Snake in the Grass by TR Robinson

Snake in the Grass is a biographical fiction short story, that is, a fictional story based on actual events.

Their daughter in law was not the type of girl they wanted for their son but for his sake they made her welcome. They trust in their son’s judgement but he is too cowardly to confront his wife and stop her from ill-treating his mother.

To hint at more of the story line would spoil it for the reader so I will just say it is a most interesting read and reminds us that we need to listen to our inner feelings and instincts.

While the author does not specify the country that the story takes place (her reasoning is explained in her first autobiographical book Tears of Innocence). This story is taken from the third book in that series ‘Lost Dreams’.

It is also interesting to read how situations are more complicated for those who live in rural districts, parochial communities and countries that don’t have the services of more affluent nations.

I love how the author ties chapter titles in with the book title eg – The Slither, The Spit and The Strike.

Snake in the Grass is the third short story in the author’s Bitches series and sits well with the first two, Her Next Door and Reverse Gear.

The e-book is currently on pre-order at the special price of $0.99/£0.99. Price will go up after publication on 14 November 2017.

My rating 4*

The Night Beat (Fiona Griffiths, #0.5) by Harry Bingham

I am always looking for good police detective stories, especially a good British one. I chose this short story to give me an idea of the Harry Bingham’s series of stories featuring Fiona Griffiths.

Night Beat is a short story and prequel to Bingham’s Fiona Griffith’s detective stories. It tells of Fiona’s first night on the beat in Cardiff, South Wales with an experienced sergeant. Based on her petite build, Sergeant Jenkins has his own preconceived ideas about her ability and doubts she will make it as a police officer. Together they meet a range of characters as they go about their beat. Fiona learns form the old cop and he is starting to appreciate she has skills that will help her succeed.

I found the writing style interesting. Each chapter is written in the first person from a different characters point of view. At first I found this a bit strange but once I got used to it enjoyed this approach to story telling.

Night Beat didn’t give me much of an idea of how good or bad the actual detective stories are nor what Fiona is like as a detective but I did like her character. I think this has been written more for those who are already Fiona Griffith fans. Having said that I will certainly be starting with the first book in the series.

My rating (at this point) 3.5*

Blood Passage by Malcolm Pierce

How would you feel if you woke to find yourself in a prison cell, even worse, in a cell on an oil tanker in the middle of the ocean? Then once you manage to escape you need to act against your nature to destroy your captors.

This is the predicament Brian Francisco finds himself in. A likeable young man who worries about is little dog left alone without food. He must use all his military and civilian life experience and know how to undertake some dreadful strategies and eliminate the ship’s crew and the mercenaries that kidnapped him – and, manage to stay alive!

I am not normally a reader of hardcore action thrillers but the suspense and lucidly described action certainly had me hooked from the beginning.

The ship is a super tanker, slow and plodding by comparison to the action on board. The chapters are short allowing the reader to breathe (“phew”) and get ready the next action-packed instalment.

I should point out that in addition to violence in many of the scenes there is also some foul language. The writing style is simple yet still manages to highly descriptive. The ending, and the reason for Francisco’s kidnapping, was totally unexpected.

This is the second book by Malcom Pierce I have read and, although I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed Erased more.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. And I must, initially, I was reluctant to tackle it but glad I did.

My rating 4*