Book Review: The Connection Game by S. S. Turner

 The Connection Game

by

S. S. Turner

Publisher: The Story Plant

Publication date: 21st March 2023

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 336

Source: Courtesy of the author

 

Review: The Connection Game

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It was one crazy ride and most of it went way over my head.

 

Benny Basilworth was a genius, a trivia whiz and could easily pick connections between random items. He uses this gift to win a large amount of money on a quiz show and then loses it all through online theft (you will have to suspend your disbelief here a little. The guy was a computer genius!)

He and his family move to a basement flat and he spirals into depression, watching the feet of passersby.  

 

This is where the story got weird for me. For months Benny watches shoes passing by his window and names people by the shoes they wear. He starts to concoct a conspiracy theory involving these people. I was completely baffled but I pushed on. It isn't until the end of the story that the reader is told what the whole thing is about. Then, it all made sense.

 

If you love conspiracy theories and madcap characters The Connection Game is the perfect read. I'm afraid it was a little too offbeat for me. 

3 / 5   ⭐⭐⭐

About the author

SS Turner is the author of Secrets of a River Swimmer, an inspirational and humorous novel about finding the right pathway forward amidst the challenges of modern life. The novel was inspired by his experiences of swimming in the River Tweed when he lived in Scotland.

SS Turner worked in the global fund management sector for many years. But it wasn't for him. In recent years he's been focused on inspiring positive change through his writing. He now lives in Australia with his wife, daughter, son, one playful dog, two bossy cats, and ten fluffy chickens.

 

 

Book Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

 Black Ice

by

Becca Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication date: 7th October 2014

Genre: Young Adult / Thriller 

Pages: 392

Source: Own 

 

Review: Black Ice

Black Ice has been sitting on my bookshelf since January 2015 and I was so pleased that a prompt from the  Dymocks Reading Challenge had me pulling it from the shelf.

 

Black Ice is a genre mash-up of young adult, suspense and romance. Heavy on the suspense and light on the romance but it's definitely a huge part of the plot with the romance simmering under the surface.

 

I was pulled straight into the story with a gripping prologue. The story then jumps forward one year with teenage friends Britt and Korbie heading to a cabin in Grand Teton National Park for their school break when they encounter a severe snow storm and have to abandon their car. Making their way to a secluded cabin inhabited by two men. The girls think they are finally safe but soon find out the men are on the run from the law.

 

This is an edge-of-your-seat thriller filled with heart-pumping suspense. I found myself picking the book up every spare moment I had. I did guess the twists early in the book however that didn't spoil my pleasure because I was holding my breath waiting for the characters to find out what I had already suspected.

It comes with a little bit of teenage angst, but not overdone. Black Ice is a gripping, survival in the snowy wilderness, story that will have you eagerly turning the pages.

5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author (from Goodreads)

Becca Fitzpatrick grew up reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden with a flashlight under the covers. She graduated college with a degree in health, which she promptly abandoned for storytelling. When not writing, she's most likely prowling sale racks for reject shoes, running, or watching crime dramas on TV. She is the author of the bestselling HUSH, HUSH Saga.

 

 

Book Review: Reaching Through Time by Shauna Bostock

 Reaching Through Time

by

Shauna Bostock

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication date: 4th July 2023

Genre: Non-Fiction

Pages: 352

RRP: $34.99AU (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

Review: Reaching Through Time

With Reaching Through Time Shauna Bostock has delivered an extensively researched family history going back generations, with interesting facts on Indigenous and Australian history included.

I love family research and genealogy and it doesn't just have to be my own. I can pore over anyone's family tree for hours. Births, deaths, marriages and connections between families fascinates me.

Shauna includes a family tree at the front of the book and I kept turning back to it to see where each relative came in.

You never know what you will find when you start researching your ancestry and Shauna did discover that one ancestor was a slave trader in England. I liked that this book was an honest account of her ancestry and the bad wasn't covered up or omitted.

I enjoyed every aspect of Shauna's book. Her writing is very personable and open. I was astounded by how much research, travel and time went into uncovering all the details and there are pages and pages of sources listed in the back which is a testament to this fact.

Pages of photo inserts are included which give an added connection whilst reading. Thank you Shauna for sharing your precious family photos. They are a beautiful addition to the book.

Reaching Through Time is perfect for readers who enjoy Aboriginal history, Australian history and exploring the past.

4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

A formaer primary school teacher, Shauna Bostock's curiosity about her ancestors took her all the way to a PhD in Aboriginal history.

Book Review: Look Both Ways by Linwood Barclay

 Look Both Ways

by

Linwood Barclay

They think as one. They act as one. They kill as one.

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

Publication date: 3 August 2022

Genre: Crime / Thriller

Pages: 448

RRP: $32.99AU  (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

Review: Look Both Ways 

I am a big fan of Linwood Barclay's novels and I love how he develops his truly evil characters with no morals. So, I was a bit sceptical about a story involving self-drive cars. I mean, how evil can a car be? Very evil apparently!

Barclay has picked the perfect setting; an island where accessibility is limited.

Everyone on Garrett Island has been given battery powered self-drive cars. For one month these voice activated cars will do all the driving. For one month there will be no road deaths and no accidents as the cars communicate and monitor everything around them. Sounds like heaven, what could possibly  go wrong?

Look Both Ways was one wild ride and I was on the edge of my seat as the AI in the cars started working together and turn against their owners.

The cliff-hanger chapter endings had me compelled to keep the pages turning. The dark humour interspersed throughout the story kept me amused and as it moved along the pace picked up and the book becomes very hard to put down.

