What Is The Secret of Plum Island

Review of Plum Island, a novel by Nelson DeMille.

I am reviewing the hard back version of this novel, published by Little Brown and Company, 528 pages, cover price £8.99, ISBN 978-0316642378.  Genre – Crime fiction.

Hardback currently available from amazon from 0.01p used, paperback from £5.75 new or used 0.09p.

**The Plot**

NYPD homicide detective John Corey has moved to Southold on Long Island to recuperate from near fatal injuries he sustained in the line of duty.  John’s uncle Harry, a long term resident of the area has let him use a holiday home he owns there.  John has spent many holidays in Southold and consequently knows quite a few people in the neighbourhood. 

Just offshore lies Plum Island a government funded research centre.  Plum Island is securely guarded and no one really knows what goes on there.  John makes friends with married couple, Tom and Judy Gordon.  The couple work as research scientists on Plum Island and although relative newcomers are mixing socially with local people.   

When the Gordons are found shot at their home, John is asked to act as a consultant by the local law enforcement office.  He is shocked to find that his friends have been murdered and is happy to help out. 

His rather maverick style of policing does not sit well with local big wigs, especially as he upsets the head of security on Plum Island, and he is soon removed from the case.  John cannot leave things as they are and embarks on an investigation of his own. He is determined to solve the mystery of his friends’ murders and uncover the events that led up to their killing.

John Corey’s investigation leads him into a complicated web of mysterious events, further killings, and archaeology, local historic events, all of which culminate in a surprising and unexpected outcome.

**My Thoughts and Conclusion**

This was the first book I had read by Nelson DeMille and it most certainly will not be the last! 

The novel is fast paced and the character of John Corey is remarkably well drawn, he is a complicated man, a wise-cracking city cop with a soft centre.  He comes over as a fairly sensitive character that hides behind his innuendoes and sharp one liners. There are a great many other characters within the story but they are by no means superfluous and do not detract from the plot.  The dialogue is crisp, sharp and very well delivered.

I found this novel to be really gripping and fast paced and I would happily re-read it.  The plot is a complex one and there enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested and absorbed. 

In my opinion, this is crime fiction at its best!

I am awarding Plum Island a 5* rating and would recommend the book to others who enjoy a fast paced crime novel.

Thank you for reading.

©brittle1906 

N.B. My reviews may be found on other sites under the same user name.  

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Past, Present and Future?

Review of 'Twenties Girl', a novel by Sophie Kinsella

The Plot

Lara Lington is the main character of this novel.
Lara's life is in turmoil, on paper and according to what her family believe, Lara should be doing well. She is in business with her best friend Natalie, the pair run a supposedly upmarket, head hunting recruitment agency. In reality, Lara has been dumped by her boyfriend Josh, has indulged in a spot of stalking and harassment of Josh, her business partner has failed to return from a holiday in Goa where she has fallen in love with a local, leaving Lara to hold the fort.

Lara knows next to nothing about head-hunting or recruitment and whilst she is trying her best, the business is failing dismally. Lara's personal life is in shreds and her finances are looking decidedly grim.
Lara's great aunt Sadie has passed away aged 105. Sadie Lancaster had lived in a nursing home for many years and was all but forgotten by the her small family, which consists of nephews Bill and Michael (Lara's father) their respective wives and the three children the brothers have between them. No one had visited Sadie for many years and when the family get together for Sadie's funereal no one has organised flowers or spoken to the vicar about an eulogy.

Lara's uncle, Bill Lington, is the world famous boss of Lington's coffee, a coffee franchise and the millionaire author of 'Two Little Coins', a motivational, self help business guide which tells of his rise to fortune by means of his own hard work. In comparison, Lara's parents feel like the poor relations and Lara and her sister are somewhat overawed by their uncle, his perma-tanned wife and their spoiled cousin, Diamanté.
As the funeral progresses, Lara becomes aware of a presence, a disturbingly persistent presence, who tells her to stop the funeral. At first she ignores this presence, putting it down to stress or an over active imagination, but eventually begins to see the speaker, a young woman, dressed in the fashions of the 1920s. Lara realises that the girl is ghost, but no ordinary ghost, this is the ghost of her great aunt Sadie. Sadie has chosen to reveal herself as she was in the happiest period of her long life.

