Trophy Hunting

She’d loved animals her whole life.

When her friends expressed their sadness that no one was hunting the hunters of animals, she decided to rectify the situation. She was the ideal candidate. In her normal job, as a soldier behind enemy lines, she’d killed animal abusers when given the chance and the animals were given some respite from their ordeals.

Now she was not undercover. She was on holiday, travelling on the trains in Spain and Portugal.

There were no colleagues to back her up. She would have to take risks.

She doesn’t keep a diary of the deaths, but does like to write about the history of the places she has visited. This makes her seem like a normal human being – even when she isn’t.

This book is available at a discount here between 30th January and 1st February.

Goat Parva Murders

This excerpt is from the book entitled The Goat Parva Murders an English Murder Mystery book set in the countryside, starring two policemen who have been working together for a few years and get along really well. There’s lots of dialogue and banter with some humour thrown in amongst the murders and suspects.

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Adelaide Hills was walking along the path between Doggett’s Field and the river when her retriever, Bingo, started barking madly. He was always energetic on his morning walk but today he did seem particularly fascinated with some footprints in the mud. She pulled Bingo away and they carried on towards the Baker-Clements’ mansion with Bingo looking back at all times.

“Come on, Bingo,” she shouted, “any more of this prancing in the mud and I’ll have to hose you down when we get home.”

Bingo ran off into the bushes near the Baker-Clements’ garden; a pheasant flew away towards the river. Mrs Hills then saw Carly Waferr heading towards her carrying the mushroom basket that accompanied her on morning walks during the week.

“Good morning, Carly, found a good crop this morning, have you?”

“I has,” said Carly, putting an arm across the top of the basket, “and you can’t have any. Unless you come for lunch of course,” she added smilingly.

“Oh thank you, Carly, I’d love to, as long as they’re not poisonous of course.”

“Be no poisonous mushrooms in them woods,” said Carly, “well not poisonous to me at least, but I’m probably immune now. I ate a couple this morn.” She moved her head around in an anti-clockwise direction for five seconds before shaking her head vigourously.

“Are you sure – you seem dizzy?”

“That’s just the hangover from the rhubarb and dandelion wine last night; Emma left for Edinburgh late so we shared a nightcap afore she went.”

“What’s she studying again?”

“Medicine – oh – look what your dog’s found – a shoe.”

“Bingo, you naughty dog, put that down immediately.”

“How come dogs never find pairs of shoes; just one at a time? My shoes need throwing away, so I s’pose I should head to the animal shelter and borrow a couple of their retrievers and let ‘em loose; hopefully they’d bring back a matching pair.”

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

This was the first time I’d read a book by Neil Gaiman.

This is more of a fairy tale than say Terry Pratchett’s books.

In Stardust we have the story of Tristan Thorn who lives in the earthly village of Wall, which is well named as it’s right by an ancient barrier that separates it from the magical lands of Faerie. Every nine years people from Wall are allowed to pass through a hole in the barrier to attend a market on the other side.

During the market Tristan and the girl he loves called Victoria Forester witness a star fall to earth on the far side of the barrier. In order to win her heart, Tristan resolves to bring the fallen star back for Victoria.

This book is mainly about Tristan’s adventures in the land of Faerie. He meets the star, witches, a unicorn, potential heir(s) to the Lordship of Stormhold, and the crew of a sky ship. Just so you’re aware not all the characters survive, in fact there are some real pyschopaths on the loose in Faerie, but there’s a happy ending of a kind when two Mondays come together in the same week.

Biggles and the Black Peril

This is a fine read, a really good story, set in 1934 in which we’re introduced to the character called Ginger, who’s a really imaginative thinker and notices things that Biggles, Smyth, and Algy don’t.

Biggles is forced down off the Norfolk coast by bad weather and as always, stumbles across something strange going on. He finds some equipment intended for military use by a foreign power (no not that one) and gets involved when he’s trapped inside a large bomber and taken on a journey to the Northumberland coast.

He escapes and meets up with pals before they fly off to continetal Europe where they encounter the mysterious Blackbeard who chases them back towards England.

On the negative side, I should say there are no female characters in this book, which dates the story and makes it less interesting. Biggles leads a charmed life and has plenty of luck, in a similar vein to James Bond. Some of the words used to describe people not from the UK are of the time and sound dated now.

