The Chemical Extract

I have an extract for you! And it's an adult crime. But with a twist. Hence why I got a little excited over this title!

The Chemical Detective follows Dr Jaqueline Silver, a scientist and explosives expert, who is working on avalanche control in Slowenia when she discovers something odd about a recent consignment of explosives. When she raises a complaint to the supplier, a multinational chemical company (and her former employer), the evidence vanishes mysteriously.

She is then warned, threatened, accused of professional incompetence and suspended. In the end, Jac goes to the head office to file her complaint, only to narrowly escape death and then is accused of murder. On the run from the Police, Jac has to figure out what the truth is, and time is running out fast for her...

Now, when Margot emailed about this, it caught my eye and asked if I wanted to do something with this, I asked if I could do an extract as my TBR was a little out of control. So, here is a sneak peek of Chemical Detective! 

But before I go, I want to say thank you for Margot for allowing me to do this. And if you want to check the author, Fiona Erskine, out, you can check her on via her website - thechemicaldetective.blog - or via her Twitter of @erskine_fiona. Plus, if you want more info about the book, you can visit Point Blank's website.

Now, ONTO THE EXTRACT!!!

Book Review - The Return of the Young Prince

When I was asked by Cailin at OneWorld Publications if I wanted to review this, I was a little hesitant to say yes. I had two reasons for this. The first is the real shocker - I have never read The Little Prince. Never. It just has past me by. I know it's a huge deal for some/most of you and it's HUGE in France. It's huge worldwide - there's been a movie recently released about it.

The second was that this is a sequel written for an adult audience. Very different from The Little Prince. How would that work? And would it work as both a sequel and as a standalone?

Once upon a time, a Little Prince lived on a faraway planet, no bigger than himself. And even little princes grow up. One day, he leaves his planet, exploring the universe... Only to be discovered in the middle of a road by our narrator. This is the story of their meeting and their journey together...

Like I have said previously, I have never read The Little Prince so I can't tell you if this is a worthy sequel. What I can tell you is if this is a good story in its own right.

And up to a point, it is. There is something about this story that feels like a fable. There was something charming about this story.

However, there were problems and yes, I am taking issue with one of these, but that is a later paragraph so bear with.

While I was reading this, there were times when the story's message, themes and its morals were treated very heavy handed. With fables, they should be gentle. The reader should discover these morals and themes themselves, not have them forced down their throats.

What annoyed me the most about this story was religion. From what I understand, The Little Prince is a story about a young prince discovering himself in the universe. Discovering what it means to be a good human being. Not once, to my research, was religion bought up. So why, oh why, was God reference? Why did our narrator and the Young Prince talk about God? It felt so out of place within the story and made me question it. Is the book saying that to be a good person, you must believe in God? If you worship any religion that wasn't Christianity (Islam, Buddhism, Sikh, Hindu to name a few), you aren't a good person? What if you are an atheist, can you still be a good person?

I admit I read quite deeply into this. I am not ashamed to say it, but it annoyed me. We live in a world filled of people who worship different faiths and people who don't believe in religion. We live in a world where tolerance is important. Where kindness is important. Where love is important. So to have a story that teach these morals and then throws in God and spiritual enlightenment, it felt a bit like a slap.

While I did like it, I feel like this has more cons than pros for me. But like I said, I am reading this as something separate as I haven't read The Little Prince so I can't say if these two work side-by-side. As a standalone for me, this isn't my cup of tea. But I'm glad I did try to read it and try something new.

Brief History of Seven Killings - Chapter 1 Audio

A few days ago, A Brief History of Seven Killings won the Man Booker Prize. I have this on my TBR pile (I was allowed a copy when I went to the Rock the Boat Blogger Brunch as I kept picking it up and putting it down) so was excited when I was asked to put this audio clip of the first chapter on my blog. 

Now, I have been warned that this clip is quite intense and this goes on throughout the book so, a nice little heads up in order. There is dark scenes that some readers might find upsetting. 

But I can't wait to get my teeth into this book when I finally move my TBR pile about to fit this in. I hope you like the audio soundbite! 

However, if my blog is being weird and it isn't showing up, you can go to Soundcloud and listen to the first chapter there at https://soundcloud.com/audibleuk/a-brief-history-of-seven-killings-chapter-1-man-booker-prize-winner-2015/s-mDBVd.