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Molly’s seventieth birthday comes as something of a shock. The woman in the mirror certainly looks every day of those seventy years, but inside Molly feels she still has so much more living left to do. Widowed and living alone with her cat Crumper, Molly fears she is slipping into a cliché of old age.

When Molly’s sister Nell appears on her doorstep, distraught that her husband of more than forty years, Phil, has left her for a younger lover, the women decide to seize the day. By the morning, flights are booked, bags are packed, and off they go for an adventure in Spain.

The sun, the sea, the new friends, and the freedom are just the tonic for broken hearts and flagging souls. But even Spain isn’t enough to revive Molly’s spirit. A solo journey to Mexico is booked as Molly continues to chase the sun and to chase happiness. Will she find what she’s looking for in Mexico, or will she discover that true contentment can’t be found on a map, but it might just be found in a new flame.

Judy Leigh is back, with her trademark spirit of joie de vivre, fun, warmth, and timeless lessons in how to live.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

… our neighbour is a handsome Swedish man who sits naked in the hot tub on the roof terrace. What’s not to like about Spain?

You need to remember that we’re not living in the sixties now, Ryan. It’s not very flattering to be asked for sex like that – I felt like an after-dinner mint.

Ahead to the right was a white three-sided building wrapped around a courtyard, its interior dirt-dark. Molly thought it looked like a rotten molar.

It wasn’t every day they saw a teenage mutant ninja turtle crawling along the highway on a moped. And this turtle, Michelangelo with the green face, the orange mask and the wide grimacing tombstone teeth was wearing a tight leather jacket, an orange dress and a long black scarf that ballooned behind, resembling a cape… An American man wound down his window and shouted that she had made his day: the ninja turtles he’d seen on TV when he was a kid had never been cross-dressers. Another man yelled that she must be the most mutant ninja turtle he’d ever seen.

My Review:

I reveled in this tale of two older sisters who were capriciously traveling on an impulse to escape their restlessness and the drama of their less than satisfying home situation in England. I savored every word and adored the spontaneous and impetuous nature of Molly; she was unpredictable and prone to whimsy and highly amusing hijinks, even at seventy years young.   Molly is my new favorite septuagenarian. Ms. Leigh’s well-crafted storylines and writing style were fluid, engaging, easy to fall into, riotously entertaining, and extremely pleasing. Her wry wit, keenly detailed observations, and shrewd insights resonated with me and I want to amass and read all her clever words. I am now her ardent Fangirl For Life.

The Ticklemore Tattler
by Liz Davies

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

‘I’d no idea you knew so much about witches.’ Jenny shrugged. ‘Well, I used to be one, you see,’ she continued, in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, ‘but there’s not much demand for them these days, so I joined the police instead.’

I learned a long time ago to never underestimate the lengths the rich and shameless would go for the acquisition of power. From what I can make out, they’re basically brought up to believe that it’s their God-given right to be in control. That’s why so many of them go into politics.

He’s going to disown you faster than a paranoid rat deserting a submarine with a hole in it.

My Review:

Where have I been that I had never read this crafty and wily scribe before? I immediately fell into his tragic and cringe-worthy tale of intrigue and oddly contrived and heinous murders. I was ensnared, caught up, and engaged on all thrusters. The storylines hit all the feels with emotive and evocative phrasing while also being rich with vibrant observations, clever snark, and wry and caustic humor. I adored these characters, as sarcasm happens to be my second language. The storylines were active, fast-paced, and kept the little pea in my brain whirling. I enjoyed it so much I’m diving right back in with the next book in the series as well as crossing my fingers while checking my jaundiced bank balance with the hope of amassing the previous four installments.

About the Author

 

Consistently ranked within the top 30 most read authors on Amazon.co.uk, David Blake is a full-time author living in North London. To date, he has written eighteen books along with a collection of short stories. He’s currently working on his nineteenth, The Wherryman, which is the next in his series of crime fiction thrillers after Broadland, St. Benet’s, Moorings, Three Rivers and Horsey Mere. When not writing, David likes to spend his time mucking about in boats, often in the Norfolk Broads, where his crime fiction books are based.

Social Media Links

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Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/DavidBlakeAuthor

Twitter:

@DavidDBlake

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Tracey asked to see my outfit. I held out my baggy black top and leggings. I’d thought about jeans but settled on the gothic look favoured by my friends at poly. It hid my stomach, although the leggings added a few pounds elsewhere. After I’d been sitting down the material would sag, making it look as if I had a saggy bum and boobs on my knees.

I’ve been there once or twice. The carpet is used as an ashtray and the glasses have more lipstick than a cosmetics counter. But it’s handy for building the immune system.

I should try a bit harder for Alice, even if I didn’t feel inclined to do so. It would be like taking a porcupine on a date and hoping you didn’t upset it. Except, unlike Alice, they looked cute.

“Who could be weaker and more vulnerable than someone with dementia? It’s not so easy to hurt someone who has a voice, like the others.” She gazed at me, her eyes filled with love. “But you’ve got one, Bee. Use it for them. Come what may.”

My Review:

These storylines resonated for me as I had also labored at a nursing home in the early 80s while working my way through university. And while I didn’t have flaming red hair, I was in possession of ample curves and a bit extra where I didn’t need it, as was the main character of Belinda. Although I will confess to having far more lip and backbone to me than Belinda had been blessed with.

Sharley Scott did an excellent job in holding to the accuracy of the period of big hair, assorted music, slowly shifting attitudes, and the odd culture of the time. I got a bit nostalgic as even after all these years, I could put faces of my former patients and heinous co-workers to similar characters making their way through the storylines. The writing was easy to follow, engaging, well-paced, wryly amusing, and hit all the feels with emotive and evocative word choices.