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Livid

1/28/2023

Author: Patricia Cornwell
Publisher: Grand Central
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
100 million people can’t be wrong, I thought. It may be some people have bought more than one, but roughly, that’s how many copies of Patricia Cornwell’s books have been sold, to date. Making her, I’d say, deserving of the title ‘international phenomenon’. You have to gasp – she’s written damn nearly 40 (though I abandoned the count), and 26 of them have been in the Kay (medical

examiner) Scarpetta series. The first one Postmortem was written in 1990, the latest Livid in 2022 – with a few beats in between, that’s pretty much one a year. Impressive hey!
Someone refers to Cornwell’s ‘fanatically loyal fan base’ – someone else inferred that you need to have a bit of background on Ms Scarpetta to make sense of the latest. But what I say is Phew! Can you imagine all those words around one woman – can you imagine all those words from one woman. And from one woman with a story of her own. Cornwell’s father walked out on the family when she was five. Ruth Bell Graham (wife of evangelist Billy) was a key figure in her upbringing (and about whom she wrote a book which seems to have soured the relationship), she was a promising tennis ace, worked as a reporter, suffered anorexia, molestation and depression at different stages and had three novels rejected before the first, Postmortem, was published. With a personal story like that, why would you write about anyone else?
It’s been suggested that Kay Scarpetta is Cornwell’s alter ego – but then she’s also had a long time obsession with Jack the Ripper, about whom she wrote a book called Portrait of a killer - Jack the Ripper, Case Closed. I rest my case.
All of this is a lot to process in an author’s background. But intrigued, I gave Livid, the latest in the Scarpetta series, a go. Truth to tell, I was a bit overwhelmed. Drowned in detail and razor-edged dialogue. The opening chapters of snapping court cross examination set the tone – but I soldiered on. Finally, the take home factor for me, was learning a lot about the American way of speaking, smoking, eating, drinking and thinking – I also found out what livid, and also birddogging, really means. But phewy, I take my hat off to the 100 million devotees – but more especially I take my hat off to Ms Cornwell, and look forward to her autobiography – unless she’s already done it.

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Feeding The Soul

1/26/2023

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Author: Tabitha Brown
Publisher: William Morrow
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
Affectionately known as “America’s Mom,” Tabitha Brown is an actress, a vegan food star and an award-winning social media personality with millions of followers. In this book she candidly shares her life lessons, her career path, health, faith and family journeys. With all the turmoil and uncertainties within us and around us, with this book she aims to

nhelp us find our way to joy, love and freedom with a good dose of soulful vegan recipes .d, inspirational quotes in the mix.
The book is made up of five parts: That’s Your Business, Have the Most Amazing Day, Don’t You Dare Go Messing Up Nobody Else’s, Like So, Like That and, Very Good. It’s a mesmerising read, an ode to the resilience of the human spirit. Looking at her now and reading about her amazing achievements, I could hardly believe that she’s the same woman who struggled with migraines, anxiety, depression and autoimmune illness. That she was miserable and felt so lost at some point in her life she did not think she would ever make it out of the darkness.
In the book she talks about living with intention, living life without fear, living in peace and kindness, discovering your true self (and trusting yourself), being grateful, and most of all believing in your dreams. As she says, “Don’t you dare talk yourself out of your dreams.”
After reading Feeding the Soul, I wholeheartedly believe that dreams do come true if you have faith and perseverance. And don’t allow background noise to dim your vision. Tabitha is a living testimony to this. Born and raised in Eden, North Carolina, she knew from a very early age that she wanted to be an actress. In school she did theatre, and performing in community theatre. She was in acting class for years and auditioned for all kinds of roles, taking up some that didn’t even pay just for the experience. She had seen highs and lows and highs again. Battled with disillusionment. Cared for her dying mother.
Her journey has seen her work two jobs, at just nineteen, to afford rent in California. She has laboured as a caregiver in an assisted living home. Held a nine-to-five, doing hair in her home on the side, working on her stand-up on the weekends and driven for Uber. There were times when she wanted to turn her back on her dream. It took the author twenty-three years of pursuing a career in acting. Success is indeed a marathon.
What I know for sure is that in life we all have our fair share of trials and tribulations. Good things don’t happen overnight. In this book, the author urges us to embrace all our new journeys. Not focus on what we used to be, but who we are right now and can be in the future. “Change means we’re still growing and we’re still alive to do so,” Tabitha Brown

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Blood to Poison

1/21/2023

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Author: Mary Watson
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
Blood to Poison is the third novel from author Mary Watson. I’m sorry I missed the first two because if this book is anything to go by, then The Wren Hunt and The Wicker Light, must be spellbinding books to read.
Seventeen-year-old Savannah is no ordinary girl. She is cursed and the curse runs through her bloodline. It all began with Hella, her ancestor who had been enslaved during colonial times.

