The "Inconvenient Unborn" is released as an ebook on Apple iTunes/iBooks today.

Here's the link if you'd like to go there, click here

 

 

and that link again, go here

 

 

 

STATE SPONSORED TERROR:

 

I am very pleased to say that my new book “State Sponsored Terror is up on Kindle Scout from today. It is only there for 29 more days so do please make a mental note to have a look at it while you can.

You can visit the Kindle Scout page and see the book here.

 

Here’s a brief blurb for the book:

Democracy has crumbled. Fear stalks the streets. Curfew is back.

In a cute Hampshire cottage, Adam Goodchild witnesses his mother’s brutal killing by security police. He goes on the run, intent on revenge.

There is a sizeable excerpt, some 5,000 words there for you to read, and that will give you far more of a flavour of the book.

Here's that link again Click here:

I hope you like it.

 

Have a great day,

DC

 

 

 

 

The Stranger by Joan Hall.

 

This book opens with Margie Smith’s funeral. She has died aged seventy-two, in Brookhaven nursing home, from lung cancer.

She was a cantankerous woman, everyone says so, and, not surprisingly, there’s hardly anyone at the funeral, but suffering from lung cancer, would I suspect, make many of us that way inclined.

Her only living relative is a daughter, Julie, who is now married to Mark, and they have two grown up children who are doing well. All through Julie’s life, Margie has found fault with everything Julie has ever done, or attempted to do, including her choice of husband.

Mark’s a good man with a good job who treats his family well, but none of that appeared relevant to the apparently mean-spirited Mrs Margie Smith.

Julie is confused and disappointed in her mother’s life-long behaviour and who wouldn’t be? But there is nothing that Julie can do about that now. Margie has taken her secrets to the grave, or has she?

The Stranger is a shortish book, but it’s well written and the pace is good, and it never slows. Towards the end I found it surprisingly emotional, and without giving anything away, if you like that kind of thing you will enjoy this story.

I am glad I bought it, glad I read it, and I liked the cover too.

 

 

 

 

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"Kissing a Killer" is OUT TODAY on iBooks - Kobo - Nook and other platforms too!

 

Yes, as from today you can buy "Kissing a Killer" on Apple itunes/ibooks, Kobo, Nook and other platforms too such as Tolino and Scribd.

Here are some links you might find useful.

On Apple ibooks click here

On Kobo click here

And on Nook click here

 

Of course it is also available on Kindle and here are some links there:

 

  

 

I hope those links are useful for you.

Have a great day.

 

David C.

 

 

 

 

The Life and Loves of Gringo Greene now has a spanking new cover, and here it is. Hope you like it.

 

   

 

The Inconvenient Unborn - Book Reviews

 

I haven't put up any reviews on this book for a while if at all, so today I thought 1'd put that right and reprint some of the reviews, so here they are.

 

AN ENTERTAINING STORY, ALL THE WAY TO THE END

I was greatly surprised with this novel, only because I normally do not like political type books at all. However, because of the surrounding story with the Cazenoves and the Wilson's it made for a very interesting story.

Both families were very easy to relate too and the relationships between the children of both families was realistic and entertaining. It touches on the topic of teenage pregnancy and how it can greatly affect all members of both families involved.

The political aspect of the story was easy to follow and I found myself enjoying the whole book as the two aspects entwined to give us a fantastic end result. David Carter's writing is fantastic and his character development is thorough and believable.

The dialogue was enjoyable as well since I am from Canada, with the way he writes I was easily able to hear the English accents of all the characters and I found myself chuckling at many parts visualizing the characters conversations. I highly recommend this novel especially if political dramas are the type of novels you enjoy.

 

Very different from what I expected

 

In The Inconvenient Unborn, author David Carter sketches a gritty world in the near future. The Cazenoves and Wilsons don’t get along, at least their parents don’t, but the children get along well enough. Kind of like Romeo and Juliet but set in the future, and not as grim, this is a pleasant read with some unexpected surprises.

There’s also a hint of mystery and political drama as the Russian President, Yuri Premakov, visits Lymington, bearing gifts but they come at a steep price. The focus on politics works surprisingly well. It’s hard to match the book under one genre, as it’s a bit of a mix of genres, but nonetheless very entertaining. It was different from what I expected, and if you enjoy political thrillers, I think you’ll enjoy this one too. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The above two reviews I found on Amazon.com.

And this one is from Margaret Henderson Smith who is an established writer of chicklit type books. 

