Sneak Peak: And Then There Were None: Or The Worst Holiday Ever

Murder, mayhem, borderline insanity, creepy and not so creepy goings-ons this latest version of And Then There Were None has got it all.

There's even a little bit - okay make that a lot - of sexiness in the form of dark, tall and handsome Aidan Turner who once again takes his shirt off.... and a lot more.  Be still my swoony heart.

Beautifully filmed and brilliantly acted this TV mini-series is so good and so addictive that once you start you won't want to stop until the killer is revealed.

And if you can't wait for it to screen here then why not check out the book or one of the older versions that we have got on DVD.

Blood and Guts: Or A Very Gory Christmas

I love a good thriller.  Whether it's reading one or watching one.  There is just something about a good crime story with plenty of body count, a headless corpse... or two, and lots of twists and turns that is highly addictive.

And the Holiday Season is a perfect time to catch up on all the gory, mind griping, can't-stop watching/reading-until-you-know-who-did-it crime.  Even better there is a fun of guessing who the real killer is.

Only thing is once you start you can't stop and you find yourself impatiently waiting for the next in the series.  Or at least you do if you're me.

At least I have Luther to get me through this Christmas while I impatiently patiently wait for the next series of Sherlock, Bosch, Broadchurch...

Love to hate

I can be pretty judgemental. In fact, what I think are well-phrased arguments delivered in a persuasive manner can sound, to some people, like the pronouncements of God, or Simon Cowell. It's not until I notice them cowering in a corner with their eyes darting all over the place that I realise I've frightened them off - yet again. Whoops.

I still get incredibly hurt when friends say "But you don't like anything". It makes me sound like Bitchelinda de Curdlemilk-Snottington. There are many things I love. Beyond reason. I just - know when I don't.

So this week I'm unmuzzling my inner critic. Celebrating my darkest disdainianism. Pooh-poohing till it's positively unsanitary.

Step in, if you dare, to Scriven's Gallery of Horrors. Feel free to request any of the titles on this list, by the way - it's only my opinion.

James Patterson - Any title
Poor guy. He gets a bad rap from critics, he really does. And it's wholly undeserved. Fact is, he doesn't even write most of his stuff anymore. I think a computer programme does it through algorithms or something of that nature. Or possibly they've finally trained gibbons to type. That would explain the short chapters. There are only so many words in their vocabulary.

In three words: Kill Alex Cross.

Dan Brown - Any title
Yeah, well, so, I'm picking on the easy targets. Anyway, there's nothing I could possibly write that 1,000,023 other critics haven't already spewed out. I confess, I did enjoy The Da Vinci Code, which was a fine, suspension-of-disbelief thrill ride. Then everyone else started raving and it totally lost its appeal. Come on, guys, even I got the mirror writing before Robert I'm-supposed-to-have-a-doctorate-in-this Langdon. So did my dog. It's not Pride and Prejudice.

Lee Child - Any title
Meh.

Now that's spare storytelling.

Titanic - James Cameron
I remember seeing the trailer for this movie and snorting "Who's going to want to see that crap?" That year I realised why everyone bullied me.

But the rest of the world is wrong. You're all wrong.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Trilogy
I don't hate The Hobbit. I don't even dislike it. It makes the list, however, because I find it totally overrated. As a children's story, which it is, it's just OK. As a seminal work of inspiration to generations of hippies - wtf? It gets brownie points for being first among fantasies, but that's all. To me it's just a pleasant, slight bunch of episodes about a hairy little humanoid - and the movie is even more episodic. Three films? I nearly fell off my chair.

But I repeat - Martin Freeman can do no wrong. Ever.

Bones - TV series
I found this sort of thing funny when I was 14. Not!

Glee - TV series
What's all the song and dance about? Aaaand that was about as funny as the show. Like, eww?

Elementary - TV series
They put that up against the BBC version? It's like watching West Auckland FC playing Brazil...Wearing flippers.

