Review for “Time to Let Go” #Alzheimers

Another great surprise to find new reviews for TIME TO LET GO

my #Alzheimers drama http://amzn.to/1mtl29z

4.0 out of 5 stars  

Family conflicts facing Alzheimer’s

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This takes place in England and the style of writing seems to reflect that in some of its writing style and a serious tone/ perspective on a family dealing with Alzheimer’s. Hanna returns home and has opposing ideas how to deal with her Mother’s decline. She prefers distraction and varied experiences vs. Dad who is very much into protective mode and daily routine. Each member chooses how they wish to deal with the reality of the disease, none of which change the decline of Biddy, the wife/mother. The toll of everyone ‘s health and mental well being becomes a heavy burden and responsibility.

Lately, I’ve been reading several novels dealing with Alzheimer’s to help with my friend’s family who is dealing with this. It is devastating and affects everyone in the family differently. It has been researched and the insight to be gained by reading these novels is a learning experience for anyone, whether or not touched by Alzheimer’s.

Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars

Hit a nerve – in a good way

Alzheimer’s, the dynamics of a close family, learning to live with saying goodbye (or not). As a reader, Time To Let Go was an utterly compelling read for me. I’m at the point in my life, where I’m starting to look very closely at caring for my aging parents, so I took a lot of deep breaths reading this. What I loved about Time to Let Go was that it’s power was in its simplicity. With chapter titles like “Lunch,” “The Pool” and “Dinner,” I was able to get into the day to day life of this family in a very intimate way. Their losses were mine, and their love became mine, too. A bittersweet and elegant read.

 

3.0 out of 5 stars

Relevant

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This book had an extremely relevant topic, which will touch many people who read the novel. I have very little first hand knowledge of Alzheimers but the difficulties and frustrations of dealing with a sufferer came across loud and clear in the storyline. Biddy’s family are divided about the kind of care that she should receive and each deals with her condition in very different ways. Some are hands-on, some challenge poor Walter, Biddy’s husband about the style of care he has opted for and some just stay away. It’s a very sad novel and probably a real reflection of what it’s like to watch a loved one slip away at the hands of such a disease.

Of all the characters, I felt that Biddy herself was the most well drawn. I wanted to like Hanna but for that, she needed much more depth. There was an unrealism about the airline thread and I think much more could have been made of that, to stop it just being a book about the disease with more action played out on the journalist issue. It felt as though there were threads in the novel which weren’t grasped hold of, as though the characters wanted to have a mind of their own and were denied it. Without giving spoilers, there were possible relationships that could have been exploited to add another angle and a bit more interest. I felt like the epilogue was a bit of a slap in the face. It was a diary of events that told me more than I got throughout the whole novel. One thing I really struggled with was the lack of contractions in speech. It felt really wooden because real people don’t speak like that.

It has the potential to be a great story, but needs a tidy up with stronger plot lines outside of what Biddy does each day and how Walter does or doesn’t cope with it. The research about Alzheimers is faultless. The reader is left in no doubt how cruel the disease is or the conflicts which rage for carers, not to mention the outside pressures and physical realities for them. With a bit more umph, this novel can be something a carer picks up and finds light relief in, whilst understanding that the author knew exactly how they were feeling.

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Latest reviews for Ludwika

A pleasant surprise on my most recent visit to my Amazon page : A bunch of new reviews for Ludwika http://amzn.to/1pEgtLO #gratitude

5.0 out of 5 stars 

A heart wrenching story! Let me wanting to know so much more!

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“Worrying has never done anyone any good,” her father used to say. “When something awful happens you have to deal with it. Do your best and hope it is enough.”

4.0 out of 5 stars

Interesting

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Very interesting account. Ludwika wasn’t a saint, she was a real human, and this was an intimate portrayal.

4.0 out of 5 stars

Cruelty and Kindness

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Ludwika is based on a real person, with her story pieced together and re-imagined by the author. A commendable part of this book is the mission to find Ludwika’s lost relatives in Poland. War separates and destroys people. Veterans often search for former crewmates and soldiers, both living and dead. Refugees do the same.

This novel is also commendable in the arena of ethics and morality. Examples of human cruelty and kindness can lead us to examine our own lives. We might wonder whether we would respond with one or the other in terrible circumstances. We might realize we can be hasty and uninformed in our judgments of those people who have faced such circumstances.

Ludwika, the young Polish woman, makes an initial decision, which is a compromise, meant to save her family. There is no win-win possible for her as the Nazis begin their occupation of Poland and take over her town. She knows her decision to leave Poland with a German officer, to live in Germany, will be seen as betrayal, both of her country and her family, especially her young daughter.

