THE SURFACING by Terrance Coffey @terry_coffey #RBRT

 4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Body snatchers, mind control, a supernatural race, in normal situations in small-town America

What struck me all the way through this book is that it would make a terrific Netflix series of the Stranger Things kind; I notice that the author is also a screenwriter, so I wondered if he'd imagined it in this vein as it was being written.

I like books set in small-town America; this takes place in Lynch, Kentucky and Appalachia, Virginia.  In each close community, it becomes increasingly apparent that some people are not who they claim to be.  Others are possessed of superhuman powers, while mysterious chasms appear in the land, and curious sightings are recorded.  People disappear, or change personality overnight.

The story is written from many third person points of view; again, this would have worked if visual, when the actors themselves provide the characterisation, but when they're just names on a page it's not so easy to keep track of them all.  Some, like alcoholic mine worker Clay and his wife Tara, were fully three dimensional, so I could remember who they were, but I had trouble with others; I kept starting a new chapter and thinking, "Who's this fella, again?"  Aside from this, it was well-written and nicely paced, with the mystery of what exactly was going on unfurling slowly, not fully revealed until half-way through.  I appreciated this, as a good plot (which The Surfacing undoubtedly has) is nothing without skilled pacing.

Nice piece of fantasy/paranormal type scifi, for those who love the genre.

The Cotillion Brigade by Glen Craney #RBRT

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

On BookBub

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: 'A novel of the Civil War and the most famous female militia in American history'

This novel is quite an achievement, and I so appreciated how much it taught me about the American Civil War, a subject about which I knew very little before.  

The Cotillion Brigade tells a fictional version of the true story of the Nancy Hart Rifles of Georgia, begun by former debutante Nancy Colquitt Hill, who lived on a plantation.  Her chapters alternate between those of Hugh LaGrange from Wisconsin, on the side of the Abolitionists; he and his men's aim is, initially, to make sure that the territory of Kansas remains a free state when it joins the union.

The novel is intricately researched, and the characters are clearly defined.  I liked the way in which the author wrote the characters authentically, using (some of the) the dialogue they would have used at the time, rather than sugar-coat it too much, so as not to offend the sensitive ears of the 21st century.  He has walked a successful middle line between the two possible extremes.

Nancy was an interesting character from the start; she dived into her new role with the same gusto and impulsiveness that she displayed when all she had to think about was her standing in society, and her love life.  Hugh's side of the story contains all the gritty atmosphere you would expect, and I felt the author had really got into the heads of the people of the time.

My only complaint is the length - I think it could have been chopped down by 20% to gee up the momentum a little.  The first third sets up the lives of Hugh and Nancy in great detail; I thought this, in particular, could have been edited down, though I did love Nancy's wrangles with her rival in love!  As the story progresses into the war itself, and the conditions under which the army fought, the pace did ramp up somewhat.

At the end is a most fascinating author's note, telling what happened to the people after the end of the book - and, best of all, photographs of the characters within and some of the actual places mentioned.  If you have a particular interest in the American Civil War, I would recommend buying this straight away!  As it is, I'm interested in reading another of his books, either The Yanks are Starving (set in the Depression), or The Spider and The Stone set in 14th century Scotland.

TRIBE OF DAUGHTERS by Kate L Mary @kmary0622

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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On BookBub

How I discovered this book: in my Kindle library; I've read lots of this author's books before, and downloaded this some time ago.

In a Nutshell: In a post-apocalyptic world, a village exists up a mountain which is ruled by women

The novel is set 70 years after a plague wiped out most of the population, and takes place in a strange village up a mountainside - a matriarchal society, in which the men do as they're told, and women choose husbands to make more daughters from the 'yieldlings' within the village (men who have grown up there), or 'foundlings' - men from outside, who are kidnapped.

The story starts when Jameson is abducted along with 4 other members of a working party.  He is chosen as a husband by Wilderness, the daughter of the village Elder.  The story is told in the alternate POV chapters of Jameson and Wilderness.

