Blackmail

Blackmail is the debut thriller novel by retired judge, Michael Stokes.

Stokes uses his training as a lawyer and his experiences in the courtroom as both an advocate and a judge to create this thriller.

A group of professional criminals plan and execute a daring robbery.

However, the gang of professional crooks bungle the operation and as a result a security guard is shot and left seriously wounded.

Michael Doyle, the leader of the gang is not too concerned by this rather unfortunate turn of events.

After all, hasn't he been able to concoct an apparently cast iron alibi that means that he could not have been anywhere near the scene of the crime?

However, his clever alibi is put at risk by the discovery of DNA evidence that link a gang member with the injured security guard.

CCTV images link Doyle and his gang member to the scene of the crime and both are subjected to arrest.

Smart lawyers seem to have the DNA evidence excluded on a technicality. However, Doyle's girlfriend is a smart cookie -as they say- and with her knowledge of the law, she believes that these machinations do not have a viable chance of succeeding.

However, someone decides to take matters into their own hands and the wife and child of a judge are kidnapped.

If the judge issues a ruling that is to the liking of the kidnappers, then his wife a son will be released. If not....

But what will the judge do?

Who is responsible for the kidnapping? Is it Doyle's girlfriend? Or perhaps there is someone from the past life of the judge who has an axe to grind and a point to make?  

Will his family be save? Or are they already dead?

If the judge rules in favour of the defence, will his family be released unharmed? Or not?

And who is the mole behind the major robbery?

This is a stunningly good debut novel. I hope that it will be the first of many thrillers from the pen of Michael Stokes. (More are planned, so please keep an eye out for them.)

It is published by Matador at £9.99 and is a good, substantial read of well over 500 pages.

If you have a lover of legal thrillers to buy a Christmas present for, this will be an excellent and well-received gift.

You can buy it from us at this link https://goo.gl/6HLMeo

The Boathouse

The Boathouse is a romantic debut novel from Dane Anthony Howard.

It's the story of how a young couple,  Ben and Louise, fall in love one summer in North London.

The story of how they meet, fall in love and how their romance blossoms and grows during one idyllic summer is set against a backdrop of poetry, of rock and roll and even a modicum of drugs and sex.

But as the love story moves form North London -Primrose Hill, to be more precise- and the English Lake District, their relationship is hit by a terrible double tragedy that shatters their romance and changes lives for ever.

For a debut novel this is a stunning work and it is to be hoped that this is the first of many novels from Dane Anthony Howard.

The book is published in paperback by The Book Guild at a very reasonable £6.99 and is available from us at our retail site at this address https://goo.gl/6HLMeo.

It will make an excellent Christmas gift for those who do not always expect a happy ending to the novels they read.

Brockmans Gin it belongs in your Christmas drinks cabinet

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a gin aficionado. However, in the case of Brockmans Gin, I am more than happy to make an exception!

Brockmans Gin is vastly different to the gins you might already have tried. In fact, I will issue you the That's Christmas challenge. Please buy a bottle of Brockmans Gin and give it a try. I think you will be pleasingly surprised at the flavours in Brockmans Gin.

The scent is pleasing, with nice floral notes.

But then comes the taste! My word, what a revelation it is to the artistry behind the creation of a good gin!

This is my own personal opinion: At first there is a definite subtle hint of Palma Violets.

But next there's a definite little hint of roses and thirdly there's a visit to a hedgerow in full floral bloom at the height of summer.

Although, obviously, you can make cocktails with Brockmans Gin, you might feel more than a little guilty about spoiling the natural taste of this fine gin.

For the purposes of research we did prepare some cocktails with some Brockmans Gin.

We found it worked extremely well with Fevertree Indian Tonic Water, with Fentiman's Rose Lemonade and with some Opies cherries in Kirche. Plus, of course, a good deal of the Kirche!

If you intend to make some Brockmans cocktails for the Christmas and New Year period, please take our advice and buy more than one bottle, or run the risk of running out!

It should cost about £28 a bottle.

To find your nearest stockist visit http://brockmansgin.com/find-brockmans-form

For more general information please visit  http://brockmansgin.com.

And please do mention That's Christmas when you contact them.

Amazing Pages has a perfect stunner of a gift for your child!

Seeking out a truly personalised, high quality Christmas gift like nothing you have ever seen before?

