Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: dark

  • The Warrior in My Wardrobe: More Misadventures with Merdyn the Wild!

    The Warrior in My Wardrobe: More Misadventures with Merdyn the Wild!

    Merdyn the Wild with his modern day world off-sider Rose and her amazing talking Guinea Pig Bubbles, are back in another crash, bang adventure, The Warrior in my Wardrobe, as they time travel into the Dark Ages to rescue Rose’s rather annoying brother Kris, who was mistakenly kidnapped.

    Actually, Rose was the one who should have been kidnapped as part of a seriously terrible, deadly and horrible plot to well, possibly get even with Merdyn for something that happened in his past and take over the world! Well, why not!

    Simon Farnaby brings his legendary droll wit to bear in this annoyingly fantastic adventure, dotted throughout with real facts, that help explain some of the ‘olde worlde’ in other words, Dark Age language used, because as you know language was used very differently then, as well as some of the history of the times.

    Because it is set in the Dark Ages, Arthur the future King of Camelot is part of the plot as Merdyn, later to be known as Merlin, is teaching him the skills of the craft of becoming King in his time and place in history. Excalibur is also in use, as Arthur insists on waving it around every at every opportunity.

    But back to the plot.  Basically Kris finds himself in the Dark Ages with no way out. He is a bit of a fashionista and is desperately trying to work out how to maintain his hairstyle and clothing, in a time when he is tied up, there is no running water and the food is terrible, to say the least.

    After several days of sulking and skulking, Rose realize Kris is not returning any time soon and it is up to her to put bygones by, so makes the decision to time travel, with of course Bubbles in her pocket, to see if she can find Merdyn and if they can mount a rescue mission.

    The rest you will have to read about for yourself as it involves great magic, huge luck, nasty, nasty people and a lot of very smelly stuff happening, before they and a few others are rescued but not without almost altering the future.

    Look out for the very quirky little twist in the final pages! Interesting and much food for another adventure, maybe!

    Oh, yes, Claire Powell has added to the mayhem with some fantastic cartoon style illustrations as sometimes, words will simply not paint the right kind of Dark Age pictures at all.

    Summation: Fantastic and if you have not read the first book, The Wizard in my Shed, treat yourself to both and have a terrific time revisiting time.

  • The Dark Hours

    The Dark Hours

    Bosch is back as the sidekick to Renee Ballard in this latest release from Michael Connelly based in the current times of the pandemic and the riots in Hollywood.

    Dark Hours sees Renee Ballard finishing her shift and heading out into the revelry of New Year’s Eve, just in time to witness the traditional pistol shooting into the sky, that marks the end of one year and the beginning of the new, except that for one shop owner, the new year will never arrive.

    Murder has been done and as she looks at the case fully she realizes it has similarities to one Bosch was working on some time ago. She is also involved with a case of serial rape with offenders who will not hesitate to kill.

    Undermining her love of her work is the serious challenge of being on the night shift, a place she should not be, facing the direct chauvinistic behavior of the other members of the force, who she realizes cannot be trusted as they have their own agenda.

    She calls once again on the help of Harry Bosch a man she would trust with her life and the only one she feels she can talk with and get an honest option on these two cases. Bosch, now retired is bored to bits with this thing called retirement and no matter how he tries to move on, his first and last love is policing, being a detective. When Ballard arrives asking for his input he jumps at the chance.

    But as Ballard gets closer to the case she finds she is suspended from duty, but refuses to give upon the case of the rapists. After much introspection she makes the decision to retire, hang up her badge as the soul destroying workplace and other force members is making her life far too hard.

    As the case she is working clandestinely begins to come together she and Bosch have to once again back each other to the very limit, as the suspects in the rape cases are becoming more brutal as they realize their chances of being caught are negligible.

    As with all Connelly books he sets the scene in real time adding to the reality of the storyline that pushes the limits time and time again as Bosch and Ballard have to pit their formidable wits and skill to solve the crime.

    Brilliant, engaging and another terrific thriller from Michael Connelly.

  • The Flower Girls

    The Flower Girls

    Georgie, a 5 years old girl disappeared on New Year’s Eve 2016 from a motel on the Devon Cliffs, England. Around this event the author has constructed a mesmerizing, thought provoking, chilling story of two sisters –Laural (10) and Primrose (6) – dubbed by the press as The Flower Girls. They were accused of killing Kirstie Swann (2) on a warm summer’s day in 1997.

