James HeneghanRezensionen

OK YA historical novel on the Yukon gold rush.

Fieldnotes:
Liverpool, September 1940
SS City of Benares, 17 September 1940

2 New Kids Next Door
1 School Fight
Domestic Violence

Air Raids
Incendiary Bombs
Sheltering Under the Stairs

1 Luxury Liner Transporting Evacuees
Incredible Food

1 Departing Navy Escort
1 Zealous U-Boot
2 Torpedoed Ships
Flooded Life Boats
Rough Seas
Hypothermia

The Short Version:
I admit, I had never heard of the tragedy / war crime that was the sinking of the SS City of Benares - a luxury liner that was transporting 90 evacuee children to the safer shores of Canada. I'd put this at an older child (not quite YA) level in terms of detail and writing style - sort of the same level or a little older as a Dear America / Royal Diary type book.

Most of the book takes place in 1940s Liverpool - before the worst of the Blitz, when 12-year-old boys still desperately want to see the planes, collect bits of shrapnel and the whole thing seems more an adventure / a nuisance than a danger. But when Jamie Heneghan's neighborhood is hard hit, his mother insists that he be evacuated as soon as possible, and his father who works down at the docks hears of some places becoming available for evacuees.

There is a fair amount of information about daily life in the '40s that I found very interesting, though I have to admit that the Scouse slang - particularly repeating "phizog" for face over and over again - wore on me a bit. I enjoyed the descriptions of the ship and the unexpected luxury for these kids. I was appalled (though not surprised) at 12 year olds' hygiene habits.

And then the tragedy foreshadowed by setting sail on a Friday 13 hit and the pages flew past as Jamie and the neighbor children scrambled through the chaos to attempt to board their lifeboats in a storm and make it through the long night before rescue finally arrived.

The historical note at the end (and other sources) indicates that of the 90 evacuees, only 13 survived.½

I received this book via Early Reviewers for free. It was a very quick read and very basic reading/grammar. The premise is a high profile man dies with all signs showing as suicide but a reporter thinks there's more to the story. It was ok, like I said... very simple and basic story.

For the rest of the review, visit my blog at: http://angelofmine1974.livejournal.com/72404.html

This short novel is part of the Rapid Reads series. The intent is for someone to pick the book up in
an airport, and then finish it by the end of their plane trip. The market of the novel seems to be aimed at women. But the writing of this book was dreadful. The book is full of stilted language and cliche.Rich, counsellor murdered by Lady X...small-time journalist gets big break by revealing killer and in process almost gets killed himself. It was a chore to read this book because the prose was so lame. And then
the ending when the killer is revealed is so abrupt, it was as if the author realized that his page allotment had run up and he had to tie up all of the knots of the story. I really don't know who would want to read this book because even though it is short, it is a very boring and poorly written read.I really couldn't find anything redeeming about this book.

I read this book as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers program and, well, I'm not entirely sure how I felt about it. As part of the Rapid Reads" series -- something I didn't quite register when I requested it -- it was definitely a quick read. As such (it is only 130 pages), there really wasn't a lot of depth to it. I actually felt it read sort of like an adult version of an Encyclopedia Brown mystery. For example -- SPOILER ALERT -- the main character, journalist Sebastian Casey, is able to convince the police that the city councilor's death is not a suicide because the note left behind spells his wife' name wrong. Really? The police wouldn't notice that on their own? The murderer would be smart enough to avoid well-concealed security cameras but wouldn't check out the correct spelling?

There were a lot of other issues I had with this book, but I'm not sure how fair it is for me to go into them since I think they're more a function of the convention of a short(ish) story/novella rather than an issue with the writing itself. If this were a side project of an ongoin series than I would say that I was interested enough in the characters and thought the writing was overall good enough for me to pursue the series' full-length novels. But I don't think I'll be on the lookout for other rapid reads.

This book is part of the "Rapid Reads" collection and it is that at only 130 pages. I found it an enjoyable mystery. It takes place in Vancouver, BC. As I am from BC it is always fun to read a book that takes place in areas that I am familiar with. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a light, fast read with some local flavour.

I received a free copy of this book from the LibraryThing's early reviewers program in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a well-crafted murder mystery novella that's easy to read which I guess is the point of the "Rapid Reads" series to which it belongs. The plot is complex enough to keep you interested, but is not overly complicated with too many characters to keep track of. The protagonist is an interesting guy - a not too ambitious reporter for a small weekly newspaper - who lives simply. For example, he goes everywhere by bus because he doesn't own a car and until recently he got his wardrobe at thrift stores. Included in the story is a wry episode involving a security guard -- it's almost comic relief.

