Social Blast ~ Tiger by Polly Clark

Riverrun
2 May 2019

My thanks to the publishers and Ana and Katya for the invitation to be part of this social media blast

A mesmerising and epic literary novel set between the wilds of Siberia and the UK about mothers, daughters and the wild side of female nature, from the prize-winning author of Larchfield

Frieda is a primatologist, sensitively attuned to her research of animal behaviour. A violent attack shatters her world and, battling addiction and her fears, she must start afresh at Torbet Zoo as they prepare to welcome their new ward: a magnificent Siberian tiger. 

Tomas is a Russian conservationist, steward of one of the world’s harshest environments, who fears that the natural order of the forest has been toppled. The King tiger has been killed by poachers, and a spectacular tigress now prowls his vast territory. 

In the freezing winter, when all living things compete ruthlessly for survival, the tiger’s path crosses with a native mother and daughter eking out a defiant but perilous existence in the snow-shrouded wilderness. To control her domain, the Undeghe people tell tales of how the tiger must punish every infraction. They bear grudges. They never forget. They will kill those who try and fail to kill them. 

The fourth and final narrative takes the reader deep into the world of the tiger herself. A magnificently immersive reading experience, Tiger plunges the reader into one of the world’s last surviving wild places with blistering authenticity.

Tiger is a bewitching novel that brings together three humans and a tiger (and - soon - legions of enchanted readers) in the snow-smothered Siberian forest. 

My thoughts..

There's such a stark beauty to Tiger, that at times the narrative quite took my breath away, not just because it gets right into the very core of those who survive in the ice of the Siberian wilderness, where this magnificent creature calls home, but also because of the perceptive interpretation of those who are so passionate about animal conservation, to the exclusion of their own safety.

The story follows three characters, Frieda, is a primatologist, who has been damaged by an incident in her past and yet, her unique ability to communicate with animals, will be her salvation. Tomas is a Russian conservationist who coexists with the Siberian tiger in a tough environment which fairly crackles with ice and frost. Edit is an Udeghe huntress whose ability to eke out an existence in an area where the majestic tiger rules supreme makes for absolutely compelling reading.

The author writes beautifully about something she feels so passionate about and her impeccable research into the Siberian tiger truly brings this creature to life in a way that most of us will never get to witness. Getting into the mind-set of this magnificent animal is not an easy task and yet, the chapters which track the bold savagery, and the utter vulnerability, of this big cat is really quite special. Tiger is divided into sections, each one blending quite seamlessly, and yet, they each have a very different atmosphere and bring something completely unique to the story, so that I always felt like I was being given a privileged glimpse into a secretive world.

I devoured Tiger in a couple of reading sessions because I couldn’t put the book down, becoming so engrossed in the story that when I looked up from the page it took me a while to realise that I wasn’t still deep in the freezing temperatures of the snow forests of the Russian Taiga.

About the Author 

Photo credit : Murdo McLeod

Polly Clark was born in Toronto and lives in Helensburgh on Scotland’s West Coast and on a houseboat in London. Her four poetry collections have between them won the Eric Gregory Award, been shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize and the Michael Marks Awards, and selected twice as one of the Poetry Book Society’s books of the year. Her first novel Larchfield won the MsLexia Novel Prize and was published in 2017 to critical acclaim. 

Polly has worked as a groom for showjumpers, a volunteer ranger for the Wildfowl Trust and as a zookeeper at Edinburgh Zoo. Whilst at the zoo, she became fascinated by animals that retain their true wildness even in captivity, the greatest of these being the tiger.

Website

Twitter @mspollyclark #TigerBook

@anabooks

@katyaellis_

@riverrunbook

#TigerBook

Live Twitter Q&A with Polly Clark

7th May - 8:00 pm @riverrunbooks

Blog Tour ~ Dan Knew by F J Curlew

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host today's stop on the Dan Knew Blog Tour 

What's the story all about 

A Ukrainian street dog is rescued from certain death by an expat family. As he travels to new countries with them a darkness grows and he finds himself narrating more than just his story. More than a dog story. Ultimately it's a story of escape and survival but maybe not his.

