Mr Stink by David Walliams

This is the second book by David Walliams and another good one for children. Set in the same town as The Boy in the Dress, this time the story is about a tramp and a little girl. The tramp is Mr Stink named by the local people, as he stank something awful. His dog Duchess was equally smelly. It appears they lived on the bench by the shops and did not get to even have a wash. People ignored them and even crossed the road to avoid them. 

Then one day, a little girl called Chloe stops and says hello. She is curious about Mr Stink – where did he come from? Why was he living on the bench? Did he ever have a home? And so on….. Chloe was interested in stories and thought Mr Stink would have an interesting tale. Chloe lived with her younger sister and parents. Her sister, Annabelle, was her mother’s favourite and so got most of her attention. Her mother was status conscious and constantly trying to ensure that she, her family and her home did not come across as anything but classy. Her father is her friend but he also keeps on the right side of his wife. She has no real friends at school either.

That one little hello leads to a timid conversation and start of a friendship between Mr Stink and Chloe. The story is full of lessons about being human, tolerant, non-judgemental, thoughtful, and courageous so that you can follow your dreams. The tramp finds a kind friend and a shelter. Cloe finds someone who she can talk to and who understands her, encourages her and advices her. 

The review of this story is hard to write as everything I want to praise or point out will give away the story. I was fascinated by the way it unfolded and where it led. It gives a view of lives and perspectives of ordinary people. When you read of the different characters they seem familiar as I am sure we have met each one sometime in our lives. What will be the impact of this friendship between Mr Stink and Chloe not only on Chloe but also her family, the local community and the wider society? Will they learn to be tolerant and not judge a book by its cover? 

This is a story that everyone should read for it hold lessons for the adults too. Reading the story to your kids will help open up conversations about human values and all the things you wish to teach them about.

The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams

For those of you who do not know David Walliams, I first came across him in comedy skits with Matt Lucas. There are some real gems in their series Little Britain. So when I heard about the books David began writing I thought I must read them as I am sure they would be fun. However it has been a long time since the first book that I got around to read it. Life just happened to interfere with my plans.

This is a book written for young people but can also be enjoyed by adults for it shows us life from the child’s perceptive, something that we forget once we grow up. This story is about Dennis, a 12 year old boy, who lives with his older brother John and his lorry driver dad. His mother had left them. Dennis remembers his parents fighting but also the love and care his mother had given him. There is only one slightly burnt at the edges photo he has of his mother with John and himself that was saved from the bonfire by a gust of wind.

Life was ordinary and so boring. He has a good friend, loves to play footie, watch daytime chat shows, and look at fashion magazines. He feels sad that his mum was not around and when he cries he gets told not to be a girl! His father catches him leafing through a Vogue magazine and throws it into the bin telling him boys should not be reading this girlie stuff. Of course he is teased about it by his brother. The book is telling us how we perpetuate the gender stereotypes.

At 12 he is just beginning to notice girls like Lisa who is in John’s year. He has the good fortune to spend some detention time with her. Seeing her doodling and sketching dresses like those in fashion magazines he gets talking to her. They find mutual interest in all kinds of fashion and its accessories. Dennis gets invited to spend a Saturday with Lisa and check out her stash of Vogue as well as he own design sketches. But there was more than just sketches as Lisa was good with her sewing and had turned some of her designs into dresses. Dennis’s eyes light up at all these beautiful clothes and as you can guess he gets persuaded to wear one of them. Lisa does a complete makeover on him and presents him in the mirror as Denise.

Will he be persuaded to wear the dress outside the house? Who all will think he is a beautiful girl? What will his father, brother, best friend, school mates, teachers and the head master think of him? It is a good tale about individuality, growing up, being non-judgemental and supportive as we are not defined by one single thing, least of all our fashion sense.

I could not put the book down as I wanted to know if there was a happy ending. You feel the emotions along with Dennis and want to jump in and tell the stuffy adults off. I would say it is a book to be read by all.

Devil May Care by Elizabeth Peters

I have read many of Elizabeth Peter’s books with Amelia and Emerson Peabody the archaeologist couple who are involved in mysteries and murders on digs mainly in Egypt. I have thoroughly enjoyed their adventures and seen them fall in love, have a son who grows up and follows in their footsteps through the series. So when I picked up this book it was certainly a surprise that it was not a part of the Amelia Peabody series. In fact there are other series by this author and also non series books of which Devil May Care are one. I had not even read the synopsis and so had not even an inkling of the story that unfolded.

The story begins with Henry (who I gather at once is a stuffy pompous lawyer) and his fiancé Ellie. Ellie has to go for a few days and house sit for her rich aunt in Virginia. It appears that Henry did not know about this ‘eccentric’ aunt and now that he does is very interested in the fact that she is rich. Henry plans to drive Ellie there and stay overnight, giving a lift to Aunt Kate to the airport the next day. Along with Aunt Kate one wonders as to what Ellie sees in Henry who is constantly thinking of the ways in which he would change her behaviour and her style once they are married. He is also calculating the worth of the contents of Aunt Kate’s home as he wanders around. Kate keeps hinting that Ellie could do better. 

