Six Great Books.

 

Something different this week.

A look at 6 books I enjoyed and recommend.

 

Tell us about your favourite book of all times in the comment section below.

 

#1. Shibumi by Trevanian

My all time Favourite book.

A classic spy novel from the bestselling author, Trevanian, about a westerner raised in Japan who becomes one of the world's most accomplished assassins.

Nicholai Hel is the world’s most wanted man. Born in Shanghai during the chaos of World War I, he is the son of an aristocratic Russian mother and a mysterious German father and is the protégé of a Japanese Go master. Hel survived the destruction of Hiroshima to emerge as the world’s most artful lover and its most accomplished—and well-paid—assassin. Hel is a genius, a mystic, and a master of language and culture, and his secret is his determination to attain a rare kind of personal excellence, a state of effortless perfection known only as shibumi.

Now living in an isolated mountain fortress with his exquisite mistress, Hel is unwillingly drawn back into the life he’d tried to leave behind when a beautiful young stranger arrives at his door, seeking help and refuge. It soon becomes clear that Hel is being tracked by his most sinister enemy—a supermonolith of international espionage known only as the Mother Company. The battle lines are drawn: ruthless power and corruption on one side,

 and on the other . . . shibumi.

A four star review:

Despite its 70s-era chauvinism (reminiscent of Ian Fleming) Shibumi is still relevant. This must have been the third or fourth time I've read it since it first came out, and it never gets stale.

Buy the book HERE.

#2. Matthew Flinder’s Cat by Bryce Courtenay

The story of a drunk, a boy, and a cat. Billy O'Shannessy, once a prominent barrister, is now on the street where he sleeps on a bench outside the State Library. Above him on the window sill rests a bronze statue of Matthew Flinders' cat, Trim. Ryan is a 10-year-old, a near-street kid heading for the usual trouble. The two form an unlikely bond. Through telling Ryan the story of Flinders' circumnavigation of Australia as seen through Trim's eyes, Billy is drawn deeply into Ryan's life and into the Sydney underworld.

A five star review:

I loved this story I read on my kindle. It was a great insight into the life of a brilliant author telling of his life on the street, doing it in tough times and how he adopted a hard done by street kid, throwing in an interesting account of Matthew Flinders and his cat's story.

Buy the book HERE.

#3. The Romanian Cleaning Lady by Zev Bagel.

Lizzy Bright has just opened her office as a private investigator and her first inquiry seems like a prank. When the case takes her into the murky world of prostitution and human smuggling Lizzy is in over her head, until retired Detective Inspector William Breasy appears. But Breasy also has his air of mystery, not least the fact that he was a friend of Lizzy’s father, who vanished when she was eleven. The shadows from her past weave through the darkness of the present, pulling Lizzy deeper into a web of dangerous secrets.

Based in the historic city of Canterbury in England, this is the first in the Bright & Breasy mystery series by Zeb Bagel.

A five star review:

This is a great cozy mystery that is well worth the read. I really like the author's style and how he builds the story. I will be looking for his other works.

Buy the book HERE.

Read the Story Behind the Story HERE.

#4. The Orchid Room by Christopher Sweet.

The teenagers of Maggie’s Knee have been vanishing without explanation, their disappearances blamed on everything from adolescent rebellion to “shadow people” in the woods.

Farren Murakami, an eighteen-year-old who has suffered more than most, finds out first-hand where the youth have gone when she’s recruited to join a tribe of teens living in an abandoned camp hidden deep in the woods. It isn’t long before she learns there is more to the story than just runaway kids; a sinister presence dwelling in the forbidden buildings tucked far back in the camp seems to have handpicked her for its purposes.

In her search for answers, Farren discovers her involvement with the tribe goes farther back than she can imagine, and that whatever lives in the forbidden buildings wants much more than the fealty of some kids playing in the forest.

Five star review:

Another excellent story from Sweet. Love the characters - even the bad ones. An entertaining story from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Buy the book HERE.

Read more on his Scribbler visit HERE.

#5. Defeat by S.C. Eston.

The young warrior-sorceress Lyna sets her course on Brecon, one of the largest and richest cities of Tilia. There, she plans to visit the grand library and learn more about the Territories of Sij, a land where her ancestors once lived, a place she hopes to eventually call home.

But evil seems to follow Lyna wherever she goes, and one of the sinister bane cores looms near Brecon, sowing discord, twisting hearts, claiming lives. She’s the only one who can feel its presence. She’s the only one who can stop it.

Yet as she sets out to destroy the accursed object, she unwittingly befriends the family who harbors it—and who possibly created it. Quickly, it becomes clear that the misery wrought goes much deeper than Lyna could have imagined, making her doubt her own senses, her own judgment.

Time is running out and Lyna must decide: take the knowledge she discovered about her ancestors and run, or stay behind and attempt to eliminate the bane core, at the risk of destroying those she now calls friends.

Five star review:

Mr Eston has created another winner. He takes you to a land of magic, elves, strong characters with extraordinary powers and danger. I truly enjoyed this story and I am anxious to know what Lyna is up to next. Highly recommended.

Buy the book HERE.

Read the Story Behind the Story HERE.

#6. Playtime Prince Edward Island by Eden Monroe.

I have not read this one yet but I do have it on my TBR pile and I've enjoyed Monroe's stories before so I know it will be good..

Darkness is often the playground of the supernatural … the eerily unexplained.

Yeo House is a haunted country home in Eastern Canada’s beautiful province of Prince Edward Island. The stately seaside mansion of a shipbuilding magnate and his family in the 1800’s, it was given new life in the twenty-first century. During renovations something unusual was found hidden in the walls — a small toy dog on wheels. Now freed from his wall prison, it seems he’s still being played with by the ghost of the child who once owned him.

When four year-old Della Sayer and her parents visit the historic Yeo mansion to see the famous Wheelie, the little girl makes a strange and powerful connection with the antique toy. It is an unsettling paranormal knowing, a kindred ethereal awareness….

Life for the Sayers will never be the same again.

Eden.

Author Eden Monroe certainly embraces the Chinese proverb: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – and she’s off to a running start with her debut novel, Dare To Inherit. And speaking of journeys, Eden’s personal best is a 56-kilometre extreme one-day hike. She also climbs mountains, well medium-sized ones anyway. Writing has been a lifelong passion and some of her short stories have won international gold. She enjoys a fascinating life, compliments of a cast of intriguing characters, both real and imagined, including her bad-attitude former barn cat, Miss Daisy.

Buy the book HERE.

Thank you to all our readers and visitors.

I hope you enjoyed reading about these novels and I hope you try one, at least.