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Nasty screwed-up people trying to screw each other up even more. Nope.

Miranda - TV series
Haha. Nope. Or Is It Just Me?

The Simpsons - TV series
I used to love The Simpsons. It was the cleverest, funniest thing on TV for a long time. A long time ago. Now it's a positive telezombie. Retire it before the torches come out.

I could not possibly comment on Game of Thrones because I just can't bring myself to watch it. So, does anyone out there agree with me? What do you love to hate?

Fresh ink - new authors for jaded readers

They're the reason people keep trying to write. (Aside from that nagging little parasite in your ear, continually popping out to ask "So, have you done any writing lately?" and winkling itself back in again before you can get him with the tweezers.)

Debut authors who make it big - J. K. Rowling, E. L. James, S. J. Watson, and all those other initials. Who doesn't dream of being one? For most, it's a slow burn, gradually building an audience until one day you're on top of the pile. That's how it worked for Ian Rankin and Hilary Mantel, and even Dan Brown had three books behind him before his sudden leap to the peak. Who can predict the next big thing?

As they say in showbiz - no one knows anything.

So here's your chance to take a look at the crop of new authors for this year, before requests go sky-high. Which do you think will make it big?

The Deeply Paranoid, Zombie-Killing, Anti-Establishment Breakfast Club (no deathbots!)

Death comes to us all, eventually. The latest trend in youth fiction is to stare it in the face - then jab it in the eye. Mean girls and jocks usually come armed with more than a sharp tongue and a wet towel - and failing a test can be lethal.

Time for a new list of fiction for teens that takes the reader to dark places, and out the other side. Fans of The Hunger Games, rejoice!

Black Helicopters - Blythe Woolston

The recent kidnapping and hostage drama involving a small boy in Alabama shows just how dangerous anti-Government extremists can be. What if you were brought up by one? Meet Valkyrie White. She's fifteen. Her whole life, she's hidden in an underground den with her brother Bo while Da is working, because Those People will kill them like coyotes. But now, with Da unexpectedly gone and no home to return to, Valkyrie and her big brother must bring their message to the outside world. They're stupid out there - little boys wear their names on their backpacks and people don't pat down strangers before offering a lift. Valkyrie and Bo are going to wake them all up...Or will they be the ones to wake up? Explosions are promised.

City of a Thousand Dolls - Miriam Forster
Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls train as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city’s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die. Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls’ deaths. And may end up paying with her own life.

The Infects - Sean Beaudoin

Seventeen-year-old Nero is stuck in the wilderness with a bunch of other juvenile delinquents on an "Inward Trek." As if that weren't bad enough, his counsellors have turned into flesh-eating maniacs overnight and are now chowing down on his fellow miscreants. These kids have seen zombie movies. They know the rules. Unfortunately, knowing the rules isn't going to be enough.

Freakling - Lana Krumwiede
In twelve-year-old Taemon's city, everyone has a power called psi -- the ability to move and manipulate objects with their minds. When Taemon loses his psi in a traumatic accident, he must hide his lack of power by any means possible. But a humiliating incident at a sports tournament exposes his disability, and Taemon is exiled to the "dud farm". It's not what Taemon expected, though: people are kind and open, and they actually seem to enjoy using their hands to work and play and even comfort their children. But gradually he discovers that there are mysteries, too -- dangerous secrets that would give unchecked power to psi wielders if discovered. When Taemon unwittingly leaks one of these secrets, will he have the courage to repair the damage?

The Farm - Emily McKay

For Lily and her twin sister Mel there is only the Farm...It's a prison, a blood bank, a death camp - where fear and paranoia rule. But it's also home, of sorts. Because beyond the electric fence awaits a fate much, much worse. But Lily has a plan. She and Mel are going to escape - into the ravaged land outside, a place of freedom and chaos and horrors. Except Lily hasn't reckoned on two things: first, her sister's ability to control the horrors; and, secondly, on those out there who desperately want to find and control Mel. Mel's growing power might save the world, or utterly end it. But only Lily can protect Mel from what is to come...

