Strong women in stories – More please and thank you

by davebarclay1954

I have finished the first Riley Paige novel by Blake Pierce and am working my way through the second. The characters are all well written and the lead character is a woman with issues (and a teenage daughter to boot) so I was not expecting the outcome to the story that it had.

Wonderful writing and characters you can root for, they seem human and not a figment of someone’s imagination. If you like detective stories and trying to get to the bottom of them ahead of the story using the clues then give this a miss. You are introduced to the unsub early on and it is just following the clues left to get him caught. However, the story is so well written I didn’t mind the plot going the way it did. I really don’t want to give away too much since one of the characters mentioned in the first book as having died in an explosion didn’t. Enough easter eggs from me in this review.

As I said the characters are well thought out, interesting and believable, the lead character is a strong woman with baggage so she works well. It is good to have a well written and thought out female lead character, even with her baggage she is strong enough to overcome her issues and those of her child and ex.

Actually, while I’m reviewing books I finished the Sarah Millican autobiography How To Be Champion. As expected it was well written and funny, she is definitely the new Queen of Comedy and the title is well deserved. I love the comments at the end of some chapters on how to be champion. For those who don’t understand the word, champion is what people from the North East use to say that they are good or enjoying something.

Sarah Millican isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but she is a “marmite” personality you either love her or hate her with no-one in the middle. (It seems that way anyway and she is strong enough to take criticism but won’t take any shit from haters). I really loved reading her story and, as a fan, I knew most of it anyway but her take on it was better than anything I had heard or read previously. Sarah is one of the best comedians around just now but has, so far, refused to play stadiums although she could fill them. Her comedy relies on interaction with her audience and that would be harder to do in a stadium so she has made the right choice to continue playing smaller venues up and down the country.

Her comedy shows have played to audiences in other parts of the world as well and she keeps being invited back so the audiences obviously get her there as well. I would love to be able to see her again live. She is amazing and still down to earth as well which is surprising with her talent for making people laugh that she has remained grounded and has never lost her roots. Manchester is lucky to have her and I wish her every happiness in the future and hope she continues to amaze and wow audiences all over the world for decades to come.

Video is courtesy of YouTube and the copyright is not owned by me.