Close To Death Review: A Modern Twist On Classic Crime Tropes

The latest in the Hawthorne and Horowitz Mysteries series, Close To Death is a fun, intriguing and clever mystery. 

Breaking the literary version of the fourth wall, a fictionalised version of author Anthony Horowitz works to solve crimes with the help of private detective protagonist Daniel Hawthorne.

The latest in the long-standing Hawthorne and Horowitz series, Close To Death changes the format by giving the audience a glimpse into a past case. Instead of investigating alongside Hawthorne, this time, Horowitz is narrating events from old case notes, without knowing the solution himself.

Switching between the narrative of the old case and the present day, where Horowitz is trying to uncover the truth himself, the book is an intriguing read that will keep you engaged. It’s a riveting concept that wouldn’t work in the wrong hands, but Horowitz handles it with skill and aplomb.

The case in question, which is being retold from files at the behest of the fictional version of the author, who has another book in his contract and new case to help with, is that of the death of Giles Kenworthy, who’s what you might call a nightmare neighbour.

Having moved into an exclusive gated close, where his new neighbours include a celebrity dentist, a chess champion and a pair of elderly women who run an idyllic bookshop, the Kenworthy family set about making themselves hated.

The couple and their two teens alienate and upset their new neighbours. Issues such as the suspicious death of a dog and the planning of a large swimming pool threaten the peace of this luxurious and formerly peaceful private community.

The wealthy neighbours band together and try to negotiate with the Kentworthy’s, but the family’s racist tendencies, sense of entitlement and general rudeness soon completely turns the community
against them.

Then when patriarch Giles Kenworthy is murdered brutally with a crossbow, Hawthorne and his former associate are bought in to investigate. Soon, more bodies brings more problems, and the case combines with the present day, as Hawthorne tries to explain the intricacies of the case to Horowitz.

The reader is taken on a unique journey, and the writer handles the well and helps the reader become engaged in the mystery.

The characters are particularly important in this form of locked room mystery, and Horowitz crafts unique suspects who are equal parts relatable and inventive.

They’re a group of posh individuals, but they’re not the stereotypical twerps that are easily forgotten.

Most are malignant and manipulative, and all of them have something to hide. Horowitz’s skilful dialogue and great characterisation help to keep the pace moving and create an innovative,
unforgettable book.

So, if you’re staring at a sea of formulaic thrillers, then this is one that truly breaks the mould. A lot claim to, but few authors are skilful enough to actually achieve excellence, and Horowitz is one of the best.

Did ChatGPT Write The Dialogue For A Haunting In Venice? Kenneth Branagh Has Some Explaining To Do!

As most readers know, I’m a big fan of Agatha Christie’s Belgium sleuth Hercule Poirot. The books are amazing, and the TV show with David Suchet is also great. Older movies with actors like Peter Ustinov also capture the fastidious genius of the Queen Of Crime’s world-renowned detective.

The most recent adaptation of Poirot has been created by Kenneth Branagh, and I’m not convinced that they are in the spirit of the original books. Someone on the production staff has clearly read Christie’s works: there are references to the characters in obscure novels, such as the reference to the main character in Dumb Witness, and some call backs to classic characteristics that make the detective character so instantly recognisable.

However, in general, the depiction in the films is very different to the original character that Christie created. The first two books that Branagh adapted, Murder On The Orient Express and Death On The Nile, are very famous novels that many people have heard of. The third film in the series, A Haunting In Venice, is based on a less popular novel The Halloween Party.

The reason for the name change is apparent in the first few minutes: the film is much more loosely based on the original novel than the previous films. While some of the character names are the same, and there is a Halloween party, that’s about where the similarities end.

In fact, the start of the film reminded me of The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd, as Poirot is now retired from detective work and growing vegetables in a quiet home. Instead of a small English village, as Christie had it, Branagh moves Poirot’s retirement to a stunning apartment in Venice, where he is kept safe from potential clients by an Italian bodyguard.

One day, his bodyguard informs him that a woman has arrived, and left the only clue to her identity in the form of an apple. Poirot, and anyone who has ever read a novel with the character in it, know that this is the introduction of Ariadne Oliver. The fictional novelist was Christie’s self portrait in fiction, and was a very funny character in past adaptations and books. In this film, Tina Fey plays her not as a wacky writer with good instincts about people, but as a cynical American who feels she invented Poirot: something that never occurs in the books.