At Sadie's insistence, Lara makes a feeble attempt to halt the proceedings but fails. The young woman tells her to say that Sadie Lancaster was murdered. Naturally the funeral is halted, the police are called and Lara descends into a spiral of madcap events.
Her life is taken over by the ensuing situations and it seems that all is not well within the Lington brothers families. Lara delves to get to the bottom of the questions posed by Great Aunt Sadie and as a result uncovers family scandals and mysteries.

Will Lara resolve the Lington family mystery and reveal the long hidden secrets?
You'll have to read the novel if you want to know more!

My Thoughts and Conclusion

As many readers may know, Sophie Kinsella is a well known chick-lit author, she penned the immensely popular 'Shopaholic' series. I have to be honest and say that her writing style in these books was not really to my taste and as a result, she is an author that I have tended to ignore. That opinion has changed with 'Twenties Girl'. The book was given to me in a batch of books that I received from a local free cycle site. I wavered as to whether I should simply pass it on, but on reading the book synopsis decided to give it a try.
I am so glad I did!

The novel is a brilliant piece of writing in my opinion. Yes, it is chick-lit and yes, it is fluffy and light-hearted in places, but the strong story line and amusing characters make this novel highly entertaining and readable. The dialogue is witty, sharp and amusing, the characters are believable and well rounded.
Over and above the chick-lit essence of the novel, is a strong story line with many twists and turns. The drama begins to unfold from the very first chapter and the book had me hooked from the start. Admittedly, I am a very fast reader, but I had this book read in two sittings, I just couldn't put it down!

I particularly liked the way the ghost of great Aunt Sadie tried to get Lara to embrace the whole 1920's lifestyle, she was furious when Lara wouldn't smoke or go out dancing. The character of Lara was very well drawn, a thoroughly modern young lady of our times, who had to accept and embrace her own personal ghostly friend, even though she was not spiritually minded at all.
I feel that Twenties Girl is a typical 'good over bad' or perhaps I should say a 'nice girl going a bit wrong, but turns out all right in the end', modern novel!

I really enjoyed this book, in spite of not really liking other novels by this author. I may just grab a few copies of her other work to compare on the strength of the enjoyment I got from this novel.
I would recommend this novel to others, it is a fast paced read with lots of twists and turns along the way.
Thank you for reading

©brittle1906
N.B. My reviews may appear on other sites under the same user name.

Jail Bird, a brilliant novel by Jessie Keane

Review of Jail Bird, a novel by Jessie Keane
I am reviewing the paperback version of this book, published by Harper Books in 2010, 421 pages, ISBN 97800007908841. Cover price £7.99. Genre:- Crime.


This novel can be found in High street book stores or online. Amazon are currently offering it from £2.42 + P&P new or from 0.01p used.



Synopsis

The plot begins in the mid 1990's. Blonde and beautiful Lily King is the wife of Leo King, a well known hard man and head of the notorious Essex gangland King family. Lily has a good life, Leo treats her well, she lives in a beautiful home, has two daughters, Saz and Oli. The family has plenty of money, Lily spends her time lunching with friends, caring for her home and family, her life is far removed from her humble upbringing with her postman father and cleaner mother.


There is a blot on Lily's horizon, she discovers that Leo is having an affair with the wife of his company accountant, Adrienne. She worries over this news and during a girls only break with her friends, her mood becomes worse and she decides to confront Leo about his infidelity. Lily leaves the spa hotel and returns home early in order to speak to her husband, however on arrival at home, Lily discovers Leo dead. He has been shot through the head.


The plot then fast forwards by 12 years to find Lily being released from prison. Lily has served a sentence for the murder of Leo King. Her friend Beck collects her and agrees that Lily can stay with her for a while.

Prison has changed Lily, she is no longer the quiet little housewife, she has toughened up and she is out for revenge, someone killed her husband and she wants to find them. Her husband's brothers Si and Freddy are also out for revenge as they feel Lily has not paid a high enough price for killing Leo.


Apart from Beck, all Lily's friends have snubbed her, her daughters have been taken care of by the King brothers and are lost to her, her lovely home has been made over to the girls, as a criminal cannot prosper from their crime. Lily has nothing and no one to turn to.