This initial decision sets a series of events in motion, sending her spiraling into the heart of the beast. Throughout it all, though, Ludwika focuses on the better aspects of the people she meets more than on the less palatable. How can this young German officer be so bad if he treats her with such gentleness and apparent love? He seems to be honest, so she trusts him. She believes he will keep his word and her family will be protected.

Ludwika has the desires and passion of a young woman. She is at times selfish and foolish, other times caring and perceptive. She longs for a life partner and a family. Uprooted by war, she strives to belong, but the dangers of her life as an outsider in Nazi Germany fray her nerves, at times making her lose hope or act out of fear, or hope for the wrong thing. Time and again she renews her sense of purpose: to survive and protect her family.

One day, she hopes to return to Poland and be reunited with her family, although she knows it may be impossible due to her own actions. Beyond that, she knows what life in a dictatorship, as a second-class or non-citizen, is like, and toward the end of the war, she is disheartened by the Soviet Union’s takeover of Poland.

The writing style is uneven, and some of the characters inconsistent. I was distracted by the typographical errors as well (warm instead of warn, for instance). Parts of the story were well told, others less believable. I was surprised to learn that several major characters were entirely fictional. Ultimately, though, Ludwika’s story is worth reading. For me, the ending was most interesting.

5.0 out of 5 stars

Five Stars

Great story!

4.0 out of 5 stars

Good read

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This was an interesting read. I enjoyed the personalization of what was going on during the war instead of just facts and figures.

5.0 out of 5 starsPowerful story that you want to know what happens next.

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Ludwika was left to run her families home & farm after her father never returned from his trip. Even though they were Polish, they still lived in fear as to what would happen if they didn’t get their crops in, as it was well into harvest and her and her sister didn’t know how they would get it done by hand. With rumors that Jewish families were being taken from their homes and the homes given to displaced German families, they still had to hope it wouldn’t come to where they lived. Yet, as their neighbor’s family seem to be gone, they knew they had used the tractor in the past, they took a chance. While trying to get the tractor to their field Ludwika was run off the road by a German officer……..and the beginning of many misfortunes for Ludwika begins, needing to leave her daughter and family to help secure their safety, began a life of uncertainty, heartache and grief, that only faith and hope could see her through of never knowing what happened at home, or what would happen to her next. Her story is sad, yet inspirational and pray that something like this never happens again. This story is well written and kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. Excellent read and looking forward to reading more from Mr. Fischer.

4.0 out of 5 stars

Great

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The writing of this book is great as you feel as if you are there and great details. Historical books are my favorite.

5.0 out of 5 stars

Five Stars

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A beautiful story.

Review of “The Night Watchman” by Richard Zimler

“The Night Watchman” by Richard Zimler was a real surprise treat for me. A big fan of Zimler’s historical fiction I was amazed at how easily Zimler shifted gears into a contemporary crime novel without having to alter his atmospheric, thoughtful and sensitive writing style.

The key to this lies in his careful characterisation of the eccentric and fascinating Chief Inspector Henrique Monroe of the Lisbon Police Department. In a great opening scene our protagonist interviews a suspect and the dialogue gives us a good impression of what to expect.

The actual murder case investigated in the novel is the brutal slaying of a well-connected Portuguese businessman Pedro Coutinho, and this leads into a world of shady political corruption and sexual violence. Monroe gets deeply affected by this and needs to look closer at his own past and childhood back in Colorado.

Zimler has created excellent characters that populate the story and his writing is filled with plenty of sensitive observations, giving us detailed backgrounds for the characters and also a concise picture of present day Portugal and its economic situation. This is a rich and well composed novel that will engage its readers in many different ways.

For me it gets to show that Zimler is a multi-facetted and talented author who can bring credibility and depth to any story and genre he turns his mind to. Very impressive and highly recommended. 

Richard Zimler was born in Roslyn Heights, a suburb of New York City, in 1956. After earning a bachelor’s degree in comparative religion from Duke University (1977) and a master’s degree in journalism from Stanford University (1982), he worked for eight years as a journalist, mainly in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1990, he moved to Porto, Portugal, and he has taught journalism for the last sixteen years, first at the College of Journalism and now at the University of Porto. Richard has both American and Portuguese nationality. He has published seven novels over the last decade: “The Seventh Gate; “The Search for Sana”; “Guardian of the Dawn”; “Hunting Midnight”; “The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon”; “The Angelic Darkness”; and “Unholy Ghosts.” His novels have appeared on bestseller lists in 12 different countries, including the USA, Great Britain, Portugal, Italy, and Australia. Richard has won numerous prizes for his work, including a 1994 National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Fiction and the 1998 Herodotus Award for the best historical novel. “The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon” was picked as 1998 Book of the Year by three British critics and both “The Search for Sana” and “Hunting Midnight” have been nominated by Portuguese libraries for the Internatinal IMPAC Literary Award. “The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon”, “Hunting Midnight”, “Guardian of the Dawn” and “The Seventh Gate” form the “Sephardic Cycle,” a group of inter-connected – but fully independent – novels about different branches and generations of a Portuguese Jewish family. Richard also writes reviews for the L.A. Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. When he’s not writing, he enjoys gardening at his weekend house in the north of Portugal. –Zimler.com

Links: Website http://www.zimler.com/conteudo.php
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/87209.Richard_Zimler
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Zimler/e/B001IXPWA6

The Night Watchman on Amazon 

I can also recommend his books

“Hunting Midnight”
“The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon”
“The Warsaw Anagrams”
“The Seventh Gate”

“MUSICAL MURDERS and MAYHEM in Malmö, Sweden” – Review for “Over my Dead Body: Murder at #Eurovision”

Thanks for this newest review:
MUSICAL MURDERS and MAYHEM in Malmö, Sweden

This entertaining read took me back to my youth. When I knew Malmö, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark well and had a big interest in Eurovision. That being said I think it is a good book for all readers, no need to be familiar with Eurovision or location. I like the main character Bebe Bollinger. it is refreshing to have a modern heroine who feels young and active at 60, looking for a future in entertainment. I liked the supporting cast and her interactions with all of them. The quest for the criminal as well as her desire to succeed and get attention as a singer and presenter were a nice mix and fun to read. Mr. Fischer’s books are always worthwhile and this one was a personal favorite.

About the book

On her return from a cruise ship gig Bebe Bollinger learns that fellow Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler has decided to enter a European Song comptition for the UK. While Bebe jealously watches the pre-publicity trail for ‘Eurovision’ in Malmö, a string of ‘odd accidents’ endangers several participants of the competition. This stirs her desire for playing detective again but also a curiosity to check out the suitability of Eurovision for her own career.
Follow Bebe’s continued search for fame and a comeback before it’s too late, step into the weird world that is Eurovision fandom and see how Bebe gets on with her naughty daughter and deals with those evil TV presenters.

One of the early reviews for the book

Noelle 5.0 out of 5 stars Bebe Bollinger does it again! May 16, 2018

This is the second in the Bebe Bollinger series by Christoph Fischer. The is sleuth is once again the charming, talented and a bit snarky Bebe Bollinger, an early 60s chanteuse with a remarkable career behind her but fighting to be back in the spotlight.

It is quite a change up from the first book, the author having chosen the setting to be Eurovision, the longest-running annual international TV song competition, held in a different country each year. I have to admit I didn’t even know Eurovision existed until I started to read this book, but I learned a lot.

Bebe is colorful, intelligent and one of my favorite characters. When her friend Bonnie Tyler (think Holding Out for a Hero and Angel of the Morning) is chosen to represent the UK at Eurovision, Bebe jealously watches the pre-publicity trail for Eurovision in Malmö and discovers a string of odd accidents happening to several participants in the competition. This triggers her detective antennae and she decides to attend the event. Going there also allows her to assess the suitability of a Eurovision appearance for her own career.

The author does an incredible job describing Eurovision, with its countries’ representatives, both new and seasoned, the outrageous costumes, lighting, and most of all the crowds and the carnival atmosphere. I know he’s been to one or two!

We again meet Beth, now a former police detective with a drinking problem who does legwork for Bebe when she is otherwise occupied, and Bebe’s grasping and selfish daughter Helen, who shows up at the festival and promises to ruin Bebe’s renewed and growing reputation. Bebe somehow gets herself into the middle of the action, singing a version of one of Bonnie’s songs on stage with another vocalist and being asked to judge the competition, as well as be a presenter on the day of the event. While her status grows, contestants continue to fall until it becomes clear that what Bebe suspected all along: these are no accidents.

Bebe deals patiently and with aplomb with nasty TV reporters and career climbing presenters, but ultimately begins to think she may be the next target. I honestly did not know who dunnit or why until the very end.

For fans of Bebe Bollinger, mysteries with a colorful and detailed setting, followers of Eurovision, or women of a certain age (like me), this is the book for you! I anxiously await the next book to find out what happens with Bebe’s career.