The novelist claims to be convinced by a spiritual medium named Joyce Reynolds: instead of a young girl bobbing for apples and claiming to have seen a murder, she’s played by Michelle Yeoh, who has stunning hair in the film and players her character with a haughty cynicism as she tries to convince Poirot that she’s a legitimate medium. She claims to be able to talk to the dead, and is hosting a seance at the home of an opera singer who’s daughter went mad and ended up killing herself after her fiancé left her.

The former fiancé is invited to the event, as are friends of the opera singer and members of her household, and the assistants of the medium, so there are plenty of suspects. Quickly, a murder occurs, and Poirot instigates a lock down of the house to create a locked room scenario: which literally occurs later in the film. All the actors in the film perform their parts to a T, and the scenes and wardrobe departments did an amazing job of creating a glorious setting for this beautifully-shot film. The one that lets the film down is among the most important elements: the dialogue.

Some of the writing is so atrocious it’s actually funny. Poirot actually says to Joyce Reynolds: ‘I am here to divine your divinations’. What does that even mean? Then there are some of the insults and bits that are clearly meant to be witticisms, but just fall flat. A child is described as ‘as charming as chewing on tin foil’, while the boy’s father is called a ‘twitch salad’. Both phrases and others used throughout the film are clunky and frankly, just a bit weird.

At times, the dialogue in the film is so repetitive, that I’m pretty sure ChatGPT had a hand in it! The only section that feels like real, human-written dialogue is the final speech, where Poirot unmasks the killer. That speech you can tell was written by a person: the rest seems very stilted and strange.

The actors do their best to deliver the lines with straight faces, but their valiant efforts don’t mask the fact that the dialogue is something that no real person would ever say. It’s a vague approximation of real conversation, but written in a way that suggests whoever put the script together didn’t actually know how real humans speak. That’s why I reckon some form of generative AI had a hand in the script: if that’s the case, it’s clear that Hollywood needs to focus on real writers, not digital tools. Tech can be used to save time in many different ways with great results, but writing scripts is not one of them.

Overall, A Haunting In Venice was a decent film let down by poor dialogue. Like Murder On The Orient Express and Death On The Nile before it, it’s just not a Poirot film. With a different name and main character, it’d be great, but it doesn’t have the tension or ingenuity of the true Queen Of Crime’s work on which it’s supposed to be based.

Death Comes To Marlow Review: A Dull Follow-Up To A Promising Cosy Crime Mystery

Following on from the Marlow Murder Club, Death In Paradise writer Robert Thorogood’s second instalment is more of the same. While the first novel was a blatant attempt to cosy in on the success of the Thursday Murder Club, the second novel fails to live up to the sweetness and innovation of the first book in the series.

You can definitely see Thorogood’s screenwriting chops here, with the novel reading like the script of one his TV mysteries. It begins with a rather bizarre encounter by our protagonist, crossword setting recluse Judith, facing a strange, nude encounter with several river birds and some shocked punters!

Afterwards, she returns to her home in time to receive an unusual phone call from the patriarch of a wealthy local family, Sir Peter Bailey. He’s getting remarried to his much younger former nurse, and he wants Judith and her friends, dog walker Suzie and vicar’s wife Becks, there for the party before the big day.

The three murder club members arrive at Sir Peter’s palatial mansion in time for some drinks and a show in the form of several family spats involving the bride, groom and his adult children. Just as things are calming down, the groom dies in what seems to be a shocking locked-room incident.

Like a classic episode of the author’s hit TV show, the death was seemingly entirely impenetrable, but Judith suspects foul play. She’s struggling to convince the police or her fellow murder club members, for that matter. They still agree to investigate with her in the hopes of finding out something new.

In the meantime, as the case chugs along at a snail’s pace, Judith is also uncovering the mystery of a strange code in the local newspaper’s crossword puzzle and the curious case of where Becks is sneaking off to with a man who most definitely isn’t her husband.

