoos by H.A.Leuschel. Getting up in the morning " meant facing the same inevitable truth-that all she was really waiting for was death to make its appearance and that, when it did eventually happen, she'd not even know. Dead was dead." This short story is taken from "Manipulated Lives" a collection of five stories but it can be purchased as an ebook on its own. It's the story of Tess, an 82 year old, living in a serviced apartment for the elderly for three years, sadly waiting to die like many others. The setting provides a degree of tranquility and beauty for the elderly, frail occupants. It is Autumn, symbolic of the end of summer and everything it represents moving towards winter, reflecting the sad tone of a life coming to an end. Home is an attractive 3 storey, red-brick house built to outlast its occupants with "weathered faces and aching bones." We experience the wind howling as someone plays the

A World Without Colour by Bernard Jan. "Your presence in my life is like a room filled with lamps. When you're gone, the brightest, the prettiest one will go out. And leave behind the half-light of unclear shadows." You could almost hear John Donne speaking so reverently and adoringly to his lover in endearing terms. Metaphysics. This eulogy is full of love and sadly, a lot of heartache. It is written beautifully in such a poetic style to help us to empathise with the author over a difficult three day period in which his pet died. For animal lovers, attached to their pets it will be easy to identify with the emotional horror of seeing a sick animal dying, being helpless to do anything other than watch the angel of death end his suffering: "I knew I would stay with you until the end, that we would spend life together." It's an emotional outburst. It's just like losing a brother, a close relative you care for and whose loss you mourn. It be

                      Flight of a Lifetime by Philip Watling. "I was certainly not destined to die; I was not confronted with a tunnel, swirling with luminous mist, or beckoned by distant ancestors tempting me with the promise of everlasting peace and happiness. I did not see a bright light." You are presented here with an autobiographical account of a tragic accident that occurred to the author and left him struggling between life and death. Very much touch and go. This moving account shows his sheer, gritty determination and courage to pull back from the face of death and to learn those basic skills once more of talking, walking and just generally functioning as a "normal" human being instead of becoming a vegetable. It touches the heart strings and includes personal testimonials from family, friends and medical practitioners emphasizing the seriousness of Philip's head injury and his fight for survival through to his slow recovery. The book gives a

                       Lou's Homecoming by Stephan A. Onisick. " Sometimes, art echoes life. The uncanny death of the guest actor in the episode (Remember Me from Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman)resonated deeply within me. It paralleled the deaths of my father and half-brother, Lou." Stephan works as a Sharepoint Developer with Analytical Mechanics Associate contracted to NASA's International Space Station in Huntsville. This story goes back  twenty years to 1997 when the first episode of "Lou's Homecoming " was written. Twenty years down the line the draft was revisited, expanded and finally published as an ebook. It was January 1989. Our author was 38, married and living in Birmingham, Alabama when he received an unexpected call from someone called Lou Onisick claiming to be a relative. Stephan's father had been born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania in 1912. He had worked down the coal mines. His parents had come from Ukraine and they lived in a

                    The Lodger by C.L.Taylor. "My world becomes dark and loud as I'm tossed, turned and twisted. Over and over I turn, my breath burning in my lungs, the river roaring in my ears." Having read a couple of books by Cally which I have reviewed recently, I must admit that I've got a soft spot for dysfunctional people and families with unstable and unhappy relationships. It mirrors the lives of many of us. Some of us don't seem to get it right with the happy ever after bit. When 25 year old Joe is introduced you get the feeling that he is infatuated with Laura, the protagonist. Joe is Ian's brother, labelled the lady-killer, vivacious, outspoken and the look before you leap type, whatever that means! So, is he presented as a good guy or a bad one? Find out. Whilst at work, Laura receives an email from Ian, an old flame from her university days asking if she can put up Joe for a couple of nights because he has just been kicked ou

                     Pumpkin Farmer by Michael Hughes. This is presented as a satirical view of American society, two formidable characters, one weak and suicidal, the other, a dangerous man who likes to live on the edge of danger, suffering constant itches or bouts of boredom, high on drugs to get his kicks, with sadistic tendencies. Selfishness pervades the book and there is a superficiality about the attitude of the characters presented. The peripheral characters exude wealth and liberation but in selfish terms, a total disregard for humanity. It is a dark story and it's difficult to engage with any of them or warm to them. It seems to be a modern trend to introduce characters into a story who are flawed throughout without any redeeming qualities. Take Paula Hawkins, for instance: The Girl on the Train. " Another victim of reality, of predator and prey, that was how the world worked. It ate its weak, that was the truth." The story is set in 1979 and we