The world through Wee Dan's eyes is told in a voice that will stay with you long after you turn that last page.

The animals in this book are all real, as are their stories. The people's names have been changed to protect their privacy. Fact or fiction? Well, dogs can't talk, can they?

My thoughts about it...

This is a very poignant story about a rather special little dog called Dan who was rescued from the streets of Ukraine and taken on an unforgettable journey. Told from Dan's perspective, we get a unique insight into his thoughts and feelings, and of his awareness, and sometimes bewilderment, of what is going on in the world of his 'mum' and her family. That he is very much part of a family is obvious in the way that Dan interacts, both with the humans and other animals who form his world.

Dan Knew is a very emotional story which is told from a canine perspective in an entirely believable and very readable way. From the start we get to know the world that Dan inhabits, his frequent journeys from country to country, his wariness of machines, his distrust of vets and of his ongoing relationship with the other dogs in the family, particularly,Ceilidh.

The overwhelming love that the author has for Dan is obvious in every well written word of this lovely story, which allows Dan's unique voice to be heard and understood in  a very special way.



More about the Author can be found on her website 

Follow on Twitter @fjcurlew

Fiona dropped out of school aged 15, because being the consummate rebel, she hated it! After becoming a single parent she decided to return to education, graduating in 1996 with an honours degree in primary education. Ah, the irony!

As soon as she graduated she packed everything she owned into her Renault 11, including her daughter, two dogs and a cat, and headed off to Estonia to become an international school teacher. After fifteen years of teaching, predominantly in Eastern Europe, she returned to the UK .

She now lives on the east coast of Scotland with two Scottish rescue dogs and a disgruntled Portuguese cat.

Fiona is the author of two books:

To Retribution – A love story/political thriller set in times of turmoil.

Dan Knew – A fictionalised account of her travels told through the eyes of Dan, her rescued Ukrainian street dog.

My thanks to the author for inviting Jaffareadstoo to be part of this blog tour and for sharing her book with me.

~***~

Summer Read ~ Summer at Hope Meadows by Lucy Daniels

Hodder
2017

What's it all about...

Based on the globally bestselling Animal Ark series. 

Newly-qualified vet Mandy Hope is leaving Leeds - and her fiancé Simon - to return to the Yorkshire village she grew up in. There, she will help out in her parents' surgery whilst they're short-staffed. Mandy's life has always revolved around her work with rescued animals, and Welford offers an opportunity to work with creatures of all sizes, from hedgehogs and puppies to farm stock and even wild deer.

But rural Yorkshire is very different to the hustle and bustle of a big city. Mandy must work hard to be accepted by the close-knit village community, and convince them of her abilities as a vet - especially Jimmy Marsh, the gruff owner of the local Outward Bound business, with whom she just can't seem to get along.

When some long-neglected animals are discovered in a critical state on a nearby farm, Mandy is determined to prove herself as a confident and fearless vet. When it comes to protecting animals in need, she's prepared to do whatever it takes..

What did I think about it ...

As a young teenager I was fascinated by the James Herriot series on TV and went on to read some of James Herriot's books which delightfully recall his lively adventures as a young vet in Yorkshire.

Summer at Hope Meadows follows this tradition and gives us a lovely story of what it's like to be working with animals and travelling around the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. I have to admit to not being familiar with the Animal Ark series of children's books, so I come to this new adult series with no preconceptions of what I want the characters to be like.

I think that the author has done a great job of bringing the stories up to date and felt completely at ease with the way the story unfolded. I enjoyed getting to know newly qualified vet, Mandy Hope, as she returns to the small Yorkshire village of her childhood. But leaving behind a progressive city veterinary practice and returning to rural work is both difficult and challenging for Mandy, especially as her boyfriend, Simon, isn't very supportive.

