Book Review

Most people outside the UK most likely wont know who Peter Kay is..well I'm here to tell you all about the comedian from Bolton, UK. He has written an autobiography of his life and people will be surprised to learn that its not your usual "..and this horrid thing happened in my life" or "I came to the end of the road and had to be picked up by...." Not that usual stuff (although I'm not saying those types of autobiographies are not worth reading. I've read a few in my time and enjoyed them as much as Peter Kay's book, and I own a few)

Peter Kay centers more on the funny sides of his life. There are a few death stories mentioned but all are talked about in the happier times of that persons life or by talking about the Right Said Fred tune his dog died to. This autobiography kept me in laughs all the way through. He talks about all the jobs he was fired from, the reasons, the funny sides to all his jobs and how a lie on an application form for University finally helped him become the comedian he is today. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Even people outside the UK. I'm sure anyone will laugh at his life story. I give this a rating of 9/10. I'll be re-reading this again once I've read through the 7 James Patterson books I got for christmas !!

The big book review

Whats the one thing you can do when you've got no computer and no access to the internet? Masturbation, I hear you say? WRONG. You read books. Lots of them. I went on a shopping spree of books while I was offline. Which leads me to the post topic. A big book review.

To give some people an idea of book reviews I've already done, I've found the links to them. (just incase someone might be interested) So far I've reviewed Richard Laymon, Patricia Cornwell and Jack Kerley.

I don't know why I havent reviewed this next authors books before. I read one awhile back and loved every chapter. From then on, I got hooked. James Patterson has a way of writing that just draws me in from chapter one. That's how I managed to get through a few of his books while offline for those 2 weeks. So starts my big book review. Enjoy!

Beach Road: This title starts with the rape of a young black girl: Nikki Robinson is cleaning the mansion on Beach Road owned by the Merrick family, when the owner's son assaults her. Then, three teenage boys are shot dead on the beach - one is Michael Merrick, and one of the black kids accused of the murders is Nikki's half-brother, Eli. Defending them isn't going to be easy. No witness to the murders can be found. The rich local community don't want any murky secrets revealed about life in the Hamptons. And Tom and Kate, the two lawyers working on the case, haven't exactly been on good terms since their affair broke up.
My Review: This is the book that got me hooked. So many twists and turns that keep you begging for more, which makes you read as much chapters as you can. It's hard to put down. James Patterson tends to make each chapter, in every book, about 2-3 pages long. Which in my mind makes it so easy to keep reading. The amount of different characters in this book does not confuse you. It starts off by telling you who each character is. Then it carries the story really well. It's a must read if the you manage to get your hands on a copy.

Mary, Mary: Hollywood's most famous stars are being murdered one by one. The killer is known only as Mary Smith. Is Mary really a woman? Or just someone playing the part? With the LAPD and FBI clueless, it's up to Alex Cross to track down the truth
My Review: I bought this in a sale and I thought it might have been a bad idea. It's the 11th book in the Alex Cross series. The first two books became movies that you might have heard of. (Along came a Spider and Kiss the Girls) With it being the 11th book, I thought I would be confused with the character of Alex Cross. How wrong I was. Dispite the mention of past story lines popping up here and there, I wasnt confused at all. You got to know the character and how he ticks and again, it kept me hooked. I read it in 2 days.

2nd Chance: A brutal madman sprays bullets into a crowd of children leaving a San Francisco church. Miraculously-or was it intentionally?-only one person dies. Then an elderly black woman is hung. Police homicide inspector Lindsay Boxer senses a connection and together with medical examiner Claire, assistant D. A. Jill, and Chronicle reporter Cindy, finds a link that sends a chill through the entire nation. This killer's motives are unspeakable.
My Review: Again, I thought I had made a mistake starting to read a book that was the 2nd in a series, and again, I was wrong lol. This is about The Women's Murder Club. Showing you that women can hold powerful roles in a story and in real life. I happened to find this book in my mum's collection and as Mary, Mary..I had it finished in 2 days. Kept me gripped from start to finish.

5th Horseman: A young mother is recuperating in a San Francisco hospital when she is suddenly gasping for breath. The call button fails to bring help in time. The hospital's doctors, some of the best in the nation, are completely mystified by her death. How did this happen?
My Review: As you can see, I have a habit of not caring which order I read the books in. This is the 5th installment of The Women's Murder Club. Need I say it again? It got me hooked and it was finished in less than 2 days. You're not lost in the story at all. You're never lost in the character stories either. Yet more proof that you need to get reading a James Patterson book.

Pop Goes The Weasel: Geoffrey Shafer, the Weasel, works in Intelligence in the British Embassy in D.C. He and three twisted friends play a Game of Death that involves unsuspecting women around the world.
My Review: This is the last review. I promise (for now) Another Alex Cross story. 5th in the series. I actually couldnt stop turning the pages. I needed to know how the killer was caught. So I ended up reading this book in a day. Yet again...easy to get into. Each chapter about 2-3 pages long. It's proof that the whole Alex Cross series of books have to be read from start to finish. I do have loads more books written by James Patterson, which I've not read yet. I will be talking about them on here when I've started and finished reading them.

Go out and buy a James Patterson book. You'll love them all. GO GO GO!