There's a sub-plot about his romantic relationship with a woman who just happens to be off in Ireland tending to her dying mother. Nothing turns on this sidebar except to add a dimension to the protagonist's character. (I think there's an earlier book -- and maybe a future one -- where the relationship is more significant).

I read this book in an hour or so which would make it a good choice for a short trip or similar situation.

I received my copy as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer.

There is a couple of "copy edit" errors for those detail-oriented readers to catch.

James Heneghan's style of writing in A Woman Scorned, a Rapid Reads book, is easy to read. This 'whodunit' is about an investigative reporter, Sebastian Casey, who thinks the suicide label for Vancouver city councilor George Hamilton Nash's death doesn't add up. He keeps seeking out information from a large slate of suspects until he finally solves the case. If you are looking for a quick read, this is a book for you. If you like a book with a lot of action and well-developed characters, skip this book. There are too many characters in the story to seamlessly develop background information and still be able to call it a Rapid Reads book. Also, the relationship between Sebastian and Emma, his girlfriend, contributed nothing to the story.

I enjoyed the book. Simple plot but good twists to revealing who was the murderer. I'm more of an action reader. I would recommend it as a good quick read.

I liked the story, however although this was a rapid read, I was a bit disappointed. The story was not an original and I think it had too many characters for a short story. I felt as though the characters needed a bit more history to explain who they were and how they are related to the main character. I can assume that because Casey is a reporter he would know a lot of people, however, it seems as though the characters popped up in the story with no reason. How does Casey’s relationship with Emma, his girlfriend, fit in the story? Why does Casey have rights to act as a homicide detective when he is only an “investigating reporter”? Since when does a reporter agree to omit information from an article he is writing?
I do understand this book might be used to help adults with short attention spans or need development in reading skills and language. However, if I was confused with “the who, what and where,” I can’t imagine how difficult it might be for someone trying to comprehend the story. I love the idea for a fast read; sometimes we all need a short story to read in our hectic lives. Me personally, and I agree with another reviewer) I would not pay for the book; I would simply read it at the bookstore and put it back on the shelf.

This book is part of a series called "Rapid Reads" by the publisher and a rapid read it is. Start to finish about two hours coming in at 130 pages in the copy I had.

I liked the story, although not really original I was still intrigued. However, it really just never comes together. Not much character development (hard to do in such a short book) which wouldn't have been a problem except there were so many characters. I don't won't to give any of the story away in case you do want too read it but what man acts like Casey and what woman speaks like Emma. It's a very strange relationship and we don't get much on it. It's a quick who dunnit and not much else.

This book is a quick read (only 130 pages!) but was entertaining. I'm sure with some imagination and creativity the author could have expanded on character development more as well as relationships between characters to expand the book by 80 to 100 pagers as the core development was there and quite good.. However, the premise of the book was interesting and I did enjoy it. I probably would not purchase this book if it was being sold at the usual paper back price. This was an Early Review book.

George Hamilton Nash, a Vancouver councilor, is found dead and police initially rule the death a suicide; Sebastian Casey, a city hall and police beat reporter, is unconvinced and sets out to investigate. Soon the suicide is deemed a homicide.

This novella is intended for ESL or reluctant/struggling adult readers. As a former English teacher/teacher-librarian, I am familiar with the need for high interest fiction for these readers. The language level is appropriate and the book includes a contemporary Canadian setting and adult themes, all necessary elements for this niche market.

My problem with the book is that Casey seems more like a police investigator than a reporter. People often express reluctance to speak to a reporter, but Casey has no difficulty getting people to talk to him; no one ever turns him away and a business partner of the deceased even says, “’I’m glad you’re here.’” His questioning certainly sounds like that of a police officer; he even ends his interviews by saying, “’If you think of anything, please give me a call.’”

The ineptitude of the police is also problematic. The police immediately conclude the death is a suicide,
an “open-and-shut case . . . [n]o signs of monkey business,” and don’t even check whether the victim was left- or right-handed though that detail is something that bears directly on the case. Casey emerges as the true investigator and provides the police with crucial information. It is doubtful that an investigation into a death, especially that of a prominent community leader, would be conducted so shoddily.

There is an attempt to provide the reader with more than one possible guilty party. In fact, so many characters are introduced that readers may have difficulty remembering them all. Several people have motives, but the identity of the murderer can be quite easily surmised because of rather obvious clues.

