THIS IMAGE ACCOMPANIED CAMILLE RAINVILLE’S WRITING WHEN I FIRST CAME ACROSS IT ON FACEBBOK ON A FRIEND’S PAGE. IT’S A BRILLIANT IMAGE AND, IF ANYONE KNOWS WHO PHOTOGRAPHED IT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN GIVE HER CREDIT FOR IT. TNANK YOU
A really powerful piece of writing I happened on whilst idly browsing. It bears reading more than once, twice, three times …so, for the first time ever I’ve blogged someone else’s work. (And followed her, of course).
Be a lady they said. Your skirt is too short. Your shirt is too low. Your pants are too tight. Don’t show so much skin. Don’t show your thighs. Don’t show your breasts. Don’t show your midriff. Don’t show your cleavage. Don’t show your underwear. Don’t show your shoulders. Cover up. Leave something to the imagination. Dress modestly. Don’t be a temptress. Men can’t control themselves. Men have needs. You look frumpy. Loosen up. Show some skin. Look sexy. Look hot. Don’t be so provocative. You’re asking for it. Wear black. Wear heels. You’re too dressed up. You’re too dressed down. Don’t wear those sweatpants; you look like you’ve let yourself go.
Be a lady they said. Don’t be too fat. Don’t be too thin. Don’t be too large. Don’t be too small. Eat up. Slim down. Stop eating so much. Don’t eat too fast. Order a salad. Don’t eat…
Sharon Bolton has a well deserved reputation as an excellent writer. Her plots are (more than) intricate with multiple characters all with clearly defined personalities. She never loses the thread of any of her multi-layered stories and holds the reader entranced to the very last word. The Pact could possibly be the most complicated novel she has written so far. It is certainly the most convoluted one I have read for quite a long time. The story has been outlined more than once by other reviewers, so I’m not going to rehash it here. Suffice to say, the six protagonists are an arrogant, privileged, self serving bunch that will make your hackles rise. But you will LOVE to hate them. Unforeseen revelations are thick on the ground as the end of the story looms ever nearer and I didn’t see one of them coming – the hallmark of a great write. The only small cavil I have is that the whole thing is wildly overblown and incredible but, in a strange way, it just enhanced the story more for me. One of the few books I will return to in the future. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I never thought I’d write these words but, deep breath, I’m about to give up on Stephen King. I struggled with ‘The Institute’ which read like it was written for teenagers but thought, well, it’s King, he’s allowed a turkey occasionally. But he seems to be intent on populating a whole farmyard, judging by his latest offering. Here’s my Amazon review and, in my humble opinion, I’m going easy on him. 1. The book arrived on my Kindle labelled as an unedited proof. 2. What is already a very short story only takes up 90% of the book; the rest is advertising. 3. If I hadn’t been told this was by Stephen King, I’d have tossed it in the bin a quarter of the way through. 4. Sketchily drawn characters, a weak story … what happened, Mr King?
… of David’s studio is this little piece of I-don’t-kn0w-what. Maybe a French door or something of that nature with slats in it. One of my favourite things to do was play with the lights just to see what happened.
This Tuesday, my Camera Club is hosting an informal competition. An external judge will critique each picture and award points out of twenty. There is an Intermediate category and an Advanced category. I am in the Advanced category and these are my three entries. For variety, I have selected a composite image (Death of a Maiden), a fisheye image (The Cheat) and a straightforward monochrome (The Fascinator). They’re all pulled from my archives and all have done very well when entered into International Salons, so it will be interesting to see how they fare. I’ll come back on Wednesday and enter the scores.pho
I gave up on James Patterson books a few years ago, finding them a bit ‘quick and slick’ with the short chapters and pared down writing. The Red Book, written with the collaboration of David Ellis, was a pleasurable surprise and has re-affirmed me as a fan of Patterson. Although the main character, Detective Billy Harney, has the conventional troubled past, it doesn’t dominate the story but is interwoven skilfully and completely believably. His sidekick has her own secrets and the twisty reveal is excellently done. I had not realised that this was the second in the series but will now search out its predecessor, The Black Book. Highly recommended. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I always quite liked the character of Windsor Horne Lockwood in Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar series. He could be irritating in a minor way as a secondary character but, as the eponymous ‘hero’ of this book, he is a royal pain-in-the-derriere. He is not only unlikeable, he is unbearable with his constant references to how rich he is, how immoral he is, how he casually kills and injures people he has judged to in need of despatching. He is immaculately dressed, knowledgeable about every subject that crops up, has casual unemotionless sex (at which he excels, naturally) and travels vast distances by ‘copter. He also has an annoying habit of addressing the reader, telling us what to think and dismissing any notion that our opinion would matter, anyway. I get what Coben is trying to do here, but he has overshot the mark by a country mile. As far as the plot goes, it is moderately interesting as ‘call
me Win’ follows the trail of a thirty year old incident involving activists, murder-by-accident and stolen paintings. Most of the book is taken p with Win travelling the country, either by his personal jet, his copter or his chauffeur driven car, asking questions and coming to brilliant deductions. There is no tension or element of suspense because there is no question that he will be successful. There is one incident mid-book which involves violence and a potentially interesting sub-plot which is written off in a few paragraphs. The end, when it limps tiredly into view is simply a few pages of Win demonstrating (again) how brilliant he is and then deciding how events should be tied up … because only his opinion matters, as he tells us ad nauseam throughout the book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own..
Devonn is the grand-daughter of one of my best friends, Dawn, who was also the best friend of my late daughter, Aisling, so she is very special to me. As well as being a very beautiful young girl, Devonn is fierce on the football field and destined for a great career in her chosen sport.
She was just fourteen years old when she first came to the studio for a photograph session with her friend, Emma. (Teenyboppers) I was keen to shoot with her again and she proved to be a very responsive and intuitive model. I’m sure we’ll work together again one day when the Covid clouds roll back.
There are a small number of authors whose books I will buy without reading reviews because I know I am in for a great experience. I have just added Alan Parks to that select group. Having now followed his deeply-flawed cop, Harry McCoy, from January to April, I am completely hooked on the author’s particular take on Scottish noir. His taciturn, stripped down style of writing only serves to render shocking events even more so. And there are shocks a-plenty in The April Dead, the best offering by far in McCoy’s journey through his metaphorical year. The story hits the ground running – bombs going off in Glasgow, a missing American sailor, mysterious goings-on at an army base and a great cast of characters, all fully rounded and none of whom get forgotten as the plot thickens, as so often happens. As if that wasn’t enough, McCoy’s deeply
toxic relationship with Stevie Cooper is further explored, with a little more about Cooper’s background being revealed. I am hoping for more Cooper in future ‘months’. The only discordant note for me in this offering is that Wattie, McCoy’s ineffectual sidekick, is becoming a bit of a caricature and one of the things he does in the novel merits him being dismissed from the force. But McCoy is nothing if not loyal, so I guess Wattie is here for the foreseeable. Expect surprises, twists and a satisfactory ending. There is a tantalising strand left pointing towards future events but it doesn’t detract at all from a decent conclusion but does its job of whetting the reader’s appetite for the next book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
JACQUI JAY GRAFTON 
