Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: rescue

  • Sea Shaken

    Sea Shaken

    Those who have followed the Castleby Series from JM Simpson would have been waiting with a degree of urgency for the next book in the series, Sea Shaken, to discover what has happened in Castleby since the final shattering chapter of Sea Change, when Jesse plunged off a cliff at the hands of her murderous, psychopath husband Chris.

    In Sea Shaken JM Simpson has certainly created her best yet, as she carefully brings together the many strands of life in the small seaside town, weaving a tapestry of tangled lives, loves, shattered dreams and hope.

    Stepping straight back into the town the feeling is one of returning home after time spent away, wondering what has happened and what is new. As the pages unfold the pace picks up with the focus more on the people of the town rather than the lifeboat crew, as has been in the previous books.

    Dr Kate Cooper, newly returned to Castleby to help her father in his medical practice, and long-time friend of Sophie, also introduces a larger role for Inspector Steve Miller, as he and Kate add a fresh segment to the township and one that like all small towns, everyone knows about before they do!

    Sam, Sophie’s husband has finally been found and bought home to England, a shattered man, both mentally and physically. He does not want to continue living as he is and cannot see a future ahead, even with the love of Sophie, his son Marcus and the support of the military machine. Through this aspect of the story, attention is drawn to the struggle men and women of the Military and their families face once they return to ‘civilian’ life after serving overseas; broken, damaged and unable to cope.

    Running throughout is the very intriguing thread of unexplained deaths in Nursing homes which as time goes on increases. Between the chapters are the diary notes of the killer, but who is it, the very obvious or not?

    Naturally there are still body parts galore, slightly gruesome but adding a certain something to the plot, lies, counter lies, drug smuggling, the local mafia and the hapless Jimmy Ryan involved up to his ears in trouble.

    While life seems to be settling down at last for Doug and Jesse, JM Simpson has added a cruel twist to keep readers on the edge of their armchairs trying to work out what next for this hapless couple.

    Is Sea Shaken the final story in the Castleby series or not? Maybe there could be another one in the waiting, but that is just a wild guess, as JM Simpson has very, very cleverly left a few strings hanging that certainly could see another book in the making.

    Get settled in a comfy chair and enjoy to the very last page the latest instalment from the families of Castleby in Sea Shaken.

  • Wildflowers

    Wildflowers

    Peggy Frew writes with such detail and structure that Wildflowers almost becomes a breath holding read. If anyone was not completely aware of the destruction to family life caused by drug addiction, they need to read this book. A “normal” family is slowly destroyed by the gradual decline of their beloved family member.

    Amber is the youngest member of the family. She has always been the wild passionate star and her sisters Meg and Nina adored her for it. Mum and Dad were bewildered by their enchanted child, so beautiful, so talented, so alive.

    Peggy Frew cleverly moves backwards and forward through time to give the reader an understanding of the family dynamics and just how life experiences have impacted on Amber. From being the drama queen of the stage, Amber suffers some setbacks which eventually lead to her drug habit.

    Her family is concerned but unsure of how to cope and what steps to take. They wilt as they see Amber slowly becoming a shell. It is Meg the oldest and “bossiest” and most caring sister who develops a plan which only she and Nina can carry out. The tension, and fear that result is gripping.

    In between the dramatic action, Frew uses language as a beautiful counterfoil. Staying near Mossman, Nina is entranced by the feel of the moist night air and the bird calls, which were “Gentler and more frequent, so the effect was of a rippling blanket of sound,” Wildflowers is a powerful story with reflections on all who become connected with addictions.

  • The Great Cave Rescue The extraordinary story of the Thai boy soccer team trapped in a cave for 18 days

    The Great Cave Rescue The extraordinary story of the Thai boy soccer team trapped in a cave for 18 days

    In the late afternoon of what had been a relatively ordinary day in Mae Sai, a town of relative obscurity in the northern corner of Thailand’s Chiang Rai Province, once considered as the hot spot of the “Golden Triangle’ until about 2002, the local boys soccer team, the Wild Boars were finishing their training.