There’s a lot going down in Marlow in this second instalment of the series that’s almost certain to keep going for many more books, but none of it really comes to anything. Sir Peter’s death is perhaps the most dramatic event of the novel, but even then, the explanation is surprisingly anti-climatic.

None of the suspects are particularly sympathetic or interesting, and frankly, I got a few of them confused at one point, as they were so similar in description and there were so many of them. The lack of real characterisation and the sheer volume of individuals we’re forced to contend with, despite the locked-room nature of the mystery, made it hard for me to give a rats about what went down and who actually did it.

All in all, Death Comes To Marlow isn’t a bad novel, but it’s not especially good either. There’s just not the magic of the first one. Still, I’m a bit late to this particular party, as I’ve been a bit busy lately, so my copy has the first chapter of the next novel, the Queen Of Poisons. That looks much more promising, with some great setting descriptions and a truly wonderful simile about a soap on a rope, which makes me think the next instalment look more promising. He might have phoned it in on the second instalment, but that hasn’t put me off reading the third when it comes out at the start of next year.

The Bullet That Missed Review: A Fun Caper With A Disappointing Ending

TV personality Richard Osman has created a unique series surrounding The Thursday Murder Club, a group of cantankerous elderly misfits living in a luxury care home. The first book was so successful that he quickly came out with a second novel, The Man Who Died Twice. His latest release and the third book, The Bullet That Missed, is an enjoyable addition to the series, with everything you could possibly want from a cosy crime novel.

We’re reunited with the gang, including the only first-person narrator, Joyce. Each chapter is different: some are third-person and explore the different adventures of the club’s members and various perspectives, while others are written in the form of Joyce’s diary. Joyce is witty and droll: she often goes off on tangents and is a shrewd version of anyone’s favourite mad old grandma.

As well as Joyce, and her new dog Alan, there’s also Elizabeth, a former spy, outspoken trade unionist Ron and kindly and philosophical shrink Ibrahim. They’re the core club, but as the series has continued, we’ve also introduced new characters who are connected to them, including Fairhaven’s local police force members Donna and Chris. Chris is now dating Donna’s mum, while Donna is in a relationship with the care home’s handyman, Bogden.

Into the mix, Osman now introduces new characters, including the elusive Viking, whose true identity is unknown. What we do know about him is that he has a mission for Elizabeth: kill an old colleague, another new character called Victor, or he will murder Joyce. Meanwhile, Ron finds the gang a cold-case mystery in the form of the disappearance of Bethany Waites, an up-and-coming TV journalist who was looking into a major VAT fraud when she suddenly vanished. Her car was found by a cliff, but her body was never recovered. Supposedly, she had just figured out the secrets behind VAT fraud case and found the culprit, but her co-host Mike never found out what she figured out.

Elizabeth is left with a dilemma: to solve it, she fakes the death of her old colleague Victor and brings him in on the investigation into Bethany’s supposed death and the VAT fraud that led to it. To figure things out, the club enlists the assistance of the woman who tried to kill Ron in the last novel, who’s now in prison. Ibrahim offers her therapy and tries to get her to talk to a fellow inmate, who was part of the VAT fraud but not the mastermind behind it. She was caught and has been inside ever since, but suddenly things changed, and the next thing you know the body count is up by one and the gang has a very alive killer in the cold case equation.

There’s a lot to love here: Joyce’s sections are funny and engaging, and there’s loads of great dialogue throughout, making the novel interesting and a great read for anyone who loves cosy crime novels. The new characters are as fascinating and witty as the ones that we’ve come to know and love, so you’re quickly hooked and want them to come back. There’s also so heart-wrenching sections surrounding Elizabeth and her husband Steven, who is deteriorating mentally while his wife tries to keep his condition a secret. Still, the novel does have one small issue: the plot fails to deliver on its initial promise.

It starts out well, but things start to tail off. At the beginning, we’re thrown straight into both these fun mysteries, and the pace stays fast for the first few hundred pages. However, as the novel carries on, I was left underwhelmed by the later chapters, and I felt that the ending was a bit weird and didn’t seem to tie everything in. It kind of felt like the author ran out of ideas by the end, but the journey to the end was funny and enjoyable. So, while I generally enjoyed the book, it’s a decent read and vital for anyone who’s already enjoyed the first two mysteries in the series.

