A BOOK with a cover claiming the contents are “eerie, unnerving and buckets of fun” presents a puzzle before a single page is turned. Unnerving and fun? Such an odd mix. Especially for what is also billed as “a thriller”, and involves “one kidnapping, one liar, one chance”. Where are “the buckets of fun” going  to be found amid such ingredients? And will they detract from the promised unnerving thrills? The answer, of course, is to venture forth. To succumb to the lure dangled by the blurbs (“fear, secrets, lies” forewarns the back cover) attached to Black River, the latest… Continue reading

COMPARISONS are inevitable when books are transported from page to screen. Especially between the leading characters as they are read and as they are seen. An author’s descriptions enable us to build our personal bank of images as we move through the chapters. Fleshing out the bare bones we are given at the start until we have a fully formed person in time for the grand finale. But if the character is later viewed in a screen adaptation of the book(s) there can be disappointment if their looks and mannerisms fail to match that mental picture we have created. Which… Continue reading