Shards and Ashes
Powerful original dystopian tales from nine bestselling authors offer bleak insight, prophetic visions, and precious glimmers of light among the shards and ashes of a ruined world. Stories from: Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia, Nancy Holder, Melissa Marr, Beth Revis, Veronica Roth, Carrie Ryan and Margaret Stohl.

The Disappeared - C. J. Harper

In a future where children are segregated into institutions that range from comfortable “Learning Communities” to prison-like “Local Academies”, seventeen-year-old Jackson is an academic high flyer, living in a top Learning Community and destined for a position in the Leadership. But when he and his best friend Wilson are sent to deliver a package to a factory block, they are attacked, leaving Wilson dead. And now Jackson's teachers claim not to know him. Sent to an Academy set up to train factory workers, Jackson finds himself immersed in a world that couldn’t be further removed than the life he’s used to; where the students have created their own hierarchy based on fighting ability. He starts to realise that his whole life has been based on half-truths. In order to survive, he needs to expose the lies that surround the Academy and find out the truth about who he really is.

When We Wake - Karen Healey
Dystopian fiction by a Kiwi author. Sixteen year old Tegan was loving life: she was joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world, she was playing guitar, and she thought she might be falling in love. She didn't plan on the best day of her life being her last. When Tegan wakes, a hundred years in the future, locked in a government facility, she has no idea what happened. The first person to be cryonically frozen and sucessfully revived, she is an instant celebrity - but all she wants is to rebuild some semblance of a normal life in this strange new future. When appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: should she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better future?

Revolution 19 - Gregg Rosenblum

Twenty years ago, the robots designed to fight our wars turned their weapons on us. Nick has spent his whole life in a community in the wilderness, hiding out from the robots that have enslaved mankind. But when the bots discover the community's location, he, his tech-geek younger brother, Kevin, and adopted sister, Cass, barely make it out alive--only to discover that their home has been destroyed and everyone they love is missing. All survivors were captured and taken to one of the robots' Cities. Determined to find out if their parents are among the survivors, Nick, Kevin, and Cass venture into the heart of the City. As they live among the bots for the first time, they realize they're fighting for more than just their family. The robots have ruled for too long, and now it's time for a revolution.
If you like this one, I recommend the Tripods trilogy by John Christopher - a classic.

Shoot Them Up, Blow Them Up: My Kind of Valentine

Don't you just hate it when a perfectly good action story is ruined by an romantic interlude.  And I don't just mean a quick kiss and "I love you honey" type of thing.  I'm talking full out romance, the drawn out looks, the long speech, the whole package.

I mean come on... we've got time to declare our undying love for each other while people are shooting at us and the world is generally going to hell with a handgun.

Really???

Somehow I don't think so.

And it's kind of sad that writers think that the only way a woman can enjoy a action story is to have some romance thrown in.  Personally I enjoy nothing more than a shoot them up, blow them up kind of movie where the romance is minimal or even better non existent.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm a big believer in romance - of all varieties.  Whether it's true love, soul mates, love at first sight, I'm there.  I just don't need romance for the sake of romance or because I'm a chick.

I'd much rather have an action story be what it is: gripping, exciting with the odd touch of humour and filled with explosions, kick ass fighting, baddies to cheer for and men who don't take no for an answer.

Skyfall

How can you go wrong with a James Bond movie and the latest is definitely one of the best.  There's a baddie whose a little bit psycho, explosions, shoot outs and kick ass fighting.

God this is so my kind of movie and the perfect movie to watch on Valentine's Day.

After all nothing says romance like 'Honey pass me the gun so I can kill some bad guys'  
 The Avengers

I've been a fan of Joss Whedon for years.  After all he created one of the best shows ever in the form of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and he is just brilliant at creating and writing well rounded characters, flaws and all.

