Myopia - Jeff Gardiner

Jerry is being bullied at school. Those who pick on him target the fact that he wears glasses, and he suffers their cruel taunts and physical attacks. However, Jerry also begins to experience some unusual effects as a result of his short-sightedness, sometimes giving him a different, special way of seeing his world. 

‘He couldn’t explain the weird phenomena caused by his myopia, but one thing did occur to him: perhaps short-sightedness was not a disability after all, but rather a way of seeing the world in a different way.’

This book deals honestly with bullying and friendship, with prejudice and coming to terms with difficult situations. Jerry sadly considers the way the bullies have treated him: ‘What goes through a person’s head to think it’s okay to make another human being feel so worthless and humiliated?’ I think the author dealt with these important themes extremely well within his novel; this is an insightful story. The bullies are realistic and the bullying harsh, but the bullies are real characters, not stereotypes. Importantly, whether seemingly good or bad, the story illustrates that there is always more to a person than meets the eye.

I liked several of the characters; in particular the marvellous, innovative and supportive school deputy head, Mr Quincy Finn. Whilst other teachers do little to support Jerry, Mr Finn takes pride in making the school a better, safer place, and in empowering Jerry himself to be a big part of that change.

The author takes the subject of short-sightedness and makes it feel positive for Jerry; when he has his eyesight checked and is told of his myopia, he compares the sound of the word to another word, utopia, and imagines myopia as a place that he can visit only because of his particular eyesight.

This young adult novel is an intelligent, skillful and well-written treatment of a serious subject that sadly affects all too many children and indeed adults, with an admirable main character and a little feeling of fantasy and magic at times. Despite the central topic, it is not without touches of humour and romance, and it is definitely enjoyable and rewarding as an adult read too. 

Published by Crooked Cat Publishing

Thanks very much to the author for kindly sending an ebook copy of this novel to read and review.

You can find the author on twitter @JeffGardiner1 and visit his blog here and his website here. 

Once Removed - K. B. Walker

'Like unlocking the valve of a pressure cooker, opening her skin released the dementing force.'

Abby (Abriella) Garside is a newly qualified secondary school teacher in a small town in Yorkshire. Beth is a pupil at the school. Abby notices Beth involved in an incident with a craft knife. She resolves to keep an eye on Beth and tries to help integrate her more in her lessons. Beth comes to trust Abby.

Abby has a difficult relationship with her family throughout her life. Thinking back to when she was just a girl, she admits to a deep loneliness, to feeling pushed aside; 'I knew even then I didn't fit in my family, didn't really belong.' The feeling of feeling as if she doesn't quite fit in is one which lingers in her mind; 'Once at a distant relative's wedding, I'd been introduced to a cousin once removed. The phrase intrigued me and seemed to describe my position in our family.' She has a relationship with a man called Jeff, but as we learn more about them, it appears she is settling for him rather than it being a healthy relationship. Beth similarly suffers from a sense of isolation, feeling a 'screaming loneliness'. She cuts herself, and describes how she feels afterwards, as 'A satisfying pain pierced through the noise in my brain, giving voice to my silent cry.'


The first person narratives from both of the main two characters run alongside each other and give us an intimate depiction of the daily lives and struggles of them both as two separate individuals, and also as two people whose paths come together. Short passages in italics at the start of some chapters hint at one person's secret history and draw us further into the narrative. The characters are well drawn, from Abby and Beth, Aunt Frieda and Ryan, down to the minor characters like Mrs Billington. Abby has mannerisms which she repeats and this added to the realism of the character for me. There is real growth and development in plot and characters.


There is an intelligent exploration here of the notion of someone who feels like they don't quite fit, like they are different, and struggling both to be accepted by others, and to accept themselves as they are. I felt the pain being endured by both Abby and Beth really came across in the writing. Abby feels inadequate and out of place at times, lacking in confidence.


The book deals well with how people have little confidence, sometimes because of past hurt, and the strength that can need to be found to continue, to believe in oneself and realise that you are deserving of kindness and love, from others, but most importantly from yourself. It was wonderful to read a story dealing with this. The book also follows through and looks at what happens when someone tries to help and it is misconstrued, resulting in rumour, speculation, incorrect judgments formed without knowledge of the truth, and retribution.


The story kept me thinking whilst reading and each time I put the novel aside I was thinking about the characters.  The author shows insight into what is going on here, within destructive or cruel family relationships. The plot developed in a satisfying way. I empathised with Abby and was angered by how members of her family behaved towards her. It is a believable portrayal of sadness and hurt and although there are distressing moments and there is unhappiness, there is also friendship, joy and hope.

I found this a very moving, emotional book, and I felt that the sensitive and challenging subject matter, including self-harm, was carefully handled by this author. Empathy is created, the friendship between teacher and pupil is believable and it is carefully and beautifully portrayed. 

I would recommend this book and I will be looking out for future work by this author.

Published by Crooked Cat Publishing

You can follow the author on twitter @kbwalkerwrites and visit her blog here.

Thanks to the publisher for kindly sending a copy of this ebook to read and give an honest review.

Bad Moon Rising - Frances di Plino

'He marked them only to save them, not for his own pleasure.'