    Now 19 years later Laural, convicted for the crime is applying for parole and Primrose (Rosie), considered too young to stand trial, and given a new identity, is spending time in this same motel. An ex journalist, with an eye to a good story, recognizes Hazel (Rosie) as being the younger of ‘The Flower Girls’. This has implications for both girls. Meanwhile the police are convinced that Hazel is involved in the disappearance of Georgie and that history is repeating itself.

    With a number of intriguing twists and turns Ms Clark-Platts has created a page turning psychological thriller, in which she raises a number of pertinent issues. Are children born evil? Would they ever consider killing another child? Is a child murderer capable of being rehabilitated?

    Long after finishing the book I found myself discussing these questions with friends. Although this is a dark novel, it engages the reader, who is left feeling quite uncomfortable about the ending.

    I highly recommend this book to true crime readers as well as fiction crime readers, as it rekindles memories of the notoriously unforgettable 1993 murder of toddler of James Bulger by two boys.

  • The Lightness of Dark

    The Lightness of Dark

    “If we love, we grieve. That’s the deal”. Nick Cave

    To this end Fiona Joy Hawkins and Rebecca Daniel have created a most elegant, gentle and almost heavenly body of work, The Lightness of Dark reflecting on the grief and darkness that can surround the very soul, before the lightness of acceptance is ushered in and life, once again, continues onward, never the same, forever different.

    A small beautifully constructed booklet accompanies the music, telling the story behind the inspiration with each of the sections having a wonderful quote overlaying the graceful photography.

    A tribute to Rick Wright the keyboard player for Pink Floyd, who passed away in 2008, introduces the body of the work in Heavenly Voices, the soft, gentle sound of the ‘cello offering an invitation to enter. The wordless vocals of Fiona Joy and Rebecca Daniels rise over the delicately constructed piece, which also introduces The Kanimbla Quartet, joining all the threads together in a perfect tapestry.

    Ghosts Insanity Angels tells the story of the early days of loss, when there is an overwhelming madness that descends; a belief that the world has gone mad, insane and all will be well, until the reality descends and eventually, the Angles who watch over us lead us out of the darkness of despair. A beautiful piece from Nick Cave also blesses this composition with his words of wisdom.

    Interwoven Threads of Chance is a slow, measured, melancholic piece for chamber quartet, played with emotion buy The Kanimbla Quartet, featuring viola, sharing the story of the fine threads of chance that enter life, creating the love that is as essential to life as is grief, both often fleeting, both immensely felt, interwoven to remain in eternity.

    An intriguing piece Sugar Plum Ghost, is a much lighter song, featuring Hawkins on piano and Daniels on violin, once again using their wordless vocals to entwine the two mediums in a tribute to Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

    Inspired by Jethro Tull, Empty Moments captures the emptiness of space when someone has gone, the hole left behind, still fresh, new, waiting for something to fill the void. Written by Rebecca Daniels and performed by The Kanimbla Quartet, with Fiona Joy Hawkins on piano, Empty Moments is a most reflective and beautiful piece.

    The final piece Finding The Way Out is a rather genteel Celtic dance song offering the gift of a small ray of sunshine into a life that has been in darkness, suggesting a fleeting moment of joy, of happiness there to be enjoyed before once again continuing on with life’s journey.

    Recorded in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales on a gloriously beautiful day, the subtle, timeless majesty of the Australian bush, the darkness and light, the joy and sorrow coming down through the Ages has somehow been captured and woven into the final recording, adding something rare and very special to this deep, emotional, elegant collection.

    A final word from Fiona Joy Hawkins completes this beautiful eleven track work when she says,

    “When the world seems dark, a fleeting moment of light is like a smile.”

  • Dark Sacred Night A Ballard and Bosch Novel

    Dark Sacred Night A Ballard and Bosch Novel

    There are many features that lead to writing a superb Crime Thriller, and it seems that Mr Connelly has them all covered. His research shows us his intense knowledge of Police procedures and practices, as well as the natural responses that may be expected from Senior Detectives. His characters are interesting and to begin with, a little understated, but we soon learn that Renee Ballard is a quiet, unassuming woman who is fixated with her Police work. She meets an older detective, (Harry Bosch), whose thinking matches and enhances hers.