So hearing that he wrote and directed The Avengers was more than reason enough to see it and of course it doesn't disappoint.  The characters aren't quite as fleshed out but then again this is a movie not a TV series so time is limited.  There is though enough of his usual touches with some great one liners and moments of humour plus some serious ass kicking.

The Long Kiss Goodnight

 Now this is my kind of movie.

A heroine who doesn't need rescuing but who can quite easily rescue herself and take out a few bad guys along the way.

Even better she gives the ultimate pay back to a lover gone bad. Yes!


Aliens

Another kick ass heroine and one of the best action sci-fi movies ever made. This is the ultimate movie.  And one where fans know the words line by line (trust me - having witness a cinema full of guys quoting the lines at an anniversary screening was one of the funniest thing... EVER!)

This time the baddies aren't CIA or criminals on the run but aliens who are out to make your life hell.

Don't you just hate it when the world needs rescuing from suck face aliens.

Die Hard

Die Hard is not only my go to movie for Christmas but is also a perfect Valentine's Day movie.

There's the divinely wonderful baddie in the form of Alan Rickman (be still my beating heart...), explosions galore and one liners that make the heart flutter.

Who needs romance when you've got terrorists to cheer for.

Kick Ass

A boy who wants to be a super-hero meets a girl who kind of is.

Kick Ass the movie might be called but Hit Girl is the star of this all out bloody, funny, action movie.

With her purple hair, cool cape and black eye mask Hit Girl is the idol of many a girl (and women).

Even better Kick Ass 2 is due for release later this year and Hit Girl is back, older and badassier than ever.

Person of Interest

There is no romance in this show except for the bromance (and those out there know what I mean) between the characters of Reese and Finch, and it's perfect because of that.

Finch is the brains and Reese... well he's the muscle.  A stealthy,  deadlier, shoot-first-ask-questions-later kind of guy and between them their out to help 'The Machine' save the lives of people who find themselves in bad situations.

It's a perfect blend of conspiracy, corruption, crime and ... comrade-a-ship.

All I can say is... bring on the mayhem!

This month I'm loving...

Well not the heat, that's for sure but even if the weather can sometimes be a bit much to handle there are plenty of things on offer at Auckland Libraries to take one's mind off it.

January is one of those lazy month's where we all ease ourselves slowly back into work after the madness of Christmas, eat bucket loads of cherries (well you do if you're me) and winter seems like a million days away.

For me there are always plenty of wonderful things coming across my desk.  At times it's hard to decide what to choose and what to start with first.

This month I've discovered new bands, new authors and indulged in a few fav's.  So what have you been enjoying this month?

The glorious dead / The Heavy.

I so love these guys but can't help wonder why I hadn't come across them before.  Still never mind, I've found them now and have been busy listening to all 3 of their cd's, courtesy of my bestest bud Youtube.

This, their latest album, is just brilliant.  It's bluesy and rocky and just a little bit indie with a touch of soul thrown in for good measure.

My favourite's are Same Ole' and What Makes A Good Man.

Best served cold / Joe Abercrombie.

"Monza Murcatto is one of the best mercenaries around but being the best can sometimes have a hefty price.  Only thing is Monza never thought that price would be her life..."

I've been meaning to read Joe Abercrombie for absolutely ages and I'm so glad that I finally did.

Bloody and violent and ruthless and that's just the female character, Murcatto could so kick Buffy's butt.

There's a lot to love. Betrayal and back-stabbing are so me. All I can say is... on with the sequel.

Pines : a novel / by Blake Crouch.

"FBI Ethan Burke wakes up near the town of Pines with virtually no memory of who he is.  Pines though is not the safe haven he would like it to be and there are things going on around him that make him wonder what exactly it is that the town is hiding."

The ending of this book will thrown you for a loop.  Trust me, you won't see it coming, or maybe you will and it was just me you went Oh My God.