The final straw for Lily is when Becks let slip that Lily's eldest child, 21 year old Saz is to be married the following day. Lily gatecrashes the wedding and is devastated when she realises the level of hatred her daughters and her former friends have for her. Even Beck is forced to ask Lily to leave after her appearance at the wedding.


Lily is plunged into the depths of despair and she vows to clear her name and find Leo's murderer. Her efforts open a can of worms that forces her to accept that people are not always what they seem and even those closest to her have their own agendas.


My Thoughts and Conclusion

I had not read any of Jessie Keane's novel before, however as a fan of female crime writers, Martina Cole and Mandasue Heller, I was interested to see that the author was recommended as a similar writer to them and bought the novel on the strength of this.


Jail Bird is a gritty novel with a riveting storyline. I found the writing style to be very similar to the authors mentioned above, the dialogue is very strong, with some extremely ripe language, but sharply delivered and it is relevant to the story line. The main character of Lily King is superbly drawn, believable and a very strong woman. I particularly liked this character and felt the author lead her through some truly awful situations, without losing sight of the basically 'nice' person beneath the hard woman. I found myself in tears when Lily's eldest daughter turns on her and tells her she will never forgive her.


The plot is an intricate one of intrigue, secrets and surprises. I was impressed by the well written story line and found that I was hooked from page one, this book is a real page turner and there were enough plot twists and turns to keep my interest throughout.


There are some scenes of violence and whilst these are relevant to the plot, in my opinion, they are not gratuitous or described in too much graphic detail. As mentioned earlier in the review, in places, the language used between characters is very strong and if you are offended by this, it might be better to avoid this genre of novel! After all, would a gangland boss be describing his brother's murderer in anything but bad language?


I will look out for more by this author, I feel she is serious rival to Martina Cole and would recommend Jail Bird to others who enjoy a crime novel with strong females characters.


I am awarding this book a 5* rating.


Thank you for reading.


© brittle1906 January 2012.


N.B. My novels may be found on other sites under the same user name.

And You Thought Your Family Was Bad?

Review of 'The Family', a novel by Martina Cole.
This review is based on the hardback version of the novel, ISBN 9780755375493, published by Headline in 2010, 496 pages, cover price £18.99, Genre:- Crime/Thriller.

**The Plot**

The storyline begins in 1985 and continues in 2009.

When 15 year old Christine, the beautiful, only child of shop keepers Ted and Eileen Booth, meets the handsome Phillip Murphy, her parents try to warn her against him. He comes from a notorious family who are known criminals.
At 23, Phillip is not only older than Christine but he is more mature and has already made his mark with the criminal element in his area. Christine falls for Phillip and very much against her parents wishes, leaves home and moves in with Phillip's parents.

The couple marry when Christine is 16 and pregnant. The enormity of marrying into the Murphy family hits Christine when she gives birth to her first child, Phillip junior. Her husband, his brothers Declan and Jamsie and their sister Breda, are totally different to anything Christine has ever known before . Her life, although one of wealth and luxury, is funded by crime and violence. To the Murphys, family is everything, until someone steps out of line.
Phillip is the linchpin of the family, ruling his parents and siblings with a rod of iron. He is known as a hard man and his lack of emotion is well documented on the estate where he grew up.

His wife Christine, he loves deeply and unconditionally, he will never let her go and she knows it. The birth of a second child, Timmy, brings home to Christine that she is no more than a housewife and mother by the age of 20 and this is her life for evermore.
She descends into a spiral of depression and survives on a cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol, while her husband and his family continue in their single-minded and ruthless fashion to build a huge family empire. Phillip is determined to get his own way in everything he does, no matter who or what gets in his way, any barrier will simply be removed.

The plot continues twisting and turning towards a surprising climax when Christine's world implodes in a way she would never have dreamed possible.


**My Thoughts and Conclusion**

**The Positives**

I have read all of Martina Cole's novels and to be honest have found recent offerings to be a tad repetitive and 'samey', however with 'The Family', she has broken the mould.
The plot is very well crafted as we see the life of Christine Murphy spanning two decades. The characters are remarkably well drawn and whilst some are entirely unpleasant, they are believable and fairly true to life. The Murphy family are portrayed as a family that it is good to get on with, but a nightmare to fall out with.