I found myself becoming frustrated because of what is missing in the book. Casey’s relationship with Emma lacks development; the entire relationship is reduced to his waiting for her once weekly calls from Ireland. He also seems insufficiently affected by something Emma tells him she has done. Since this book is intended more as a mystery, perhaps it might have been best to omit this romance interest since it really does not add much to the book as a whole.

What I did enjoy is the references to the politics of Vancouver city council. There are references to urban farming, the Olympic Village financial crisis, and the Falun Gong protests outside the Chinese consulate – all actual topics discussed at Vancouver city council meetings. The discussion of backyard chickens is hilarious and the turns of phrase and puns like “ruffled feathers” and cries of “Fowl” and “eggstrordinary” provide developing readers with an interesting aspect of the English language.

This book needs to be approached as a fast read. It lacks the character development I look for in a book, but it fulfills a need – providing interesting reading for adults wanting to improve their literacy skills. If it encourages someone to read for enjoyment, then it belongs in all public/school libraries.

This book is from Raven Books, an imprint of Orca Book Publishers, under the rubric “Rapid Reads”and is classed as Adult Fiction. My copy is an advanced one from uncorrected proofs. The author, James Heneghan, was a fingerprint specialist for the Vancouver Police Department and has won numerous awards for his books for young children. This novel is not for children by any means but follows the Rapid Reader genre put out by Raven Books. This is the second of these books I have read and reviewed and now that I have more experience with them I can understand where the publishers want to go: to those adults who are not highly literate but are interested reading. As a result the grammar is spare and the adjectives strong. Subtle nuances are not in this genre and endings can be seen coming.

At the same time the plot has interesting turns and one can quickly come to enjoy the activities of the protagonist. In A Woman Scorned the hero is Sebastian Casey, a reporter for the West End Clarion. Casey, a transplanted Irishman, is not very ambitious, seeking neither fame and fortune but with a bump of curiosity. Normally assigned to City Hall, Casey finds himself suddenly sent to cover police activities or the “cop shop” as they call it. A fortunate happenstance as a City Councilman is found a suicide but did he truly cut his wrist and bleed to death in his high rise luxury condo? Casey is not so sure and off we go on an adventurous mission as he starts to unravel the skein of facts.

Mixed in with the above Casey also has to cope with the fact that the love of his life, while in Ireland caring for her dying mother, has apparently taken up with a writer there. Oh the vicissitudes.

A good Rapid Reader, I finished it in two hours, and I believe it is spot on for the audience Raven Books intends.

City Councilor and successful business owner, George Hamilton Nash has everything to live for. He has a new life. He decided to leave his wife saying that he needs to do this because he has never lived on his own in his forty-four years. He wants to experience life. He wants complete freedom.

His wife, Moria, accuses him of leaving so he could continue to have his affairs with the city councilor’s.

A month has gone by, when George Hamilton Nash is found dead in his bedroom with a suicide note written to his wife.

It doesn’t make sense to Sebastian Casey, who is an investigating journalist. It wasn’t that long ago when Casey had spoken with Nash. Casey didn’t think that Nash was the suicide type. Casey was going to find out what did happen to Nash.

I enjoyed the story, but at times got confused on who was who. Looking back, I don’t think that it mattered much. The characters that were important were easy to remember.

I felt that too much emphasis was on Vancouver, and what people were wearing.

For a rapid read, it still had mystery and suspense.½

Sebastian Casey is a journalist in Vancouver covering the City Council and the Crime beats. When wealthy city councilor and businessman George Hamilton Nash is found dead with a suicide note that is accepted as the explanation of his death by the police, Casey starts to look into the case. Nash has recently left his wife of twenty-one years and moved in to a high rise condo. His new life gives him more freedom to enjoy life, women when he wants and his own space, alone.

Heneghan fits “A Woman Scorned” into the novella format without the lose of plot detail or character development. His descriptions of Vancouver describe the city well. There is a sense of intrigue which carries the reader through the book.

“Rapid Reads are short novels and non-fiction books for adult readers. They are intended for a diverse audience, including ESL students, reluctant readers and adults who struggle with literacy.” This book would work on all those levels. When I did ESL tutoring it was very difficult to find books of interest for adults. Rapid Reads is a great addition to ESL literature but is by no means limited to it. Anyone who wants a high-interest quick read that is well written would enjoy a Rapid Read. For more information and available titles see www.rapidreads.ca

I received "A Woman Scorned" through Early Reviewers (2013).