    A trip to The Cave of the Sleeping Lady with their young coach was to be undertaken at the end of the session. The team mounted their bicycles, rode to the cave, left them on the railing outside and entered the Tham Luang Caves, also leaving behind them their small backpacks. After all they were only going to be gone a small time.

    By nightfall, when none of the team had returned, the alarm was raised, setting off one of the biggest rescue missions ever undertaken with success simply a word, not a real expectation. The rainy season had arrived early bringing with its unprecedented rainfall, rainfall that was not to stop for days, compounding the danger and difficulty of the task to be undertaken.

    Over the following 18 days the world watched, prayed and held its collective breath as experts from around the world gathered, the Thai authorities marshalled their forces, and undertook what was to be one of the most professional, sophisticated and complex rescue missions ever mounted.

    As the days dragged relentlessly onward, the boys had been discovered at a location with higher ground within the cave system, unable to leave because of rising water levels in the caves. Divers did their best to support the boys and their coach but could not, due to the complexities of the narrow track into the caves, get help through or the boys out.

    Cavers and Cave diving experts were called to assist, locals scoured the Mountain ranges in the hope there may be another way in yet undiscovered and the massive pumps kept on pumping out millions of gallons of water from the caves, in the hope that levels may lower long enough for the boys to be able either walk out or help to get into them.

    In the end and when time was running out for the boys, a most sophisticated, daring rescue was mounted with the help and assistance of doctor Richard Harris and his long-time cave diving partner Craig Challan, whom with the support and assistance of the Thai, American, Chinese and British divers, saw the boys and their coach rescued from the caves.

    James Massolla has done a masterful piece of work in recalling the tension and inspiration of those incredible days, when the world stopped for a minute, and the huge, overwhelming, feeling of relief when the mission was successfully completed, with only the tragic loss of one Thai Navy SEAL diver who died in the lead up to the rescue.

    In his presentation of the rescue mission Massola has ascertained the facts without dressing them up, paid tribute to all the volunteers and so many others who willing played such important roles, in what was to be so very much larger and dangerous that ever anticipated.

    Today, the site of the rescue a has become a pilgrimage site, candles burn, flowers are laid and life, time and the Sleeping Lady go on doing what they have alwys done, remain silent and watch over the caves, the mountains and the countryside where the world came together in harmony, on a mission to rescue the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach.

  • Moo and Moo and the Little Calf too

    Moo and Moo and the Little Calf too

    What a delightful way to read a fun story and introduce realistic concepts along the way. The author has cleverly devised this rhyming text to elaborate on an actual incident which happened in New Zealand in November 2016. Many of us saw on TV, or in the newspapers, the three cows left stranded after an earthquake and landslide which occurred in the middle of the night.

     The story is as gentle as the illustrations and the rhyming text. ”Moo and Moo and the little calf too” were all asleep with the moon high in the sky and the stars twinkling. Suddenly the Clarence Valley began to move under the influence of an earthquake.

     The core of land that the cows were on was separated from the rest of the land, and slid down the valley with the surprised cows standing up until the core came to rest in the valley. However, as daylight made their predicament visible, the cows realized that they were trapped on their platform of earth, and could not get off.

     Later, a helicopter passed by and realized their predicament. The dairy farmer and his friends came with shovels and picks, and made a track that the cows could use to get off the platform. They walked down and followed the men back home to their herd.

     As a picture book this story stands alone with double page spreads of softly drawn illustrations, and blocks of text on each page. What makes it remarkable is the inclusion of information, and the opportunity for discussion.

     Earthquakes, New Zealand and the Richter scale are all referred to at the back of the book, as well as the date and time of the earthquake that stranded the cows. For curious children, this book is a mine of information and many concepts and ideas are presented.

     Even in the illustrations of the mountainous region, and the bay, we see that unstable areas are quite different to old flat land not on the edge of tectonic plates. Congratulations to the author and illustrator, whose work is so complimentary to the story.