 

5.0 out of 5 stars

Yet another great read from this highly talented author

 

By Margaret Hendesron Smith

 

Format: Paperback

 

A cross generational novel with David Carter capturing the painful emotions of growing up and the impact this has on the lives of parents, two sets, two families from different ends of the social strata. Their young see no barriers and we are given an insight into the longings and desires of growing adolescents anxious to live the excitement of first love to the full but where will the opportunities lie? School life isn’t exactly conducive to the fulfilment of desire and David Carter sets an entertaining and amusing trail as the search for suitable accommodation for Tracey Wilson and Oliver Cazenove takes more than a little improvisation.

The Cazenove lads have great aspirations, their upbringing playing no small part, whilst the Wilson girls aspire, just now it’s only to these well-heeled lads. Their household, though no financial match, is not without the courtesy of good manners. The girls are not lacking a sound upbringing and being sharp as knives the three of them, they prove more than a match for the Cazenove boys whose father Donald Cazenove CEO is boss at Bestdas Stores, Lymington which happens to be where their father works. He may be subject to the whims and fancies of Donald Cazenove but Fred Wilson’s power lies elsewhere. There’s no power like that of a senior shop steward and Fred Wilson knows exactly how to wield it, not with Sally Youngs though. Desperate for promotion he keeps a close eye, given she’s driving hard to get there first.

Carter injects delightful humour into this clever scenario all bound in with the politics of the day. Bobby Wilson the Prime Minister, with far left leanings, is the Wilson’s hero, on course to turn the country into a republic to the disgust of the Cazenoves. Furthermore to the Wilson’s delight he’s engaging with the Russian president, brokering deals to keep the nation’s gas on tap, and much else. Of course there’s a price to pay, but at what cost? Can Bobby Wilson pay the price? Yuri Premakov is certainly no fool.

The story unfolds with intrigue as the political action develops and tightens into a very tense page-turning scenario, the denouement taking me completely by surprise.

Carter is a highly astute observer bringing credibility to his work. The reading of this book proved sheer entertainment. He delivers an easy style which is very clever and the comfortable occasional narration truly brings the characters to life. It’s not difficult to enjoy David Carter’s books whatever the genre as long as you can deal with the shocking for he will never leave the reader lacking in anticipation or excitement.

An excellent book which deserves to be read, I can but highly recommend it.

Thank you for that, Margaret.

 

If you haven't heard of or looked at this book before here's a book trailer that will tell you a little more about it.

 

 

   

 

 

As ever, thanks for reading, and don't forget to sign up for my occasional newsletter.

David C.

 

 

 

Megalodon by Scott Skipper – Book Review

 

The famous phrase “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” quickly came to mind when reading the appropriately named Scott Skipper’s novella, “Megalodon”, a kind of homage towards Peter Benchley’s “Jaws”.

Enzo Palmer and his chums are treasure hunters, and successful ones at that, after tracking down and cashing in booty from several wrecks. Truth is, they now have more money than they know what to do with.

His interest is piqued when a video surfaces on the Internet purporting to be of a megalodon swimming the seven seas – a kind of giant prehistoric shark with huge teeth and a viscious bite that supposedly died out 28 million years ago. The video is obviously a fake, or is it? Some people differ on that, and they simply have to find out the truth of it.

In any event Enzo wants to go megalodon hunting, maybe he hasn’t anything better to do with his time, and though his partners are not that interested, in the end he persuades them of the merit of the idea. After all they do part-own the ship and they’d better keep an eye on their investment, as they set off for Tenerife along with their well endowed women to start their search.

And of course there is someone else looking for the big Meg too, a long ago hated rival - what seagoing yarn wouldn’t be complete without that? And he adds plenty of spice if the story ever threatens to run out of steam.

So begins “Megalodon”, a fast moving and page-turning adventure on the huge seas, and one can almost taste the salty air and feel the balmy winds on your face, as they and you, rush through the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans as if they were mere ponds.

The writing and proofreading are pretty good too, not so many errors, though “ring one’s neck” kind of stood out, and yes, I do understand more than most that all us indie writers make similar errors from time to time, me included, and I’d like to have seen the women present taking a more active role, rather than all too often just standing and hanging around drinking unbelievable quantities of champagne, while pouting and waiting to be patted and touched and taken in the cabin by the men, no double entendre intended. This is 2017 after all, but that aside I enjoyed “Megalodon” and learnt quite a few things too.

If you like fast paced seaborne action with a sense of adventure then you will probably enjoy this, and when I bought it, it was just 99 pence and that is great value in any language, so why not give it a try?

And here’s the ultimate test in any ongoing writer/reader relationship. Would I buy another work by this author, and the answer is: Yes. For sure.

 

 

Don't forget to sign up for my occasional newsletter here:

 

http://eepurl.com/czen0T

 

Be lovely to see you there. Have a great day.