Like the book above I'm now hanging out for the sequel.  Why do authors insist on teasing us so...

Wool / Hugh Howey.

"In a ruined and hostile landscape, a community exists in a giant underground silo. To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside. Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last."

First published as an e-book Wool is now in print after the huge and I mean HUGE public demand.  Having recently read it myself, I can see why.

It's so good to see Sci-Fi books doing so well.  As with the others I am now waiting impatiently for the sequel Shift which is due this April and also for the film adaption, which rumour has it, Ridley Scott is interested in making.

Ghost planet / Sharon Lynn Fisher.

"Imagine an alien world where the alien's manifest themselves in the form of the dead.  What would it be like to be haunted by a loved one? Psychologist Elizabeth Cole is about to find out, only not in quite the way she'd imagined.  Living with a ghost should be relatively easy but what if you're the ghost..."

A book with a little bit of something for everyone, from romance to sci-fi to paranormal to adventure, Ghost Planet covers them all.  A genre mesh or should that be mess.  Either way it was enjoyable.

The essential Supernatural : on the road with Sam and Dean Winchester / Nicholas Knight

"Fill a flask with holy water and make sure your car is stocked with rock salt and shot guns, you're about to drive headfirst into the world of Sam and Dean Winchester, hunters of demons, ghouls, vampires, and all things supernatural."

Yeah, you just knew that I had to include something to do with Supernatural, but trust me, for fans of the show this book is a must.  Filled with glorious coloured photos, a history of the show and its characters plus interviews with the actors and behind-the-scenes-staff, this is the ultimate book.

In the words of the boys... Got salt?

Secrets and Lies and the World of Spies

"Bond. James Bond."

Okay, admit it.  You're now humming that theme in your head.  The one that we all recognise.

And it's no wonder.

Since the arrival of what is probably the most famous fictional spy of them all, James Bond, our fascination with the world of spies and spies themselves has enticed and allured us.  Published in 1953 Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel, showed us that spies were men of action and our love affair with them has continued on since then with the movies only enhancing their appeal.

For me it's always been about spies.

Some woman like cowboys.  Others like fireman or vampires. Or maybe even a vampire fireman, if there is such a thing.

But for me spies are the thing. Good spies, bad spies, I love them all.  It's that combination of mystery and danger and excitement that makes them so thrilling.

These are men (and women too) who could snap your neck like a twig without blinking an eye or steal all your secrets with just a kiss.

So here's to you Mr Bond and all the other fictional spies out there.

Casino Royale / Ian Fleming.

"In his first mission agent 007, James Bond, must neutralize a Russian agent known as "Le Chiffre" by ruining him at the baccarat table, thus forcing his "retirement". However, a beautiful female agent leads him to disaster - and an unexpected saviour."

Everyone has their favourite Bond and each Bond that has appeared on the big screen has been unique while still representing the essence that is Bond.  A man of action.  A man who seduces women.  A man who will do whatever is necessary to carry out his task.  Oh yeah, Bond is the man.

The prisoner's wife / Gerard Macdonald.

A spy, a suspected terrorist and the terrorist wife.  It all adds up trouble.  But trouble in the spy business is just a typical day.

A day where wits and cunning and ruthlessness are the order of business.

In a spy's world nothing and no-one is ever safe.

Shake off / Mischa Hiller.

What happens when a spy falls in love? 

Who does his loyalty lie with?  The people he works for or the woman he loves?  

And can a spy ever have the freedom to choose?

Switch / Charlie Brooks.
 
 Max Ward is a modern spy in a dangerous world. 

A world where counter intelligence, drug cartels and global terrorism intersect. A world where the beauty of an Old Master painting hides a deadly game of deal, double cross and revenge. 

Happily working as an analyst Max's is about to called to duty by his faceless MI6 master and to confront an enemy that he knows too well. 

An enemy that is better left alone.