I didn't think this was going to be in the usual Barclay style however he did come through with the murder, mayhem and jaw-dropping twists I have come to expect.

Look Both Ways will have you looking at self-drive cars in a whole new light.

 

5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Linwood Barclay is an international bestselling crime and thriller author with over twenty critically acclaimed novels to his name, including the number one bestseller No Time For Goodbye. Linwood has sold more then 7 million copies globally, his books have been sold in more than 39 countries around the world. Born in the US, his parents moved to Canada just as he was turning four, and he has lived there ever since. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Neetha. They have two grown children.

Book Review: Don't Make a Fuss: It's only the Claremont serial killer by Wendy Davis

 Don't Make a Fuss

It's only the Claremont serial Killer

by

Wendy Davis

Publisher: Fremantle Press

Publication date: 1st June 2022

Genre: Non-Fiction (memoir)

Pages: 216

Source: own copy

 

Review: Don't Make a Fuss: It's only the Claremont Serial Killer

Don't Make a Fuss is a brave and courageous memoir highlighting the ongoing culture of women's unimportance and  suppression.

 

Wendy was attacked at her workplace by Bradley Edwards. Wendy's attack was minimised and her account ignored by both police and authorities. Edwards went on to murder two, possibly three, women in the Claremont area which sparked a police investigation spanning decades.

Wendy Davis tells her story in this important novel broken up between present-day and the current investigation, and at the time of the attack 30 years ago and how it affected her.

I was appalled how the initial attack on Wendy had little consequence for the perpetrator, brushed under the carpet. However, it affected Wendy's life for years to come.

The story made me angry how crimes against women are being downplayed and because Wendy had a strong personality her trauma was devalued. She was expected to just get on with it.

I can't even fathom the monumental stress she has had to live with during the dragged out court case with years passing from arrest to sentence of this evil man.

I do hope that writing this book has been cathartic for Wendy. However, I am sure that the events of 1990 will be with her forever.

Thank you Wendy for this insightful memoir. We need to make a fuss and not only be heard but also actioned upon appropriately 

4 /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review: Four Dogs Missing by Rhys Gard

 Four Dogs Missing

by

Rhys Gard

Publisher: Echo Publishing

Publication date: 4th July 2023

Genre: Crime

Pages: 324

RRP: $32.99 (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

Review: Four Dogs Missing

Four Dogs Missing is the riveting debut crime novel by Rhys Gard.

 

Oliver is a recluse living in the small rural town of Mudgee, where everyone wants to know your business, he is viewed as unfriendly and standoffish however no-one can deny that he makes award winning wines. Oliver has a family history that he would prefer no-one knew about.

I was immediately pulled into the mystery as Theo, Oliver's identical twin brother, arrives at the vineyard after 15 years of no contact.

There are multiple mysteries running through the storyline and as the body count starts to mount with no clear motive for the murders,all clues point to Oliver.

Four Dogs Missing has an intricate and twisty plot. I was bouncing back and forward as to who I thought the murderer was.

Rhys's characters are complex and we are given a huge insight into their individual thoughts and personalities. This gave me an added connection to the characters which in turn had me eager for another book involving the same characters. Let's just say I'm not ready to let them go just yet.

Rhys Gard portrays an astute sense of the remoteness and solitude the area evokes which adds to the overall atmosphere of the story.

Four Dogs Missing is not your typical police procedural crime novel as Oliver, the winemaker, does all the detective work himself, leaving the police mostly in the dark.

If you like your crime with a splash of good wine, this is the book for you!

5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Rhys Gard is a writer and a chef. Between careers, he studies English and Film at the University of New South Wales. He has worked as a journalist, marketer, wine writer and restaurateur. He lives in Mudgee. Four Dogs Missing is his first novel.

Book Review: The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street by Marlish Glorie

 The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street

by

Marlish Glorie

Publisher: Fremantle Press

Publication date: 2nd May 2023

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 304

RRP: $32.99AU (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Beauty and Lace Book Club

 

My review of The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street

The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street was originally published in 2009 and has been re-released by Fremantle Press with a new, modern updated cover.

The book opens on quite a dramatic scene as Helen has  had enough of her husband's hoarding and living with dead people's belongings, she drags her bed outside and attacks it with an axe.

Helen, hoping to start a new life, eventually leaves her husband and with the help of her long-time neighbour, Astrid, she buys an old rundown bookshop. 

I quite enjoyed this quirky and poignant story about the messiness that is family. Glorie shows how serious hoarding can destroy relationships. Helen and Arnold's two sons had left home to get away from the mess and they very rarely saw them but when they heard their mother had actually left their father, both boys found their way home.

Marlish Glorie's writing is witty and candid. I felt this story was a bit of a tragi-comedy. It's a story of love, loss and grief, of second chances and doing the best you can. I loved the finely nuanced characters, all inexplicably tied to each other. The story is funny at times and at other times quite profound.

I'm a bit of a hoarder myself, not to the extent that Arnold hoards, but I love teacups and teapots. And of course books!

This quote in the book had me in stitches, because this is exactly what I tell my children. 🤣🤣

"One day, all this will be yours. And Vivian's. It's your inheritance. I've been thinking about your future."

 The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street may not be to everyone's liking, but I loved it!

5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Marlish Glorie is a novelist, short story writer, mentor and teacher of creative writing. Her short stories have been published in national anthologies. Marlish lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband. She is currently working on another novel, and also volunteers at Trillion Trees.