While she was away, Kate said that there was a local family, who came and did the house chores and a young man who did the extensive gardens. At dinner, she also introduced Ellie to her friend Ted, who lived nearby and visited often. It was a long time since Ellie had visited her aunt and was looking forward to spending some quiet time on her own there. Next morning she departed with Henry with a cryptic ‘And the ghosts are no trouble, they are very quiet types’ thrown in among the list of things that needed doing and animal issues that Ellie had to keep an eye on. 

Ellie thinks about this but dismisses it as there has never been any talk of ghosts even if this was an old 18^th century building. The first day seems to pass peacefully but as she is going up to bed she sees this person as an image on the wall in the landing of the stairs. It is clear and seems to dissolve as she goes up close. While this unnerves her a little she is not scared. But then she is woken in the middle of the night. There is a noise outside and she looks out of the window into the garden. Who is that couple in the garden? What are they doing? Why have they started running? Who is that man who came out of the shrubs to follow the running couple?

This frightens her and she calls Ted for help. This tale gets all around the village. The ghosts seem to have the people divided. It is all about the history of the 6 families who originally lived there. There are some dark parts to the lives of the people long gone. The young man who looks after the garden turns out to be the local doctor’s son, who looks strangely like the ghost on the wall, but is willing to help Ellie when the ghostly antics increase in intensity. 

The pace of the book is steady and many small but intriguing incidents occupy your mind. Why is Henry not answering his phone? Do the locals want to publicise the ghosts to increase tourist trade? As sightings escalate Ellie thinks it is time to inform her aunt. But where is Kate? No one seems to be able to get hold of her and the place she is staying at is closed. Will a séance help to find out what the ghosts are up to?

As Donald the gardener has been helping and supporting her, is something more than friendship developing? So were will all this lead?

This story certainly kept me hooked right till the end. There are lot of detailed descriptions of the house, the history of the families, the people and events. It is a good read with some mystery, some ghosts and some romance.

The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries

This is a series, written by Gyles Brandreth, set against the exotic backdrop of London, Paris, America and the Vatican and evokes Oscar Wilde’s trademark wit and brilliance with huge flair, intertwining all the intrigue of the classic English murder mystery with a compelling portrait of one of the greatest characters of the Victorian age. I would call it historical faction as the diaries of Richard Sherard (Oscar Wilde’s biographer and grandson of William Wordsworth) have been shown to be a major source of information. “Lovers of historical mystery will relish this chilling Victorian tale based on real events and cloaked in authenticity” according to Gyles. 

I have read the first 4 of the 6 novels. (http://www.oscarwildemurdermysteries.com/b6_description.php provides shot synopsis of each book and also the alternative titles for the USA market for some of the books.)

1.      Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders

2.      Oscar Wilde and The Ring of Death

3.      Oscar Wilde and Dead Man’s Smile

4.      Oscar Wilde and the Nest of Vipers

5.      Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders

6.      Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol

The stories are well told and the element of mystery is extremely well handled. In fact for the 4 stories I have read the twist in the tale identifying the culprit at the end defiantly comes as a surprise. As the tale is told from the detailed information within the diaries all the facts have been laid out and still the plot is not easy to unravel. I have had such fun reading this and puzzling over the identity of the murderer and also the motive of murder. 

The other draw to the books is reading about personalities you have heard of, for example Sir Arthur Canon Doyle is a friend of Oscar and is around the time when he has just published his first Sherlock Homes book. He is a part of many of the tales and seems to pick ideas and events that he could later weave into this books. Indeed he is seen to be stating often that Oscar could be Sherlock and with Richard Sherard keeping a detailed written account of his daily life he was easily demonstrating the role of Watson. Arthur Canon Doyle is a practicing doctor and also a sculpture. There is a fascinating glimpse in this well-known personality. 

Bram Stoker is another name I recognised who is a friend, and well ‘into’ the existence of vampires while researching for his famous character Dracula. One of the stories runs around the theatre and gives us glimpses of the lives of Sarah Bernhardt and actor-manager Edmond La Grange. In another tale you see the lives of the Prince of Wales, his son, and other royalty such as Duke and Duchess of Albemarle. There is a look at the then understanding of and practice of psychiatry with hypnosis being the popular therapy for most mental illnesses and in particular hysteria of all kinds as well as medical research. There are other actors, painters, musicians that are dotted around the stories and most are, of course, familiar names. 