Well, Amazing Pages can help you, right there!

Because they can offer you an unprecedented chance to put your child at the heart of their reading journey.

At a stunningly modest price of from £16.99, Amazing Pages children’s books weave real life experiences, names and a photograph of the child together with high quality art work to create a truly unique Christmas gift.

Unlike other personalised books that are available, each of the three Amazing Pages titles offer different personalising options like the names of your child’s friends, school, favourite food, hobbies and a time when they felt shy.

To complete the package, the photograph of the child can be enhanced to blend with the art work, or if no photo is available, the website enables users to personalise the central character further to include skin tone, hair style and colour, using the Character Customiser  application.

The handmade books are aimed at boys and girls up to the age of seven and are made to order using high quality, digital, full colour printing with “perfect bound” soft covers.

The ethos of this family run business is simple but clear; they offer beautiful, one of a kind, personalised books that excite children about the joys of reading.

For younger children, yet to learn to read, seeing their own photograph upon the page, ensures they can identify that this very special story is all about them.

Founder, James Cooper started the company after creating books for his two young daughters. Remembering a primitive, personalised book from his own childhood, he recognised the same “magical feeling of reading a book and realising it’s all about you!”

“I looked around at what was on offer and was disappointed. I wanted to create an alternative to the cheesy, commercial personalised books and offer grandparents, parents and children the opportunity to share in something that was truly special to them.”

Ordering Amazing Pages books couldn’t be easier. A simple, user friendly online video guide  shows customers how to make the most of the personalisation options and once ordered, books are delivered within five days.

The family business will soon be launching personalised A3 colour wall prints (framed or un-framed) in the same imaginative and personalised style as their three books.
Watch this space; Amazing Pages offers all it takes to be the next big thing in personalised children’s gifts, but don’t just take it from us, our customer’s reviews speak volumes:

“My four year old adores these beautiful books with their retro illustrations and clever, personalised stories. He wants them read again and again.” – Susanna, London.

“The book is brilliant! Harry was amazed at how all his favourite things were in it, and he couldn't wait to show his best friend that he was mentioned in it too.” – Simon, Manchester.

“The quality of these books is fantastic...I’ve had other customised books given to me in the past and they seemed a lot more “cookie cutter” style with a lot less attention to detail.” – Suzanne, London.

To order your special book please visit https://www.amazingpages.co.uk/.

That's Books and Entertainment: Visions of the Righteousness of God

That's Books and Entertainment: Visions of the Righteousness of God: Visions of the Righteousness of God is a new book on theology from Dr Danson Enogiomwan Ubebe. It starts with the concept of who created...

Voice Behind the Mask

The book Voice Behind the Mask is a thrilling book by Doctor George Lahoud, MD.

From the first page I was gripped by the terse yet compelling writing style of Doctor Lahoud.

And yet this is not a work of fiction, it is a factual book that details the extraordinary professional life of Dr Lahoud as he worked as an NHS anaesthetist.

However he also worked overseas as the personal physician to the Saudi Arabian Royal Family when he was employed for several years At the King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah.

He also spent time in Harvard University, Massachusetts, where he was an instructor in anaesthesia.

Some the stories are sad, some horrific and some amusing, but all are extremely well related by the author who has a keen eye for the absurd and with and the ability to relate these recollections to his readers!

How he saved a patient from bleeding on the operating table when two other doctors had, apparently, not been taught about the law of gravity, how he was able to demand, and get, a heater for the decrepit house that a hospital had provided him, his young wife and baby son.

Read how he thought he had accidentally detached an elderly patient's head, how he managed to successfully perform the role of a plastic surgeon, because one was just not available, how he had to deal with an unorthodox and xenophobic Scotish anaesthetist who had an incredibly short fuse and some bizarre methods of working.

George also touches on his own health problems in a straightforward and no nonsense fashion.

This book is a must buy Christmas present and at only £8.99 it will make an excellent gift for admirers of well-written memoirs and books about medical matters.

It is published by Matador and is available from our gift store at https://goo.gl/KUU3gK.

That's Books and Entertainment: A Healing of Gardens

That's Books and Entertainment: A Healing of Gardens: A Healing of Gardens is a debut novel from the pen of L R Gray. It's the first part of a two part series and it concentrates on the ...