Monday, July 30, 2018

A Very Mersey Murder (Mersey Mystery Series Book 5) - Brian L. Porter, Author



Scouse
(The best scouse this side of the Mersey)

Serves: 3

400g beef (preferably a tough cut like chuck or even flank)
30ml oil
salt and pepper
1 large onion, diced
1 stock cube (preferably Knorr®)
500ml hot water
2 bay leaves
a few sprigs thyme
4 large carrots, cut into 15mm chunks
6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2 cm chunks
pickled red cabbage, to serve

Method
Prep: 15 min.  Cook: 2 hrs. Ready in 2 hrs 15 min.

Dice the meat if not already done into whatever size you prefer, remembering the size will shrink slightly.
Heat the oil in the pan to a medium temperature and add the meat. Season very well at this early stage with salt and pepper. Stir and turn until just brown all over. Do not drain. Add the onions and continue to stir on a medium heat for around 10 minutes; the onions must not brown.
Add the stock with the water (or 500 ml of good homemade stock) and bring to the boil. Add the bay and the a few little twigs of thyme, stir, cover and when bubbling, reduce to medium heat. You want the stock to bubble but not violently for 1 hour.
Uncover and add the carrots and potatoes, turn up the heat until bubbling throughout and reduce slightly. Leave for another 45 minutes to 1 hour with the lid off the pan so it reduces. When the veg has been cooked through but retains some firmness, the best way to check is to see if it falls easily off the end of a fork without cracking or breaking, then it is normally done perfectly.
The stew should reduce once the veg is added and the lid, but you may need to add more water or perhaps turn the heat up to ensure the liquid is as thick as good gravy.
Taste and season again if necessary. Serve in a bowl with the red cabbage and plenty of juice on the top. Really delicious.

Serving suggestion - Yummy with a nice bottle of real ale!
Tip - Really important that dish is well seasoned!



A Very Mersey Murder - Review by Martha A. Cheves

A woman is brutally raped and murdered, her body left close to the old disused lighthouse in Hale.  Then came a second and finally a third murder.  All being committed by who the police feel is the same person.  One was a barmaid, one worked with animals and the third was a policewoman.  These murders happened thirty-nine years ago with no arrests being made and the case assigned to the cold case files.

This is the information Detective Inspector Andy Ross has just given to his people that make up the Merseyside Police Specialist Murder Investigation Team.  His biggest concern regarding this cold case is that there have been two more recent murders that are very similar to those from thirty-nine years ago.  The first being a barmaid and the second being a veterinary student.  If the person doing the killings now continues to follow the original murders the third will be taking place within just a few days and that person will be one of their own... a police woman.

I've read every book this award-winning author has written.  His Jack the Ripper series kept my nerves tied into knots from beginning to end.  I've read this series - Mersey Mystery - and I will admit that the 1st book was good, the second was better and as I read the third and forth they got even better but I must say that book five takes me back to the Ripper series!

As I read murder mysteries I judge their ability to fool me by how quickly I can come up with the guilty party.  If I have at least the person figured out by around 20% into the book it is a good book.  If it takes me 50% to decide who it might be, that is a very good book.  And 75% marks the book as an extremely good mystery.  But when it takes me all the way to the end and the author has to finally inform me as to who the murderer is I rate that book one of the best.  For me this book fits in with the Best.

Now I'm waiting on book 6!  But if I were you, start with the full Mersey Mystery Series which can be seen at http://getbook.at/MerseyMysteries .


Thursday, July 19, 2018

The Doctor's Tale - Claire Applewhite, Author



Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken

1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 cup spinach, chopped
½ cup sun dried tomatoes

INSTRUCTIONS
In a large skillet, add olive oil and cook the chicken on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown on each side and cooked until no longer pink in center. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate.

Add the heavy cream, chicken broth, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese. Whisk over medium high heat until it starts to thicken. Add the spinach and sundried tomatoes and let it simmer until the spinach starts to wilt. Add the chicken back to the pan and serve over pasta if desired.

