Energy - Ragtag Daily Prompt - 4/9/18

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Today's prompt is "Energy" something I don't seem to have much of at the moment.  Thanks for all the well wishes for my leg.  I still don't know if it's fractured or just badly bruised but I'm doing as I'm told and resting it.  Trouble is I'm finding that the less you do the less you want to do.

But it does help with catching up on some reading.  I've just finished Insidious Intent by Val McDermid.  Really enjoyed it but the ending was a bit of a shocker.  Can't say any more as it would be a massive spoiler.  (There was even a request from the author not to reveal it!)

Of course now I've got you all wondering what it was.  You'll just have to read it to find out - or I'm sure if you Googled it you could find the answer.

I love Google and I'm also finding YouTube handy for DIY videos amongst other things.  For example I acquired a VAX vacuum/carpet cleaning machine from my sister-in-law but there was no instruction manual.  Thanks to Google I now have an instruction booklet to hand but frustratingly no energy to carry out cleaning the carpet that needs it.

I'm not good at being patient.  I contacted the Patient Liaison Service today at the hospital as I've still not had any response from the Trauma unit.  They said they would try and speed things up.  They obviously are out of energy too.

(Apologies to anyone new here wondering what this is all about - you can check out the saga here.)

Sequacious - Ragtag Daily Prompt - 2/9/18

Apparently the definition of Sequacious is "inclined to follow" which is pretty apt today.  I was determined to post today but I wasn't full of inspiration so I began by visiting blogs that I follow.  One of these (Mrs Swiss) always used to compose a post based on the (now defunct) Wordpress prompt for the day.  I discovered, however, that a group of like minded bloggers have now set up their own daily prompt site: Ragtag Daily Prompt so I have been sequacious.

We are often sequacious in our lives.  Rules, fashions, protocols spring to mind just for starters.  Of course there are also leaders but sadly I don't count myself as one of those, nor would I want to be.  Look at poor Theresa May.  Who would want to be in her shoes right now?  Well ok maybe physically in some of the nice kitten heel numbers but certainly not in the dancing shoes put to such poor use this week.  I will not post a link for you sequacious people out there to follow for your amusement.  (Google will provide an answer for anyone who might have missed it!)

Then there are instructions.  I'm pretty good at those but again we often fall into two camps.  Those that follow the instructions and those that start to put together flat packs because they "know what they're doing" and then wonder why there are pieces left over at the end and the furniture looks wonky.



One of the things that I don't just blindly follow though are the numerous hoax posts you see, particularly on Facebook, where you're notified of a scam and encouraged to copy the info to all your contacts etc.  I usually try to see if there's any truth to them first and usually there isn't.

Well that's enough following for now, at least here in blogland.  I have plenty to follow on my TV box having been away for a week and I've decided that too much multitasking means I often lose the plot and have to rewind!

Review: Dead Line

Dead Line by Stella Rimington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

  This is the fourth installment in Stella Rimington’s series of thrilling novels that have at their center MI5 officer Liz Carlyle.

As plans get under way for a Middle East peace conference at the Gleneagles resort in Scotland, alarming information comes to MI5 from a high-ranking Syrian source: two individuals are mounting an operation to violently disrupt the conference and lay the blame on Syria. No one knows who they are, exactly what they’re planning or if they’re working independently or being controlled by an unseen foreign hand. But given the stature of the conference attendees—heads of state from the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran—no chances can be taken.Initially, the leads look promising, but as the conference deadline draws closer and the clues lead Liz to one seeming dead end after another, she begins to understand that the threat is far greater than she or anyone else has imagined. Her most reliable tool has always been her searingly keen intuition—about what makes people tick, what makes them explode, what makes them defy the most basic constructs of society—but will it be enough to avert a disaster that may forever erase the possibility of peace in the Middle East?
Once again, Stella Rimington brings her experience as the first woman Director General of MI5 to bear in a powerfully suspenseful, intellectually and psychologically riveting tale about how the war on terrorism can suddenly—and continually—reshape our world.


If you like espionage you'll probably like this but it's a very British story so might not appeal to all readers.

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Review: The Late Show

The Late Show by Michael Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

#1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly introduces Renee Ballard, a fierce young detective fighting to prove herself on the LAPD's toughest beat--the Late Show.
Renee Ballard works the midnight shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing few, as each morning she turns everything over to the daytime units. It's a frustrating job for a once up-and-coming detective, but it's no accident. She's been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor. But one night Ballard catches two assignments she doesn't want to part with. First, a prostitute is brutally beaten and left for dead in a parking lot. All signs point to a crime of premeditation, not passion, by someone with big evil on his mind. Then she sees a young waitress breathe her last after being caught up in a nightclub shooting. Though dubbed a peripheral victim, the waitress buys Ballard a way in, and this time she is determined not to give up at dawn. Against orders and her partner's wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shift by night. As the investigations intertwine, Ballard is forced to face her own demons and confront a danger she could never have imagined. To find justice for these victims who can't speak for themselves, she must put not only her career but her life on the line. 

Having enjoyed several of Connelly's Harry Bosch novels I was interested to see how a female lead character would compare. I wasn't disappointed. This kept me turning the pages.

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