The Geneva trap / Stella Rimington.

Author Stella Rimington knows all too well what is to be a spy.  She was one herself and was the former head of MI5.

In this, her latest novel,  her favourite character Liz Carlyle finds her past catching up with her when a rogue Russian spy warns her of a plot.  A plot that could see a major shift in power.
 
 Sentinel / Matthew Dunn.

With war between the USA and Russia on the verge of breaking out, agent Will Cochrane is under pressure to find the double-agent responsible for it all.

Sounds simple really.

But as any good spy knows nothing is ever simple.

Retribution / Adrian Magson.

As a spy Harry has seen it all.

Or at least he thought he had.

Now though a lone assassin is tracking down and eliminating colleagues from Harry's past which means that Harry could be next on the hitman's list.

To uncover who this killer is Harry must track down the remaining team member's and discover what exactly happened in Kosovo in 1999.

Red star burning : a thriller / Brian Freemantle.

One of MI5's best field agents has a secret.

A secret that if revealed could land him in jail for the rest of his life and place the life of the woman he loves in danger.

But a frantic call has brought that secret out and now he must do everything he can to protect not only himself but the people he loves.

The expats : a novel / Chris Pavone.

Kate Moore looks like every other expat mum living in Luxembourg.

But she is not as ordinary as she seems and her 'real life' and her 'fake life' are about to collide.

What's a spy to do when the secrets and lies they have been hiding finally catch up with them.

An American spy / Olen Steinhauer.

Milo Weaver is a tourist.

A CIA trained spy and assassin.

It's a life he would like to leave but his former boss can't let it go and when he disappears, Milo can't help but go in search of him, but it's beginning to look like hunting for his former boss is not the only thing he has to worry about.

Tinker tailor soldier spy

When a disgraced spy surfaces with information concerning a double agent at the top of the British secret service, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), an ex-MI6 agent, is drawn back into the murky field of espionage. Tasked with investigating which of his trusted former colleagues has chosen to betray him and their country, Smiley must overcome past histories, rivalries and friendships to pinpoint the man who is eating away at the heart of the British establishment.

Spooks

Welcome to the world of MI5, the UK's clandestine security service. Its operatives - 'spooks' for short - tackle organised crime, terrorist activities, embassy sieges, weapons proliferation and anarchists; not to mention the conflicts and power struggles back in the office. 

Prepare for a white-knuckle ride through the perilous, shadowy world of false identities, treacherous agents and cover-ups.  And remember: nothing is as it seems.

Featuring the superbly swoon worthy Richard Armitage -  before he was a dwarf - as spy Lucas North, a man with secrets so deep and complicated he makes James Bond look like the boy-next-door.

 

Strike back

Section 20 is an ultra secret government intelligence team who take on the jobs non-one else is prepared to do.

Action packed, this series spies are not your glamour boys.  These men  know what it means to get down and dirty.

They work hard, fight hard and play hard.

But even these men have their secrets and some are even willing to kill to them them hidden.

I can read, I can READ, I CAN READ!

Well you would bloody hope so since I am a librarian but what I'm really getting at is that I have finished NaNoWriMo for another year.  52,371 words submitted and validated.

And 2 days early I might add.

Yes, Yes, Yes.

I can finally get into the ever increasing pile of books that has been giving me accusing looks for the past 30 days.  So much so that I swear they have been talking to me.  Tempting me with their words of adventure and excitement and far off places.  It has been a real test of wills.  Me writing and doing NaNo or picking up one of the many alluring books that has been staring at me with bedroom eyes, saying read me, read me, read me.  Now, Now Now.

Thank god NaNo is over and I can get stuck in and read something other than my own writing.

Now the only hard decision is deciding which one to start with first…

Fun summer reads

The holidays are coming soon (yay, one month to go!), and if you've been waiting a while since your last one, your brain probably resembles something like...hmm, I'm thinking pan drippings left out overnight. Burnt crunchy bits included, if you're feeling particularly fried.