When I first started reading this, I thought, oh, this is fun - a society in which women make men feel as unimportant as the men of the past used to make women feel; some of the parallels amused me, as I saw the foundlings' outrage about aspects of their new lives that the women of history put up with, without question, for hundreds of years.  But as the story when on, I saw how sinister it was, and how it was no better than any patriarchal society of the past.  Really, it's a story about control, and its evils.  Jameson decides to stick with it, as his life back in the post-apocalyptic city wasn't so great, either, and he tries to teach Wilderness that this way of living is far from utopian.

I liked the story a lot; it's original, and Kate Mary's books are always so readable.  At first I was a bit unsure about aspects of the world left behind, which is only talked about in vague retrospect, though we do see more evidence later, and of course all post-apocalyptic writers see the effects of disaster differently; no one knows how it actually would be.  I was also unsure about the way the villagers talked - in just 70 years they had gone back to talking like something out of a Jane Austen novel, at times, saying things like 'Good morrow' to each other, but later on I understood that this was all part of the initial control by the woman who started the community; when Wilderness meets men from the 'outside', she thinks how strange it is that they 'run their words together'.

Yes, it's good.  Recommended!

MAHONEY by Andrew Joyce @huckfinn76

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell:  Family saga about three Mahoney men, from Ireland's Great Famine of 1846, to the 1930s.

I adore family sagas through the generations, and have a great interest in American history of the last two hundred years, so I leapt on this book when I saw it on the review team list.

The book is split into three sections: Devin, the 19 year old from Ireland eager to make his fortune in America, his son, Dillon, who sets out to travel west, and David, the privileged son of Dillon, whose fortunes take a different turn during the Depression. 

I'll start by saying that a great strength of this book is the dialogue, which never falters in its quality, and is the main reason why the characterisation is so good.  I was also most impressed by the research that had gone into the book; it is clear, throughout, that Mr Joyce has a great understanding of the peoples of each time and place in the novel.

I adored the first part, about Devin; I looked forward to getting back to it each time I had to put it down.  Devin's route to America is depicted so colourfully that I was completely engrossed.  I was disappointed when his section ended; I wanted to carry on reading about him.  I liked the next part, about Dillon's adventures in 'Wild West' Wyoming, but, although the book continued to be well-written, admirably researched, and flowed so well, I was less convinced by Dillon as a character.  

My interested was piqued again by the start of David's section - I loved reading about the spoilt, self-centred young man who cared nothing for his family or the struggles lived through by his father and grandfather.  His first experiences as the Depression hit kept me engrossed, too, but after he changed his way of thinking, I became less convinced by him.  I think what I was not so keen on was the way in which Dillon and David kept bumping into strangers, on the road and in bars, and everywhere else, who offered them the chance to change their lives for the better.  Devin's life seemed more realistic, whereas Dillon and David appeared to fall into one piece of great luck after another.  I was also less keen on David's section because so much of it was dialogue-led, which is not a preference of mine; this is not a criticism, just a personal preference.

Despite the aspects about which I wasn't so sure, it's a most entertaining book.  I think it has real value as a fictional history of America the period between 1846 - the 1930s, even if I felt some of it was rushed through; there is a lot of material for one novel.  Mr Joyce can certainly write; I have just downloaded another of his books, Resolution.  I was also impressed by how he wrote Devin and David in the third person, but Dillon in the first; this was absolutely the right choice, and a clever one.

I'd most certainly recommend this novel for lovers of family sagas through the ages, particularly if you have an interest in American history.

MONKEY TEMPLE by Peter Gelfan @GelfanP #RBRT

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Friends, wives and lovers and the complex dynamics of the relationships between them. Jules, a freelance editor, is jolted out of sliding unresistingly into old age by best buddy Ralston, and memories of the 1960s and 1970s.  Told in Jules' first person POV.

An unusual and entertaining book, mostly based around a short period during the twilight years of protagonist Jules, his wife, Ritz, and their mixed bunch of ageing hippie friends from the old days—mostly the complicated and high-maintenance Ralston, who is determined not to see Jules go gently into that good, comfortable retirement.  Mostly, it's about Jules' relationship with Ralston.

Deciding that the time has come to leave New York, he and Ralston go on a road trip to look for a house for Jules and Ritz.  When they find a possibility, Ralston has plans for it other than simply being his friends' last home.