Martina Cole has used a great deal of factual information in the relating of her plot, the 80's boom years, the lull of recession in the 2000's are all worked into her plot which adds a touch of realism to the story.
As always with a Martina Cole novel the dialogue is punchy, it is peppered with profanities, crude language and shockingly realistic scenes of human depravity. These are, however, totally in keeping with the subject matter of the novel in my opinion.

The storyline is tense and gripping, it is not as gruesome as some of her previous works, but nevertheless, there is violence and bad language in abundance, so anyone offended by this would do well to avoid this author's books.
The fast paced, tension filled plot and the subject matter of a family on the edge made for a truly enthralling novel in my view.

On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and was delighted to see Ms Cole back on form with 'The Family'.

**The Negatives**

The novel is well written, however I have a real issue with the amount of chapters this novel contains, 156 in total. Many chapters are just one page long, most are three or four pages long.
I have noticed this is becoming the modern way of publishing and printing. More and more recent novels, not just from the pen of Ms Cole, appear in this format.
Personally, I find this irritating, the short chapters spoil my reading pleasure and I rather feel that books are being produced in this way as the publishers think that we all have a very limited attention span!

I can understand children's books being produced in this fashion, but reading matter aimed at mature adults? No, this style is simply not for me!
Perhaps any publishing house reading this review could provide an answer?

**Conclusion**

This book is in my opinion a novel worthy of a 5* rating. The plot and characters are very well presented and I would recommend the novel to others who enjoy a crime thriller. As with all Martina Cole Novels, I would add the proviso that you need a broad mind to tolerate the language used by the novel's characters.

Thank you for reading.

©brittle1906 February 2011
N.B. My reviews may appear on other sites under the same user name.

Summary: An enthralling read from Martina Cole

NUMBERS, NUMBERS, NUMBERS!

Review of 'Addition' a novel by Toni Jordan

I am reviewing the paperback edition of this novel, ISBN 0340963778, Publisher Sceptre, 241 pages, cover price £7.99. Genre:- Modern fiction,

**THE PLOT**

Thirty five year old Grace Lisa Vandenburg is a counter. She counts everything, from the letters in her name (19) to the bristles in her toothbrush (1768). Grace is a slave to her obsession with numbers and counting. She denies that she has OCD, that is for compulsive hand-washers, not unemployed teachers with numerically planned routines such as herself.


Grace plans her day by the clock, she knows exactly how many minutes it takes to do the most mundane of chores, she knows how many steps it is from her front door to the cafe where she drinks a hot chocolate with 2 marshmallows and eats a slice of orange cake with poppy seeds daily. The cake is a trial to her as she is compelled to count the individual poppy seeds on her slice which in turn dictates how many bites she'll take to eat it.

Grace shops on a particular day each week and buys a set amount of the same items every time. She eats, organises and lives as far as possible by the number 10 and multiples of that number. She owns 10 pairs of shoes, she buys bananas in tens, she brushes her hair 100 times and even reads books 10 pages at a time. She is also consumed by a desire to measure everything and cannot manage to leave her flat without measuring the walls.


Grace is not only a slave to numbers but she is also obsessed with the Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla. Nikola was also a 'counter' and as such, he is Grace's hero. She fantasises about Nikola rescuing her from a variety of near death situations, even though he has been dead for many years.

Grace has lost her teaching job due to her counting and has had a little therapy for the condition to no avail. Her family have more or less given up hope of Grace ever living a normal life and let her get on with her self imposed routines, ringing her at set times on set days. They know that Grace finds it easier to count everything as that way there are no unpleasant surprises to rock her world.

One day, in the supermarket, Grace realises to her horror that she has only picked up 9 bananas, she is so fazed by this that she is compelled to pinch one from another shopper's basket. Naturally this leads to a verbal exchange with the other customer and so Grace meets Seamus Joseph O'Reilly, (also a 19).
Once the banana incident is sorted, Seamus is attracted to Grace and the pair form a relationship, Grace then has to juggle love with counting, a recipe fraught with disaster and confusion.

**ABOUT THE AUTHOR**

Toni Jordan was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1966. After leaving school, she enrolled in a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland. She has worked as a research assistant, molecular biologist, quality control chemist, door-to-door aluminium siding saleswoman, marketing manager, shop assistant and copywriter.

In 1996 she moved to Melbourne, and in 2004 quit her job to study professional writing full time at RMIT University. While studying, she began writing her début novel, Addition.
Toni still lives in Melbourne with her husband and works as a freelance copywriter.

