T. A. Williams

I came to this book knowing nothing about it. I’m leaving it unfinished at 50%, knowing I hate pretty much everything about it…

First of all, it’s rare that I read a novel and can tell after 5% that the author is an old white man. Why, you ask? Well, the hero, a retired police detective, never stops lamenting about his estranged and soon-to-be ex-wife while at the same time never stopping to ogle and lust after other women. Always commenting on their bodies, never on anything show more else…

»She had short hair and was wearing no make-up but didn’t need any.«

How very generous of him! The hero also keeps assigning “funny” nicknames to everyone around him, e. g. “»Agatha (aka Marge Simpson)« or the housekeeper/valet whom he calls “Dracula”. Of course, he’d never say that to anyone’s face.

Also, our hero is full of entitled self-pity and oh-so-funny remarks…

»This is justifiably reputed to be one of the greatest works of art in the world but all I can say is that it was probably a very cold day when Michelangelo sculpted the part of the statue’s anatomy that was attracting most of the attention.«

Also, this thing is excessively boring. Together with the turd that came before it, it induced the worst reading slump in my life so far.

The entire novel consists primarily of sexism, clichés and stereotypes and is so full of everything I do not like at all, that I can only actively warn against reading this.

To round this up, here’s all you probably want to know about Williams in his own words…

“Firstly, my name isn't T A. It's Trevor. I write under the androgynous name T A Williams because 65% of books are read by women. In my first book, "What Happens in Devon" one of the (female) characters suggests the imbalance is due to the fact that men spend too much time getting drunk and watching football. I couldn't possibly comment. Ask my wife…”

Amusingly, my wife actually read this in parallel (without either of us knowing that!) and gave up at almost exactly the same point and she had exactly the same things to say about - just in a less friendly way than I do here…

One star out of five for this streaming pile of faeces.

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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam show less

This is a romance story, set in both London and Venice. I LOVE love love Venice, Italy which is why i picked it up. But then I discovered that the MC Penny is also a trained Art Historian - and I was hooked. I adore art history!!! I read this in maybe 3 hours.

Penny lives in London and is currently working as a waitress in a cafe because she is a struggling artist. (NOT an actress, but an artist) She loves painting and she desperately wants to be able to put on her own solo exhibition in a show more gallery.

In chapter 1, Penny rescues a baby from the rail tracks in a tube station, just as a train came thundering into the station. For that heroic act, her face was plastered all over the media.

The next day a woman comes to see her and offers her a mysterious but well paid job but wont give any details.

Since Penny is struggling and the bills are now overdue, she decides to take the offer and see what happens.

It turns out that since her face was plastered all over the media, she is a doppleganger of a rich young lady who is currently in a deep depression (After the death of her father) and is not doing her job of running the family foundation. Instead the girls mother is doing the hob nobbing, but she hates it so she is becoming more upset and angry. And the clients are starting to make noises.

So Penny is plucked out of the crowd to become an actress and pretend to be the young daughter recovering from her depression. After getting a complete makeover, hairstyle, wardrobe and a fat envelope full of cash, Penny gets to become Olivia for a few hours a day, several times a month. This is not a permanent job. Only until Olivia recovers. And Penny is very well paid for doing this too.

A couple of months later, Penny, Olivia and Olivias P.A., who started the whole idea in the first place, all end up in Venice and amazingly enough, they all find their romantic partners there as well. Olivia has slowly being coming out of her shell and is now ready to take over again, and Penny finds the best new job ever. Working for a world famous art historian at a new gallery in her favourite city - Venice!!