Even with the less-than-ideal ending, The Bullet That Missed is still an intriguing read that perfectly encapsulates the cosy crime fiction genre. And remember, famous novelists like Agatha Christie flubbed the ending to some of their renowned novels, and they’re still revered to this very day. So, I imagine that, even though Osman’s latest instalment of his amazing series isn’t the best, it’s still a great addition and you should definitely check it out before the release of the next one. Let’s just hope that the next one has a better plot and an ending that makes sense. Either way, I’m still excited for it. I might not be revisiting this one like I do often with the first two, but The Bullet That Missed is great for an easy read over the holidays.

I Will Find You Review: A Fun Thriller If You Can Suspend Disbelief

As Lee Child states in his cover quote on I Will Find You: “Harlan Corben never, ever lets you down”. But he can make ignore modern tech and police procedure when he wants to, as is the case in this latest release.

Most thriller readers, or even anyone who has a Netflix account, has heard of Harlan Corben. He’s the writer behind Stay Close and The Stranger, two books that became leading TV shows on the renowned streaming site.

He’s more than just those two books, though: Corben has written over 30 books, mainly standalone novels. Most of them, including his latest release, I Will Find You, focus on a past crime that’s being revisited.

In this case, the crime is the murder of a toddler, Matthew Burroughs. His father David was convicted and charged 5 years ago with beating the little boy to death with a baseball bat. His marriage was crumbling and his life was falling apart, so the court and jury had little trouble convicting David and sending him to a prison run by his godfather, who was friends with his father, a retired policeman who is now slowly deteriorating and cared for by his sister.

Even David thinks he did it, in a moment of weakness, or due to a physiological breakdown. There was an eyewitness who saw him burying the bat used to kill the boy in the woods, where it was found. So, he’s as good as guilty to everyone, including himself, but he still has some nagging doubts about what actually went on that night.

David is shown struggling in prison and becoming a target for corrupt guards and malicious inmates. Then he gets a big break: his former sister-in-law, a now disgraced journalist, has a picture of a family at a theme park.

Nothing new there: except in the background is a boy who would now be the same as Matthew, with the same birthmark on his face. The link is incredibly tenuous, and highly unlikely, but David is a desperate man who jumps on the chance to think that his old life could still be out there.

With a little help from his godfather and a boatload of coincides, David is able to get out of prison and get to New York undetected, using only a baseball cap and a change of clothes as a disguise. He’s seeking out the one witness who secured his conviction by saying she saw him bury the murder weapon in the woods. A nice old lady who lived opposite the family home, she’s seemingly got no reason to lie but David thinks otherwise.

As I followed David on his perilous journey to find the truth about Matthew, I couldn’t help but feel confused about how the hell he’s staying out of the clutches of the many law enforcement agencies on his tale. These agencies are boiled down in the book to two wise-cracking FBI agents, aided by bumbling members of local police forces. The agents have such bad dialogue I actually winced a couple of times: the pair crack jokes and have private conversations out loud like a bad vaudeville act.

Their incompetence, and the fact that, despite the novel seemingly being set in modern times, there’s no facial recognition software and not that many security cameras- even in NYC- mean that David is able to continue searching for his son and uncover the truth about whether he is still alive. If he is, it begs the fascinating question: why was his death faked, and how?

It’s an intriguing mystery, but to be truly engaged you have to suspend your disbelief that a man who’s a convicted child killer can run free for so long with a flimsy disguise and a burner phone in today’s high-tech criminal detection landscape.

If you can look past that, and the hammy dialogue among some of the characters, then this is a fun and fast-paced thriller with more than one gut-wrenching twist. It’s fun and easy to read, making this an ideal read for anyone who needs a bit of escapism and isn’t too hung up on the details. There’s a lot to love about I Will Find You, but the realism isn’t one of them. For lovers of Harlan Corben, it’s a great example of his work, but it isn’t his best. Keep an eye out for future releases, which will hopefully be more realistic but just as gripping.