Interspersed with present events are Jules's memories of their past, chaotic life; the travelling, the experiences and the sex, drugs and rock and roll of the 1960s and 70s.  For this reason I'd say it would be appreciated mostly by the over fifty-fives, those who have experienced the backpacking type of travelling or are familiar with, shall we say, a more erratic lifestyle; I think some of the references might go over the heads of anyone who ticks none of those boxes.  Maybe it's a book about old hippies for old hippies.

Much of the narrative and dialogue is centred around the subject of the characters' ageing processes, rubbish that is talked about 'alternative' philosophies, and also Jules's observations about the writing world.  I found myself smiling a lot, and highlighting passages I agreed with or enjoyed.  Alas, I forgot to highlight many, but here are a few.

(about Jules's client, who is writing novel based on her life)
'Problem is," I said, 'her life's not a story.'
...'Everyone's life is a story.'
'No it isn't.  Things happen, but that doesn't make it a story.'

'You can learn something by studying its opposite.  Like, who the hell knows how to be happy?  So instead, think about what makes you unhappy, and avoid it.'

'Doesn't it ever occur to you that ... when you don't like someone, it's because there's something very wrong with them?'
'Of course...and then I try to distinguish the subjective from the objective'.
'What a bunch of pseudo-intellectual bullshit. Nothing's objective...it's just a cop-out'

'The truth hit me.  The journey to transcend ego is an ego trip' 

Yes, I enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend.  My only criticisms are practical ones; at £6.13/$7.97 for the Kindle version it's priced a bit high for the market, and the rather dull cover doesn't do the book justice, or give any indication that this is a dryly amusing, entertaining and poignant story about artists, writers and other colourful people who have spent their lives living and thinking outside the box.  I'd have chosen a sunset streaked road with a back view of Jules and Ralston driving over the horizon, corny though that may be—or a few of them sitting on the dilapidated porch of the Monkey Temple.

DESPERATE PASSAGE by Ethan Rarick

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was recommended in the acknowledgements in The Hunger by Alma Katsu, as one of the books she had used for her research.

In a Nutshell: Non-fiction - account of the Donner Party's fatal crossing of American by wagon train, in 1846/7.

I was gripped by this book all the way through.  It tells the story of a party of pioneers travelling from Illinois to California in 1846, to start a new life.  But they made 3 fatal mistakes: they set off too late, they travelled too slowly, and, instead of taking the traditional route up into Oregon and down into California, they took a short cut, the 'Hastings Cut-Off', little knowing that Lansford Hastings, who was trying to lure more Americans into Mexico-owned California, had never actually tested the route himself.  Somewhere between a third and a half of the pioneers perished en route.

The account is fascinating on so many levels: Rarick gives a great insight into the characters of the travellers, and I actually found it easier to follow the large cast in this non-fiction account than in the novel.  I like that he dispelled many of the myths about the relationship between the travellers and the native Americans; for the most part, the latter were helpful, and friendly.  

The already difficult journey becomes tragic in the extreme once the party realises that they have hit the mountains at the onset of winter; a large section of the book is concerned with this part of the journey, with all its horrors; starvation, divisions in the group, failed attempts to cross the high peaks, many deaths, and cannibalism. Rarick has given all viewpoints, taken from those who survived it, the rescuers, and the accounts in the newspapers afterwards.  The last part of the book is spent discussing what was true, what was exaggerated, and the downright lies that were conjured up for the purpose of selling books and newspapers.  Also, he tells what happened to the survivors after their ordeal was over.  

Most tragic of all is the thought that within some of the survivors' lifetimes, new technology would have made their crossing so much easier, saving many lives. 

A terrific book that I recommend most highly.

THE HUNGER by Alma Katsu

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've read a few reviews of it on book blogs, via Twitter.

In a Nutshell: Fiction taken from fact - pioneers crossing America heading for California, in 1846, slowly realise that a great danger is walking alongside....

I didn't realise until I read the author's notes at the back that this is based on a true story; I wish I had known.

The atmosphere in this book is a such a winner, and the naïveté of the families who set out to travel through uncharted territory, from Illinois to California, is quite pitiful; they fancy they are setting out a great adventure, little understanding the size of America, the range of temperatures and terrains, the dangers they might face when trying to transport their families and entire homes through completely wild lands.