Addition was one of the books on the Richard & Judy 'Summer Reads' list in 2008.

**MY THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSION**

As I had not come across this author before and Addition is Toni Jordan's first novel, I had no preconceived expectations of the book.

Addition is a strange novel and to be honest, I found this book a little hard going at first as the constant references to number sequences, numbers and mathematical equations was bizarre and somewhat off-putting. However, once I became used to the writing style, the plot flowed and became thoroughly enjoyable.


Toni Jordan has taken a difficult condition, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and woven a novel with a real spark. The central character, Grace, is wacky, quirky and very likeable. Her condition is ruling her life and she doesn't really like the way she is, yet feels safe and comfortable with her routines and habits. As the plot progressed I found myself rooting for Grace and urging her to combat her obsession. The author has injected humour and empathy into the storyline without belittling or trivialising the condition her character is facing.

I particularly liked Grace's habit of delivering one liners which she felt drew the attention away from herself and her disorder and focussed on the irony of her situation. The result is a fast moving, funny novel with a very strong female leading character.

This is a novel that I would actually like to see made into a movie, something I can very rarely visualise, as I tend to prefer the written word to films.


The author has obviously researched her subject thoroughly, particularly where the life of inventor and 'counter' Nikola Tesla is worked into the plot. All in all, I found this novel to be an excellent read and would recommend it to others.

Thank you for reading.

©brittle1906

N.B. My review may be found on other review sites under the same user name.

WHAT HAS LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Review of 'The Venus Conspiracy' a novel by Michael Cordy.

I am reviewing the paperback version of this novel, ISBN 0552148830, published by Corgi Books, 464 pages, cover price £6.99.
Genre:- Thriller.

**THE PLOT**

Prologue.

A fairly short prologue consisting of just 8 or 9 pages. This is a dark and sinister glimpse into the terror of Max, a nine year old boy who, with his mother, is being hunted down. The boy and his mother are caught one night and taken on board a yacht. Max is then forced to witness his mother being killed by drowning as she is thrown overboard. He dives into the water after her and tries desperately to save her to no avail. When he is heaved back onto the boat deck, he is told that he must never show emotion or pain again.

Main section

Professor Carlos Bacci inadvertently unlocks the biological key to falling in love. He develops a drug capable of recreating emotions which are indistinguishable from the real thing. Bacci is a naive, yet brilliant man who feels that his miracle drug should be used to benefit mankind and could create harmony and love in a troubled world. His research is expensive however and he struggles to continue his work, eventually he seeks funding and business advice from a private Swiss bank owned by the secretive and powerful Kappel family.

The head of the Kappel family, Helmut, sees love as a weak emotion to be exploited and unknown to Professor Bacci, he has his own plans for the wonder drug. Funding is approved with certain provisos, leaving Bacci able to continue in his work.

Little does the well meaning Professor realise that Helmut Kappel is a ruthless and arrogant man who will stop at nothing, even murder, to attain his own ends. The plot twists and turns through the storyline as we see Kappel using everyone around him, including his own flesh and blood in his quest to achieve his goals.

**ABOUT THE AUTHOR**

British author Cordy was born in Ghana and spent much of his childhood in East and West Africa. On his return to the United Kingdom, he was educated at King's School, Canterbury and then attended Leicester and Durham universities. Following a career in marketing, Michael Cordy decided with the backing of his wife, Jenny to turn his back on his career and follow his dream of becoming an author. His first novel, 'The Miracle Strain', followed two years later. This book was highly controversial, with a plot dealing with the DNA of Christ.

Michael Cordy's writing has been compared to that of Dan Brown and Michael Crichton.
The author has produce 5 novels in total with a sixth currently in progress.
He lives in London with his wife and daughter.

**My source for the above information was the author's website www.michaelcordy.com

**MY THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSION**

The good

The Venus Conspiracy starts off as a fast paced thriller, but later descends into a romance of sorts along the way. The plot is complex and twists and turns through the rise and fall of certain characters. I felt the author had put a great deal of work into his story line and the plot fairly skips along. The Venus Conspiracy has well developed, believable characters in my opinion.

I do feel that the writing style is similar to that of Dan Brown and the author is not afraid to confront deep emotive issues in order to produce a cracking thriller with a good deal of human interest too.

