Windrush and Theresa May

The scandal of the treatment of the Windrush generation coming to light has shocked me. It's a scary thought for the country at large, that our government is filled with people who are prepared to treat their law abiding citizens in such a manner, but on a personal level it makes me physically sick. 

I am the daughter of a man who came from Kingston, Jamaica in the 1960s. He was fourteen when he arrived, and his brothers and mother were also here. They came with hopes of a better life, but they were more than prepared to work at it, and strive to achieve the things that they wanted.

He has always been a productive member of the community, working first as a Methodist minister, and then as a Careers Adviser, until his retirement. His brothers also have consistently been in paid employment, one working at a airport in the Midlands, and his youngest brother being a highly respected member of local government in London. 

There obviously was a chance that one of them could have had their information destroyed in 2010, under Theresa May's direction. Thankfully they avoided that particular fate, but it's fairly safe to believe that a lot of the people who suffered the uncertainty about their immigration status were in similar jobs, and had put down solid roots within their communities, having families and social connections over their long residencies in the UK. 

The attempt by the Prime Minister to push the blame onto the Labour Government, claiming that the destruction of the documents was under their direction would be laughable, if it wasn't so dangerous. She doesn't seem to be able to take responsibility for negative actions, within her party, when it is in her control to stop them. 

I actually thought that she could be a good leader, but now I am not so sure. Her decision to launch the missiles in Syria without seeking agreement from other MP's and then this scandal coming to light don't leave me with a great respect for her decision making process. 

USA and North Korea

I'm more than a bit scared of the fact that Trump is going to be talking face to face with North Korea's leader. Neither of them project the most stable personality to the world, and there has been a distinct lack of tact displayed by Trump. Previous presidents had well informed and articulate people in their administrations, and still didn't manage to get a accord with the North Koreans, how on earth can Trump with his tendency to resort to playground taunts and nicknames?

Not to mention the fact that he has just fired Tillerson, who had been establishing connections over the course of the Trump presidency. How long will it take for the replacement to feel comfortable in the role? 

Trump isn't in the habit of hiring people with masses of experience for his cabinet either, so this very delicate meeting, when North Korea reportedly has the nuclear missiles capable of reaching the US mainland will most likely be in the hands of someone without training in international diplomacy. 

The Outsider by Jason Dean

Synopsis

Jason Strickland and his son are in witness protection, and have seven days before he testifies. He is being protected by US Marshal Angela Delaney, and she suspects a inside leak so seeks outside help from a old friend. James Bishop is a former marine, experienced in working protection but he never expected to see Angela again. However when he meets Strickland and his son, he immediately agrees to protect them. 

It's fast moving, and full of exciting set pieces. Dean clearly has the knack of creating twists and turns in thrillers, and also makes the characters believable and likable. It's necessary to make the lead character in this kind of story, empathetic but capable of great violence when they need to be, and Dean manages to make Bishop into a character that I could actually like a lot. 

Dean also creates a friendship between Clea, a character that helps Bishop and Strickland get quite far along in their mission and the two men. This is despite the fact that the relationship begins because Bishop pulls a gun on her. It's refreshing that the relationship between her and Bishop doesn't tip over into romance as well. 

Barney, Strickland's son is very composed despite all the things that he is put through over the course of the novel. He manages to keep a level head even after being kidnapped, and losing his mother, despite the fact that he is still a teenager. 

If you enjoy action packed stories with a lot of twists and turns, then this is definitely one to consider. 

Authors beginning with the letter H

A night in with Grace Kelly by Lucy Holliday

Synopsis

Libby Lomax has realised that her best friend Olly is the one for her, but he's happy and in love with Tash. Another conflict is the fact that she is trying to make her own business work, and making a bad first impression on her financial backer. Fortunately Libby meets Joel in a accidental meeting straight out of a romantic comedy. Soon afterwards Grace Kelly appears, and tries to help Libby see that happy endings aren't just for fairy tales. 

This is the last one in the trilogy that Holliday created to feature Libby. I read the first one in which Libby meets Audrey Hepburn and thoroughly enjoyed it. Libby is a avid film fan who grew up idolising the stars of Hollywood's golden years through her father. Holliday's version of Grace Kelly is initially reluctant to accept the idea of Libby being real, and persists in thinking of Libby as a figment of her own imagination. 

Libby is still surrounded by distinct and endearing characters such as Bogdan- the aspiring hairdresser who mixes up his idioms regularly. Nora- the always supportive best friend. Her sister and mother who focus on their own lives rather than Libby. Her mother has traits similar to Mrs Bennet from Austen's Pride and Prejudice, in that she wants her children to achieve big things, and form a attachment preferably with a wealthy man. 

Holliday made Libby into a very supportive and loving character in the first book, prone to putting others before herself, and keeps that trait intact in this one. Libby is there for her ex boyfriend Dillon, a relapsing alcoholic. He made a appearance in the first book, and was the obstacle between Olly and Libby, as he was her main love interest then. 

It's a lighthearted and well written novel, with a unusual secondary character in Grace Kelly. Holliday's Grace is unsure of whether she truly wants to be married to Prince Rainer, and has had a relationship with Cary Grant. I don't know if Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe interacted very much in reality, but Holliday has them banding together to save Libby's life, and also giving their own take on what is important in romantic relationships. 