At this time of year, it's nice not to have to think too much about what you're reading. Your mind should just drift peacefully on a soothing, gentle sea of words as it washes you along. There are two kinds of book that do this:

1) Action novels.
You know the ones I mean. The ones where everything follows a certain pattern: bad guys, good guys, no doubting who's who, and the good guy always - always wins. There's a girl somewhere too, so the hero can prove how hot he is in every way. Stand up, Clive Cussler and Lee Child.

2) Romances.
Don't need to spell this one out. Some can be erotic, some can be screwball (whoops, no pun intended), and some can be "sweet" like a Nicholas Sparks. Whatever you're into, you know pretty much exactly what you're getting. Like a Griffins sampler.

So here is a list of new and forthcoming books that might just put the sauce on your chips this summer.

Fifty Bales of Hay - Rachael Treasure

Just love the title of this one! Saddle up for a collection of "agricultural erotica" from Australia, featuring lots of luscious cowboys, cheeky farmhands and fun with a stock and a whip. Whoa, Nelly.









Friends and Rivals - Tilly Bagshawe

Record label Jester boasts some of the hottest musicians on the planet, but their shining star is super-diva Kendall Bryce - the girl with the voice of an angel and the attitude from hell. To the world it seems like owners and old college friends, Jack and Ivan, are living the dream - until the betrayal. Jack has no choice but to walk away from Jester and start up his own label and with the help of his own new discovery - the talented, beautiful and sweet Ava Klein - he is ready to take on Ivan. As passions rise and the desire to win becomes all-consuming, the two young and brilliant pop beauties and the two bitter ex-friends race for the Christmas number one record.


Dirty Little Secret - Jon Stock
Described as one for fans of Jason Bourne and James Bond. Salim Dhar, the world's most wanted terrorist, has disappeared after an audacious attack on an American target in the UK. The CIA believes Daniel Marchant, renegade MI6 officer, was involved. But Marchant has a bigger secret: Dhar has agreed to work for MI6. In return, Marchant must help him with a final strike against America. Should Britain sign up to this Faustian pact or hunt them both down? Fast and furious with the inevitable romance thrown in.

Threat Vector - Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney
Jack Ryan has only just moved back into the Oval Office when he is faced with a new international threat. An aborted coup in China has left President Wei Zhen Lin with no choice but to agree with the expansionist policies of General Su Ke Qiang. They have declared the South China Sea a protectorate and are planning an invasion of Taiwan. A new breed of powerful Chinese anti-ship missile endangers the US Navy's plans to protect the island. Meanwhile, Chinese cyberwarfare experts have launched a devastating attack on America. Jack Ryan, Jr. and his colleagues at the Campus may be just the wild card that his father needs to stack the deck. There's just one problem: someone knows about the off-the-books intelligence agency and threatens to blow their cover sky high.

It Happened in Venice - Molly Hopkins
For fans of sweet and funny romances. Evie has a handsome fiance and a fantastic job that takes her to fashionable Dublin, in-vogue Marrakech, cool Amsterdam and romantic Paris. But her fiance hates her job and her flatmate hates her fiance. And when an unexpected event strikes the epicentre of her happiness, Evie is driven to gin and tonic. If she doesn't sort herself out, her liver and her bank manager will hate her. So when she's offered a luxury trip to the sensual city of Venice, with its shifting silver canals and rose and vanilla hued architecture, Evie jumps at the chance. Four days in the city of light and love is exactly what she needs. The sumptuous Grand Hotel, the gondolas, the wine, the Italian men...But within hours of Evie's arrival, her life is poised to change for ever...