Main characters feature: Stanton, a lone traveller with a troubled past; Bryant, a man fascinated with the Native American culture; Tamsen, a dissatisfied trophy wife; Reed, a pompous former shop owner; Elitha, a young woman who hears voices, the sinister Keseberg, whose back story is flesh-crawlingly gruesome, and there are points of view from various others, too....

...in fact, there are so many characters that I sometimes forgot who was who, but the main ones were well-drawn enough for them to stand out, and I realised after a while that it wasn't absolutely essential to remember everything about a character, just because he or she had a name.

The party have started out too late in the season, and face many problems on the way, as, against advice, they take a route that is supposed to shave many miles off the journey, which becomes increasingly arduous ... and, waiting in the wings, is another danger.

I did enjoy this book, a lot, though I thought it could have done without the supernatural aspect, which didn't really work for me, and seemed superfluous, turning the book into a genre it needn't have been; the darkness of man himself was enough to add all the terror the story required.  However, this side of it is not too over-played, and I enjoyed it enough to buy a book suggested in the notes at the back - an account of the actual story, which Katsu used in her research: Desperate Passage by Ethan Rarick.

I felt that some of the individual stories could have been rounded off more (I was left not knowing exactly who had died and who hadn't, or maybe I just couldn't remember, because the dramatis personae was so extensive), but on the whole the ending was satisfactory - I do most certainly recommend, and look forward to reading the book mentioned above.

(note 7/5/19: Nearly finished Desperate Passage, which I highly recommend.  Had I read it first, though, I don't think I would have enjoyed The Hunger as much as I did; I would have been too irritated by the way Katsu changed the story and characters, and gave so little story space to what was actually the longest and most horrifying part of the journey.  To read The Hunger just as fiction, is probably better.)

STORYTELLERS by Bjørn Larssen @bjornlarssen #RBRT

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member, but I'd been interested in it since seeing the author talking about it on Twitter, so I bought a copy when it came out, anyway.

In a Nutshell: Icelandic history set in the 1920s, with moments of subtle humour.

I loved this book - it was a delight to read, an unusual debut novel by a writer with much talent.

The story tells of village blacksmith Gunnar, who is (at first glance) quite happy living in his shack with his dog, Ragnar, and his 'medicine' (alcohol).  One night, he takes in a climber with a broken ankle, Sigurd; with reluctance, Gunnar agrees to take care of him until he can walk again.  From the outset, it is clear that there is much mystery surrounding the stranger.

Meanwhile, Gunnar's life is picked apart by his doctor, the overbearing Brynhildur who wants to marry him, and the Conservative Women of Iceland who demand that he mend his heathen ways.  I loved these women - the Conservative Women number just two; they and Brynhildur were a joy to read.  The gossip and atmosphere of small village life reminded me of a Jane Austen novel, amusingly executed as it is.

This is actually a story within a story - the Icelandic winters are long and dark, and storytelling is a much loved pastime.  Threaded through Gunnar's own tale is another, told to him in instalments by Sigurd, about love, death and a feud between brothers.  Both stories are so compelling.

 
As we learn more about Gunnar, we discover the demons that lurk within, that he tries to banish with the moonshine that he makes in his shack.  

The atmosphere of the place and time is perfectly drawn, the characterisation is excellent, the dialogue authentic and amusing.  The ending is surprising, as the link between the stories is uncovered.  In these days when so many novels are jam-packed with events from start to finish, I enjoyed the slower pace of Storytellers; it has such charm that I still found it to be a 'page-turner', was reluctant to leave it when I had to, and sad to finish it.

The quality of the writing and storytelling is most definitely worthy of 5*.  When I read the book it contained a few editorial errors; Americanisms and phrases/words too modern for the time, but I believe these have now been remedied.  English is not the author's first language, and his command of its subtleties is, on the whole, outstanding, so I don't want to penalise him for that which should have been picked up by editors and proofreaders.

This a work of literary art that I recommend most highly; Bjørn Larssen is, indeed, an Icelandic storyteller.