The Bad

This novel was a huge disappointment for me. In part I admit that this was my own fault. I have read several of the author's novels before and enjoyed them very much, so when I spotted The Venus Conspiracy in the reduced section of a bookshop recently, I snatched it up without really reading the book 'blurb'.

Had I done so, I would have seen the warning that this book is in fact the novel 'True' republished under a new title! It became apparent after I had read a few pages that I had read this novel sometime previously.

I cannot altogether approve of this practise and I felt somewhat cheated, however, as previously stated I did not really read the back of the book so it was my own fault!

Conclusion

In spite of the comments above, I would re-read this novel. I did enjoy the story and felt the characters, storyline and outcome were excellent. It is a well crafted novel and I would recommend it to others, just as long as they haven't already read 'True' by the same author!

My thanks for reading,
©brittle1906

N.B. My reviews may be found on other sites under the same user name.

A KINGDOM FOR THE BRAVE

Review of A Kingdom For The Brave, a novel by Tamara McKinley
I am reviewing the paperback version of this novel, ISBN 978-0340924716, 432 pages, published by Hodder Books, cover price £6.99.

A Kingdom For The Brave is the second book in a trilogy, however it can be enjoyed as a stand alone novel, as the plot is not dependant upon the reader having read the previous books. The novel is set in Australia and covers the period from 1795 to 1813.
The trilogy consists of 'Lands Beyond The Sea', 'A Kingdom For The Brave' and 'Legacy'.

The Plot

George Collinson meets Eloise Cadwallader at the Governor's mansion in Sydney. He falls in love with her at first sight. Eloise is married to Edward Cadwallader, a brutal soldier who enjoys nothing more than rounding up and killing Aboriginal natives in the newly colonised Australia. The pair struggle to keep their mutual attraction secret. George has shares in a fleet of whalers and in an attempt to forget Eloise, spends as much time at sea as he can.
Unbeknown to Eloise, there is a very dangerous side to her husband's character and when the truth is uncovered, it rocks her world.
The story follows the fates of several families, the Collinsons, the Cadwalladers, the Penhaligans and the Aboriginal boy, Mandawuy. The characters all have a common link, which at times appears tenuous, however as the plot unfolds and the characters develop, the link becomes apparent.
Several of the main characters have arrived in Australia as convicts and the reasons for their transportation are very diverse, as are their ages. The youngest convict character is eight years old, an Irish boy who has been transported for supporting his older brothers in their fight against the British in Ireland.

The novel has a sub-plot as the story also follows the growth to manhood of Mandawuy and the struggle of Aboriginal warriors who fight against the settlers and soldiers to maintain their lands and heritage.
The plot is set against the tensions and political intrigues that were part of Australia in this era of history. Fast moving and gripping, this is a novel for those who like fiction based loosely on fact and a cracking plot!


About the Author

TAMARA MCKINLEY was born in Tasmania in 1948. She was adopted at the age of 6 by her English grandmother who brought her to England to finish her education at an all girls’ boarding school in Sussex.
She has three children who were brought up in the Eastbourne area of East Sussex. Tamara McKinley has written 8 novels set in the days of early Australian pioneers, as well as psychological thrillers. Her books are published in at least 15 different languages and she has been described as 'Britain's best kept secret'.

Tamara still lives on the south coast of England but travels to her homeland every year to promote her work, carry out research for her novels and to visit her eldest son and his children.
More information about the author and a bibliography can be found on her website:-
http://www.tamaramckinley.co.uk/


My Thoughts and Conclusion

I really enjoyed this novel, I should point out that I had not read any other books in the trilogy when I read this book. This did not mar my reading pleasure, in fact I am now intending to purchase the other two books in order to see what befalls the characters.

The plot is well rounded and has enough twists and turns to keep the readers interest. The characters are richly described, as is the Australian way of life in the late 1700's.

At first, I considered amount of central characters a little excessive, however as the plot progressed and melded them all together, the reason for the number of characters became clear. I felt that the storyline was well thought out by the author and the outcome of the novel was a surprise. This author certainly has a deep affection for Australia and it's history, which shines through the pages of this novel.

I would recommend A Kingdom for the Brave to others.

Thank you for reading.
©brittle1906

N.B. My reviews may appear on other review sites under the same user name.