This novel belongs to two genres, science fiction & historical fiction. Time travel occurs, taking a modern boy to a difficult time in the past. Thirteen-year-old Tom, an unhappy foster child in Liverpool, falls into a massive open grave and is transported to Ireland in 1847, where he finds himself in the midst of the deadly potato famine. The way he is dressed and his ability to perform life saving CPR on a drowning boy make Tom seem like a supernatural hero to the people in the small Irish town in which he finds himself. Tom uses the skills and knowledge he has as a 20th century teenager to help the struggling Irish family he meets.

This is a fascinating tale of history. I became very interested in the Irish potato famine after reading The Grave, and I researched it by reading another book in our library, Black Potatoes: the story of the great Irish famine, 1845-1850, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.

I think many of my students at both school will enjoy this book. Many will be able to put themselves in the shoes of Nell and will be turning pages to see when or if they get caught. This could be a great read aloud stopping to discuss what is happening and perhaps other ways to deal with the situation the three foster kids find themselves in.

Although this story is not very "deep" and doesn't have any "twists" to it, the plot of the two older foster children robbing banks to make money for their foster parents to keep them is a unique concept for young adult readers. I liked the "good intentions" message of the story but found it unrealistic and a bit over the top.½

Book talk:
Have you ever had a feeling of relief when you hear about something bad that has happened to someone, that feeling of relief that this bad thing didn't happen to you or to someone you love? Then you feel kind of guilty because something bad has happened to someone else, but you rationalize that none of the bad things that happened were your fault so you shouldn't feel guilty?
Charley has felt all this in a big way. When he moved from Ireland to Canada, it was hard enough being the new kid with the Irish accent. And not long after the move, his mom got sick again; only this time she didn't get better. And then at school there were these thugs in his eighth grade class that loved to point out he wasn't quite fitting in. So, yeah, it was a relief when these bullies turned their tormenting on Bennie. And they were brutal, calling Bennie a fag, doing horrible things just under the teachers' radar. But, you know, it made Charley kind of mad at Bennie for not sticking up for himself. And when Bennie tried to be friends with Charley, well, you know how it is. Would you want to risk having those jerks turn on you for being friends with their favorite target? But then the unthinkable happened. Benny committed suicide. And Charley feels unbearable guilt. He could have done something. He could have been friends with Bennie. He could have stood up for Bennie. No, he SHOULD have stood up for Bennie. How will Charley ever be able to live with himself while he lives without his mother?

Yawn. Lame attempt to write an historical fiction that fits into the “new” curriculum including the potato famine in Ireland. This kid just happens to be able to flit back and forth between times in history. Yeah, right. And the family he just happens to visit is his own? And then the football (aka soccer) team captain turns out to be his own father?? And they believe this cockamamie story? Give me a break. Wouldn’t give this book to ANYONE!!! Had trouble finishing it myself!!!

This is one of those rare books that is ridiculously funny without trying too hard. Right from the publisher's warning at the beginning, advising children not to let their parents get their hands on the book because the subject of death upsets them, to the chapter "Concerning Elephants" which consists of one line only, the laughs just keep coming. It's a bit risque for a kids' book, as it concerns a character named Uncle Possum whose negligence leads to the death of a number of the animal characters in The Great Forest, but it's told with such tongue-in-cheek humour that it's impossible to take seriously. And it is accompanied why wonderfully whimsical illustrations. A great story and a beautiful book.

I usually really like Heneghan's books, but this one fell short for me. Four children, who are happily living in a foster home, find out that they will probably have to be separated because of a new social services ruling that says their house has to have two bathrooms because six people live in the house. The renovation will cost $10 000, and their foster parents just don't have the money. So three of the four kids (Laura is just too young to be involved) come up with an idea of how to get the money so they can stay together. I didn't mind the story, but I really hated the way the story ends as I didn't find it very believable. However, someone who doesn't read too much would probably enjoy the fast pace of the book, the length, and the simplicity of the vocabulary.½

As they begin to build a new school, a mass grave is uncovered in Liverpool. Tom Mullin, a 13-year-old who has spent his life moving from foster home to foster home, goes to check it out. HE is drawn in and wakes up 1847 Ireland in the midst of the Potato Famine. He is taken in by a loving family. Now he must decide where and when home truly is.

Other books to try: Both sides of Time, Paper Quake, The Sterkharm Handshake

Other books by this author: Flood, Torn Away