Tag: memes

Top Ten Tuesday: Thanksgiving/Thankful Freebie

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Top Ten Tuesday new

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Thanksgiving/Thankful Freebie giving us free rein to come up with our own take on the topic.  As later this month it will be the two year blogiversary of  What Cathy Read Next, I thought I’d use this opportunity to express my gratitude to the many individuals, groups and organisations who have made the book blogging community such a fantastic thing to be part of.

In no particular order, my thanks to…

  1. Everyone who follows my blog, likes and comments on my book reviews and shares them on social media
  2. The book bloggers who have helped me discover fantastic new authors and who write such wonderful reviews that my wishlist and TBR pile have grown exponentially over the past two years!
  3. All the publishers (too many to mention individually) who have sent me review copies, invited me to participate in blog tours or approved my requests on NetGalley
  4. The blog tour organisers who have included me in their list of tour hosts and who work with such professionalism and efficiency in support of authors
  5. The lovely authors who have sent me review copies of their books and waited so patiently for my reviews
  6. My local library for ensuring reading is an activity available to everyone
  7. The organisers of literary festivals and their brilliant volunteers for providing such fantastic opportunities for book lovers to hear from and mingle with authors
  8. Authors for writing stories that amaze, thrill and inspire us, and that make us laugh, cry and, mostly importantly, think
  9. My family and friends for their encouragement and support with my blogging endeavours
  10. The Book Connectors Facebook group for being (thanks to founder, Anne Cater) a source of valuable advice, information and mutual support as well as a (much-needed) place for intelligent and respectful debate between authors and book bloggers

Thank You

Throwback Thursday: No Ordinary Killing by Jeff Dawson

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ThrowbackThursday

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme created by Renee at It’s Book Talk.  It’s designed as an opportunity to share old favourites as well as books that we’ve finally got around to reading that were published over a year ago.

Today I’m revisiting a book I reviewed in March 2017 – No Ordinary Killing by Jeff Dawson.  Originally published by Endeavour Press in March 2017, it was reissued by Canelo in May 2018 with a new cover.

I really enjoyed No Ordinary Killing, as you will see from my review below.  I wasn’t the only one impressed either.  Sarah Ward, author of A Patient Fury, said: ‘Dawson has produced a strong thriller with something to say… An intriguing mix of John Buchan style adventuring and well researched period detail, full of superstition, mistrust and political intrigue… A very strong debut.’  Regular followers of this blog will know of my passion for John Buchan so any comparison to his adventure novels is high praise indeed in my book.

The Cold North SeaYou’ll also understand my excitement when I saw that Jeff has written a sequel, The Cold North Sea, (due to be published by Canelo on 3rd December) and my delight when I was approved for an advance reader copy on NetGalley.

The Cold North Sea is available to pre-order from Amazon UK.

No Ordinary Killing NewAbout No Ordinary Killing

The Empire has a deadly secret…

1899, South Africa: As the Boer War rages, Captain Ingo Finch of the Royal Army Medical Corps pieces together casualties at the front. Then, recovering in Cape Town, he is woken by local police. A British officer has been murdered, and an RAMC signature is required for the post-mortem.

Shocked by the identity of the victim, the bizarre nature of the crime and what appears a too-convenient resolution, Finch turns detective. He is soon thrust into a perilous maze of espionage and murder.

Along with an Australian nurse, Annie, and an escaped diamond miner, Mbutu, Finch finds he has stumbled on a terrifying secret, one that will shake the Empire to its core…

Format: ebook (401 pp.)    Publisher: Canelo
Published: 28th May 2018     Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Mystery

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find No Ordinary Killing on Goodreads

My Review

This is an impressive debut with a convincing period setting and a strong narrative full of twists and turns as the plot unfolds against the background of the Boer War.  The “no ordinary killing” of the title refers to the death of an army colleague of the protagonist, Captain Ingo Finch.

The story is told both from his point of view and from the point of view of Mbutu Kefaleze, a native runner (and to a lesser extent, Annie Jones, a volunteer nurse).   I found the story line involving Mbutu was particularly well told and engaging.   Although she plays an important part in events in the latter half of the book, I would have liked the character of Annie Jones to have been developed further with the reader given more from her point of view.

The different strands of the story run in parallel with the reader left to guess at the connection between them until the point the author chooses to reveal it.   The mystery is skilfully sustained right to the end of the book with plenty of action, intrigue, red herrings, secrets, murder, lies and “who can you really trust?” moments along the way.

The plot positively zips along helped by the alternating points of view and relatively short chapters usually ending with an element of suspense.  I particularly liked the walk-on part for the creator of a famous detective.    This is a very enjoyable historical mystery with an interesting period setting.

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In three words: Well-researched, action-packed, mystery

Try something similar…The Price of Compassion by A. B. Michaels (read my review here)

Jeff Dawson CaneloAbout the Author

Jeff Dawson is a journalist, author and screenwriter. He has been the US Editor of Empire magazine and a long-time feature writer for The Sunday Times’ Culture section. His non-fiction books include an approved biography of Quentin Tarantino; the football history Back Home (“Truly outstanding” — The Times), and WW2 shipwreck tale, Dead Reckoning, nominated for the Mountbatten Maritime Prize. No Ordinary Killing is his first novel. (Photo credit: Canelo author page)

Connect with Jeff

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