Detective Inspector Paolo Storey is on the trail of a killer. As we meet him he is 'mad at the world in general, and justice in particular.' Several women's bodies are found on his patch and he is trying to piece together any clues to the killer's identity, but there is little left behind. His new partner, DS Dave Johnson, seems to have somewhat outdated attitudes to women and Storey tries to get a handle on this. We are also introduced to local Maltese criminal Frank Azzopardi, and the solicitor representing him, Matthew Roberts. Paolo is familiar with them both from schooldays together.

Meanwhile the DI has problems away from work; his daughter Katy, who lives with his ex-wife Lydia, is becoming troublesome at her Catholic school where she has begun to question the beliefs they are teaching there, and also Storey has history with Dr Barbara Royston, the forensic pathologist working on the bodies found. 

Then we have the killer. A flashback to his childhood gives us an insight into how his troubled mind, and his own particular twisted reasoning for his crimes, has come about through strange practices at the hands of his mother. In his distorted beliefs, sex with the living is a sin, and he feels he is saving the souls of the prostitutes he abuses and kills, thinking he is carrying out the Lord's work; 'he could punish those he caught and deliver their souls to God wiped clean of sin.' Slowly, more of his actions and behaviour is revealed to us throughout the novel. 

This is a very dark psychological crime thriller that grabbed hold of me right from the very first page with an arresting opening scene and kept me totally gripped throughout. I never wanted to put it down for long, as the story flows so well and kept my interest piqued. It cleverly keeps you guessing as to the identity of the perpertrator for most of the novel. It's compelling and very well written, and anyone who enjoys a good crime novel should find this thriller an absorbing read.

Paolo Storey is a complex and engaging lead character, with an awful lot to deal with. I also liked the rest of the cast of characters and found the relationships to be developed and believable. I sincerely hope there will be another novel featuring Paolo and this cast of characters. I would love to catch up with them again.

Published by Crooked {Cat} Publishing and available to buy now as an e-book.


You can follow the author (Lorraine Mace writing as Frances di Plino) on twitter @francesdiplino and visit her website here.


Thank you very much to the publisher for asking me to read and review this novel.

The Filey Connection - David W. Robinson

A cosy kind of crime mystery story, The Filey Connection tells of the intrepid investigations of amateur sleuth Joe Murray, and his two friends, Sheila and Brenda, and is set in Sanford, a small fictional West Yorkshire town. Joe is the long-time owner of 'The Lazy Luncheonette', a popular cafe in the town, frequented by the locals and by staff from several nearby businesses. Joe keeps a very tight rein on all matters business and financial. He is also the chair of the 'Sanford Third Age Club', which provides entertainment and outings for the town's many elderly, divorced, widowed or otherwise lonely inhabitants over 50 years old, and it has over 300 members. Sheila and Brenda, who work for Joe at the cafe, are also secretary and treasurer of the club, respectively. They are both cheerful ladies, both widowed. It's summertime, and the next outing coming up for members is a long weekend away in the east coast seaside town of Filey, and everyone is looking forward to this. Joe is also 'a renowned amateur detective', and has been for many years. 'Puzzles and mysteries had been a joy to him since his childhood.' Along the walls of his cafe sit the many booklets he has written and typed up detailing the various puzzles and crimes that he has cracked over the years, for customers to peruse whilst enjoying their meal. 

The novel starts off with a bang as a crime occurs in the prologue. The inhabitants of Sanford, and in particular the members of the 3rd Age Club, are shocked to hear that one of their number has been killed. Joe is immediately intrigued by the case, and starts to look for clues, taking the information the police have so far, which he has gathered from his niece, policewoman Gemma. He sees things that don't fit in how 'Knickers-off' Nicola, with a reputation for being rather loose with her affections, died. Meanwhile, a relative newcomer in town, Eddie Dobson, wants to join the trip to Filey at the last minute, and comes to see Joe about it. As the 3rd Age Club members descend on the Beachside Hotel, Filey, the mystery deepens, as another club member apparently loses their life. When DCI Terry Cummins, previously known to Joe, takes up the investigation, Joe confides in him all that he has learned so far and together they seek to wrap up the case.

Joe is a self-confessed 'shortarsed, crinkly-haired, bad-tempered old bugger', whose wife Alison left him 10 years ago. But he has built up a strong reputation in his hometown for the power and accuracy of his detective skills, '...before he was thirty, people from all over Sanford began to talk about this whizz-kid detective. Individuals and companies called him in to clear up mysteries and puzzles, and over the following decade, he established a reputation for the accuracy of his deductions.'


This is a gentle crime story, there is nothing exceptionally shocking or gruesome here, neither is the crime over complicated or incredibly intricate; rather it is a cosy mystery. There is plenty of banter between Joe, Sheila and Brenda as they mull over the happenings and try and unravel the clues and identify the guilty party. The writer has added some local dialect here and there amongst some of the Yorkshire folk but nothing that is difficult to comprehend. What is the Filey connection of the title? Well, the clues are there dotted in the story for the reader to spot. An easy to read, enjoyable murder mystery story with a clever but grumpy amateur detective. 

Thank you very much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this novel to read and give an honest review.

Published on 2nd March 2012 by Crooked Cat Publishing and available as an e-book.

You can find out more about author David W. Robinson here and also visit his website here.