The ending was a little abrupt - which is why this is only 4 stars, and not 5 - but otherwise I really enjoyed this very much. It's a light romance, partially set in Venice, one of the most romantic cities on this planet!!! Tons of description of Venice culture and locations. show less

opera, opera-stars, private-investigators, inheritance, labrador-dog, investigations, excop, relationships, relatives, professor, cozy-mystery, situational-humor*****

This is not an unbiased review as I really enjoy this series. And Oscar the black Labrador!
Dan Armstrong retired to Italy after 30 years working the Murder Squad at the Met and being divorced by his wife of many years. He made good friends with local law enforcement where they make use of his Italian/English translation show more abilities, moved there permanently, opened a private investigation firm, and has a permanent girlfriend who is a respected professor and an astute assistant whenever needed.
This time they spend time in Verona staying at an operatic school while looking into the death of a wealthy opera singer with as many detractors as admirers. As always, the characters are well developed and easy to relate to, the mystery plot has sneaky twists, and very distracting red herrings.
I requested and received a temporary review copy from Boldwood Books courtesy of NetGalley. Thank you!
#ArmstrongAndOscarCozyMysteryBk9 show less

Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate is a predetermined course of events or is it? I really enjoyed this book because it had all the ingredients to make me happy, optimistic, encouraged and convinced that ‘in the face of adversity, hope often comes in the form of a friend who reaches out to us’. The story has a formidable opening and engages immediately with the reader as we learn that Captain Jane Reed has been severely wounded, physically and emotionally whilst on active show more duty.
“Weeks in hospital, months of convalescence, Post Traumatic Disorder and a broken heart”
Jane must somehow rebuild her life and that is where the story begins. Her road to recovery takes her to Venice and a job as a PA for a successful if yet reclusive author. We learn that Veronica (Lady Cooper) has not written anything since the death of her husband. Grief in the form of melancholy and depression have taken hold and she has shut herself away from the world. The relationship between them sets off cautiously and gingerly but gradually, the sorrow of both women wanes and they embark on a mutual healing process. The common bond is a love of writing.
When Lady Cooper and her household move to their summer residence, to avoid the intense summer heat and bustle of Venice, we meet other interesting characters. Veronica’s mother-in-law, the rather colourful and eccentric jean-wearing and bike-riding Signora Flora, 95 years young. Two daughters, Diane and Beatrice and a granddaughter called Linda. Jane finds herself interacting with these family members who express kindness, care, concern, nurture and attention. Another casualty of war is Veronica’s son David. After a traumatic event while he was in the army, he too has become a loner and hides himself away at their country villa. Two damaged souls trying to understand and accept that the events which caused their trauma have passed and the worst is over but to move forward means opening the heart. For me, one of the messages is that tragedy does not define you, it shapes you. Trauma does not disqualify anyone from love but David doesn’t know how to be around people and they don’t know how to be around him. He needs someone with empathy and I will leave it to the reader to discover whether Jane is that person!

Why I recommend this book
, or Venice's near neighbour which was the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Gondoliers serenade their clients as they punt along the water. Wandering the cosy, cobbled lanes of Venice is one of the pleasures of a visit to this beguiling city and the shimmer of the water at the end of an alley or far corner of a square is as enticing a sight as you’re likely to behold anywhere on earth. How could romance not blossom here? The author’s effortless description of places is expertly and artistically done. Jane’s first glimpse of Venice.
“It was a scene that Jane had seen many times in books and on the TV. An unforgettable assortment of light cream-coloured stone buildings whose intricate maze of exotic Byzantine arches gave them an almost lacework appearance”
There is a lightness to the flow and way of writing. It is imaginative and reflective. This is Jane’s story so we are reading it from her point of view. The author, TA Williams, whom I interviewed some months ago is rather amused that some of his readers think the author must be female. Strangely, this is utterly plausible, Female writing is considered to be more ‘involved’ as it reflects a deeper interaction of the writer with the readers. Indeed, there are some wonderful threads running through the story which add a touch of glamour and sophistication such as Lady Cooper’s collection of Hollywood iconic dresses. Jane wears an evening dress which once belonged to Ingrid Bergman at a charity auction at Venice Casino.
“Had this dress really belonged to the star of Casablanca? It was a delicate off-white colour, quite sheer and unmistakeably pure silk. It was as light as a feather and shimmered in the light of a chandelier”
A comforting and enjoyable read. TA Williams uses escapism as a literary device to the best possible effect!
“She took a deep breath and hoped for the best. This job would be a chance in a million to work alongside a world-famous author and experience life in the unique surroundings of a seventeenth-century palazzo alongside the Grand Canal” show less