Unnatural History Review: A Strong Crime Novel Let Down By Poor Research

Another great addition to the Alex Delaware series, Unnatural History is an interesting book let down slightly by author Jonathan Kellerman’s slight lack of knowledge about the seedy underbelly of society. While the 38th in this long-standing series isn’t my favourite by a long shot, it’s still a great read for fans. If you’ve never read an Alex Delaware novel, I wouldn’t start here, but if you’re already a lover of the sophisticated child psychologist and his police detective friend Milo Sturgis, then I’d definitely check it out.

Kellerman is an expert in the rich and famous, as well as psychology, and he shines in these areas in this latest release. It begins with the brutal murder of a professional photographer and mega-rich kid whose business mogul father helped him finance his artist endeavours.

Discovered by his latest assistant, the photographer is found killed in his bed, and motive isn’t difficult to find when it’s discovered that he was not only incredibly rich, but also very naive. The victim’s most recent photographic project had been a series of images of the homeless, a before image of what they look like generally and a second after they had dressed up in a costume to embody their dream career. From a pilot to a film starlet, there are several dreams fulfilled in the strange project turned social experiment, but Detective Milo Sturgis and Dr Alex Delaware soon start to wonder if there was more to it.

The subject of homelessness, and the drug addiction and mental issues that often accompany it, is handled with about as much tact as an episode of South Park. Kellerman knows all the right things to say, and while he’s right that these problems are societal failings and not individual issues, his portrayal of the homeless is a little ham-handed. There’s one particular line about al dente pasta that made me physically wince.

Thankfully, Kellerman makes the smart choice and spends most of the novel dwelling on the side of society he knows more about: LA’s rich and powerful. There’s what looks like the beginnings of a very good literary commentary on money not being able to buy style or brains when we meet the victim’s incredibly wealthy father, and see a comparable interview similar to one recently held with one of the homeless characters. However, it doesn’t quite land, and I for one felt like a little more finesse could have made that chapter something truly stunning.

There’s plenty of wealthy, privileged and downright pretentious suspects to be going along with in the novel, and this is where Kellerman shines. His portrayal of the photographer’s father, who sired multiple children with many women and then left them with only money to remember him by, is particularly inspired. The author sets the character up and a suave, mysterious and presumably debonair businessman in the background, and it’s a true shock when we meet the character. Family intrigue is the second line of investigation, and it opens up a can of worms featuring a long-lost brother who’s an investment expert, a dead sister and a drug addicted mother.

The victim, Donny, real first name Adonis, also has a model girlfriend and a jealous assistant with an overbearing mother, and some of the interactions the protagonists have with these characters are truly inspired. There’s one in particular, at the assistant’s house, which is almost disturbing and really shows the author’s prowess and how great this novel had the potential to be.

While these elements of brilliance are what makes Unnatural History a good read, it can be tough to get over the dreadful portrayal of the less fortunate. Alongside the- frankly odd- portrayal of the homeless is a general desperation to make his narrator and co-protagonist Dr Alex Delaware seem what I believe is known as ‘woke’, otherwise known as generally empathetic to normal people. It goes rather wrong, with phrases such as ‘man-spreading’ used un-ironically incorrectly. The term refers not to men who spread their legs in a single chair, as Kellerman uses it, but to a man who takes up space that should be ocupied by others, often women. Like men who take up extra space on a bus or train seat. It’s a valiant effort, but I can’t help but feel that in instances like that, a quick online search could’ve easily helped to overcome the difficulty and make the book seem much more sincere in its purpose.

It’s nice to see an author trying to be sensitive, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark in this case. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was parody. As it is, it’s clear that the writer has simply conducted rudimentary research, then patched it together as best he can. It’s novels like this that show why we need more diversity in literature, particularly when it comes to writers from less privileged backgrounds. Reading about it only gets you so far.

If I’m brutally honest, I think that Unnatural History is a good enough thriller that’s let down by the author’s desperation to appeal to what he believes the current thinking is and to give a sympathetic portrayal of the homeless that comes off entirely tasteless. Kellerman has a great ability to bring the world of the wealthy to life and show how out-of-touch the rich and wanna-be famous are, but no idea about those on the other side of the spectrum- and I say that as someone who’s been dirt-poor and is never going to be LA rich. I think that while the plot and some of the characters are interesting, it’d be better for Kellerman to stick to what he does best in future, or does more research and actually talks to some people experiencing homelessness.