As the author says, “The story is inspired by the very real historical trauma and injustice of enslavement and discrimination in South Africa.” Hella’s anger has been passed down from mother to daughter.
Back to the now. Savannah and her close-knit family live in Cape Town. They live in secret fear of the curse that her aunties believe claimed the lives of her grandmother (who died suddenly at twenty-nine years old), and her aunt Freda who lost control of her car on the highway. She perished just aged twenty-seven. Hella’s curse: You will die before you have fully lived.
Freda was like a second mother to Savannah as she looked after her so that Kim, Savannah’s mother, could finish school. As difficult as she was as a child, prone to frantic meltdowns and tantrums, Freda always found ways to soothe her. When Freda died, her world imploded. Now Savannah is fury on two legs. Not afraid of anything; especially misogynists and veil witches out to get her. Her wrath knows no limit. Hella’s girls: The angrier they are, the younger they die.
Savannah doesn’t want to die before her time. It’s a frantic race against the clock as she confronts danger and brutal moments from her past.
The author deserves a ten out of ten for this thriller. It’s vivid and tragic at the same time. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. Even at midnight, during load shedding, I had to make use of my mobile phone torch until the electricity came back on – two hours later! It’s awfully engrossing. Witches, forbidden magic, and incredible twists churning in my head as I type the review. I commend the sensitivity shown by the author when dealing with past trauma, enslaved people, race, inequality and violence against women.
Kudos for a superb book that kept me fascinated from beginning to end, and made me think about my own history. I hope it can reach as many young adults in this country.
“Like Savannah, enslavement is almost certainly part of my own family history, and the book ‘s underlying themes of trauma and historical rage resonate deeply for me,” Mary Watson.

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Double or Nothing

1/16/2023

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Author: Kim Sherwood
Publisher: Harper Collins
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
I’m not proud of this, but I surrendered. I gave up on Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood. Not because it’s not a good book, but because it’s just not moi. Helen Moffett recently asked ‘What makes a person pick up a book?’ I ask ‘What makes a person put down a book?’ In this instance, I am simply not sufficient, not sufficient of a James Bond devotee. Bit of a wimp actually.

Don’t get me wrong – loved the movies, and all the Bond boys – Connery, Lazenby, Brosnan, Dalton, Moore, Craig (in whatever order). I can process the visuals, but not the words. The thrill just escapes me…’Three fingers on the grip, thumb on the barrel, finger at the trigger. His heart was haring. “It’s my first war”’. He tried a smile. “I haven’t developed a defense against my humanity yet.’” I’m out. I tried again, ‘Bashir kicked out, aiming for the colonel’s groin. The colonel caught his ankle, and hurled him against the wall…he was trying to shift his arms when the colonel stamped on Bashir’s solar plexus, with all the pressure he’d give a cockroach.’ Ouch. Lost me.
So around Chapter 7, The Sweet Science of Bruising – I threw in the towel. Is it because it’s a boy book, I asked myself. Hmm – sexist stereotyping. Or is it because I don’t, don’t want to understand? Hmm – closed mind. Sore? Yup.
But before the bruising faded, I thought I’d just check the acknowledgements. Now there’s a story! Kim Sherwood thanks her action advisor, medical advisor, the man who advised on science and whisky, the other man who remembered the code, yet another whose mind could power a quantum computer...the list goes on. But wait, there’s more. Kim Sherwood is 34 years old. Born 1989. Ian Fleming’s Casino Royal, the first Bond book, came out in 1953. She wasn’t even a twinkle. So how did a young thing like Ms Sherwood get to be commissioned by the Ian Fleming Estate (nog) to write a trilogy to ‘expand the world of James Bond’ joining the men’s club of Bond-writers that includes Kingsley Amis, Sebastian Faulks and William Boyd?
Well apparently, James Bond has been “one of the enduring loves of my life since I first watched Pierce Brosnan dive from the dam in GoldenEye. As a teenager”, she says, “I chose Fleming when my English teacher asked us to write about an author we admired – I still have the school report.” So there you have it – staying power and raw grit admiration. I aspire.
But wait again, because there’s even more. Her next book, Wild and True Relation, second in the Bond-expanding trilogy with a ‘new raft of Double-O agents for the 21st century’ has been lauded by the late Hilary Mantel as ‘a novel as remarkable for the vigour of the storytelling as for its literary ambition. Kim Sherwood is a writer of capacity, potency and sophistication.’ Can’t argue with that.

