Rebecca's New Year : addtion to my poetry New Year

The mountains stood high and tall

Snow covering mostly all

The early morning sun brightens the tops

Sunlight just kissing those tips

The air is crisp but cold

Take a deep breath if you are bold

The sentinel trees silently stand

As if awaiting some heavenly band

The snow is powdery white

Making you smile with delight

I can imagine the feel of wind in you hair

As downwards you ski with a real flare

There are others weaving down the mountain

The reds, blues, yellows and greens bobbing down the mountain

At the end of the run awaits a hot chocolate

Sitting by the open fire sipping the chocolate

Laughing with friends all

Rosy cheeked with joy and loving all

The New Year brought in merrily up there

So different from the one I spent on the beech down here

May the joy and health be there

No matter here of there

We should be so lucky

We should be so lukcy

New Year

The New Year has crept in

While I peacefully slept in

What will this bring?

I pray laughter will always ring

Thankful that the world did not end

As if I ever believed it would end

Summer has boldly marched in

Sunshine and heat are often keeping me in

While my bones and muscles it warms

Heat rash has come out in swarms

Wetting my hair daily to keep cool

Making my tighter curls look cool

Visit the beach to have some fun

Lathered in sunscreen so I am not ‘Well Done’

Brought out the sarong from the drawer

Made in Maldives with fishes galore

A glass of chilled ginger beer in hand

Looking at the breeze playing with the sand

Waves are gently lapping at my feet

Water is cool and delicious in this heat

Birds like the gulls and the pelicans

On seeing chips can behave like hooligans

At the shore children are splashing about in the waves

Further out adults trying to surf the waves

Wish happy times to all in this year

Wish healthy time to all in this year

Rest and play should be in balance

I always need someone to remind me of that balance

Quality of life is important to me

Housewife it is letting me be

Days will come and go

Drift in the dreams nice and slow

This idyllic will hopefully last

Fatigue and pain might just be in the past

I should be so lucky

I should be so lucky

Phi Beta Murder by C.S. Challinor

Once I started reading this I realised this was actually the book written before Murder on the Moor. It makes clear the reference in that book about why Rex even considered suicide as an option there.  Rex has very much embarked on his new love life and decided to visit his son studying in Florida after a phone call with him. He feels there is something wrong and wanted to check for himself what the matter was. Upon reaching there he plans to spend time with his son after the classes and also spend the weekend in the Keys.

On the first day after dinner he ends up spending the night in his son’s dorm room. In the morning as he was leaving there was a commotion with a girl banging on a door asking the person inside to open it while there is loud music playing from inside the room. Eventually, Rex offers to and breaks down the door he can see through the keyhole a boy hanging in the room. Everyone, dorm mates, campus security and indeed the house master all feel that the boy committed suicide as there is even a short note. However, Rex’s son and his friends do not feel it was a suicide but can offer no real proof to back their thinking.

When he gets back to his hotel his ex-girlfriend comes from UK with a notion to restart their relationship. When he refuses to do that and gets her a ticket to return to Scotland she attempts to take her life. He has to admit her to the hospital and worries about how to ensure she travels back to UK safely.  Then the parents of the dead boy arrive and on meeting Rex ask him to find out what really happened to their son. Was it murder? Was it suicide, if so what lead to the boy taking his own life?

Rex agrees to do what he can in the next few days he is there. How will he go about finding information as the friends are cooperative to an extent but the academic and administrative staff are not very forthcoming. There are many people with motive to want the boy dead. The bruise on the back of his head does mean something. Will they be able to sneak into the room sealed by the university staff and go through the dead boy’s computer to find clues? How does the website which puts out scandals relate to this death? How does the boy accused, by the dead boy, of drug dealing come into this scenario? Will he be able to give a satisfactory answer to the parents and give them some closure? Will he be able to get his ex-friend to accept that their relationship is over and leave? Poor man, he always has a lot on his plate, but at least his son is doing well and even helps him uncover the truth in this tale. A good story that keeps you guessing right till the end.

Murder on the Moor by C.S.Challinor

This is another book in the Rex Graves series. By now we have Rex has the new relationship firmly in place with his new love. The book starts with a party at his new highland home for a few people and where he plans to spend holidays with his girlfriend. The people invited are another couple who are known to his mother, a family who run a hotel across the lake, a guest of theirs and an old friend of Rex. The guests arrive amid pouring rain and it looks set for the evening. As the party gets going Rex’s ex-girlfriend turns up and since she has let her taxi go and it is raining Rex is forced to let her stay the night.