Tell Me An Ending Review: An Eerie Sci-Fi Novel That Will Come Back To Haunt You

Have you got a memory you’d like to forget? And if so, would you get it removed? And if you did, would you want to know there was something missing? Well, the answers to these questions are the premiss of Jo Harkin’s debut novel Tell Me An Ending. This inventive sci-fi novel is and fun and engaging, and covers a range of principles including psychology, philosophy and ethics.

The sci-fi novel is set in an altered version of the present day, where you can remove memories, at a cost that is both financial and, as the narrative explores, emotional. For individuals looking to have memories removed, there are two options: a removal where you’re aware of the procedure, but not the details of the memory, or ‘self-confidential’ clients, who remove any memory of the removal itself.

As part of this premiss, many individuals who had memory wipes start experiencing flashbacks, known as ‘traces’. When this is discovered, some former informed patients sue the company, and the judge rules that it must offer ‘restorations’ to all former clients- including self-confidential ones. Those who elected to forget the procedure entirely are unaware until their lives change in one quick email. Imagine having your entire world view and sense of self rocked like that. Harkin brings that terror to life in this gripping novel.

The novel focuses on a clinic in a small town in Surrey that offers removals for both informed and self-confidential clients, and each chapter features a different character. There’s Noor, a therapist at a UK clinic that offers memory removals and is exploring her boss’s strange behaviour; Oscar, who’s on the run in Morocco from something he has no memory of; William, a former UK cop who’s desperate to erase the memory of a photo that sent him spiralling out of control; Finn, an architect whose wife had a memory removed during a brief break in their relationship many years ago; and finally Mei, a young girl living with her adopted dad in Kuala Lumpur who’s determined to find out about the memory she had removed after dropping out of university.

By incorporating multiple characters into the narrative, Harkin is able to provide a range of different perspectives and see how various people with differing outlooks on life deal with the ethical dilemmas invoked by the existence of a memory removal procedure. At first, it seems like all these individuals are unconnected, except that they all have ties to Nepenthe, the company offering the memory removals. Quickly, however, we see patters emerging, and in, a unique twist, we find the threads all connect these individuals to a sinister conspiracy that shocks the reader and characters to the core.

The book explores the various characters and how each of the customers and their loved ones deal with the news of their memory deletion, and what restorations do, or don’t, do to them. For Noor, the doctor at the memory loss clinic that links all the patients, ethics, philosophy and personal responsibility all come into play as she tries to navigate the minefield that is playing with people’s minds for money.

A slow burn, Tell Me An Ending quickly picks up, so it’s well worth persevering with. I was initially skeptical about how I was going to keep up with this multitude of different characters and different narratives, but they quickly become entwined and within a few chapters I was hooked. It’s relatively easy to follow the premise as the universe in which it is set is so similar to our own, and so unlike other sci-fi novels, I found the world and rules easy to follow. The characters are well-written and relatable, so I was able to understand their struggles and felt invested in their moral dilemmas as each of them wrestled with a different issue related to the removal of a memory.

In all, I was impressed by Harkin’s debut novel. It’s a complex sci-fi story that is easy to understand and isn’t too convoluted, but is also incredibly engaging and interesting. It made me question a lot of my life choices and really shook my world view, which is something that doesn’t happen as often as it should to someone like me who reads a lot. I really enjoyed it, and I’m not even a massive fan of sci-fi novels, which I sometimes find are unnecessary complicated and pretentious. That isn’t the case here, and I think this is a perfect introduction to modern sci-fi for readers looking for a book that keeps them guessing until the final word. At over 500 pages in paperback form, Tell Me An Ending is hardly a quick read, but you find that time moves exceptionally fast when you’re enjoying your book as much as you’ll love this one.

The Divider Review: A Timely Reminder Of Why Trump Should Never Be President Again

As he gears up for another presidential run, I felt now was an ideal time to share a review of an incredible book chronically the 45th President’s absurd and chaotic White House administration. I’ve already shared some of the best books about Trump a few years ago, but I’ve recently read this defiitive guide and I thought that now would be a great time to share my thoughts on this book that everyone who used to, wants to, or is supporting Trump.