    Renee has been moved to the Hollywood division and is working the night shift. She meets Harry who has quietly come into the room not knowing she was there. Eventually, they talk about the cold case that has Harry so focussed. A fifteen-year-old girl, who was a run away, was found murdered ten years ago. No one has been found who may have committed the crime. Harry has met Daisy’s mother who has taken to drugs to cope with her grief. He has now become obsessed with this case. Renee is horrified by the gruesome details and when, times are quiet, she helps Harry to search through old records held in card form, for possible suspects.

    The chapters are headed Bosch or Ballard, and we follow their progress, not only of Daisy’s case, but other call outs for Renee.  Harry is also investigating the execution of a 52-year-old gang leader. He had a witness from that time, but Bosch made the mistake of leaving his card for the witness, in case he needed to call the detective. When the man was found dead with Bosch’s card between his teeth, the tension begins to build, and inevitably a confrontation occurs.

    As the pace of the story builds, gradually we learn more about the intense research that the two detectives have been doing. Little by little, a picture begins to build, but not before the gang captures Harry, and Renee bends the rules to save her friend. We begin to learn more about the characters and see their trust in each other develop. They are both rather quiet, dogged individuals, who have the ability to think laterally.

    As well as working towards solving Daisy’s murder, Renee is called out on other cases.  These again show her analytical thinking and confidence in her own ability to read the crime scene. This is a superb Crime thriller, and hopefully we will see more of these two characters working together.

  • Forest Dark

    Forest Dark

    When a man simply gets up and leaves his life behind, heading for Tel Aviv, arriving at the Hilton, he is looking for a new concept in life, or on his life in particular, which sets off a train of events that proves both profound and refreshing.

    A briefcase found in the middle of the desert, monogramed but with no trace of the owner is indicative of man in crisis, a man trying to find the core essence of a life he has built for himself; that of a successful lawyer, husband and father.

    A woman leaves her family in Brooklyn and arrives at the same hotel in Tel Aviv in the hope that returning to the place of her childhood, a place filled with family memories, may  release the writer’s block she has being plagued with for some time. She is a successful writer facing more challenges within her family that she cares to admit.

    When she is recruited by a man saying he is a Professor of Literature and he needs her help, she agrees without realising what it is she has signed up for, discovering almost too late that the journey she so willingly agreed to be a part of, will have a profound and lasting effects on her life in a manner she would never, ever have expected.

    Deep and movingly haunting, this is a tale of self-discovery taken to the nth degree as acclaimed author Nicole Krauss addresses the frailty of the human spirit and the fine line we all walk as we travel through life. Carefully structured and beautifully written, and in many, many ways confrontational, the story of two people caught in what is an almost Kafkaesque situation, where reality blurs into bizarre or nightmarish situations, is reflective of a time when certain choices in personal decision making is not always easy and can often have unexpected outcomes.

    If you enjoy post-modernist writing, in the sense of a differing style to modern day writing, a scenario of ’what if’ and a reflection of life, where you a can stand to one side and perhaps see yourself reflected in the writing, this is a novel you will absolutely enjoy.

  • The Last Long Drop

    The Last Long Drop

    As a holiday read, this novel will be a hit. The front cover gives a feel of an almost cartoon like content, but nothing could be further from the truth. The story begins slowly, but gains momentum and complexity as it goes along. The reader rides on the wave with Jonno, not only in the ocean, but as his life takes many twists and turns.

    At the age of 55 John Harcourt was made redundant from his position as a journalist for a newspaper. He had seen the inevitable end as newspapers globally were suffering from the digital era. As a lifelong surfer, and living locally on Sydney’s northern beaches the journalist caught up with his mates and hit the waves. Everyone knew this wouldn’t be enough for him, but it was a temporary pacifier.

    John’s family consists of his wife Tess, a son in England with a band, hopeful to break into the music scene, and a daughter Kirsten. Tess is in publishing while Kirsten has just been photographed topless with a famous but elderly author. In the midst of this family turmoil, Jonno is asked to write a book, for a rather dubious character whose wealth has been amassed by variety of means.

    It is the reality and the layers in this story that make it so compelling. The family issues are dealt with as best parents can; John’s surfer mates keep his feet on the ground, while his integrity as a journalist helps retain his esteem. There are thought provoking moments as well as common issues to enjoy. Put all this together and throw in a gangland murder and you have a super read.