I really enjoyed this lovely romp through the glorious Yorkshire countryside and enjoyed reading of the challenges that Amanda faced as she set about helping her parents, both vets, who are struggling to cope with the demands of their aptly named, Animal Ark veterinary business. I thought that the medical aspects of the story were particularly well done, which reflects on the author's own experiences as a qualified vet herself.

I especially loved the interaction between Mandy and her best friend, James, who is facing heartache of a very different kind and of course, the animals themselves tug away at your heartstrings, especially the gentle shire horse, Bill and the damaged collie, Sky.

Summer at Hope Meadows is a really lovely summer read and the start of a promising new series of books which I am sure will delight readers.

Best Read with...Tea and scones from James' tea shop in York

About the Author

Lucy Daniels is the collective name for the writing team that created the bestselling children's book series Animal Ark. Hope Meadows is a brand new Lucy Daniels series for adult readers, featuring the characters and locations that were so beloved of the original series.

This new title, Summer at Hope Meadows has been written by a new author called Sarah McGurk who has the advantage of being passionate about the animal ark series and also a fully qualified vet.

My thank to Jenni  and the team at Hodder for my review copy of Summer at Hope Meadows

~***~

Review ~ Christmas at the Cat Cafe by Melissa Daley

Macmillan
2016

The blurb..

Christmas at the Cat Cafe is the wonderfully festive sequel to Melissa Daley's uplifting tale, Molly and the Cat Cafe.

The Costwolds' town of Stourton-on-the-Hill has its very own cat café. Resident cat Molly, and her kittens, live here in feline paradise, while owner Debbie serves the locals home-made goodies. But even in the most idyllic surroundings, things don't always go to plan . . .

When Debbie's heartbroken sister Linda arrives at the café, Debbie insists she move in. But Linda is not alone, and the cats are devastated with the arrival of Linda's dog, Beau. Sadly, Beau's arrival is not the only bombshell - now Molly's home is also under threat when a rival cat moves in on her turf.

With Christmas approaching, Molly is unsettled, barely roused by the promise of tinsel to play with. Fearing for her feline family she hopelessly stares out of the café window searching for an answer. Only a Christmas miracle could bring everyone together.

My thoughts..

Well after a review yesterday about a dog named Bertie it was only fair to Jaffa to review a story today about a cat named Molly.  So here's himself making sure I didn't renege on the deal... 

Molly the cat shares her life with her five kittens and her owner Debbie who all live together in the delightful Cotswold town of Stourton-on-the-Hill. Together they run the idyllically named Cat Cafe where tea and biscuits are dispensed with love and wisdom. When Debbie's's erratic sister, Linda arrives complete with her dog, Beau, in tow, well, you can imagine just how the dynamics of the cat cafe changes overnight.

What then follows is a delightful tale of how two very different sisters try to come to terms with each other's lives, whilst at the same time, the menagerie of animals who must now all live together under the same roof also need to try to get along as best they can. However, for Molly and her family of kittens this is never going to be easy and with Christmas looming and their comfortable home under threat, a Christmas miracle is going to be needed if they are all to stay together.

The author has written a lovely story with a real Christmas feel to it which I am sure will delight animal lovers. The cat cafe is one of those places where you really wish you could visit and Molly is the purrfect protagonist and wonderful at recounting the story in her own inimitable style.

It also warrants a mention that the book is delightfully presented with a festive cover that really  cries out "open me" and that each delightful chapter of the book is headed by a purrfect black and white line drawing of a cat. I think my favourite has to be the cat with the pot of tea !

This was my first visit to the Cat Cafe and I am sure that it won't be my last. I am hopeful that this talented writer will bring us more of Molly's adventures in future stories.

Best Read With...A Feline Fancy and  Pot of Earl Grey tea..

About the Author

Melissa Daley lives in Hertfordshire with her two cats, two children and one husband. One of her cats, Nancy, has a writing pedigree of her own and can be found on Facebook as Nancy Harpenden-Cat. Melissa was inspired by the Cotswolds town of Stow-on-the-Wold, which provides the backdrop for Melissa's novels.