The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 is an incredible overview of the manic Trump presidency, from his initial run to becoming the unlikely underdog to win the presidency, to his mis-handling of the coronavirus pandemic right through to his incitement of the January 6th riots when he didn’t win reelection.

Dubbed ‘the adhocracy’, the madness of Trump’s White House set-up, including the infighting, nepotism and backstabbing is brilliantly outlined by husband and wife journalism team Peter Baker Susan Glasser.

Drawing on interviews with insiders, a detailed analysis of the media and Trump’s former favourite social media platform, Twitter, the pair analyse how the former president was perceived by those around him, both in and out of the White House. The book is incredibly detailed and delves into all of the major scandals and events of Trump’s tumultuous presidency.

Throughout the book, which takes its name from the nickname given to Trump’s staff management style of pitting his staff against one another, Baker and Glasser make droll comments about how duplicitous and contradictory the former Commander In Chief was throughout his one-term tenure in office. By combining their own opinions with those of former staff members, the authors are able to highlight the craziness in the Trump White House.

Alongside the chapters, which are each named after a comment from or about the 45th President, the book features a selection of well-chosen photographs that encapsulate Trump’s presidency. Some of the highlights include the picture of a stern looking Angela Merkle standing over the former president, Nancy Pelosi wagging a finger at him, Melina Trump strutting around her husband’s concentration camp for migrant children separated from their parents wearing a jacket with “I really don’t care, do u?” emblazoned on the back, the image of Trump holding a bible upside down outside a church after clearing aside peaceful Black Lives Matter protestors with tear gas, and many other iconic photographs. Each image is accompanied by a scathing inditement on Trump’s behaviour and astute observations about how the pictures were perceived in the media, by the public and behind closed doors in Trump’s fractious White House. The imagery is perfect, and although the text isn’t fully proofread and grammatically correct, it’s still a great read.

The one thing I’m not entirely sure about when it comes to The Divider is how Baker and Glasser portray many of Trump’s enablers, such as his multiple Chiefs of Staff, Vice President Mike Pence, the Republicans who chose not to impeach him and other former supporters in Washington’s political class. The authors assert that many of these individuals didn’t support Trump at all, and were just working on his behalf because they were concerned that if they left, they would be replaced someone worse than they were. Allegedly, many of these individuals didn’t believe in the policies they were promoting, but were instead pushed by Trump and had a sort of moral imperative to stay in the White House and do their best to do everything in their power to derail Trump’s worst plans.

Perhaps the worst instance of this is the way the writers discuss Kirstjen Nielsen, who is perhaps most famous for implementing Trumps family separation program, which has devastated thousands of lives. Many of the children separated from their parents have still not been reunited with their families all these years later, yet the book tries to make readers feel sorry for Nielsen and argues that she, in fact, opposed the plan and just had to pretend to support it and go through it to keep her role. While this might be true in some cases for some of the White House staff members mentioned in the book, it seems a bit of a reach for some, including Nielsen. It seems impossible to me that someone so disgusted with such an immoral policy could still be its champion and spokesperson. While Nielsen tried to justify the policy in public statements and tried to make out like the policy was less serious than it was, that doesn’t say to me that she vehemently disagreed with the policy. Neither of the authors spare the rod for Trump himself or his family, but many Republicans who enabled him and supported his appalling work are made to seem sympathetic because they were themselves targets of Trump’s wrath and because the White House was such a toxic workplace. We’ll never know the full truth, but it seems like the authors are pushing to provide an acquittal for many of the key players in the Trump administration, which I don’t believe they deserve.

However, despite this, The Divider is still a useful read for anyone who wants a complete chronicle of the entirety of Trump’s presidency. It doesn’t gloss over any of the worst of the administration’s actions, and reviews them from multiple angles. For example, Baker and Glasser explore Trump’s removal of American troops from Germany through the lens of multiple players throughout Europe. Additionally, every action Trump takes that has an impact on the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, and there are many, is chronicled in detail and the authors work to outline how these affect major players on the world stage as well as how they make America look.

