Tuesday 25 February 2014

Belfast Girls, by Gerry McCullough

I really enjoyed Belfast Girls,but to be honest I didn't find it a page turner.It is well written, and has some good characters,and I enjoyed reading about places I know of, but I was not believing in some of the storyline. I would recommend this book, and will read others by this author.


Product Description

The story of three girls - Sheila, Phil and Mary - growing up into the new emerging post-conflict Belfast of money, drugs, high fashion and crime; and of their lives and loves.

Sheila, a supermodel, is kidnapped. Phil is sent to prison. Mary, surviving a drug overdose, has a spiritual awakening.

It is also the story of the men who matter to them -

John Branagh, former candidate for the priesthood, a modern Darcy, someone to love or hate. Will he and Sheila ever get together? Davy Hagan, drug dealer, ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’. Is Phil also mad to have anything to do with him?

Although from different religious backgrounds, starting off as childhood friends, the girls manage to hold on to that friendship in spite of everything.

A book about contemporary Ireland and modern life. A book which both men and women can enjoy - thriller, romance, comedy, drama - and much more ....

About the Author

Gerry McCullough is an award-winning short story writer, born and brought up in north Belfast. She is married to media producer, Raymond McCullough, has four children and lives in Co. Down, Northern Ireland. 'Belfast Girls' is her first full-length novel.

Never Knowing..by Chevy Stevens

This is the first time I have read anything by this author,but I will now buy her books, as I could not put this book down. I was gripped from the start. I loved all the characters, some more than others, I loved the twists and turns. Great storyline with suspense and intrigue. Great read! I look forward to reading more by Chevy Stevens.

5 Peppermint Grove ..by Michelle Jackson

Emigration, emigration, emigration…Ruth Travers is leaving Ireland like so many of the Irish Diaspora who have gone before her. But unlike most she’s travelling business class on a Boeing 777 and will be landing in sunny Perth Western Australia sometime in January. Leaving behind her married boyfriend of ten years, Ruth hopes to make a fresh start but not everyone is happy with Ruth’s decision to go. When she tells her mother Angela that she is Australia bound she is met with scorn. It is only when she discovers an airmail envelope with the address 5 Peppermint Grove scrawled across it that Ruth wonders why her parents left Australia without explanation. 
Her best friend Julia Perrin gently orchestrated the move for her friend’s own good. She is a successful business woman with her own travel company and so busy fixing everybody else’s life she sees no need to do so with her own…until she visits Ruth in Perth! Sunshine, sandy beaches and Barbeques abound but there may be more than Angela’s secret waiting for them in Peppermint Grove…

I wasn't gripped from the start of this book, unlike Michelle's other books. But when I got a few more chapters in, I was hooked. This is a heart warming well written novel.Well developed characters, a story full of love, friendship, heartbreak, and family life. I loved the character Horatio, every family should have a grandfather like him. I highly recommend this book, another good read from Michelle Jackson! Keep them coming Michelle!

Midas by Dominic Ranger

 Midas (Kindle Edition)
I loved this book from the minute I started it, it had me hooked from page one, it is well written, fast paced and great twists! I loved how the writer made the reader feel like they were all part of the action. I did not see the twist at the end coming! I look forward to reading more books by this author, if this debut novel is anything to go by. A great read for a cold winter's night, or for lying on a beach!



If you suddenly discovered you were the richest person in the world, what would you do?

Midas, Dominic Ranger’s superb debut thriller novel, is a rollercoaster ride of revenge, intrigue, sex and money, taking readers from a quiet town in Hampshire to the tiny and incredibly beautiful Greek island of Symi.

Newly-bankrupt and newly-separated Alan Marks discovers he has neverending riches when he tries to use his cash card at an ATM in Farnborough, Hampshire. He’s desperate for money, but has no hope of success – until £200 appears out of the machine. Then another £200, and another... Alan Marks is suddenly rich, and it’s not come from his account. If this works in any cash machine, he is potentially the richest man in the world. What does he do now? Garry McAllister, ex-cop, top fraud investigator and a lifelong lover of Scotch, arrives for work at his bank’s headquarters. Glancing at his computer screen, he discovers his worst possible nightmare. Someone is operating Midas, a scheme which allows the holder to withdraw endless amounts of money, without the withdrawals attributing to any account. Now McAllister is on a mission; to stop Midas. And the bank doesn’t really mind how. But what McAllister doesn’t know is that he is not the only one trying to get Midas...