The Harper Collins review for The Assassins’ Village.
Well, what a fantastic, exciting week I’ve just had. I’ve seen the launch of my latest book, The Assassins’ Village in Amazon’s Kindle (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk And Amazon.de), and received my long-awaited review from Harper Collins.
The review reads very well; constructive, full of praise and very positive – thanks HC! I’ve included the highlights here for you to see;
The Assassins Village.
‘The Assassin’s Village’ is a traditional murder mystery, set in Cyprus. It centres on the brutal murder of Mr Leslie, an expatriate whose Lothario ways, military past and cavalier demeanour have earned him no shortage of enemies among the villagers. It is a novel written very much in the style of Agatha Christie: a classic who-done-it, in a small, gossiping, rural village. The prose is brought up-to-date with the fairly explicit themes of sexual liberation and exploitation.
As a thrilling read, ‘The Assassin’s Village’ certainly fits the bill. I flew through the first 19 chapters. The prose is easy to follow, and dramatic in duly regular intervals. I was particularly engaged by the different perceptions of Mr Leslie. We are already interested in the character, knowing from the prologue that he is to be our victim, and the author cleverly throws our judgment of him with every new perspective. Particularly endearing is the relationship between Antigone and Mr Leslie. Indeed, the sequence of chapter seven, where Antigone watches her brother hunting, is by far the strongest in the novel so far. It illustrates all of the strengths of the writing, the prose is obviously impeccably researched, and brings in a political element that raises the calibre of the story; the setting is evocative; and the characterisation is strong and feels fresh…
…I should say that, I really like the way you subverted normal linear chronology to lay out the events. It is, clear that you are capable of presenting the clues very well, and I particularly liked the way you used Diana’s sketching to map out the facts and unlock the possibilities.
From here I would consider the relevance of everything in the plot. There are many motifs centred on the play, Macbeth – the suggestions of occult activities, the play being put on by the villagers, the quotes prefacing each chapter, the relationship between Antigone and Mr Leslie, and Mr Leslie’s endearing side in general, the political history, and the parallels of Diana’s writing to the unfolding of the broader plot are all strong – these are all interesting themes…
... Overall, there is a lot to commend in this manuscript. Editor, Harper Collins.
Fine praise for, The Assassins’ Village indeed. So now there’s nothing to stop you from going out and buy your Kindle copy – just £0.69p or $1.14. Now that is not going to break the bank is it?!
Just a word…if you don’t have an e-reader of some sort you can still read, The Assassins’ Village. Simply download a free application to enable you to read e-formatted books from your search engine, then download The Assassins’ Village from Amazon and presto – you can read it on your pc.
Now something even sweeter; try this recipe for perhaps the best pudding of them all:
Lemon Delicious Pudding
This is a classic and, in many families, the ultimate pudding - the golden sponge topping hiding a creamy lemon sauce. Lemon delicious belongs to the era when a roast was invariably followed by a hot pudding. Making 2 dishes rather than just 1 would have been seen as a sensible way of utilising the heat from the oven.
Serves 8
2 lemons
60 g butter
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
3 eggs, separated
3 tablespoons self-raising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Preheat oven to 180°C and butter a 1 litre oven proof basin or serving dish. Zest 1 of the lemons and juice both. In a food processor, cream butter with zest and sugar, then add egg yolks. Add flour and milk alternately to make a smooth batter. Scrape mixture from sides of processor bowl and blend in lemon juice. Transfer to a clean basin. Whisk egg whites until creamy and firm and fold gently into batter. Pour batter into prepared basin. Stand basin in a baking dish and pour in hot water to come halfway up sides of basin. Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool a little before serving. I like lemon delicious best with pouring cream.
Have a great day!
Faithx
Well, what a fantastic, exciting week I’ve just had. I’ve seen the launch of my latest book, The Assassins’ Village in Amazon’s Kindle (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk And Amazon.de), and received my long-awaited review from Harper Collins.
The review reads very well; constructive, full of praise and very positive – thanks HC! I’ve included the highlights here for you to see;
The Assassins Village.
‘The Assassin’s Village’ is a traditional murder mystery, set in Cyprus. It centres on the brutal murder of Mr Leslie, an expatriate whose Lothario ways, military past and cavalier demeanour have earned him no shortage of enemies among the villagers. It is a novel written very much in the style of Agatha Christie: a classic who-done-it, in a small, gossiping, rural village. The prose is brought up-to-date with the fairly explicit themes of sexual liberation and exploitation.
As a thrilling read, ‘The Assassin’s Village’ certainly fits the bill. I flew through the first 19 chapters. The prose is easy to follow, and dramatic in duly regular intervals. I was particularly engaged by the different perceptions of Mr Leslie. We are already interested in the character, knowing from the prologue that he is to be our victim, and the author cleverly throws our judgment of him with every new perspective. Particularly endearing is the relationship between Antigone and Mr Leslie. Indeed, the sequence of chapter seven, where Antigone watches her brother hunting, is by far the strongest in the novel so far. It illustrates all of the strengths of the writing, the prose is obviously impeccably researched, and brings in a political element that raises the calibre of the story; the setting is evocative; and the characterisation is strong and feels fresh…
…I should say that, I really like the way you subverted normal linear chronology to lay out the events. It is, clear that you are capable of presenting the clues very well, and I particularly liked the way you used Diana’s sketching to map out the facts and unlock the possibilities.
From here I would consider the relevance of everything in the plot. There are many motifs centred on the play, Macbeth – the suggestions of occult activities, the play being put on by the villagers, the quotes prefacing each chapter, the relationship between Antigone and Mr Leslie, and Mr Leslie’s endearing side in general, the political history, and the parallels of Diana’s writing to the unfolding of the broader plot are all strong – these are all interesting themes…
... Overall, there is a lot to commend in this manuscript. Editor, Harper Collins.
Fine praise for, The Assassins’ Village indeed. So now there’s nothing to stop you from going out and buy your Kindle copy – just £0.69p or $1.14. Now that is not going to break the bank is it?!
Just a word…if you don’t have an e-reader of some sort you can still read, The Assassins’ Village. Simply download a free application to enable you to read e-formatted books from your search engine, then download The Assassins’ Village from Amazon and presto – you can read it on your pc.
Now something even sweeter; try this recipe for perhaps the best pudding of them all:
Lemon Delicious Pudding
This is a classic and, in many families, the ultimate pudding - the golden sponge topping hiding a creamy lemon sauce. Lemon delicious belongs to the era when a roast was invariably followed by a hot pudding. Making 2 dishes rather than just 1 would have been seen as a sensible way of utilising the heat from the oven.
Serves 8
2 lemons
60 g butter
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
3 eggs, separated
3 tablespoons self-raising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Preheat oven to 180°C and butter a 1 litre oven proof basin or serving dish. Zest 1 of the lemons and juice both. In a food processor, cream butter with zest and sugar, then add egg yolks. Add flour and milk alternately to make a smooth batter. Scrape mixture from sides of processor bowl and blend in lemon juice. Transfer to a clean basin. Whisk egg whites until creamy and firm and fold gently into batter. Pour batter into prepared basin. Stand basin in a baking dish and pour in hot water to come halfway up sides of basin. Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool a little before serving. I like lemon delicious best with pouring cream.
Have a great day!
Faithx
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