The Doctor's Tale - Review by Martha A. Cheves

Did anything I did make a difference?  I didn't know what I believed anymore.  I saved the life of a desperate woman with no future, and impulsively ended the lives of two others.  While I climbed the steps to my apartment, one thought ran through my mind:  I ended three lives.  At that moment, I could not ignore my over-whelming doubts.  Had medical school been the worst decision of my life.  Was I meant to become a physician?  Like a dead animal, the pungent odors of Division Sixteen festered in my mind.  Over and over, I heard Freeman's cruel wisecracks, the drone of Skelton's lectures, and Mrs. Raines' desperate pleas.  If I did not become a physician, what else would I do?  "Plan B" did not exist.  Could I face another day?

You've just met Thomas Anthony Spezia, Intern at City Hospital.  He made the decision to become a doctor after repairing the broke wing of a bird when he was just a child.  Now he finds himself facing some of the worse decisions he has ever faced.  How does a doctor make the decision of helping someone live as opposed to allowing them to die?  Which choice will allow you to live with yourself?  Which is best for the patient and which is best for you?

The Doctor's Tale is full of life and death.  It takes you on a journey that only a doctor can understand, and only then after many years of experience.  The events that take place had me wondering how I would have reacted if faced with the situations that many doctors are faced.  It has made me stop and think about my own doctors.  I've always seen them as my healers but never given much thought to me being just one of their patients.  Me being just one of their problems.  And me being just one of the decisions they must make every day.  This book was a real eye opener.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Snow Drive - Bobby Nash, Author


Easy Taco Soup

Ingredients:
ground beef
taco seasoning
water
whole kernel corn
black beans
pinto beans
crushed tomatoes
tomato sauce
onions
salt
pepper
cheese
sour cream
salsa

Cook beef and onions until no longer pink. Drain the grease. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, taco seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Add water to fill pot. Bring to a boil. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered until heated through or beans are soft to your taste. Stir occasionally until ready. Serve with cheese, sour cream, and/or salsa topping.

Snow Drive - Review by Martha A. Cheves

"Last year, Oliver Simcoe asked me and Tommy Yates to join one of his engine trials.  His company designed a new engine that was supposed to be more fuel efficient for less pit stops, more environmentally friendly, which makes for great P.R., and faster because every driver wants to win.  I was reluctant.  I hate these type of trials.  Would never do another if I had a choice, but Oliver was persuasive.  The money wasn't bad either.  We bought a new car and trailer with what they paid for my time. The engine did what it was supposed to do, but there were some bugs involved that bothered me so I voiced those concerns.  The engine tended to overheat faster than it should have.  On the track, in a race that lasts a couple of hours, that can lead to disaster.  A blown engine out there could get somebody killed, maybe even several somebodies.  I couldn't sign off on that, not until they fixed those problems.  That's what I told them."  

NASCAR owner and driver Grant Chambers has found himself and his son Chase being the target for too many 'accidents.'  Lucky for him, his security company was none other than Snow Security, and one of it's employees just happens to be Abraham Snow.  So when the latest accident almost cost Chase his life, Grant called in the team to solve the problem before whoever behind the accidents succeeded.

The first name on the list was that of Oliver Simcoe.  The man who threatened to put an end to Grant and his company after he reported problems with Oliver's new engine to the other drivers as well as NASCAR resulting in them being pulled until further investigations found the problems or cleared the engines.  But... Snow finds that after talking to other at the track, the problem might be a little closer to home.

I love this series of books.  They are actually two books in one.  The first is the investigative story while the other is Snow's ongoing story.  After being shot and almost dying, Snow retired as an undercover agent that was on the track of Miguel Ortega.  The agency had at first believed it to be just one man but now believe it is a group of men using the same name to keep them off track.  After his retirement, Snow moved back to Georgia and thought his cover was in tact.  Turns out he has been found and there is another hit out on him.

I'm looking forward to reading the next in this series where I understand Snow comes out of retirement and becomes actively involved, again, in the search for this group calling them selves Miguel Ortega.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Murder On Tyneside (Agnes Lockwood Mysteries Book One) - Eileen Thornton, Author



Slow cooker - Beef and Veg with a splash of red wine! (a large splash)
Serves 4

1lb Braising Steak - cut into cubes
1 Large Onion Chopped
2-3 Carrots Sliced
Frozen Peas
New Potatoes
Tablespoon Plain Flour
Dried Mixed Herbs
Beef Stock Cube (dissolved in half-pint hot water)
Salt and pepper for seasoning to taste

Add a small amount of cooking oil to a large pan and brown the meat
Add the chopped onion and cook for a few minutes before adding the carrots and peas.
Stir in the flour and the mixed herbs
Add the stock together with a the wine. (I said a splash, but let’s be honest,  about half a pint is better. 
Add salt and pepper to taste.
At this point you can add the potatoes - unless you would prefer to boil them separately - and bring to simmering point,
Pour the stew into the Slow Cooker. Cook for about 4 - 5 hours set on low or 3 - 4 hours on high.
Add more wine or water if necessary.


