So...chilled morning, doors to garden open, sitting in kitchen eating toast, drinking coffee, trying to read to the end of #TheMidnightGuardians by @mossmontmomery on a tiny screen (eyesight warning: don't download NetGalley ARCs to phone in future).
Alexa pings: Amazon delivery imminent....wife not happy (see the background image on my 'About' page of the letter my 6-year old wrote to ascertain her views on my 'book problem') and I rack my brains to try and remember which of several orders it could be...and it's this:
To be honest, I'd forgotten I'd ordered it, but I was immediately smiling like a child at Christmas, as this is one of those books that instantly makes me stop whatever else I'm reading (sorry Ross Montgomery) and start.
The book is the latest in the series by Scott Mariani following the impressive Ben Hope in his adventures around the world protecting those he loves from a variety of evil adversaries.
It's definitely what I'd call a 'guilty pleasure' book, and I mean absolutely no disrespect in attaching that term to it - if anything, it's a compliment - what more could any writer want than instant attention from a reader? And as a teacher, this is exactly the reaction I aim to elicit from children - to find them THAT book, or THAT author, and inspire such adoration!
I know there are more 'worthy' books I should be reading...literary gems and edu-research texts, moral tales with messages for the world we live in, but this usurps all that for me.....
It's pure escapism...an action-packed, explosion and violence-filled tale with the hero Ben Hope (ex-SAS, of course) once again getting involved in an evil plot of some sort and coming to the rescue. If you love Bond and Bourne, you'll love Hope.
I love the darkness of a John Connolly Charlie Parker, the detailed investigation of Michaele Connelly's Bosch, Pullman's nuanced characters in The Northern Lights series, just as I love the twists and turns in a Harlen Coben that keep me guessing, but this, for me, is right up there alongside these literary giants too. It's pure, unadulterated 'fun' reading. I don't need to think too hard -there's no need - I KNOW, and WANT exactly what will happen, to happen!
I've just realised that I'm actually writing a 'review' before having read the book...but you'll forgive me, right? I know exactly what I'm in for, and I can't wait!!