There are strange undercurrents between various guests. Rex’s friend is severely upset as one of the men he prosecuted for paedophilia and murder has been acquitted and then he hears on the news that another child has gone missing that evening. Since it was raining and roads were flooded all the guests have to stay overnight. It takes some juggling to get everyone settled to sleep. Rex spends a lot of time with his friend who is anguished at the thought of his failure to put a paedophile behind bars and that yet another child was missing.

Morning brings no relief indeed things get worse as Rex has to break into the bathroom which was locked from inside but yet empty. Couple of the guests go out for a walk and come rushing back as they have found Rex’s ex-girlfriend dead in the lake. How did she get there as she was still in her night clothes? Last anyone knew was she was having a bath before going to bed. Did she take her own life or was there foul play? The phone lines are down and when Rex goes to his car to drive down to the village and get the police, he finds all his tyres are slashed. On examination Rex had found a bruise on the back of the head of the corpse and so he suspects that there needs to be an investigation. But all the police are busy looking for the missing child and even the ambulance cannot make it right away due to the flooding.

Rex takes it on himself to investigate this murder. It has to be someone staying at his house as no one could have come from outside in the foul weather. Rex has found the dead girl’s mobile phone and so can make calls secretly and gets information on the people staying with him. Someone there is not who they claim to be. How will he go about finding this person? Will the police come before he can sort this mystery? Otherwise the guests will all leave as the weather improves and roads clear.

A simple story but does keep you wondering right up to the end as the clues imply involvement of different people. Again a fairly pleasant read and good company for a nice hot afternoon of lazing.

The Templar’s Quest by C. M. Palov

As I started to read I realised this was the first book in the series written by this author. The main character Caedmon Asquith is being introduced in this book. The story begins in America where a former black ops soldier, Finn is now working a desk job. He gets visited by CID officers who are making inquiries about the murders of his old team mates who were tortured and killed. The weapon found was his combat knife. While being interviewed in his office he gets a text message telling him to go to the French Embassy party and await a meeting which could clear him off the potential murder charge. He has no choice but to evade the officers and rush out to keep this appointment. He wants to find out and avenge the murder of his friends and teams mates.

Since he cannot take his car he gets into a car which stopped to drop someone. This is a young lady, Kate, he has seen around the department and feels he should be able to get a lift. In fact he invites her to go with him to the French Embassy party in return for the lift. The man he meets there tells him he wants the artefact that Finn took from Afghanistan on his last black ops mission. In return they would provide him with the proof that he was innocent of the murders and be handsomely paid for the artefact. What is the artefact and why is it so important? Who are the people behind this Frenchman willing to go to such lengths to get their hands on this particular artefact? But before Finn can get any useful information, except that the Dark Angel killed his friends, out of the Frenchman, he commits suicide. At the same time, Kate who had followed him walks in and thinks Finn has something to do with the death.

They run from the embassy and Kate insists she is going home and keep out of whatever is going on with Finn. But it seems that someone is bent on silencing her and uses this threat to get the artefact from Finn. The information they get from pinching the Frenchman’s laptop send them surreptitiously racing to France. The artefact has some symbols on it and Kate suggests that they go see an old friend Caedmon Asquith for a translation. It seems this artefact is an important map to unearth a grail stone from the Knights Templars’ treasure. It is hold the key to the lost science of the ancient Egyptians. There is a lot of historical information regarding the Knights Templars and their fascination with the Egyptian science. It can get very intense and trifle dry reading this history. It is very tempting to skim through it rather than concentrate on the details; however, the detail is necessary to understand the importance of the artefact and what the so called treasure is about. The people after it are attempting to harness the powers of the lost science to change the world as we know it. Yes, it did seem fanciful but not entirely impossible when the final details of what they intend to do are revealed.

The assassin is now after all three and to this end kidnap Kate. Finn is very disheartened and offers to give the artefact in return for Kate…but now it appears they are not willing to negotiate. How are the two men going to save Kate? How are they going to stop the potential from happening? Will Caedmon manage to keep it together without the regular gin and tonics that he has been consuming? They do not have any weapons to help them. The team of Caedmon and Finn appears to be a good one as Finn’s strength is his skills of fighting and Caedmon’s strength is knowledge. Some may consider the plot to be very farfetched but the story moves well and the action is more or less constant. A thought comes to mind that how come in movies and books the main character manages the feat, be it finding an artefact hidden for centuries or a murderer from a cold case, with such ease? It was an enjoyable read and I am eager to read the third book of the series. I will see if I can find any more books by this author.