Melissa Daley talks to Jaffareadstoo about Christmas at the Cat Cafe 

*The Kindle edition of Christmas at the Cat Cafe  is currently on a 99p promotion on Amazon UK

My thanks to Jess at Pan Macmillan for sending  me and Jaffa a review copy of this book.

Review ~ Bertie's Gift by Hannah Coates

I am delighted to feature the first of my Christmas Reads

Hodder&Stoughton
2016

A bit of book blurb..

This is the heart-warming, inspirational story of one cheeky little dog and his beloved sister, two grumpy cats, and a family at Christmas. Bertie is alone, devastated after his beloved sister and fellow beagle Molly is adopted, leaving him behind. When Bertie is taken in by the Green family, it seems he's finally found a place to call home...Yet Bertie swiftly realises that the kind and loving Green family is in crisis. After a tragedy two years ago, they've never recovered - and as Christmas approaches, grief is pulling them apart. Never has a four-legged friend been more in need - and brave, warm-hearted Bertie must rise to the challenge. Can he enlist the help of hostile felines Kitty and Rico to help him find Molly - and can bring the Green family back together again, all in time for Christmas?

Here are my thoughts..

After the initial few pages I completely forgot that I was reading this book from a dog's perspective. Of course, I had to hide the fact that this was a book about a D.O.G - Jaffa isn't over enamoured of his canine compatriots. But as ever, I have  a cunning plan and a nifty little book bag to hide the book from Jaffa's suspicious cat's eyes.

It must be said that I fell in love with Bertie from the beginning of this charming story which shares all that's good, and sometimes, bad about pet ownership.

The story starts off quite grim with Bertie and his sister Molly sharing a rather unpleasant existence with a number of other dogs and living with an owner who, since his wife died, can't really be bothered about any of them. When the dogs are taken to an animal shelter to be re-homed you can't help but form an emotional attachment to this brave little Beagle who cares so much for his sister Molly that you feel the loss when they are separated and taken away to live with  new people.

The story is warm and compassionate and sensitively portrays the world from Bertie’s unique perspective so that we get a distinctively canine view of the world with all its inherent dangers and complications. Bertie is such a lovely exuberant character that it’s hard not to fall completely in love with him. His liveliness is quite infectious and the goodness of his spirit not only helps to heal a fractured family and restore hope to a sad little boy, but also shows the power of friendship, the value of loyalty and the overwhelming bond of love which exists between pets and their owners.

However, much as I loved Bertie the Beagle, I was especially drawn towards  the two dastardly felines, Kitty and Rico, who show that cats are shrewd operators when it comes to the small matter of surveillance.

Bertie's Gift is a lovely heartwarming Christmas Read, just perfect reading for all animals lovers be they canine or feline..



Best Read with ...A spiced gingerbread latte and a delicious bite of stollen, heavy on the marzipan..

Follow on  the author on Twitter @BertiesGift

My thanks to Rosie at  the Hodder Press Office for my review copy of Bertie's Gift

The Author in my spotlight is ....Melissa Daley

I am delighted to welcome Melissa Daley to Jaffareadstoo

Today Melissa is talking to us about her latest novel Christmas at the Cat Cafe

Macmillan
20 October 2016

Hi Melissa, a very warm welcome to Jaffareadstoo. Tell us a little bit about yourself and the cats in your life?

I live in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, with my husband, two kids, two cats (Pip and Nancy) and our most recent addition, Paddy the puppy. Nancy has been something of a local celebrity since she was a kitten, due to her extreme friendliness and her tendency to follow strangers home, jump into their cars, or make herself comfortable in the local pubs. I set up a Facebook page for her (Nancy Harpenden-Cat) as way of keeping track of her whereabouts, and things snowballed from there. She now has around 2,000 Facebook followers and her own memoir (or ‘meowmoir’) was published in 2011, called Sex and the Kitty. 