Murder On Tyneside - Review by Martha A. Cheves

Alan sighed, as he turned back to face into the room.  He had a case to solve.  But where did they start with this one?  Using his fingers, he counted off what the police knew.  One: there was a body.  Two: the victim had been shot and thrown from this window.  Three: there was no blood found in the room.  Four: the Scene of Crime Officers team had found no trace of blood in the entire building.  Five: According to the curator, the windows and doors were all locked before he went home that evening.  Yet the murder must have taken place here.  Why would anyone carry a dead body up here only to throw it from this window back down onto the street?  It just didn't make any sense.  And then there was the question of how they got in.

Agnes' mind was also working on the crime and how it took place.  She too decided to tick off the events on her fingers.  First there were robberies.  Then a woman, who happened to be staying at the hotel, was murdered, though her body was not found at the hotel.  Third, today they find that another guest could possibly be involved  in one- or even both of the crimes.  So what would be next?  She sighed.  This was as close as she had ever come to investigating a real crime and she wasn't going to be put off by the detective working the case, even if he was trying to keep her out of harm's way.  But where did she go from here?  What would be number four on the list?

Agnes Lockwood had been away from Tyneside for a number of years.  After the death of her husband she has decided to take some time and visit some of her childhood memories.  Agnes had chosen the Millennium Hotel for her stay.  It's views were beautiful and everything was up to date.  After checking in she decided to take a short walk around.  When she returned to the hotel she was surprised to find loud voices and a visit from the police.  Apparently someone had broken into one of the guest rooms and stolen an expensive necklace.  And this was just the beginning.

Chief Inspector Alan Johnson was assigned to the theft at the Millennium Hotel.  As soon as he saw Agnes, he recognized her from their childhood.  As children he had had a crush on her that ended when she and her family moved away.  Well, maybe some of the crush was still there.  In the back of his mind he seemed to hope so and even invited her out for a dinner of reminiscing.  That is when they found the body that appeared to have been thrown out of the window above.

I read for this woman several years ago and loved her work then.  And she didn't disappoint me with her writing of Murder on Tyneside.  Her technique of allowing you to follow the characters as they actually 'think' things through makes her writing different from most books I've read.  She includes the suspense, drama and mystery but also keeps the reading light with short chapters that makes it easier to keep turning every page to see what happens next.  I will admit that I had an idea of who the culprit would be but she made it difficult to be sure as she twisted the story to lead me in other directions.  Can't wait for Book #2

Friday, July 6, 2018

What Hunts Me (Ghost Killer Book 3) - Margaret Millmore, Author



Baileys Dip

-1 (8 ounces) of cream cheese, soften to room temperature
-1/2 cup of powdered sugar
-1/4 cup of Baileys Irish Cream liqueur (you can add a bit more if you'd like a creamier consistency)
-1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
*Combine cream cheese, sugar, Baileys and beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy
*Stir in chocolate chips

Serve with wafer cookies or salted crackers


What Hunts Me (Ghost Killer Book 3) - Review by Martha A. Cheves


He grabbed me by the shoulders and dug in.  I could feel the talon like nails breaking into my skin and scraping my collar bone, and pain reverberated through my body.  Drunk or not, I was still a ghost killer and still damn strong.  Raising my arms up and out, I broke free, but not before he tore a chunk of skin and T-shirt off my shoulder.  I flipped out of reach and started to run, but he was fast and on me in a matter of seconds, landing solidly on my back, and then I was face down in the dirt of the vacant lot across from the tavern and the motel.  He grabbed me by the hair, and the next thing I knew my head was slammed to the ground, over and over again.  Blood trickled into my eyes and then nothing, just blackness..... 

