Matt McAvoy Book Review

A Sparrow Alone

I found the novel an interesting historical read, the product o...

An outstanding book by Kevin McDonald, and a work of numerous tremendous qualities, from an author who is highly educated in his subject matter, as well as superbly eloquent.  McDonald undoubtedly knows his local, geo-political and military history, and whilst the factual elements of the story are presented well and worth reading about on their own, he conspicuously manages to achieve what others frequently attempt and fall short at: presenting a highly plausible alternative history timeline,...

An incredibly melancholy, yet ultimately heartwarming tale about death… and about truly living.  The “reveal”, shortly before midway, is of course entirely obvious right from the off, but a twisty tale is not the point of this lovely book; Dallas has created a moody, heartfelt and emotional journey, with something of an air of mystery in the first half.  After this, the book becomes more of a full-blown fantasy for romanticists – by fantasy, think Mills and Book, not Frank Herbert.

T...

Review by Margaret –

I remember from my childhood the National Service Advertisements calling up our young men to fight in Vietnam.  I remember the anti-war demonstrations, and I know the psychological scars Australians still carry from fighting.  So, when I read Steven Max Russo’s The Dead Don’t Sleep, it came as no surprise to learn that his Vietnam veterans have a few hang-ups as well.  Hard drinking, tough talk and drug use abound, and the three perpetrators as well as the protagon...

This sci-fi mystery thriller from Kevin Moran has all the feel of a Young Adult book about it, though I suspect the main characters are slightly older than that, primarily because of the nature of their relationship, and the fact that one of them has a military background.  It is pretty interesting and entertaining book, and though not particularly outstanding in any way, I do like this author’s articulate and engaging writing style; he had me hooked, and I read the whole thing over the spa...

This superb, simple parable is a real gem.  Tremendously dark, gripping and vivid, it tells an age old tale of good versus evil, seduction by sin and God’s wrath; the story is unabashedly biblical in context and a cautionary tale in its purest form – and, with strength in its simplicity, it is outstanding. 

Set in the always ominous early days of the New World – specifically early-1800s Massachusetts, in which witchcraft and the worship of dark arts were reviled and summarily dealt wit...

The history of black America contains a lot of twists and turns. In case you think this is obvious, On the Wrong Side of God by Harry Boyd highlights many subtle political deviants of which I was unaware. 

Boyd is reaching out to the black Christian Church: ‘This book is to draw believers back to the word of God and into an intimate relationship with Christ.’ It is engaging and readable, a lively testament to the work of the Holy Spirit. He is a committed black Christian with a deep love...

This is, quite simply, a hugely professional business strategy publication, by a highly proficient author.  Servant leadership, in a nutshell, is the art of good people management skills, which are essential in modern business and, as anyone with any degree of business sense or even just common sense will tell you, creates an infinitely more productive and engaged workforce.  Valuing employees and giving them input, and a psychological or even actual stake in the company’s future, is undoub...

William says in the preface to this little gem that he adheres to no particular format or type when he writes, and that is absolutely true of what follows.  Quirky, punchy and interesting, the three very short tales in this book are simply the author’s imagination poured onto the page.  That’s not to say that he isn’t a particularly professional author – he is, and a very good one, to boot – he just chooses not to form his work into the moulds of the usual expectations and conventio...

Although obviously a book which promotes the benefits of photography to help achieve wellbeing, I would definitely say that there is much more focus on the former part than the latter.  It was perhaps a touch surprising to find this book far heavier on the practical than the spiritual or therapeutic; I would go as far as to say that this is probably 80% practical guide to amateur photography, if written by an author clearly in touch with the practice of mindfulness.  In this respect, Lee does...

Whenever I am sent a historical fantasy with “Volume 1” in its title, my heart sinks a little.  This genre is particularly characterized by long word counts and abrupt, unfulfilling endings.  But, in this book’s case, while it certainly does have the former, the latter is thankfully avoided by this tremendously good author.  Yes, it is part of a saga, and yes, it is long and wordy, but it is also self-contained in its own right, feeling like more of a chronicle from the series, with thr...

I enjoyed this book. The author, Mark Bulahao, is an artist and has the ability to see the small details in every scene that I would miss. In the story of Paco he impresses me with the importance of these little things. He weaves a tale for me in order that I might pay attention to a less dominant voice in a culture that itself is less dominant in our western world.

Paco is nineteen and yearns to be free. He is ‘an awkward fellow’ physically, the product of his father’s waywardness, �...

I wouldn’t call this a therapeutic self-help guide, as perhaps the book’s title and associated blurb might suggest, but rather in fact a therapeutic memoir, written for the benefit of the author.  Clearly with a truly shocking, devastating trauma in her childhood, CJ has, throughout her life, found her own ways to cope, starting with forgiveness (for what, exactly, I’ll leave to the author to share), and this book, I suspect, is more of the same – written at the stage she is now at, i...

Not at all what I was expecting, Call Numbers is a surprisingly gritty, and I have to say a particularly angry book, with all of its somewhat disagreeable characters displaying a level of aggression and antagonism which occasionally took me aback, and seemed strangely out of context with the book’s supposedly tranquil, library workplace setting.  That is not to say it is not a good book – it is, and very well written by an undoubtedly good author – I’m just not sure what the intended ...

Easy reading and inoffensive in any respect, this YA tale is no more or less than a modern-day, tech-arena Famous Five-style mystery, about an elite, teenage group of cyber-security gurus who investigate when their employer’s biggest client is targeted by an ominous, highly sophisticated hacker.  Whilst this may not sound like the most dramatic or action-packed storyline, it actually gets pretty exciting, and gripping, too.  Sue Loh clearly knows her subject, and is obviously something of a...