Book review

Thirty years after his death, Marsden Hexcamp's ‘Art of the Final Moment’ remains as sought after as ever. But this is no ordinary collection. Hexcamp's portfolio was completed with the aid of a devoted band of acolytes – and half a dozen victims, each of whom was slowly tortured to death so that their final agonies could be distilled into art.
When tiny scraps of Hexcamp's ‘art’ begin appearing at murder scenes alongside gruesomely displayed corpses, Detective Carson Ryder and his partner Harry Nautilus must go back three decades in search of answers.
Meanwhile an auction has been announced and the death collectors are gathering. These wealthy connoisseurs of serial-killer memorabilia will pay millions to acquire Hexcamp's art – unless Carson and Harry can beat them in their quest for the anti-grail.

This book is fantastic. Written by the author Jack Kerley, and one in a series of Detective Carson Ryder stories, it kept me hooked. Although it took me awhile to read, (not because of the book and story itself but because of things going on with myself), every new chapter got me wanting more, and I must admit that sometimes the story did drag a little. With very little new information being told to you. Dispite this, I suggest that the next time you're looking for a book to read, pick up a copy of this. The story before this edition is called The Hundredth Man and from what I can gather, the next edition is called The Broken Souls. With another novel called A Garden of Vipers. I'll be buying The Hundredth Man this week. Jack Kerley has now taken place next to Patricia Cornwell in my must buy books.

Scottish TV

Most people who might read this wont actually be scottish but the reason for this post is to urge everyone to take up reading and to hopefully expand their reading material to another author.

The author I'm talking about is Ian Rankin.

Bestselling crime-writer Ian Rankin was born in Fife, Scotland, in 1960. He was educated at Edinburgh University. On graduating he worked for the civil service, later working as a researcher and journalist.His first published book was The Flood (1986). Knots and Crosses (1987) was the first in a series of novels featuring Inspector John Rebus and set in contemporary Scotland. Ian Rankin is married with two sons, and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was awarded an OBE in 2002.

The new Rebus starts very soon on Scottish TV and I cant wait! Anyone who hasnt read an Ian Rankin novel, get to your nearest bookstore/library and start reading them. You wont regret it!

Ian Rankin's Rebus
Rebus on STV
Ian Rankin facts

book review

This is the sequel to Black Notice. Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta continues her life-long, self-imposed quest to make right what is wrong, but this time she is forced not only to defend those who have been victimized but also herself. Against a system that has turned on her, long-time enemies, ghosts from her past, and her own carefully guarded emotions Dr. Scarpetta must find the proof that will send a killer to jail and prove herself innocent in the process.

This book belonged to my mum and she was always talking highly of Patricia Cornwell and this made my mind up that I would read at least one novel of hers. There is a whole series of Kay Scarpetta stories and I think this is the 10th. With not having read the first few books, I thought I would get lost in the plot and wouldnt understand the story. I was wrong. Throughout the book, everything about Kay Scarpetta's background is explained to you. Her past relationships and hardships and even though I thought it was somewhat slow to start with, I really enjoyed reading it.

Post mortem's have always interested me and, although it's not descibed in great detail, this book takes you into her life and the post mortem's she has to struggle to do. As I said before, it did seem a little slow to start with but I highly suggest that others read this. It is an eventful story and if you're anything like me, it'll interest you to read more about Kay Scarpetta and her life as a medical examiner in Richmond, Virginia. I give this book a rating of 8/10

you will need media flash player to view the Patricia Cornwell site

Book Review

The Cellar by Richard Laymon

This book, in fact, was written after he read a book by Stephen King, and it soon became his first best selling novel, with which he detached from his previous nasty, dark suspense thrillers, veering toward the supernatural horror. He decided to come up with a new sort of evil being, rather than build a novel around standardized phenomena like vampires or werewolves. The 'beast' was the result. The Cellar was also inspired by visits to a couple of California tourist attractions: the Hearst Castle and the Winchester House. The original title for the book, besides, was Beast House. Unfortunately for him, the John Belushi film, Animal House, came along so Laymon's U.S. publisher decided to change the title, even though Laymon himself never thought highly of the choice. This is also showed by the fact that later, in the mid '80s, he released Beast House, intended as a sequel to The Cellar. Again, things didn't turn out exactly in the expected way, since Beast House wasn't actually marketed as a sequel. The Cellar sold well over 200,000 copies, it ended up on the B. Dalton bestseller for a month and it was even chosen as one of the 100 Best Horror Novels of All Time edited by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman.

My Review
The Cellar is actually telling 3 different sides to the story, which all start joining together. Main characters are Donna and Sandy Hayes (mother and daughter) who go on the run from her ex husband. They end up in a town which has a Beast House...a tourist attraction because of all the murders that happened there over the years. Judgement Rucker and Larry Maywood happen to meet and Larry seeks help from Judgement about a past experience, which then helps them meet with Donna and Sandy. Roy is Donna's ex husband and throughout the book, he's looking to find her... I started reading this book lastnight (well, this morning) at about 2am. I finished the book at 6:30am. I just couldnt put it down. it kept me gribbed throughout. I highly suggest this book for anyone who's into reading supernatural horror books...even thoughs who arent into those types of books. Richard Laymon, in my opinion, is an amazing writer and this isnt the first book I've read of his. The other kept me gripped to. I suggested it to other people and they also loved it. One person who isnt into this type of book, has now started buying the others he has written. So, go out and buy it or head down the local library. The Cellar It's a must read! (thanks to Rachi for suggesting Richard Laymon books to me)