Bjørn Larssen writes about Iceland 99 years ago 

Author Bio:

Bjørn Larssen - writer, blacksmith, mathematician, graphic designer, model (not all at the same time) was made in Poland. He is mostly located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, except for his heart which he lost in Iceland. Born in 1977, he self-published his first graphic novel at the age of seven in a limited edition of one. Since then his short stories and essays were published in Rita Baum Art Magazine, Writer Unboxed, Inaczej Magazine, Edurada.pl, Homiki.pl, and Holandia Expat Magazine. He is a member of Alliance of Independent Authors and Writer Unboxed.

Bjørn used to speak eight languages (currently down to two and a half). His hobbies include sitting by open fires, dressing like an extra from Vikings, installing operating systems, and dreaming about living in a log cabin in the north of Iceland, even though he hates being cold. He has only met an elf once. So far.

RIDING SHOTGUN and other American Cruelties by Andy Rausch

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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How I discovered this book:  it was submitted to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member. 

Genre: crime, murder, dark humour

This is a collection of three novellas, and I enjoyed them all.  I really liked Andy Rausch's writing style, it's right up my street; very current, intelligently witty, sharp and observant.  

The first one is Easy-Peezy, set in 1920/30s America, about Emmet Dalton, a former bank robber of the late 19th century who has hung up his boots and holster, but longs to show young guns like John Dillinger how it's done.  He teams up with a couple of others from the same era and sets off for one last crime spree.  On its own, I'd have given this 4*.

The second, Riding Shotgun, is about a writer who find himself involved in a life of crime after his wife is killed.  I liked this one slightly less, as at times 'darkly humorous' crossed the border into 'just daft', although it was still well-written.  3*.  

The last story, $crilla, is easily the best, I loved it.  Almost totally dialogue, and hilarious, easily 5*.  Two unsuccessful gangsta rappers hatch a plot to extort money from their reluctant producer.  

The language, particularly in the last one, would not suit anyone who finds authentic street talk offensive; if you don't, and can appreciate how well-observed it is, you'll love it.  I felt the influence of certain TV shows and films, throughout, even in some specific lines, but I quite liked that about it.  It's a good collection, professionally presented, and worth getting for the last one alone.

WHISPERS IN THE ALDERS by H A Callum @HA_Callum #RBRT #TuesdayBookBlog

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  It was submitted to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.  Interestingly, I didn't initially choose it as the genre and blurb didn't particularly appeal, but then I got talking to the author on Twitter (about something else entirely) and he asked me if I would take a review copy.  I'm glad I did.

Lesson for readers: don't bypass books just because they don't immediately appeal; you never know what gems you might find behind that quiet cover.
Lesson for writers: talk to people on social media!

Whispers in the Alders is set in the small east US town of Alder Ferry, where young teenagers Aubrey (female) and Tommy both suffer loveless, cold childhoods. Aubrey's family are wealthy, whereas Tommy's are poorer, and his life is quite brutal.  They meet in a wooded area behind Aubrey's family home, amongst the alders, a place that both of them feel is their only home.  This is described by the author as an 'alder stand', not a term with which I am familiar, so I looked up some pictures on DuckDuckGo images to make sure it was as I imagined it!

The book starts in the present, with Aubrey in Portland, Maine, as an adult; she has left her family and the prejudices of the small town long behind.  It then goes back to her early teens, and the loneliness she feels.  The books spans the period of this time until early adulthood, and follows the tragedies of her and Tommy's lives.

I'd class this book as literary fiction, as well as a contemporary 'coming of age' story.  Much of the writing is beautiful; I read that Mr Callum is a poet, too, and this is evident, but it's not wordy for the sake of it.  It's quite a dense sort of novel, with much description, and on occasion I felt it could have been trimmed down just a little, but that's just personal preference, and I certainly appreciated every line.  The plot itself develops slowly, with some shocking outcomes (child abuse and homophobia, but nothing graphic), and it's perfectly plotted.  It's a heartrending, lonely sort of book; I longed for Aubrey and Tommy to find happiness.

A hidden gem by an extremely talented writer, very American (which I liked), and one I definitely recommend ~ I hope some other members of Rosie's team pick it up, or that anyone who reads this takes the plunge and clicks 'buy'!