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Notes from the Lost Property Department

1/7/2023

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Author: Bridget Pitt
Publisher: Penguin
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
Isn’t it funny how books come to you. Bought, loaned, recommended…stolen (well…tell me you haven’t been tempted). Or gifted. The best, because the giver has thought - about this particular tile, and about you. But just before Christmas, at a writer’s group, we had a Secret Santa and everyone brought a copy of their book, anonymously wrapped. Well a book is a book, so there was no guessing,

shaking or squeezing to identify the contents. But what a treat to get a book by a writer who you could not only ask to sign your copy, but get the back story first-hand – the unabridged pain and joy! Some of the group are old friends, some are newer acquaintances, so it was also a ‘getting to know you’ opportunity.
I was delighted to unwrap Bridget Pitt’s Notes from the Lost Property Department (Penguin) – primarily because of its irresistible cover. But secondly because she was in the ‘newer acquaintance’ category. And is it not so that a writer wears his/her heart on their sleeve when they write a novel. Their experience, their knowledge, their soul, style and humour are all laid bare for the reading.
The choice of subject matter already says something about the author – the manifestation of brain injury, through stroke or accident. In the acknowledgments she thanks survivors and their families for their testimonies. So we know she cares and has listened. We know that she is a hiker through her intimate knowledge of the Drakensberg, and an environmentalist through her descriptions of flora and fauna - I venture that not everyone knows what a lammergeyer is. It is clear she’s a thinker in the conversations she captures and that her background was filled with song and poetry for which she has both memory and nostalgia. She has a great deal of heart – I’d say it’s necessary to have ‘been there’ to write about the intensity of relationships, and overall it’s evident that she’s also a careful craftsman. The interwoven stories of ageing Grace who suffers a stroke, and of her daughter Iris who had a fall as a child, are delivered in ‘then and now’ chapters – 1972 and 2012 with the ultimate reveal coming only towards the end. It is a story, certainly of what’s lost, but also of what can be found.

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How Stella Learned to Talk

1/5/2023

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Author: Christina Hunger
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Reviewer: Wendy Goddard
Christina Hunger is a Speech-Language Pathologist who works with language-delayed toddlers. She uses various communication devices to help the children communicate with their parents and teachers, including Push-to-Talk buttons.

Christina acquired a puppy (Stella) and noticed that Stella communicated with gestures – by scratching the door if she wanted to go out; and by flipping her empty food bowl if she was hungry. Christina wondered if some of her work methods might work with Stella. This book is the story of that journey.
I loved this book from the very start. Christina’s writing style is casual and easy, with a great flow. The reader shares in the anticipation, frustration and joy of the entire process, with gentle dollops of humour along the way.
Each chapter ends with a summary of the basic guidelines for applying what Christina learned in that chapter. At the end of the book is a 10-page Appendix with instructions, suggestions and ideas on helping you teach your own dog to ‘talk’.
The book certainly inspired me, and I wasted no time ordering the Recordable Answer Buttons online. It took a few weeks to get the message across to my dog, Steffi; but I now fear I may have created a monster. Each time I go near the food bowl, Steffi pushes the ‘Supper’ button and looks up at me hopefully. Of course, I have to oblige…
Even though the book can be seen as a text book or instruction manual, it makes an equally good read as a story. Highly recommended.

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Livid

Feeding The Soul

Blood to Poison

Double or Nothing

Notes from the Lost Property Department

How Stella Learned to Talk

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