From the Book Elf

  Taste of Blood  by Lynda La Plante Taste of Blood by Lynda La Plante was published by Zaffre Books on 1st February 2024. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Compulsive Readers for inviting me to be part of #Teamtennison Synopsis Detective Inspector Jane Tennison was beginning to feel she'd made a big mistake. Having requested a transfer to a station nearer her home, she's now wondering if any serious crimes are ever committed in Bromley. Especially since the first case she's assigned to involves nothing more dramatic than an altercation between neighbours over a disputed property boundary. Jane's new boss wants her to wrap up the enquiry as quickly as possible, but something in the apparently trivial case doesn't add up. Why was Martin Boon so adamant that David Caplan shouldn't install a new set of gates when they wouldn't encroach on his own property? Against her boss's orders, Jane decides to dig deeper, ...

A Year in Story & Song  by Lia Leendertz A Year in Story & Song by Lia Leendertz  was published on 9th May 2024 by Gaia/ Octopus Books.  My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis A Year in Story and Song is a captivating collection of stories and songs that celebrates the seasons. We humans love stories. We love to hear them and to tell them, around fires and by bedsides, and we love to use them to make sense of the world around us. The seasons, in all their ever-changing variety, give us many opportunities for storytelling: the full moons and their names, Epiphany in January, St Patrick's Day in March, May Day, Midsummer, Halloween and more. They feature mischievous boggarts and fairies, saints and sailors, leprechauns and dragons, pilgrimages and charms, milk maids and rose queens, Robin Hood and the green man. The songs range from shanties and love so...

Ghosts of the British Museum  by Noah Angell Ghosts of the British Museum was published on 11th April 2024 by Monoray/Octopus.  My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis When artist and writer Noah Angell first heard murmurs of ghostly sightings at the British Museum he had to find out more. What started as a trickle soon became a deluge as staff old and new - from overnight security to respected curators - brought him testimonies of their supernatural encounters. It became clear that the source of the disturbances was related to the Museum's contents - unquiet objects, holy plunder, and restless human remains protesting their enforced stay within the colonial collection's cabinets and deep underground vaults. According to those who have worked there, the institution is heaving with profound spectral disorder. With only 1% of its holdings on display, the Briti...

  Escape To The Tuscan Vineyard  by Carrie Walker My thanks to Carrie and Head of Zeus  for sending me a copy to review and to  Rachel at Rachel's Random Tours  for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Pack your bags and uncork the laughter in this delightful romantic escapade! After getting her heart broken in her early twenties, Abi Mason vowed to live by a simple (but non-negotiable) rule: no second dates. Who needs a boyfriend, or anything else for that matter, when you have a career to think about? But life has other plans: with some unexpected time on her hands, Abi finds herself on holiday in Tuscany. Among sun-dappled vineyards and olive groves, Abi meets dashing American Tony, and it seems the universe is conspiring to force her out of her comfort zone... If Abi can break her own rules, could this unexpected Italian fling lead her to a happiness she never dared to dream of? My Review This is another easy romantic read from the author of Escape...

Being With Cows  by Dave Mountjoy Being With Cows by Dave Mountjoy  was published on 23rd May 2024 by Bedford Square Publishers. My thanks to the author and the publishers for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis An intensely transformational story of how grief became gratitude in the presence of a humble herd of cows. Being with Cows details the incredibly moving story behind the tragic death of one man's brother and how his personal quest for inner healing came to him unexpectedly on his organic farm in the French Pyrenees. An intensely powerful yet heart-warming story, Being With Cows is an antidote to the stresses, strains and suffering of modern life. Through a deeply tangible sense of gratitude, it tells of how tragedy can be overcome through the healing power of nature. My Review This is an easy read that will actually give you mindfulness moments while you read it. There are times when I have to...