Cats are so enigmatic. How do you get inside the mind of a cat and how easy is it to transfer this to a story?

I actually think cats are far more expressive than we sometimes give them credit for, it’s just that their facial expressions and body language are much subtler than, say, a dog’s. But of course their enigmatic qualities also allow us to project our own emotions onto them, which is why they lend themselves so well to being anthropomorphised in fiction. Having spent my entire life living with and observing cats, I find it surprisingly easy to imagine my way into the mind of a cat. The challenge when writing a story from a cat’s point of view is making sure my cat characters have enough emotional depth to resonate with (human) readers, whilst always remaining convincingly feline too.

Christmas at the Christmas Cafe follows the story of Molly who we met in Molly at the Cat Café. Tell me is Molly based on any of your cats?

Pip and Nancy were both excellent muses when I needed to describe something specific about cat behaviour, for instance the neat semi-circle cats form when they sleep, with their tail tucked around their paws. It was very useful to have two models so close to hand! But in terms of Molly’s emotional journey and the way she responds to the upheavals she faces, I would have to say there is probably more of me in her character, than my cats.

Nancy

Pip

What do you enjoy most about writing?

The freedom to let my imagination run wild – there’s nothing else like it, in terms of unfettered creativity. I love the planning stage of the writing process, coming up with characters, working out the plot, trying to play the whole thing out in my mind and then getting it down on paper in a chapter plan. It’s when that’s done that the hard work really starts. The challenge is producing a book that does justice to the story I have in my head.

Do you have a special place to do your writing and do any of your cats like to interrupt the writing process?

I write at the computer in our front room, which serves as my study. Both Pip and Nancy have been known to wander in and drape themselves across my keyboard, or settle down for a lengthy wash on the print-out of my chapter plan. Sometimes it feels like they’re taunting me when they nap on top of my work – especially if I’m writing very early in the morning or late at night and am exhausted. It would be fair to say I have a certain amount of envy at their leisurely lifestyles, and their ability to take a nap whenever they fancy it.

Can we expect to see more of Molly’s adventures in future stories?

I guess that partly depends on whether readers want to read more! I’d love to let my imagination get to work on devising some fresh adventures for Molly and her kittens. Watch this space!

Melissa Daley

 

Both Molly and the Cat Cafe and Christmas at the Cat Cafe are published by Macmillan

Melissa Daley lives in Hertfordshire with her two cats, two children and one husband. One of her cats, Nancy, has a writing pedigree of her own and can be found on Facebook as Nancy Harpenden-Cat. Melissa was inspired by the Cotswolds town of Stow-on-the-Wold, which provides the backdrop for Melissa's novels.

Christmas at the Cat Cafe is published by Macmillan on the 20th October

Amazon UK

My thanks to Melissa for answering my questions so patiently and also to Jess at Macmillan for my copy of the book and her help in compiling this interview.

~***~

Sunday WW1 Remembered..

Looking for inspiration for this week's post , I was reminded that animals also went to war and during WW1 over 16 million animals were involved in the war effort. Some for communication, others for transport and many just for the comfort of companionship.

I found this excellent article on the Imperial War Museum Website which illustrates just how special animals were to those on active service.

And to be honest, I had never thought about the role of animals in WW1, of course, I knew that horses featured very heavily, but then I discovered that dogs and cats were used to hunt rats in the trenches. And of course, there were the carrier pigeons who were so vital to communication and who could get messages back from the front line to headquarters very effectively. 

There is no doubt that animals had a very special psychological effect on those who faced extreme horror and there are stories of communication dogs being treated as pets and given extra rations when they spent time in the trenches. 

This poem could be about one of those special dogs...