The final fascination of these stories is the description of life in those times which can be surprising considering the eventual straight-laced attitudes of the British people. The open use of drugs such as cocaine was normal and they were indeed sold over the counter and advised for healthier living. Having a wife did not stop men from having affairs. It seems that while this was happening in many of the marriages that it was a norm but not on display as such. All wink wink nudge nudge variety. While it was not legal to be a homosexual during these times, the stories tell of how clandestine groups and friendships existed all on the hush hush. There was also an accepted fact that ‘men will be men’ and so will form relationships with actresses, dancers, ‘ladies of disrepute’ and so on.  Thus the times, fashion and lives of people are described well in the stories. Gyles provides a good deal of detail with regards to the fashion of this period, which sometimes boggles the mind at the combinations of colours and fabrics. 

So besides a good mystery these books provide a look at the times, live of various well known figures and of course a lot about Oscar Wilde’s personality, his friends, his writings, his wife and sons. While there is no need to read them in any particular order as each one is a clear stand-alone story I am obsessed in reading according to the order of publication. I am on to my next book………Hope you enjoy them as well.

“Death in” series by JD Robb

JD Robb is the pseudonym for Nora Roberts. This is a detective / murder mystery series set in the late 2050s – early 2060s. I found it by chance in the local library. I was browsing for authors and books in the same genre. I had not heard of this series and the synopsis looked good so I borrowed the book. It was a while back and so I cannot remember that first one I read. I started buying the books as I saw them in the book shops. More recently I found the whole series as e-books and so I have actually read then right from the first one all over again in the correct sequence. You will wonder why I say that but this is a series which shows a progression in the lives of the characters of the book. I also chose to review the series; there are 44 books now; instead of book at a time for this reason.

First aspect that is worth looking at is the futuristic view of the world. There are fancy cars that fly. There is a mention and often referred to something called the Urban Wars which seems some kind of revolution to overthrow the oppressing inequality in the society. Most of the early books have some reference to it and some information about it with how it affected the lives of various characters. There seems to be a fairly divided society with the haves and the have-nots. There seems a lot of emphasis on body beautiful and many ways to ensure it and live longer with more ways to entertain and please self. There is the usual balance of the good and bad seen in any society.

The lead figure of this story is LT. Eve Dallas who leads the team of detectives investigating murders in New York City. We start the series with the murder of the granddaughter of a prominent figure in politics. This appears to be her first lead in a major crime investigation where she must be diplomatic with all the highly placed persons. The investigation brings her in contact with Roarke who is her chief suspect. He is an extremely rich business man who ‘owns half the known universe’. And so starts a romance and love story that sees their relationship developing throughout the series. Both characters are a foil for each other, with tragic pasts and reaching their present status through hard work and ingenuity, with parts being revealed and personalities explored as we read through the series.

Then, of course, we have the detective’s side kick / partner Delia Peabody, who she finds as a uniform at the crime scene, sees her potential and gets her transferred to her division. She hero worships Dallas and again her character develops both as a person and as a police detective. She is a mixture of her Free- Age upbringing and a city dweller with law enforcement. Now this being the future the technology is much more sophisticated and so of course there is an electronic division to help with the forensics. The head of it, Captain Feeney, is the old partner, mentor and father figure, of Dallas. As the life of the character gets woven Peabody’s love life brings in the smart and expert IT guy Detective Ian MacNab.

There are a team of good detectives we get to know well over the series, Commander Jack Whitney her immediate superior, a police psychologist and profiler Dr Mira (we also know her family eventually), the Medical Examiner Morris, APA Reo are the characters regularly seen.

The other players of the story are Lawrence Summerset who manages Roarke’s home, Mavis a friend of Dallas who she has stopped from carrying on a life of crime and who has a talent for singing which eventually gets to shine and she becomes a big star, and families of the main characters come and go as the story demands. It is not easy to try and encapsulate a series but I am attempting to do so in the hope that I can express the essence of continuity of the lives of people involved. The central theme is usually the murder, uncovering of conspiracy, serial killers in varying scenarios and yes it can get to feel well known after a while but the continuity of characters and their lives and the social structure formed by all these lives interweaving is fascinating. The quick reminder of past aspects maybe even from way back in the earlier books is vital in helping the reader to see it all as one big story and each book more or less chapter of that mega story. 

Some things can be seen as clichés for example many of the stories are woven around one or other of the ‘good’  guys being under suspicion of the murder and Dallas has to work hard and by the book to ensure that the real criminal is found and her ‘friends’ kept safe. Again this does not detract from the pleasure of reading as when there is such a focus on one of the characters the author takes the time to explore this character and his / her relationships with others in the story. The basis of any good story - the triumph of good over evil and the victory of justice to keep the public safe is the same cliché that works well in this genre. Yes the individual stories can be read a stand-alone and one-off reads but as I found the pleasure was in reading the series and in the order of the publications as this is what keeps me reading and waiting for the next book. The characters become familiar like friends with their predictable quirks, shortcomings and passions. So anyone wanting the familiar murder mystery in a police detective variety will find the reading of this series with that little twist an enjoyable expericne.