BOOK REVIEW: Murray Davies - Welcome To Meantime

"DCI Patsy Chalke. Beautiful, rich, Oxford-educated. Owns a riverside penthouse, drives a red Mercedes convertible.
DS Bobby Leyden. The bruiser from the notorious Ferrier estate. Lives on take-away Chinese and cans of 1664. Drives a Ford.
They are Chalke and Cheese, but when a gruesome string of murders rocks the royal borough of Greenwich, the pair must work together to find out who is killing South London's villains. And why.
Only one thing's certain. In Meantime nothing is what it seems to be."

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it many times again, I’m sure; if a book’s set in Greenwich or the surrounding areas (basically, the areas I know really well), chances are I’ll love it. This book hit the mark in that respect and all other respects too. It follows Greenwich police officers as they attempt to get to the root of a string of murders, including South London’s hard men and celebrities. 

The storyline and plot is incredibly easy to follow, the timeline is well laid out and you don’t feel confused or lost at any point. Each chapter is based on a new day in the case which makes everything feel much more coherent and ‘real time’, I guess. 

When I was about halfway through reading this book, I posted a Facebook status about it:

“Never has a book been so me. Set in Greenwich (live there), the main character used to live on the Ferrier (lived there), not to mention it also features Millwall, cage fighting, and boxing. Oh, and lots of murders. I'm in love.”

I literally told anyone who would listen that it was amazing because that’s honestly what it is. Further down the line, the book mentioned my favourite restaurant too (Tai Won Mein, for those wondering) and I knew it was love, haha. 

The characters are strong. The two main characters are described as Chalke and Cheese and that’s pretty true. Chalke is a very strong-willed woman who seems to come from a different social class as the rest of her colleagues, something she tries to keep from them as much as possible. She lives a different lifestyle but still shares some of the same morals and beliefs as those around her which makes her likeable. Leyden is what I’d imagine I’d be like if I were a guy, given I share a whole load of things in common with him already. He used to live on the Ferrier estate (so did I!), stays true to his roots, and wants to do well at his job. 

The murders are sometimes far-fetched until you remember that you’re reading about South London villains or just villains in general and it becomes a little easier to believe that these things could, and would, happen. They’re all linked together, giving enough away so you want to keep reading but you still don’t know who’s at the heart of the murders for the most part. 

It becomes a little clearer to guess towards the end of the book but I find that to be the case with most thrillers and, personally, I really enjoy that because I feel like I’ve solved the crimes too. Is that sad? Ah, well… 

I can honestly say, hand on heart, this has become one of my favourite books. As soon as I’d finished reading it, I wanted to read it again. When I was taking the DLR to work, I was thinking about all the areas where certain scenes had played out etc. In fact, one thing I will say that surprised (in a good way) me most is the description of Greenwich. It really helped me get a clear image of the scenes, especially some of the murder ones. If you know Greenwich, you’ll love this. If you don’t, you’ll still love it.

Best of all..? Apparently, there’s a second book on the way according to this site: http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/51365/. EXCITING!

Paperback | Kindle

About the Author: During his career as a national newspaper reporter, Murray Davies has covered most of the major British crime stories and headline court cases of the past thirty years. He lives in London.

#SUNATHON

In case you haven't heard about it, the ever-so-lovely Emma is the brains and beauty behind #sunathon. From today to July 27th (the day before my birthday), book lovers from all over the world are taking part in a readathon. If you'd like more information about it all, check out Emma's blog post here.

What I love most about #sunathon is there's no specific genre of book to read or a limit to books either. Read as much as you can, when you can. I also LOVE that it's over the weekend too because, working full time, I don't get as much time to read as I'd like. 

I've kicked off today by continuing to read 'After I Left You' by Alison Mercer. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the day and will, hopefully, update you tomorrow with the next book I've chosen. 

A review of 'After I Left You' will be up soon but in the mean time, here's the blurb...

"Every broken heart has a history.
Anna hasn't been back to Oxford since her last summer at university. She tries not to think about her time there, or the tightly knit group of friends she once thought would be hers forever. She has almost forgotten the sting of betrayal, the secret she carries around, the last night she spent with them all.
Then a chance meeting on a rainy day in London brings her past tumbling back into her present. . . Can Anna finally face up to the memories of that summer and the people she left behind?"

BOOK REVIEW: Fiona Gibson - Take Mum Out

“Three blind dates

Two teenage boys messing up her plans

And one man who'll melt Alice's heart.

'You need to get back in the saddle…' Alice despises that phrase. She's fine being single – with two slothful teenage boys and a meringue business to run, she has enough on her plate without negotiating the troublesome world of modern dating.

However, Alice's three best friends have other ideas. Each one will present her with an utterly delicious, eligible man – all Alice has to do is pick her favourite.”

Paperback | Kindle

I read this before mother’s day and completely forgot to publish my review. I’m pretty certain I’d lose my head some days if it wasn’t screwed on, goodness me!

This book was so much fun to read! I loved every second of it. I loved that it wasn’t your standard “girl meets boy and falls in love” story – there was a depth and reality to it that, even if you haven’t been through it, you understand and appreciate. It helped to make the characters more loveable and believable which, for me, is absolutely key to my enjoyment of a book – regardless of how great the story might be.

Alice is the single mother to two teenage boys and, although the dad does help out and see them, they live with her which means she puts all of her attention on them and making her meringue business a success. When her friends suggest setting her up, she isn’t keen on the idea – she’s happy how she is, why should she change that?

One of her three best friends decides that they can all set her up and Alice can pick her favourite. This is such a great idea – it was like reading a super long episode of Blind Date (god, that was such a good show with Cilla Black at the helm!) and who doesn’t want to do that!?

Although the majority of the book focuses on Alice’s love life adventures, it also focuses on some real family issues – teenage boy issues, to be precise. It helps to bring you back to earth with a bump, just as it would in real life but, more than that, it shows that the characters are well-rounded and human. Life isn’t perfect, after all.

Sorry this review is SO late. Just know that this book is a great, humorous read and I recommend it highly to all!

BOOK REVIEW: Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London

 Paperback | Kindle

“My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden . . . and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying.”

I had heard so much about this book (and the series in general), I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. Thankfully, The Book People had it on offer a few months back so I took advantage and grabbed the first 3 in the series. I honestly don't know why I went so long refusing to read book series, they're amazing!

When it comes to describing this, I'd simply say it's very much Harry Potter meets Sherlock Holmes. It's a great read for anybody who likes mystery and magic. I'd say given some of the details in the book, it's probably best suited to readers in their mid-late teens and above. Then again, I watched The Exorcist at 12years old and survived so if you can handle it, read it.

It follows Peter Grant and various other police officers as they work hard to solve a very weird case that involves murder and magic. That in itself was enough to make me want to read the book but there's so much more to it than that. There's no real hidden depths although there's a slight love story in the mix. Only slight though - and more of a lust story really.

The writing style is simple which, for some, is a negative thing but I love it. It makes it so easy to follow and much more gripping. The characters are great - there's a mixture of those that can do magic and those that can't, not to mention ghosts. They feature pretty heavily in this story.

In all honesty, the only little niggle I had with the book was that nobody ever seemed to question the fact people could do magic. If I was a police officer and I found out that a colleague could do it, I'd be freaked out (after I came round from fainting, obviously).

I would definitely suggest reading this book, particularly if you like Harry Potter or Sherlock. Or even if you just like to get lost in a good mystery book but don't want to have to think too hard when you're reading it.

Have you read 'Rivers of London'? If so, what did you think?