The Turkish Trench Dog 

by 

Geoffrey Dearmer

(1883-1966)

Night held me as I crawled and scrambled near

The Turkish lines. Above, the mocking stars

Silvered the curving parapet, and clear

Cloud-latticed beams o'erflecked the land with bars;

I, crouching, lay between

Tense-listening armies peering through the night,

Twin giants bound by tentacles unseen

Here in dim-shadowed light

I saw him, as a sudden movement turned

His eyes towards me, glowing eyes that burned

A moment ere his snuffling muzzle found

My trail; and then as serpents mesmerise

He chained me with those unrelenting eyes,

That muscle-sliding rhythm, knit and bound

In spare-limbed symmetry, those perfect jaws

And soft-approaching pitter-patter paws. 

Nearer and nearer like a wolf he crept —

That moment had my swift revolver leapt —

But terror seized me, terror born of shame

Brought flooding revelation. For he came

As one who offers comradeship deserved,

An open ally of the human race,

And sniffling at my prostrate form unnerved

He licked my face!

Geoffrey Dearmer served with the London Regiment at Gallipolli and on the Western Front.

His poetry emphasises the starkness and brutality of war.

~***~

Pets Aplenty Blog Tour 2014 ~ Malcolm D. Welshman

Pets a Plenty Blog Tour 2014

Malcolm Welshman is a retired vet who has worked at London Zoo, in a small animal hospital and as a consultant dealing with exotics. He has written for newspapers such as The Sunday Times and The Daily Mail and national magazines including The Lady, Yours, Cat World and Dogs Today and was the My Weekly vet for fifteen years. He is a BBC Radio panellist and a guest speaker worldwide on cruise ships.

Austin Macauley
2014

A Little bit of Book Blurb...

In Malcolm Welshman’s third book in his vet series, Pets Aplenty, he draws on further experiences in his life as a vet seen through the eyes of his alter ego, Paul Mitchell. Set in Sussex-by-the-sea in the early 2000s, it’s a startling glimpse of the mayhem animals can inflict on a young vet’s life.....

Malcolm ~ welcome to Jaffareadstoo

Jaffa and I are interested to know more about your latest book

Where did the idea for Pets a Plenty come from?

The book is the third in a series, the first being Pets in a Pickle followed by Pets on Parade. Each is a six month period following on from one another and describe the experiences of a newly qualified vet in practice. They are loosely base on my own dealings with pets and their clients.

Can you give us three interesting things about your novel which will pique the reader’s interest?

There are some quite detailed descriptions of surgical procedures, in particular when the young vet attempts to save a dog that has a punctured lung; and operating on the spinal cord of a wallaby that has fractured its neck. Then there is the humour which to judge from the twenty or so Amazon five star reviews is one of the strengths of the book. But this is balanced by a degree of pathos and the uncertainty the young vet has in his abilities to cope with harrowing situations with which hopefully the reader will be able to sympathise.

Why do you choose to write in your particular genre?

Apart from the old adage ‘Write about what you know’ – being a vet, animal stories were always going to be an obvious option – I love creating funny scenes and playing with words especially puns. Actually this turned out to be the downside of my first book, Pets in a Pickle. There was too much word play, too many puns – me being too clever - and this came between the reader and the story line. Some people found my excessive use of puns really irritating. So I’ve toned this down in Pets Aplenty and though there are still some excruciating puns they have been limited to headlines written by the editor of the local paper and so are not so intrusive.

Is it easier to write about animals, or people?

Not much to choose between them. But perhaps creating characters is more interesting since if you’re lucky, they take on a persona as you write and you start visualising them in more detail. This certainly happened with Charlotte and Rupert Fitch-Williams, ex Chelsea types, I describe in Pets Aplenty. I had to decide what they would be wearing as ‘Sloaney’ characters. Once I’d dressed them, they came alive, speech, mannerisms, view points - all of which contributed to the heart wrenching story line and how the young vet came to own a Welsh Springer spaniel called Emily. 

What do you enjoy most about writing stories and do you write for yourself, or other people?

As mentioned above, I love humour and it’s when the Muse strikes and I find myself hurtling into a funny scene I’m truly in my element and love the creation of it. None more so than in Pets Aplenty where a python escapes through from the vet’s bathroom into Eleanor’s his neighbour, when she’s having a bath. I found myself conjuring up Venus rising from the sea only it was Eleanor, to quote: ‘out of the bath, staggering across the room, shell-shocked, buttocks wobbling, before you could say “Bottecelli”. Conjuring up that scene still makes me giggle. Since I hope readers will find it fun as well, it does mean I am writing for them in an attempt to achieve that aim.

Where would be your idyllic location for a writing retreat? 

I would never dare contemplate an exotic writing location as I’d soon lose the will to write, buried under a surfeit of rum punches and Thai massages on the beach. Give me my writing room any day and a mug of coffee half-way during the morning.

What’s next?

I'm extremely fortunate to have built up a readership that’s keen to see what happens next – particularly as there has been a faltering relationship between Paul, the young vet, and Lucy, the junior nurse, through all three books. The snowy scene at the end of Pets Aplenty when the two kiss while Emily dances round their feet giving woofs of sheer joy suggests there has to be a sequel. Several reviewers on Amazon have already been requesting one. So …

***

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be part of this blog tour.

Thanks to the author for sharing his work with us and to Jennie and Joanna at Silverwood Books for their help in arranging this interview. 

More about Malcolm on his website

***

My thoughts on Pets Aplenty

Stories about the escapades of vets and their assorted animals always have the ability to make me smile and Pets Aplenty is no exception. There is much in the story to keep you amused and occasionally to laugh out loud. The adventures of novice vet, Paul Mitchell, as he spends six entertaining months working at Prospect House veterinary hospital kept me turning the pages.

The author, a retired vet, is obviously writing about what he knows and loves and this certainly comes across in the knowledgeable way he describes the experiences and situations which occur at Prospect House. It’s not all about the animals though, and there are some nice interludes between the humans in the story, which helps to keep the balance of the story just about right.

Pets Aplenty is now the third book in the series of veterinary stories and will certainly appeal to those fans of the stories who may have followed the exploits of Paul Mitchell from the beginning, however, it's not essential to have read the books in order. So, if you like stories about animal exploits told in a light and easy manner then Pets Aplenty is a nice read to curl up with on a rainy afternoon.

I have to be very careful how I mention the word V.E.T around Jaffa as the very sight of his cat carrier launches him into orbital mode and despite whatever ails him, he suddenly finds he can move at the speed of light into his ‘safe’ place !

*~*~*

Review ~ Secrets Of A Pet Nanny by Eileen Riley

Published 24 October 2013

I have to admit that whilst I have been the proud owner ....ahem....slave, of several wonderful cats over the course of my lifetime so far, I have never had a dog to care for, mainly because when I was a child, my mother always felt that dogs were too much trouble, and that cats were easier to watch over. So, the mysteries of dog ownership, has, in the main, passed me by. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the skill and sheer brilliance of those dogs who perform a service, and that I can't rejoice in the wild exuberance on the face of dog and owner as yet another ball is flung into the undergrowth.

In Secrets of a Pet Nanny , Eileen Riley has taken the relationship between dog and owner, and has used her journalistic skill to write a fascinating insight into the wonderful world of the Pet Nanny. There are well over twenty vignettes, little doggie tales which will have you laughing out loud in places, whilst other stories will tug on your heartstrings. I am sure that any dog owner will be able to identify with some of the stories, and even if you are not a pet owner, the skill of the writing and the total absorption that Eileen has in her charges, will have you turning the pages to find out just a little bit more.

Secrets Of A Pet Nanny is beautifully presented, from its colourful front cover, through to the individual line drawings which precedes each dog's story. 

I'm sure that the book would make a lovely little gift for anyone who is besotted with dogs........or for that manner, anyone who loves animal stories....

There's a chance to win a  signed copy of Secrets of a Pet Nanny............here.

My thanks to Elliot and Thompson for my review copy of this book.