My Goodreads Review of Scary Mary by S.A. Hunter

Scary Mary by S.A. Hunter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, I didn't expect to finish this all in one day, but it was a really good book. Mary is a great character, typical 'individual' teenager from YA, but the interesting bit is that she hears ghosts. Cool start for me, because I love a good ghost story and the whole clairaudient thang is well handled in the prose.

It's a high school story, with evil cheerleaders and jocks as expected, but something about Mary and her friend, Rachel, kept me reading and I am all for a good cliche if it is written well, and these are.

The pace is slightly off for me at the end, it goes from a few bubbles to full-on boil in a heartbeat and the action at the end made me wonder how it all got covered up, but it was such a fun read that I'll forgive it the Poltergeist-like chaos at the end.

S.A. Hunter, good writer, left a few 'romantic' loose ends for the sequel, which actually I am tempted to go buy!

View all my reviews

My GoodReads Review for Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, I spent an extra 15 mins this morning finishing this off, because you can't interrupt a good Christie denouement!

I haven't read that many Christies, I pick one up every so often and make my way through it. And of the ones I have read, this comes near the top. It has good pace, economical description, giving us enough to understand the characters, but it does not dwell too long on anything - Ms Christie makes every word count.

I love her colourful characters, the Otterbournes, Cordelia, even Jacqueline de Belfour herself - the background characters have just enough to them to stop short of being caricatures and Agatha has a soft spot for the young women, because they have more depth than all the others.

I've seen several adaptations of this book on TV, one which was fairly faithful and another that was missing characters. I have to say, though, apart from the denouement, which doesn't actually happen in one go the book, I prefer the book, but I think the TV improved on the drama, if not the realism of the thing with an all in one accusation fest - let's face it, with Christie, no-one is looking for realism!

All in all, a good mystery (if I hadn't known already what had happened, I would not have got there the same time Poirot did, it is a fairly devious plot) and it is an easy read. It would make an excellent airport/flight book, easily finished during a transatlantic flight by any moderate reader (I'm not hugely fast).

View all my reviews

New Book of Christmas Poems

A little something to get you in the Christmas Spirit!

	Title:	Christmas Poems
	Author(s):	Sophie Duncan
	Date Pub: 5th Decemeber 2011
	Length: Poetry (6 poems)
	Genre: Christmas Poems, Christmas, All Ages
	Buying Options: Amazon UK £0.86 Kindle Amazon US $0.99 Amazon DE EUR 0.99 Amazon FR EUR 0.99 Amazon IT EUR 0.99 Amazon ES EUR 0.99 Smashwords $0.99 ePub, PDF, mobi(Kindle), rtf, ltf(Sony), Palm Doc, Plain txt
ISBN 978-1-908333-10-0, 978-1-908333-11-7
Description: Meet the battered old Christmas Fairy, or listen to a child's prayer on Christmas Eve; sympathise with a harried shopper, or think a while on the meaning of Christmas. The 6 poems in this book were written to be read aloud as the last lesson at a Christmas Day service in a little, English church. They can be enjoyed by anyone from 8 to 80.
You do not need an eReader to view this publication; there are Kindle aps available for most devices as well as formats for other eReaders, devices and PC. Please see FAQ item 11 for more info.
Excerpt: Baby Boy Baby boy, what are you? A king, they say? What king lies on a bed of straw When silk, or the finest cotton Should cradle a royal head? Baby boy, what are you? A Lord, they say? What Lord breathes stink of ass and ox Should only perfumes of jasmine And sweet musk suffice? Baby boy, what are you? Saviour, they say? Saviour in a humble stable, Born beneath a holy star A child and yet a king? Lord of Light, Peace and Joy, You are a Saviour, Saviour of the World. You are a lord, O Lord of Love. You are a king, King of my heart.
If you read and enjoy this title, please consider reviewing it at Smashwords or Amazon. Thank you.