In all, The Divider is a timely read for anyone who’s considering voting for Trump, or who thinks that a return of the Donald to the White House might not be as bad as people say it will be. Donald Trump is a serial liar with no capacity for empathy or interest in anyone but himself. The man has multiple legal cases against him right now, and he deserves to be locked up for his complicity in the January 6th riots and his attempt to pervert the course of justice and disrupt democracy. Trump might not have announced his bid for re-election in 2024, but he’s clearly gearing up for it, so anyone who’s unsure about how dangerous he is, or how fundamentally unhinged, should read this book before passing judgment.

Five Paddington Bear Novels For Newbies

As most people now know, the Queen of England has recently passed away. Whatever your opinions on the monarchy, you can’t deny that Elizabeth the Second has had a significant on culture.

From her cameo appearances in short skits to her iconic profile, she’s had an impact on almost every aspect of the cultural world.

One of the most symbolic ways the Queen has impacted our culture is her short film with Paddington Bear.

Michael Bond’s cute, cuddly little bear, who’s a refugee from darkest Peru, has become a famous symbol over recent years and became the unlikely, unofficial mascot of the late Queen, after she appeared in a humous skit with an animated version of Paddington.

In light of this, many readers are returning to this childhood favourite to bring them comfort in these tough times. I myself have loved the Paddington books for years, and found myself going back to them when I saw all the Paddington artworks and mentions that spread across social media after the Queen’s passing.

The Paddington books were illustrated beautifully and transport readers into a simple yet spellbinding world of imagination and gentility. Each book is a series of short stories that follow one another, meaning you can pick the book up and revisit it again at your leisure. All the stories involve a moment of minor peril, but every mishap is overcome in the end, so there’s always a happy ending and, occasionally, a moral to be found.

If you’re new to Paddington Bear and want to start reading about the plucky orphan bear and his madcap adventures, then here are 5 great books to start you off.

5. Paddington at Work: Back from a visit to Aunt Lucy in darkest Peru, Paddington quickly gets into some high-jinx with a man claiming to be from the Stock Exchange. There’s also a trip to the ballet and a few unique adventures involving the Browns, their housekeeper and their curmudgeonly neighbour Mr Curry. Paddington is renowned for being reluctant to spend money, but he does buy gifts for the Browns in this novel to thank them for the trip, and it’s sweet tales like that which make this book a must-read.

4. Paddington Helps Out: In this series of fun stories, Paddington tries to help those around him, usually with pretty disastrous results. That includes his hilarious trip to a laundrette, where he’s helped out by the kind staff, his experiments with DIY and the time he prepared dinner for Mr and Mrs Brown when they’re sick and everyone else is away. It ends with an utterly brilliant story about a meal out to celebrate Paddington’s birthday. As you can probably expect, all doesn’t go to plan, with brilliantly funny results. While Bond doesn’t lecture the reader on massive cultural or social morals, he does offer a great perspective on how to be more understanding of others and teaches kids valuable lessons through his tales, and Paddington Helps Out imparts some great values to readers.

3. More About Paddington: The second book in the series is a fun caper featuring the mystery of the missing marrow, a chaotic family portrait of the Brown family and the bear’s first ever Christmas in London. The book is fun for kids and adults alike, with some cute capers that are funny and show the values Bond tried to impact through his Paddington tales: friendship, honesty, understanding, tolerance and family unity even through trying times.

2. Paddington Goes To Town: In this series of stories, Paddington goes on a selection of adventures, including a trip to the golf course with Mr Curry that ends with a visit to the hospital, an adventure to find the finish touch for Mr Gruber’s patio and finally, more Christmas shenanigans, as Paddington tries out carol singing and goes to view the town Christmas lights. This book is fun and cosy, and the final stories are great for anyone who gets the winter blues around this time of year.

1.A Bear Called Paddington: Beginning at the beginning is a great way to immerse yourself in a new book series, and it also helps when the first book in a series is as good as A Bear Called Paddington. From his first meeting with the Brown family at Paddington Station, where he tries out tea in a cafe and find the experience truly unique, to his acceptance as a member of the family, his visit to the theatre to his time building sandcastles at the seaside, every one of the stories in this book is a fun-filled adventure.