On the positive side, although guns are in the story, there’s no glorification of violence and indeed one of the characters feels guilty about shooting at someone in self defence.

The Hobbit – Review

First published in Great Britain in 1937, The Hobbit must be one of the most influential books of the first half of the 20th Century and should be read by anyone who enjoys a good story.

Bilbo Baggins is the only son of Belladonna Took and Bungo Baggins and lives in a hobbit hole in Bag-End, Under-Hill. One day he’s visited in his hole by the wizard Gandalf and invites him for tea the following day.

On the following day, not only does Gandalf arrive, but so do 13 dwarves led by Thorin. Bilbo is persuaded to go on an adventure where he will act as a burglar and repossess treasure that has been stolen by Smaug.

Smaug is a dragon who lives alone in the Lonely Mountain and whose only purpose is to guard the treasure he stole from the dwarves during the reign of Thorin’s grandfather. Smaug sleeps on the treasure and has exceptional eyesight and hearing.

And so begins an epic tale of overcoming the odds and dealing with exceptional circumstances. Bilbo and his new friends encounter goblins but escape. Bilbo meets Gollum but answers enough riddles correctly to leave without being harmed. The goblins surround Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves in a forest but are rescued in the nick of time by eagles. Next they meet a giant called Beorn. The dwarves are imprisoned by massive spiders but are rescued by Bilbo. They escape from elves and reach the Lonely Mountain where Bilbo meets Smaug for the first time.

As for what happens next, who survives, and who doesn’t survive I can only say you should read the book and find out.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold – Review

A few hours after marrying Angela Vicario her husband, Bayardo San Roman, returns his bride to her parents. Angela’s family force her to name her first lover and once she does that, Santiago Nasar is doomed as Angela’s twin brothers are determined on revenge and let everyone know what they’re intending to do.

This book ended with the murder and can be accurately described as a murder / mystery but unlike every other book of this type I’ve ever read, the situation became more mysterious the longer the story went on for, not less mysterious. Attitudes aren’t explained and made clear, they’re added to and shrouded in darkness.

The Caribbean town where the book is set really came to life though I can understand why the local bishop chose not to stop there. He blessed the town from onboard his boat as it sailed by.

Santiago Nasar was from Arab stock unlike the majority of the people in the town, but his death didn’t spark off a vendetta between the two groups. Instead, everyone seemed to accept it was the right thing to happen, even though there was no proof that Santiago Nasar had been the lover of Angela Vicario. It’s not explained why no one tried to stop the murder happening when most people knew it was going to take place.

All very mysterious.

Our Cats in Amsterdam – Review

Our Cats in Amsterdam is the sequel to The Diary of a Buddhist Cat.

This is the link to the review on Reedsy:

Freddie and Gemma’s combination of daring rescues, apprehension of thieves, and stealthy listening skills have come to the attention of the crows at Europol. Recruited to spy on the mafia, diamond smugglers, and human traffickers in Amsterdam, our heroes face many dangers.

With the help of some Stoic philosophy, Gemma adapts quickly to spying. She also finds a fondness for giving away other people’s money at every available opportunity. It’s all thanks to her amazing memory and keyboard skills.

Some crows, squirrels, a parakeet, a kingfisher, and even a dog help Freddie and Gemma as they keep their eyes on Amsterdam’s underworld. When the stakes rise, both Freddie and Gemma are threatened. Can their friends save them as the menace escalates?
The sights of Amsterdam are always present, even as the team fight to save two Van Gogh paintings from thieves.

If I could describe this book in one word, I would say absolutely delightful. Okay that’s two words. If you haven’t had enough of looking at cat videos on your Facebook or Instagram and other social media, then this book is definitely for you.

An appropriately charming sequel to The Diary of a Buddhist Cat, Our Cats in Amsterdam by Julian Worker traces the travels and travails of Freddie and Gemma as they spy on diamond smugglers going all the way to Amsterdam.

So if you like all the many quirks of cats from being aloof or being lovable but at the same time indifferent or downright dramatic when hungry, then you will enjoy reading about the many quirks of Freddie and Gemma too.

Worker characterizes Gemma as a typical cat with an icy, cold demeanor which makes it difficult for her to as Freddie says, “humans call it breaking the ice”. I liked this funny wordplay but also because it is so true for cats that once you break the ice with them, break through their icy glare, they can be the fuzziest of all creatures!

Freddie’s quirk that I enjoyed was his love for reading different kinds of books from detective novels (which is apt since they were recruited for a spying mission!) to serious, deep ones like Heart of Darkness or Orwell’s 1984 or Animal Farm.

Journey into the Past – Stefan Zweig

This is such a sad book with an open ending but I can imagine what was going to happen.

Ludwig is a young German from a humble background who gains employment with a wealthy businessman. He falls in love with his employer’s wife and his love is returned and they make a vow to live together, but then Ludwig is sent to Mexico and before he can return WWI starts.

He is apart from the woman he loves but Ludwig has to make a life for himself on the ‘wrong’ side of the Atlantic and only returns to the land of his birth after 9 years away. The mutual attraction is still there…but can love truly make the journey into the past?

In the old park, in ice and snow caught fast
Two spectres walk, still searching for the past

The Night of Wenceslas by Lionel Davidson

Nicolas Whistler is a young man who lives in digs in London and spends most of his spare cash on his car. He has a girlfriend that he rather likes and a job he doesn’t like. He regularly goes down to Bournemouth to see his mum and her friend who both live in the same hotel.

His father had an interest in a Bohemian glassworks in Czechoslovakia. Nicolas receives some disturbing news from a solicitor that his uncle has died and left him an inheritance. Before he can acquire this money, he receives an offer from the solicitor to go to Prague and bring back a formula for some glass that will make the maker of it a fortune as it will be almost unbreakable. All Nicolas has to do is leave a guidebook on a desk in a glassworks he will visit near Prague and the formula will be placed in the flyleaf of the book. Nicolas meets a statuesque girl and this complicates things slightly but he returns to London clutching his guidebook and hands it over thinking his mission is over.

It isn’t.

The news about his uncle was a lie and unfortunately the formula he brought back is incomplete. He must go back to Prague and obtain the rest of the formula. This time his suspicions are aroused when he inspects the guidebook he’s been given before he visits the glassworks. It turns out Nicolas is being used by the authorities and he’s a spy, an unintentional spy. The Czechoslovak secret police interrogate and beat him, but he escapes and is on the run. He realises he can’t trust anyone, no one is actually who they seem, not even the girl he fell for in his previous visit.

What happens…well that would be telling. It’s a lovely book and I will read more by this author.

Our Cats in Amsterdam – Review

Our Cats in Amsterdam is the sequel to The Diary of a Buddhist Cat.

This is the link to the review on Reedsy:

Freddie and Gemma’s combination of daring rescues, apprehension of thieves, and stealthy listening skills have come to the attention of the crows at Europol. Recruited to spy on the mafia, diamond smugglers, and human traffickers in Amsterdam, our heroes face many dangers.

With the help of some Stoic philosophy, Gemma adapts quickly to spying. She also finds a fondness for giving away other people’s money at every available opportunity. It’s all thanks to her amazing memory and keyboard skills.

Some crows, squirrels, a parakeet, a kingfisher, and even a dog help Freddie and Gemma as they keep their eyes on Amsterdam’s underworld. When the stakes rise, both Freddie and Gemma are threatened. Can their friends save them as the menace escalates?
The sights of Amsterdam are always present, even as the team fight to save two Van Gogh paintings from thieves.

If I could describe this book in one word, I would say absolutely delightful. Okay that’s two words. If you haven’t had enough of looking at cat videos on your Facebook or Instagram and other social media, then this book is definitely for you.

An appropriately charming sequel to The Diary of a Buddhist Cat, Our Cats in Amsterdam by Julian Worker traces the travels and travails of Freddie and Gemma as they spy on diamond smugglers going all the way to Amsterdam.

So if you like all the many quirks of cats from being aloof or being lovable but at the same time indifferent or downright dramatic when hungry, then you will enjoy reading about the many quirks of Freddie and Gemma too.

Worker characterizes Gemma as a typical cat with an icy, cold demeanor which makes it difficult for her to as Freddie says, “humans call it breaking the ice”. I liked this funny wordplay but also because it is so true for cats that once you break the ice with them, break through their icy glare, they can be the fuzziest of all creatures!

Freddie’s quirk that I enjoyed was his love for reading different kinds of books from detective novels (which is apt since they were recruited for a spying mission!) to serious, deep ones like Heart of Darkness or Orwell’s 1984 or Animal Farm.