Newton's Fire - Will Adams

Luke Hayward is adrift. Blacklisted out of academia, he is in no position to refuse when a client asks for his expert help in recovering some lost Isaac Newton papers. But a chance discovery in a dusty attic plunges Luke into a race to uncover the truth behind some seemingly random scribblings - a race which pits Luke against a fundamentalist madman with dangerously powerful friends. Luke discovers connections between Oxford, London and the Old City of Jerusalem in a breathless chase to uncover a secret hidden in the eccentric ramblings of a mathematical genius; a secret that, in the wrong hands, could be used to spark the holy war to end all holy wars.

The Husband List - Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly

A historical romance that evokes the glittering world of the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts. New York City, 1894. Caroline Maxwell would like nothing more than to join her brother, Eddie, and his friend, Jack Culhane, on their adventures. While they are off buying up businesses and building wildly successful careers, Caroline's stuck at home frightening off the men her mother hopes will ask for her hand, like the questionable Lord Bremerton. She longs for adventure, passion, love, and most of all, Jack, an Irish-American with new money and no title. But Caroline's dark hair, brilliant eyes and quick wit have Jack understanding just why it is people fall in love.

The Hunters - Chris Kuzneski
A team of renegades - an ex-military leader, a historian, a computer whiz, a weapons expert and a thief - financed by a billionaire philanthropist are tasked with finding a vast treasure lost nearly a century ago. Fearing a German victory in World War I, the Romanians signed a deal with the Russians to safeguard their national treasures. In 1916 two trains full of gold and the most precious objects of the Romanian state - paintings, jewellery from the Royal family, ancient Dacien artifacts - were sent to the underground vaults in the Kremlin, only to be lost after the Russian Revolution. With a haul valued at over $3.5 billion, everyone wants to claim the vast treasure, but its location has remained a mystery - until now.

Ultimatum - Simon Kernick

8am: an explosion rocks a London cafe. Minutes later a call is made to a local radio station: 'We've just detonated a bomb. Another will explode shortly to prove what we are capable of.' The government has until midnight to meet all of the terrorist demands before a far greater attack takes place. Sixteen hours is all DC Tina Boyd and Mike Bolt have to find and stop the killers - before it's too late.







Bianca - Bertrice Small
Florentine silk merchant Giovanni Pietro d'Angelo and his wife want nothing more than to marry their daughters to wealthy men of distinction. But when their son's dangerous indiscretion implicates him in a tragic accident, it is their eldest daughter who must pay the price. Blackmailed by the powerful and debauched Sebastiano Rovere, the Pietro d'Angelos must give beautiful Bianca in marriage to Rovere to buy his silence. It is the shocking murder of her husband that allows her to find the possibility of love at last. But Florentine society would never approve of the man she's chosen: Prince Amir, grandson of Memhet the Conqueror. Two passionate lovers...two different cultures...two worlds determined to keep them apart.

Do enjoy, won't you?

The Axe Factor - nominate your contestants

It's hard to stand out from the crowd as an author. When there are fifty million other people all trying to make it in print, and now on their own blogs as well, how on earth do you get yourself noticed?

One way, of course, is to write something so kinkily filthy it outrages all demands of decency, plot, dialogue or character and makes a splash in the papers. Not mentioning any trilogies in particular.

The other way, of course, is to introduce a character so twisted, so monumentally and memorably evil, that it attracts an audience like a fire at the Playboy Mansion. Hannibal Lecter, I'm looking at you.

Mr The Cannibal aside, who is your favourite (or most hated) villain? Who sticks in your mind from all the nasties you've encountered? Now I read, or at least test-drive, more than 100 books a year. I really tried to squeeze my brain, but in fact, it wasn't the killers who got in my head so much as the general feeling of horror. I remember being positively sickened while reading Mo Hayder - but can I recall anything about the murderer? Nope.

Film villains are a dime a dozen. The T1000, Hans Gruber and the Joker are easy to remember, as are any of the Disney crew. No one does high camp like Disney - I can only think of the Bond villains to match them in literature. Anyone help?

Please - no spoilers if the villain's identity is supposed to be a secret!

Here are a few of my most memorable: