This month’s Black Horse Western titles are: Hell-Bent by Corba Sunman, Night of the Gunslinger by I.J. Parnham, Trail to the Cazadores by Mark Bannerman, The Proclaimers by Lee Clinton, Climax by C.J. Sommers and South to Sonora by Michael Stewart.
So for all your Wild West action and drama, check out one of these great titles today…
Jennifer Bohnet was born in Weston-Super-Mare and worked as both a bookseller and a landlady, amongst other things, before becoming a full-time writer and moving to France with her husband Richard. She has written a variety of short stories and articles in her time as a freelance writer and her debut novel, Follow Your Star, was also published by Robert Hale. For more about the author, please visit her website: http://www.jenniferbohnet.com
Shadows of Conflict by Jennifer Bohnet blurb
When Katie, redundant from her media job, accepts Mattie’s offer to take over her shop, A Good Yarn, in Dartmouth, she expects her life to be busy and unexciting. But with an American film crew in town intent on uncovering buried secrets from World War II, a disgruntled relative, and Mattie herself still refusing to face up to the lingering shadows of an unhappy childhood, life is neither simple nor quiet.
When Patrick, her ex-boss, offers the chance of her dream media job Katie has to decide whether accepting it is worth turning her back on everything and everyone in Dartmouth – including Leo, a friend from the past who plans to be a part of her future.
Will Katie make the right decision? And as the Americans uncover a secret from her past, will Mattie shake off a lifetime of regrets and finally find happiness with Henri, her new ami?
Matthew Malekos is an ex-psychiatric nurse. He lives on the island of Cyprus with his civil partner.
Peroxide Homicide by Matthew Malekos blurb
A Dr Karen Laos novel
When working a night shift at Manchester’s inner-city morgue, forensic pathologist Karen Laos finds herself with the body of an unknown male, apparently murdered by a killer she had pursued six years before. Reunited with ageing policeman, Detective Inspector James Nakonski, they must identify, locate and catch the killer taunting them both.
With an appetite for ritualistic murder and an array of alarming and unusual methods, there is a very real threat that this killer will elude their grasp and strike again, leaving only mutilated victims in his wake…
Raised on farms in The United States, Terrell L. Bowers has been playing cowboys since he learned to walk. After taking up writing as a career he has published over sixty books. Terrell has been married for over forty years and has two grown-up daughters.
One Murder Too Many by Terrell L. Bowers blurb
Kari Underwood, an investigative reporter, becomes involved in a curious double murder which puts her in a killer’s crosshairs. With Kari’s life in danger, Jason Keane leaves his position in the Sutton CID and returns to America to protect her.
Kari is thrilled to have Jason back at her side, but has no idea why she is a target and as she and Jason renew their problematic relationship, they must solve the mystery before Kari is killed by her unknown assailant.
Betrayal, deceit, blackmail, and a vicious drug cartel all play a part in what could mean the death of both Kari and the man she loves.
Peter Maxted settled in Cornwall in 1983 (and was a frequent visitor before then) after working around the world as a teacher, journalist and travel writer. He has edited local and national magazines, run a regional advertising and marketing company and written several books. He is currently Communications and Marketing Officer for the Cornwall AONB and presents a weekly environment-themed show on local radio.
The Natural Beauty of Cornwall by Peter Maxted blurb
The Natural Beauty of Cornwall is the ideal companion to help you explore a landscape of quite extraordinary variety. From the wild northern coast to the peaceful estuaries of the south and from the high windswept moors and heaths to the hidden wooded valleys, this book captures the very essence of Cornwall.
Author Peter Maxted has lived in the area for some thirty years during which time he has keenly explored the length and breadth of it on foot, by bike and by boat. Concentrating mainly on the third of the county that is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as well as the ‘gateway’ towns, The Natural Beauty of Cornwall delves into geology, history, the rich industrial heritage and, of course, the astonishing scenery of one of the most beautiful counties in the British Isles.
The Natural Beauty of Cornwall by Peter Maxted is out now
Paul Bennett was born in London and educated at Alleyn’s School in Dulwich. He studied Economics at Exeter University and spent seven years in advertising before setting up a market research agency which he sold in 1986. He is now semi-retired in order to pursue writing. Bennett lives in a converted barn in Essex with his wife and two daughters and his previous novels, Catalyst and Mercenary were also published by Robert Hale.
Killer in Black by Paul Bennett blurb
In a small town in Texas five ex-mercenaries reunite when one of their number, Red, half Comanche, half Texan, is threatened.
Presidential candidate Senator O’Hara likes to keep his town whiter than snow and everybody firmly in their place and he’s taken a dislike to Red. The town’s sheriff won’t risk his job by helping so it’s down to Johnny Silver and his band of comrades to sort out the matter. The resultant attacks escalate from a simple poisoning of the ranch’s water supply, through frightening off the workers, to a full-scale war with a fifty-strong gang of bikers. And pulling the strings is their most formidable foe yet – a professional assassin, the Killer in Black.
Are Johnny’s team still strong enough to take on the challenges posed by the unknown enemy? Or have they finally met their match?
Killer in Black by Paul Bennett is available to buy now with a limited time only discount of 30%
Brought up in the North-east, G.M. Best studied history at Exeter College, Oxford and went on to become the headmaster of Kingswood School in Bath. He has written widely on Methodist history and has also penned a musical called Marley’s Ghosts, based on the work of Gilbert and Sullivan. He is currently Warden of the New Room in Bristol, a research fellow at Wesley College, Bristol, and a member of the Methodist Heritage Committee. His previous novels, Oliver Twist Investigates and Wuthering Heights Revisited were also published by Robert Hale.
The Jacobite Murders by G. M. Best
Lady Overbury takes up residence in Queen Square to enjoy Bath’s many pleasures in the autumn of 1745 but unwittingly becomes involved in a series of brutal murders. With the help of Beau Nash, the city’s famous Master of Ceremonies, and the novelist Henry Fielding, she sets out to discover the identity of the killer and becomes involved in the love affair between the beautiful heiress, Sophia Westbrook, and her admirer, Tom Jones, whose parentage is shrouded in mystery.
As the murder count rises it becomes clear that Bath has become the centre of a Jacobite plot to ensure the success of the rebellion of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the overthrow of the King. The Methodist Preacher, Charles Wesley helps Sonia Westbrook uncover vital clues and there is a desperate race to catch the killer and prevent the Highlanders seizing control of London.
The Jacobite Murders by G. M. Best is available to buy now with a limited time only discount of 30%.
John Paxton Sheriff began writing during his fifteen years in the British Army. His first successes came while living in New South Wales and Queensland in the ’60s and ’70s with his wife and three children.
His short stories have been published in Adam, a now defunct Australian men’s magazine, in Australian, UK and Irish magazines such as Australian Women’s Weekly, Woman & Home, and in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine in New York. He also wrote crime short stories for Scottish publishers D.C. Thomson.
For many years John was a freelance feature writer for two North Wales newspaper groups. Since 1995 he has published four books on writing technique, thirty-five Western novels, and seven crime novels in two separate series. John is a tutor for Writers’ News and on-line college WritersCollege.com, and is a member of the Society of Authors.
Death Warmed Up by John Paxton Sheriff official blurb:
Jack Scott and Sian Laidlaw are forced to remain in Gibraltar with Jack’s mother when she breaks her ankle – Eleanor believes she was pushed. When a chance meeting with a young photographer, Pru Wise, leads them into the path of trouble and up against a ruthless diamond robber it becomes clear that there are some dangerous forces at work.
Returning to the UK, Jack and Sian are shocked when Pru’s dead body is discovered in the boot of a car registered to Sian. When threatened they return to Gibraltar, to try and seek out and identify the diamond thief and end the nightmare. But first they must unravel a web of intrigue, face a violent climax in the house of an ex-diplomat, and face a fight to the death on the rocks of Gibraltar’s most southerly shore.
Death Warmed Up by John Paxton Sheriff is out now with a limited time only discount of 30%.
The Spectator have reviewed The Politics of Washing: Real Life in Venice by Polly Coles, dubbing it ‘more cerebral than most Venetian travelogues or fictions’.
They go on to say that ‘Venice deserves this dose of perspicacious pragmatism’ and that Coles writes ‘fantastically well’ and clearly has both knowledge and wit.
To read more of the review, click here. You can order your copy here.
Some thought Thatcher’s cool approach cold and insensitive; others admired her courage and determination but as the National Coal Strike of 1984 dragged on and political arguments raged between the government and unions the effect on ordinary people was emotional and real. Without coal, there would be power-cuts. The stocks of coal would be depleted when the winter came. This would mean, unless the strike was called-off, power stations and factories would be forced to shut-down, bringing the country to a standstill.
I lived in a Kent mining village during that time. Tilmanstone Colliery, near Dover, was threatened with closure too. Many of the miners were descendants of those who travelled on foot from Wales or the North of England specifically to work in the Kent coalfields early in the twentieth century. They were loyal, hard-working people. To their delight the Coal Board provided new houses to accommodate them, with all mod-cons. This was a luxury they were unaccustomed to, and the job promised a secure future. But by the 1970s the industry was in trouble: 34 pits were closed before Margaret Thatcher came to power. When Ian MacGregor became Chairman of the NCB in 1983, he resolved to shut all uneconomic pits. Arthur Scargill reacted with hostility, saving jobs being his priority. Those who continued working were threatened at the picket-lines. To protect them, the police were called in and so the situation escalated. Where emotions are running high, and people’s livelihoods are at risk, it’s easy for things to get out of control.
On the horizon, in the Midlands where I now live, eight wind-turbines have been built to generate electricity. Everything changes. In 1984 I looked out of my window and saw the headgear of the colliery standing tall and proud against the sun – now, in 2013, it is the blades of a windmill turning instead. One thing I know, we would be completely lost without electricity and there’s nothing like a lovely coal fire on a winter’s night.
Tilmanstone Colliery. Copyright: Theresa Le Flem.
My book, The Sea Inside His Head, explores the effect of Margaret Thatcher’s policies on a young couple – the coal-miner Bradley and his wife Helen. Perhaps I could compare the effect of the National Coal Strike as like being thrown into a war situation, when a couple’s home-life is suddenly devastated by things happening in the outside world which are beyond their control. The strike stopped their routine in its tracks; it caused my protagonist Bradley to reflect on his job, working as a coal-miner, and wonder to himself whether that really was what he wanted to do with his life. It also caused Helen to re-assess her own role and perhaps discover in herself skills she never knew she had.
Bradley, in the opening pages, witnesses his father dying from Pneumoconiosis and after this he begins to resent the pit. He is thrown into a helpless situation, wanting to work to earn extra money to start a new life somewhere else, but with the very job he had come to loathe denied him. Debts mount, but his family and friends are all supporting the fight to keep the pit open. It leaves him feeling lonely and isolated. Finally, in a moment of desperation, he tries to tell Helen about his true feelings but she is adamant they must fight on.
Neither Bradley nor Helen know what is in store for them as the months pass and there is no sign of an agreement. Helen, busy running the soup-kitchen, also becomes heavily involved with organizing the fight to keep the pits open while Bradley retreats to his allotment, keeping his thoughts to himself. Helen is gaining confidence and when an NUM meeting is called in the village she urges Bradley to attend:
‘You’ve got to tell them we’re not open to compromise,’ she said importantly. ‘Tell them we’re managing. We’ve got plenty of money in the kitty and support from all over the country. We’ll get by, so long as we stick together, for as long as it takes. Let that Maggie Thatcher know she’s got a real fight on her hands! I’d like to stand up and say we’re behind them a hundred per cent – the strike’s not just about money, it’s the principle of it! We want prospects! Job security! Oh Brad!’ she cried, reaching out and grasping his upper arms with firm hands, her eyes shining. ‘We want jobs for life, don’t we? It’ll be worth it in the end.’
Bradley doesn’t have the heart to dampen her enthusiasm but when Helen proudly talks of their baby son’s future, and how he could follow in his father’s footsteps, Bradley replies bitterly:
‘Future? Look where it got my old dad, in his grave without a breath of life in him before he was forty-five! Is that your so-called future? Is that what you want for me, and for our Sam?’
What happens to Bradley and Helen? You will have to read my book to find out!
- Theresa Le Flem, author of The Sea Inside His Head