If I hadn’t started this book only very late one evening, I would have finished it in a single reading. Not Pregnant by Karina Savaryna is an expression of the grief of every woman in every century who has longed for a child. Like the mother of the Jewish prophet Samuel, she is ‘a woman sorely troubled’, speaking out of her great anxiety and distress. The book is intense and unrelenting but it is also as gripping and expressive as Shakespeare. Having begun to read, one is drawn in. The ...

Henry Harris is about to be awakened.  He has passed his entire twenty-nine years in his parents’ comfortable apartment in Manhattan, devoid of relationships, other than with books.  But his passion for creating poetry proves his salvation, when he bravely decides to leave his front door for the first time in his life, to attend a summer writers’ retreat at the Hôtel Inspiré, a guesthouse in the south of France, in a mountain village devoid of infrastructure.

As a special education tea...

This author knows his stuff, and this is a high-quality work – hugely entertaining and instantly engaging.  I was hooked right from the off, and this didn’t fade; in fact, the more I read, the more eager I was to find out where this unusual tale was heading.

Alternating two parallel timelines, it accompanies a grieving, middle-aged U.S. State worker, back for Xmas from working in Afghanistan, who finds himself immediately hospitalized for a DVT the moment he lands in the U.S.  As he recu...

Yvgeny Yedynak is an undertaker with panache.  He employs a gravedigger the police mistake for a zombie, carries the finger of his dead father in his pocket and drives a hearse called Cerberus, in Greek mythology the dog who guards the gates of Hades.  He is selectively honest and sees no harm in pawning anything of value remaining on a corpse once the relatives have surrendered it for burial. However, when he discovers the headless and handless body of an elderly man in one of his freshly-du...

This is one of those books which isn’t really about anything (though, the ending is genuinely staggering).  Set over the course of a weekend, it tells, from a multi-person viewpoint, of the everyday lives of a group of young twenty-somethings – and a few peripheral others – who appear to live for nothing but smoking weed, drinking shots and getting laid.  Despite its excellent writing, it didn’t really appeal to me; in fact, in the main, I think this book is probably more suited to an...

Another day, another excellent Vietnam war book from Glyn.  A direct sequel to Promises to the Fallen, this instalment kicks off immediately following the tense ending to its predecessor as, much to his new wife’s horror, Eddie is to return to the jungles of Quang Ngai for his second tour of duty.  This time, however, his experience values him much more highly, and he is selected for a small, novel search and rescue unit.  His new adventures will reunite him with old friends, and introduce ...

For a book clearly rushed out extraordinary quickly, the author has actually done a tremendous job.  Sure, it needs tidying up for layout and Arnett has missed more than a handful of errors in his haste, but a sincere hats off to him for the remarkable achievement of this inspirational and comprehensive (surprisingly the latter, given the low word count) advice guide.

Arnett is the kind of person you want with you in a nuclear bunker; he has a positive spin and well-being solution for every ...

If you’ve ever wondered how academics justify their existence, then Ivy is a Weed by Robert M. Roseth is the murder mystery for you.  Set within a university in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, the novel is sophisticated yet still on planet Earth, and the plotting is as finely crafted as any novel I have read by well-known crime writers.  One cares about the protagonist Mike Woodsen, university reporter turned amateur sleuth, so it is a rewarding journey taken with him to investigate his s...

This interesting, entertaining book is a very enjoyable way to kill an hour or two.  Written by an ADHD sufferer, its very simple format tells us first about the condition, then about the healing power of music generally, before finally combining the two topics in its third part, to suggest how music can help those affected by ADHD to manage their mental health.  I, for one, was in no doubt about this suggestion before I even picked the book up, so Luz had no need to convince me.  Music is un...

However you feel about yoga, or your opinion of the whole spiritual energy concept generally, sometimes a good story is just a good story.  In this motivational life-help book, yoga teacher Christa presents both.  She is an experienced, inspirational professional, and also a creative writer with a flair for language which could appeal to adults, teens and even very young readers alike.  As well as encouraging the reader to learn more about the arts of breathing she refers to – and helpfully...

I won’t lie, this slow, moody and incredibly melancholy book was a little bit of a struggle for me.  Don’t get me wrong, it is very well written and Marcello is undoubtedly extremely good quality; I am in no doubt that if you are a fan of this type of book, genre and writing style, you will love it.  The good reviews are well-merited, but I think this is more for me a matter of personal taste.  It is incredibly slow and poignant, which I don’t have a problem with, of course, but in such...

How to describe this book?  Absurd, depraved, dark, gritty, bonkers and at times utterly delicious.  For the most part, though, it is crude, grotesque and unpleasant.  Not that those qualities are enough to put me off or mar my enjoyment of a book in any way (and I do enjoy my horror); though, I do think it is fair to say that sci-fi-horror hybrid Monsters Inside was not really my cup of tea.

This graphic and bizarre novella, told from a multi-person viewpoint, is definitely a book which wil...

I have been fortunate enough to read all of Robert’s books in the “Rob and Tex” series, helping him work on one or two of them, and this is certainly one of the better ones.  Without the gung-ho action of Freedom’s Light, or the profound wartime trauma of Bullets and Bandages, Butterfly Lake is perhaps a more understated and subtle piece of work, and this certainly suits it.  Set in the beauty and tranquillity of the Pennsylvania mountains, which Rob clearly loves, there is more an ai...