I really enjoyed this one, and will be seeking out the second one so that I can fill in the gaps in Libby's story seeing as Holliday currently doesn't intend to write further adventures for her and Olly. 

Authors beginning with the letter L

Hidden Killers by Lynda La Plante

Synopsis

Jane Tennison is promoted from WPC to DC and joins Bow Street station, the move makes her conflicted. She doubts the way that her colleagues investigate crimes and deal with suspects. 

La Plante's Tennison has been a byword for strong female character within crime drama for years, and La Plante shows that strength even though this novel is set in Tennison's early career. I was glad of that, enjoying seeing such a strong and determined woman holding her own against men who typify 1970's views within the police force. 

It follows on from the first prequel, simply entitled Tennison, and some of the characters are referenced here. Jane is still coming to terms with the events of the end of Tennison, and interacts with other members of the team who are dealing with the same things. It's touching to see that she still values Kath in particular, but that she hasn't sunk under the weight of her emotions. Her family life has progressed as well, as her sister has got married, and there is a pregnancy within the course of the novel. 

I always enjoy La Plante's writing style, and the action does zip along swiftly. It's a well crafted detective story with plenty of twists and turns, and I will be very interested to see if she does another prequel. 

Review of I take you by Eliza Kennedy

Synopsis

Lily Wilder is a New York based lawyer who is planning her wedding to Will: a museum director. She loves him but finds monogamy a real challenge. 

Kennedy writes from Lily's 1st person point of view allowing the reader to get right into Lily's head from the first page. She's created a acerbic, funny and intelligent character who has a very complex family life. Her father has the same inability to settle down in a long term relationship with one woman, and the first three of his wives are attending Lily's wedding. The three women have developed a close friendship, despite the fact that they met because of Lily's dad's philandering. 

There are some distinctive and memorable characters. Ana: one of Lily's stepmothers is a congresswoman from California with a raucous laugh and is only five foot tall. Jane: another of her stepmothers is elegant and well groomed, as well as being very cultured. Freddie: Lily's best friend is a bisexual who has been engaged three times and has a high sex drive. 

Lily's kept a lot of her past hidden from Will and slowly it comes out through her interactions with those she left behind. She hasn't returned to her hometown in nearly thirteen years. Kennedy dripfeeds what might have been the reason that Lily has avoided Key West for so long, slowly allowing the reader to get to know who Lily is at the present point in the story. 

It is a very funny take on the genre, with a lead character who is rightly unapologetic about the fact that she likes to have sex. There are slight similarities with Bridget Jones, in that the main thrust of the story is about a thirty something and her relationships, with friends, family and romantic partners. Although for me Lily is more akin to Samantha from Sex and the city, even though Lily does ultimately find that she wants a long term future with Will. 

Kennedy is a honest and witty writer, creating believable, flawed but likable characters, and subverting some of the cliches of this genre. 

Here Comes Trouble by Simon Wroe

Synopsis
Ellis Dau has spent his childhood dreaming of London, New York and Ashford in Kent, from his home in Kyrzbekistan. When he's expelled from school, his father takes him to work with him at the Chronicle, the last remnant of free speech in the highly repressive country. As Ellis starts to fall in love, with the local oligarch's daughter, he grows to learn that some things are worth fighting for.

It's a relief to see that Wroe's ability to reveal the eccentricities in his characters has not lessened in his second book. Ellis starts off the novel as a very mixed up sixteen year old, and I recognised his melodramatic tendencies from my own teenage years, as Ellis thinks of his grounding as being a prisoner, telling his mother 'this is a gross injustice'.

His father Cornelius possesses some unique traits such as standing on his head every morning for ten minutes, and is a mystery for Ellis. I like the fact that Wroe includes this detail, as many teenagers have no idea why their parents behave the way that they do, and it's endearing that Ellis 'would put on his father's spare town shoes and walk about' in a attempt to understand his father, as well as absorbing 'the serious adult power he imagined lay within'. It's only when Cornelius takes Ellis to work with him, that Ellis sees something more to his father than the very taciturn and quiet man that Cornelius is at home. Wroe's way of describing the difference is memorable as well 'the dry riverbed of conversation became a raging torrent'.

Wroe divides the book into three sections, First Glimpses, Cuts and These words are forbidden. First Glimpses ends with Ellis realising that his father can't solve everything, and that he had only ever been 'the small, the neutral'. Cuts is about Ellis becoming stronger, and learning to care about freedom of speech for his fellow countrymen, however I think it's the arrest of his mother that truly tips him over into action.

Wroe's ability to paint graphic pictures for the reader comes out again, and inevitably there are violent sections of the novel, given that there are a group calling themselves the Horsemen who seek to oppress wide swathes of the Kyrzbekistan people.

Each of the characters Wroe creates within the novel are flawed, but those that Ellis is interacting with regularly, seem to have a shared tendency to stand up against oppression regardless of the personal consequences. Joan, Ellis's love interest is brave from the outset reacting with 'deep reverential boredom' to Grotz, the leader of the Horsemen. Cornelius tells Grotz that they are 'thugs' even after the Chronicle has been trashed.

However dark the events of the book get, Wroe has created patches of lightness as well. He creates situations for Ellis to get into, such as trying to get into a nightclub, and making up his own game of 'body bowling', which are very funny.

This book confirms my opinion of Wroe as a incredibly gifted writer with a keen eye for the quirks and silliness that can exist in human nature. I will be keeping a look out for whatever he does next.