Read the reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Over-Dead-Body-Eurovision-Bollinger-ebook/dp/B07CGNL2HJ/

And Amazon US: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Over-Dead-Body-Eurovision-Bollinger-ebook/dp/B07CGNL2HJ/

A  small selection of other books by Christoph Fischer.

   

Read all the reviews and buy the books: http://www.amazon.com/Christoph-Fischer/e/B00CLO9VMQ

and on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christoph-Fischer/e/B00CLO9VMQ

Read more reviews and follow Christoph on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6590171.Christoph_Fischer

 

About Christoph Fischer

Christoph Fischer was born in Germany, near the Austrian border, as the son of a Sudeten-German father and a Bavarian mother. Not a full local in the eyes and ears of his peers he developed an ambiguous sense of belonging and home in Bavaria. He moved to Hamburg in pursuit of his studies and to lead a life of literary indulgence. After a few years he moved on to the UK where he now lives in a small town in West Wales. He and his partner have three Labradoodles to complete their family.

Christoph worked for the British Film Institute, in Libraries, Museums and for an airline. ‘
The Luck of The Weissensteiners’ was published in November 2012; ‘Sebastian’ in May 2013 and ‘The Black Eagle Inn’ in October 2013 – which completes his ‘Three Nations Trilogy’. “Time to Let Go”, his first contemporary work was published in May 2014, and “Conditions”, another contemporary novel, in October 2014. The sequel “Conditioned” was published in October 2015. His medical thriller “The Healer” was released in January 2015 and his second thriller “The Gamblers” in June 2015. He published two more historical novels “In Search of a Revolution” in March 2015 and “Ludwika” in December 2015.

He has written several other novels which are in the later stages of editing and finalisation.

Connect to Christoph

Website: http://www.christophfischerbooks.com/
Blog: https://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFFBooks
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/christophffisch/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=241333846
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WriterChristophFischer?ref=hl

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Mystery Review: “Death in a Mudflat” by N.A. Granger

I’m a big fan of N.A. Granger as my previous blog posts and reviews prove. I’m delighted to share my review of the much anticipated new Rhe Brewster Mystery, Death in a Mudflat by N.A. Granger.

About the book

Fearless detective, ER nurse, devoted mother, and Pequod, Maine’s, answer to Kinsey Milhone, Rhe Brewster is back on the case. When an idyllic seaside wedding is suddenly interrupted by the grotesque sight of a decaying human arm poking out of the tidal mud, Rhe is thrown head first into a treacherous world of duplicity, drugs, and murder.

With her best friend Paulette and her main man Sam, the Chief of Police, Rhe seeks to solve the puzzle of the body found in the muck while also working with the FBI to identify the source of shipments of tainted heroin flooding the local campus and community. Maine’s opioid crisis has hit the town hard, with an escalating number of overdoses. More murders are uncovered, testing Rhe’s detective skills and steely resolve. While she follows the clues, Rhe encounters some sinister inhabitants of Pequod’s underbelly, including a practitioner of the Dark Arts, a hydra-headed crime gang, and an embittered, unhinged lobsterman with an axe to grind and nothing to lose. In her relentless drive to solve the crimes, Rhe narrowly escapes a watery grave, trades blows with Russian goons, and unknowingly prompts Paulette to put her life on the line in an attempt to catch a murderer in the act.

My review:

“Murder by Mudflat” is a hugely enjoyable, fast-paced mystery with excellent attention to forensic and scientific detail. I can promise you this book will keep you at the edge of your seat. Funny and cozy scenes alternate with high-octane, breath-taking action sequences. Rhe is a wonderful character: a mother and vulnerable lover one minute and a thug-chasing and quick-witted heroine the next. Her romance with Sam and the way that Rhe’s son Jack responds to it is beautifully done and adds just the right counter-weight to the fist-punching and at times tough and explosive plot. While generally cozy in style, there are some not so cozy scenes as well.

Grainger serves us some serious issues amongst some very light-hearted and entertaining sections: drug use, murder and some other, deeply personal issues, such as forgiveness and moving on.
Her characters are very real with problems of their own and an ability to reflect that surpasses the often one-dimensional place-holders in the genre. The combination of two separate investigations which may or may not be linked makes this a particularly rich and rewarding read, with plenty of possibilities for the plot and its denouement. This is a well written, breath-taking ride through two cases that show a crime writer at her best.

Head over and buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D8MM4VS/

And Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Mudflat-Brewster-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07D8MM4VS

Also by N.A. Granger