THE BURIED FEW by M J Lau

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

The Buried Few is set in 2030, when wars have left many children in America without parents.  Adults can be 'Creators', ie, give birth to children, which means being watched at all times, or 'Guardians': adoptive parents.  There are many rules governing the status of the parent and their suitability.  Unclaimed children face an uncertain future, to be shipped off to other countries where they may be adopted, or drift from orphanage to orphanage until adulthood.  

Daniel, a computer security specialist, has a broken relationship with Renee, as there are stumbling blocks about their parental future.  He finds an abandoned baby he wants to keep as his own, which sets the couple down a difficult path as they come up against Gozzum, a government agent who has his own issues after a turbulent childhood.

There was much I liked about this book, but I think it needs the hand of an experienced editor.  The beginning was the weakest area and seemed disjointed; if I hadn't been reading it for the purpose of reviewing, I'd have abandoned it, which would have been a shame, because I soon began to like it much more.  It starts with a long prologue told from the point of view of Raina, a small child, containing scenes from her imaginary world that had no bearing on the actual plot; to me, this was as pointless as detailed dream sequences, and not the stuff of which reader-hooking openings are made.  Then the novel proper begins: we meet Daniel.  We see him meeting Renee, then finding the abandoned baby.  I found the first 15% confusing, with little explanation, so I could only guess at what was going on, though I enjoyed some excellent character cameos (feedback for author: Selah and J!).

The 'world-building' continued to be sketchy, and it took until at least 30% before I was clear about the whole parent-child situation (and even then I wasn't quite sure).  However, so much of the characterisation is extremely good, the dialogue is excellent, for the most part, and some passages I loved (feedback for author: the 'typical tale of heartbreak.  Boy meets girl at flash mob', etc, and the backstory about Gozzum's father).  There are many beautifully descriptive sentences, but maybe too many.  Sometimes, they held up the plot.

New characters are brought in at regular intervals, and there was a lot to keep in my head as it was not clear at first how they all linked up.  I loved the story of Ten, a Native American, and I particularly liked M J Lau's ideas about the fate of her people.  There are some good observations later on about how the government uses the internet to collect data about the population, how/why the population give it up willingly, and that if they have enough opportunity to 'vent' on social media, they are less likely to actually do anything about social injustices; so, so right, and enough said.  Suffice to say that the author and I are singing from the same hymn sheet 😉.

To sum up: there is no doubt that M J Lau can write, but I think he needs to learn when less can be more.  My opinion is that this is a good novel that could have been much better; it's all there, it just needs restructuring.

WARNINGS UNHEEDED by Andy Brown

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book:  It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Review Team, of which I am a member.

I'll start by saying that this book is a terrific achievement by the author.  The painstaking and intricate work that has clearly gone into it is to be admired, as is its purpose.

The 'warnings unheeded' of the title refer to two mass-casualty accidents that occurred within days of each other on a US air base. "Using the words of the people who experienced the tragedies, the book provides an in-depth look at the before, during and after of a preventable “active shooter” incident and an avoidable fatal plane crash."  A shooter terrorised the base hospital, and, in a parallel account, a veteran pilot, known for his reckless flying, put the lives of both his crew and spectators at risk.

Andy Brown was the hero who ended the hospital killing spree, and intersperses chapters about the build up of fears about Mellberg and Holland with information about his own life and what led him to the position by which he was able to act as he did.  He also writes about the aftermath of the shootings, and PTSD.

I found shooter Mellberg's story the most interesting, and read almost open-mouthed that the people who could take action did not appear to see that he was a tragedy waiting to happen, with the professionals who predicted this swamped by bureaucracy.  Most chilling was Dr Brigham's instruction to his wife to keep firearms in the house, because he recognised the sort of patient who would see those who helped him as friends, though could just as easily turn on them.  Although non-fiction, the character of Mellberg, in particular, came across most clearly.  The book is well-written throughout, and the amount of planning that has gone into it is apparent.  For a non-military person (with no particular interest in or experience of the military), I thought that the factual detail was clear and well-explained, though sometimes too detailed, adding facts (and many initials, military terms and the explanations of) that were perhaps not necessary to the story for a layman's point of view, and made one glaze over a little.  However, for its target audience, I imagine such detail will be admired.

For that target audience, I would say that this should probably be required reading.