Not My Valentine by Tony Bassett

May20

Gripping

Not My Valentine by Tony Bassett is a fabulous contemporary crime suspense that I just could not put down. It is the seventh book in the Detectives Roy & Roscoe series but can be read as a stand-alone.

I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces. Easy banter flowed between the regular police officers. We see the tenacity of the law to solve the case as we drop in on the detectives.

Present day murder is investigated alongside a cold case. The law enforcement officers are relentless in their pursuit of justice and the reader applauds their commitment.

The action is set in the Midlands with a murder in Worcester, and chasing criminals around Birmingham and the Black Country. As a Black Country wench living in Worcestershire, the locations were incredibly familiar to me. This helped me to really bed down into the book.

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Unfiltered by Guenther Steiner

May19

Perfect For The F1 Fan

Unfiltered by Guenther Steiner is an entertaining look at the ten years that the author was at the helm of the F1 team Haas.

From its’ inception to the end of 2023 the reader is immersed in the life of the Haas team. We see the drive of Guenther Steiner to bring the F1 team to life, and his no-nonsense attitude to running the team.

There were certain ups and downs – with driver rivalries, COVID, and the sponsorship of by a Russian institution and therefore a Russian driver as Russia invaded Ukraine. Whatever life threw at Guenther Steiner; he always found a solution.

Guenther Steiner is very down to earth. He has the right attitude. “I don’t have time to worry about things I cannot change.” He is a very big personality and extremely likable, a real people-person.

Guenther Steiner believes that life is for living. “Just chill out, do the best you can, keep your eyes open and enjoy the ride.” And that is just what the reader does throughout the book.

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This Ruined Place by Michael Lawrence

May19

A Timeless Appeal

This Ruined Place by Michael Lawrence is a hauntingly beautiful novel that consumed me from the start.

It is a book where the past and present collide. Memories make the veil between very thin.

We witness that not everyone remembers the past in the same way. For some, the past was a rosy place, a place they long to return to. Rose tinted glasses paint a very favourable picture. For others, the past is a more hostile, unforgiving place. It was not always a good place to be. How the characters view the past gives us an insight into their individual natures.

A relationship between a sixteen-year-old granddaughter, her grandparents and a boyhood friend of the couple is complex. Her interactions between the three characters are very different. She actually relates more closely to the childhood friend than her grandparents.

We see that characters live in the old ruins. Memories produce some supernatural characteristics. Those who are more sensitive glimpse the past in the present.

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Being Alice: In A World Lost In The Looking Glass by Michele Olson

May18

A New Beginning

Being Alice: In A World Lost In The Looking Glass by Michele Olson is a very charming Christian historical novel set in 1981 on Mackinac Island. It is the third book in the Mackinac Island series but can be read as a stand-alone.

I am enjoying reading this series in order as each book is set in the following year, starting in 1979. The reader knows the back story to the characters. Each book focuses on a new leading couple.

This is a book that tells the reader the importance of knowing Jesus and how to draw near to Him. “Their experience is not about religion, but about relationship.” Jesus is not interested in knowing how well we can follow rules. He just wants us to let Him into out hearts. “He [Jesus] asks everyone to come as you are.” We do not need to change and then come to Jesus. We need to come to Jesus and then change will follow.

We all have a Jesus-shaped hole in our heart that only He can fill. “No person can ever fill up that hole in the heart.” Stuff will never satisfy. Only Jesus satisfies.

When we know Jesus, we want to live lives that reflect His heart. “Act like people who follow Jesus and practice kindness and love in our lives.” People will be drawn to Jesus by watching how we live.

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