George Sinclair is a very powerful Ghost Killer.  Since acquiring a diary that was written by his great grandfather, who was also a ghost killer, George has found himself following a being that his great grandfather had buried many years before.  This being is wreaking destruction on everyone that gets in his way as he searches for the broken stones from what used to be a Muttata.  By gathering these stones the Muttata will put itself back together and give him total control over some of the worse demons and ghosts ever to roam.  

George is joined by another powerful ghost killer named Billy.  Their job is to follow the route George's great grandfather traveled in hopes of gathering the stones and preventing the destruction that will be bestowed on the whole world.  The problem is, this being seems to always be just a few steps ahead of them.  

After reading all three of the Ghost Killer Books, I must say that I'm surprised someone hasn't picked these books up as either movies or at least a TV series.  These stories are right up there with those of the Walking Dead.  They held me with every word, waiting to see what was going to happen next.  Now I'm waiting on Book 4.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.


Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Goodbye, My Love - Book 1 - Maggie Tideswell, Author




Traditional South African bobotie recipe
Serves up to eight people, but you can adjust it to make the recipe smaller.

Ingredients
1 fairly thick slice crustless bread (white or brown)
375 ml milk
25 ml oil
10ml butter
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
25 ml curry powder
10ml salt
25ml chutney
15ml smooth apricot jam
15ml Worcester sauce
5ml turmeric
25ml brown vinegar
1 kg raw mince
100 ml sultanas (don’t replace with raisins – they are too sweet; sultanas are much better for this recipe)
3 eggs
pinch each salt and turmeric
bay leaves

Cooking method
Soak bread in milk. Heat oil and butter in large pan and fry onions and garlic.
When onions are soft, add curry powder, salt, chutney, jam, Worcester sauce, turmeric and vinegar and mix well.
Drain and mash bread and reserve milk. Add bread to pan together with mince and sultanas.
Cook over low heat, stirring, and when meat loses its pinkness, remove from stove. Add 1 beaten egg, mix well, then spoon into a greased, 28 x 16 cm baking dish and level the top.
Beat remaining eggs with reserved milk (you should have 300ml, or a little more) and the salt and turmeric.
Pour over meat mixture and put a few bay leaves on top. Stand dish in a larger pan of water (this is important to prevent drying out) and bake, uncovered, at 180 degrees celsius for 1 hour or until set.
Serve with rice, coconut, chutney, nuts and bananas.



Goodby, My Love - Roxanne's Ghost Saga Episode 1 - Review by Martha A. Cheves

Ben dragged a breath deep into his lungs when he turned to Daemon.  "Okay, let's assume you find Roxanne and bring her home.  What form is she going to have?"  Millicent shared a look with Daemon.  "What do you mean?"  she asked.  "What I mean, Millicent, is simple.  Will she be as she was when I saw her last, or will she be a skeleton, or scarred and burned beyond recognition, or a puff of insubstantial smoke?  What form are you bringing her home in?"  He glared at his sister-in-law.  "Roxanne is dead, Millicent!" he bellowed.  "Get that into your head.  Roxanne is dead and she cannot come back, not as I knew and loved her.  Can;t you understand that?  I just want to remember he as she was, without you tarnishing my memories of her."

Jessica James has an appointment to meet with a Dr. Ben Arnold who has an Autistic child.  Her position will be the child's nanny.  From the looks of things Dr. Arnold wants to send her on her way and find someone else.  But, due to a 'pack' of dogs that greeted her she will end up having to stay at least for the night.

As the night goes on, Jess is faced with a mattress that seemed to be talking, an owl that appears to be watching over her, a physic who wears a dress, and three sisters that have come to the house insisting that  Ben's wife Roxanne isn't dead and they will be bringing her home.  On top of all that, Jess has started having her own visions of a woman named Daisy.  Did I forget to mention that this all takes place on Friday 13th?

When I started reading Goodbye, My Love I wasn't sure I would make it through to the end.  I don't really care for romantic books and this one was starting out on that line with full force.  But, I decided to give it a little longer and sure am glad that I did.  The romance turned into a full force mystery with a lot of paranormal mixed in.  Every page drug me deeper and deeper into the story, not sure what was going to happen next.  This book took me to the end and gave me no ending.  Just a promise of another book that will keep me going even deeper.


 
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