 

 

 

Willed Accidents Happen by Patricia A. Guthrie – Book Review

 

Michael Ryan is a successful psychiatrist based in Manhattan, New York. It’s midwinter, and a cold and frosty morning. He’s heading for work, the sidewalks are icy, as he enters the subway system, sees the steep downward stairs, but doesn’t see the patch of ice worn slippery by countless hurrying scurrying morning feet.

   He slips and stumbles and tumbles down the steep and hard steps, banging his shoulder and back as he goes, doing damage too, though luckily nothing is broken and he’s grateful for that, and all the way to the bottom he tumbles, where an attractive redhead finally breaks his fall.

   ‘Sorry, I slipped,’ he says, gathering his thoughts and feeling his body, yet even as he says those words, he wonders as to their truth. Could the reality be in the rush and crush and whirling sky, could he possibly have been pushed?

   So begins “Willed Accidents Happen”, a short story of mystery and suspense by Patricia A. Guthrie.

   It’s a good beginning too, hooks the reader straight off the bat, and being a short story it’s quite possible to sit and read the entire thing in a short afternoon. It’s a page-turner that’s for sure, so you probably will finish it in one sitting, well written too, with a twist of an ending to come, and if you like mystery and suspense stories then “Willed Accidents Happen” would be a useful addition to any library.

   I enjoyed it and will look out for more offerings from this writer. Check it out.  

 

Personal by Lee Child – Book review.

 

I have read all the Lee Child Jack Reacher books, but this one simply didn’t do it for me, so much so that I found myself putting it to one side three quarters of the way through – something I had never done with a Lee Child book before.

It is only recently that I have returned to it to complete. So why did I struggle with this one?

Firstly, it is written in the first person, something that Lee Child has done before, but not often, and not a choice that suits Jack Reacher in my humble opinion. “I elbowed him in the face” somehow doesn’t have the same gravitas as the identical scene seen through the all seeing eye of third person.

I have noticed it has been suggested that this book was not even written by Lee Child, not that I suspect that to be the case, but he wouldn’t be the first famous writer to do this, would he?

Indeed, it is becoming increasingly common for successful authors to farm out titles utilising the same characters for others to write. Nice work if you can get it, I suppose, get paid for a book but don’t even write it, but for whatever reason this one didn’t hold my attention.

And talking of Nice, that was the name of the latest seemingly obligatory female sidekick that appears in almost all the books, Casey Nice in this case. So what of the plot?

It centres around an American army assassin who has gone rogue and taken a potshot at the French president in Paris, and has even greater ambitions in London.

An assassin who has had previous run-ins with Jack, wouldn’t you just know it, and he’s seen as the natural guy to track him down.

I doubt if anyone alive believes that this is the best Jack Reacher book out there, and if you are reading them in chronological order you might be better in skipping this one and moving straight onto the next, “Make Me” which is much better.

So it’s three stars out of five for me on this one, whoever wrote it, and onto the next with hopes of a more entertaining plot.    

 

Conclave by Robert Harris - Book Review

 

 

I have read all of Robert Harris’s books, though I confess I did think twice about buying this one. After all, what could be exciting about a lot of old men locked in a room to choose a new Pope?

 

But I am glad that I did, and in the event 118, or was it 119, there was one latecomer, were indeed locked in a room to come to an agreement on who would be their new boss.

 

And so the machinations and downright canvassing and psychological warfare and long dead scandals were dug up, anything to damage a potential rival, as the Cardinals split into various groups, the Italians, there hasn’t been an Italian Pope for 40 years, the English speakers, the French speakers, the Africans, the Asians, the conservatives and the reformers, and so it went on.

 

This was all brought about by the death of the incumbent, which wasn’t any great surprise as he was an old man, just like all the rest of them, and the book is set in the near future, sufficiently away from current times to distance the events, but sufficiently close to make them relevant.

 

I am not a particularly quick reader but I did rattle through this, and that is entirely down to the page-turning skills that Mister Harris exhibits in almost all of his work. And after a slightly slow first 150 pages that set the scene amid a great deal of earnest praying and prayers, quelle surprise!

 

That all brought us rattling on to he denouement, and don’t worry there will be no spoilers here, I will say no more about that except to say that I was not alone in feeling slightly disappointed by it, and I saw it coming from way out.

 

In the pantheon of mister Harris’s works, I would place this pretty low down, above the baffling Fear Index for sure, but that would be about it, but still, it was a surprisingly interesting read that I had to finish once I got into it, and I am glad that I did.

 

The next Robert Harris book is believed to be entitled “Munich”, a prequel to his hugely successful and breakthrough novel “Fatherland”, and there I think he will be back on more familiar ground, and certainly I suspect his army of diehard readers will be happier with that, but don’t rule out “Conclave” without giving it a chance. I enjoyed it, and that is all that really matters.