I have recently just come back from a two week break from Cyrpus – which was lovely – and now I’m back, finishing the last few things for Deception.
From the image below, you can see the clear waters and bright blue sky of Cyprus; which was stunning to experience and look at on a daily basis. Not only that, it allowed us to travel around and experience various days out. They’re also handy for clearing your mind and thinking about new story ideas – pleased to say I planned out a new book idea whilst away.
The pic below is me thinking of new book ideas – candid shot of course, and completely natural…
On holiday I began with a Linwood Barclay novel called ‘Far From True’. It was a good story with enticing reading to keep up with all the branching stories in the book. I felt though that there was a lot of focus on ‘The Twenty-Three’ killer in Promise Falls, but there was no reason for as much focus; especially as there was no conclusion to this. I think I was acting or thinking a bit like a spoilt child though, wanting to know who the killer was, but I’ll definitely be reading the third book of his book series. That’s another thing to mention, it is part of the ‘Promise Falls Trilogy’ but is still a good standalone book, as I haven’t read the previous novel.
I rate Linwood Barclay’s book a 3.5/5
My second read was Stephen King’s new book, ‘End of Watch’. Please note, this is the finale of the Bill Hodges Trilogy.
The book is ok, I felt like it was a bit far fetched and predictable for me, and it took a while for me to accept all there was to accept about the ‘Zappits’ (without giving anything away). Other reviews have suggested that it is important to read the two previous books before this one – which may have improved my opinion on this book.
I rate it 3/5
My third read was Peter James’s ‘You Are Dead’.
This was certainly a typical British detective and mystery type of novel set in Brighton, following main protagonist Grace. Again, this book is part of a series, but stood well on its own. It started really well, having you fear for the life of Logan Somervile. Only negative point about this book was that I felt it was a little repetitive; asking/suggesting the same questions to the reader. I did guess some of the story, but there were still some clever surprises for the reader – which was refreshing, and a good last scene with the showdown with the brander and another side story.
I rate this one 4/5
I then started reading Stephen King’s ‘Dreamcatcher’, which seems to make me laugh quite a lot, which is quite refreshing 🙂
Anyway, these were my holiday readings. Hope you enjoyed this post, if you’ve read these books and would like to comment, feel free!
To finish, here’s me swimming in the chilly but beautiful Adonis Baths and Waterfall in Cyprus.
T. J. Blake #Author 