Blow by blow crime over 3 days

I was asked to review this by Lovereading.co.uk

I have not read any books by this author and was intrigued by the cover and boy was this is a crime novel to stop the reader in their tracks.

Told over three days (I read it in one)  wife leave the pool area to go back to the room  on an idyllic island she is staying at with six year old child and husband. The husband wonders why she is taking so long – the room is empty but is covered in blood- is he trying to cover up – did he do it? He appears guilty- why. Then he and his daughter vanish, what is going on?

The story is told minute by minute and the reader is entranced the whole way through.

Fast paced with incredible twists and turns. The ending is quite a shock.

This is an author to look out for.

Questions answered and a great crime novel

I was asked to review Leigh Russell’s DI Geraldine Steels no 9 crime novel Deadly Alibi by Real Readers. I have been fortunate enough to have reviewed a number in the past- and Leigh novels never disappoint.

The author’s characters have grown from strength to strength over the years. In this book Geraldine’s personal life is at the forefront she has been through the mill, and questions I had in other books were answered Geraldine was adopted, she discovers her real mother but as she dies wants her to take care of her twin sister – drug user, addict and wants what she can take from Geraldine. As this is going on in the back ground there are two murders to be solved.

A woman's body is found outside a charity shop The woman’s husband is then accused – has he done it, was this a domestic clearly gone wrong or did someone else do it. A lover of the same man is murdered also – who did it?

The plot has many twists and turns and the reader needs to carry on to the end to find out just what happened.

Geraldine is a complex character and for readers with a difficult childhood can connect with – the story thunders on with the complex case and if Geraldine can save her twin (highlighting not everyone leads a perfect life)

For some readers the private life maybe distracting, but this book 9 and fans have been there from the start and this as I stated earlier answered a great deal of questions.

The author has a gift of leaving little clues for the reader to latch onto, easy to read, believable characters.

This will be up there this summer in the top ten a great holiday read.

Willpower - it is in all of us

Description: 

This book is about getting what you want by having the will power to do so. People often think they do not have willpower therefore it is clever people who gain more from this world. The reader too can be clever and have willpower too; this can be learnt by mastering willpower by following this book.

Highlights: 

This book is set out well and is easy to read. just by picking up the book it gives the reader permission to know they can do this too, it is within their gift and the reader can see progress in as little as three week. This book can be for both professional and personal use.

the book is well set out with easy to read chapters with well researched theory, practical tests for the reader, advice on diet and alcohol intake (easy to reach for the glass of wine on a work night- no willpower needed there but the proof in the pudding is less harm to one’s health.

Strengths and weaknesses:

The author is an acclaimed psychologist writing other books such as Confidence at Work: Get It, Feel It, Keep It. This book has been used by paralympians, athletes and surprising teenagers with addiction.  The book explores theories alongside coaching tips, with interviews with athletes and business people. There is no miracle cure, the reader needs to work at it, but it is about organizing, planning and being positive. For staff working in the healthcare setting, the chapter with a great deal of practical advice was the final section on 'willpower at work'. All too often we find obstacles in the way if it everyday challenges or organizational changes.

The table on page 122 was particularly useful Table 5.2 the caring versus the blaming culture – there still can be a blame culture in organisations. It is about culture, feedback and support from leaders.

This teaches the reader to change habits- carry on as you always did and things will still be the same or adopt good habits and move in the right direction. We all get into a rut and cannot always see the wood from the trees. We need to move on and be positive in our outlook.

There is no over night cure but the reader has the tools to make this happen.  “A new behaviour takes three weeks to form plus another nine to become a habit”.

Potential Readers:

All healthcare staff no one is exempt we all need this to help in out working and personal lives.

 

Good understanding for Patients and Nursing Staff for Type 2 Diabetes.

Description: 

This is a concise guide to understanding type 2 diabetes, giving the background to the disease, understanding how a person may try to prevent this, and how the reader can maintain a healthy lifestyle whilst suffering from diabetes.

Highlights: 

This book is written by a professor who works closely with patients with diabetes and their physicians, who has first hand knowledge and extensive research experience. This person knows diabetes inside out.

Strengths and weaknesses:

Although written for an Australian audience this books is just as relevant in the UK, where patients and nurses can benefit from Professor Merlin Thomas extensive renowned research. This book is easy to follow and each chapter begins with key points, under the headings of ‘Understand’ and ‘Manage’ The key to this disease is a good diet, exercise and medication when required and is this not the philosophy for the nation to keep healthy. The problem with managing this disease, whether this is the community or in hospital is having a good understanding. At times it feels like the healthcare setting do not always understand or have a good working knowledge of diabetes.

The emphasis is on a healthy lifestyle and a good diet, all too often today our diets are high in salt, sugar and we drink too much alcohol.

The second part of this book explores complications that may arise - cardiac, eyes, feet and the renal system. This is set out well for the reader in easy to read chapters that are not overly complicated.

The resource section gives the reader access to further reading – websites by the author, diabetes organisations and useful blogs.

  

  

Potential Readers:

This is a good resource for the patient who will benefit from the information and expert guidance – whether this is healthy living or having the insight into what complications can occur.

This is an excellent guide for students or qualified nurses. It is imperative that nurses have a good grounding in diabetes to ensure this disease is managed effectively. The author quotes the World Health Organization estimates that 346 million people have diabetes, a figure that is expected to double by 2030 without intervention. We in the healthcare setting must do all we can to help patients and try to prevent this from happening to our patients.

Clinical teams do not always fully understand diabetes and this again would be a good tool for clinicians.

Oxford from a different angle.

I was asked to review this book by the publishers.

I love Oxford and we try to visit regularly. This is not Morse and the world of culture and learning this is about seven people and the homes they live in. This is a different slant on Oxford- the real Oxford.

These people have secrets and as the story unfolds so do their secrets, someone maybe watching and there is a eerie feel to this but at the same time there is humour too. it is about morality and personal values.

The residents are students (Oxford has students in the less well healed areas), a bus driver at war with the world and students too, a family with a son, one with a fractious teenager and two Del boy characters. The characters stories are told by the others too so there is a different slant to this story. Be prepared for some shocks too.

The author ties up the story neatly like a parcel at the end really skillfully.

This is an author I have not come across before, checking to see if this is his debut novel , but this was not he has already published in 2014   Martin Harbottle’s Appreciation of Time- which I am now reading now.

Great story telling, great writing for an author up there in the top ten.