Book 70 - Timebomb

Timebomb by James Barrington is the 4th novel to feature the maverick British agent Paul Richter.  The action takes place in several locations including Geneva, Stuttgart, London and various locations in Kent, including the Isle of Sheppey. 

Richter is sent to Geneva to participate in a routine arrest but this turns into a bloodbath and 4 terrorists and 4 policeman are killed.  Then a tramp is murdered on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent and a surveillance operation in Stuttgart fails when those being watched are tipped off that the police are watching them.  These events all turn out to be connected and Richter finds himself in a race against time to stop a group of terrorists from blowing up a speedboat packed with explosives over the wreck of a ship lying in shallow water off the Isle of Sheppey.  The ship's holds contain vast quantities of explosives, which if set off would cause an enormous explosion, which would send a tsunami up the River Thames to devastate the London and across the Thames Estuary to swamp low lying areas of the South Essex coast.

There are lots of twists and turns in this fast paced thriller, not all of which I followed but it was a compulsive read.  Characterisation and a sense of place are sacrificed for the action.

The ship concerned is real: the SS Richard Montgomery ran aground on a sandbank and sank off Sheerness in 1944 with an enormous quantity of explosives in her holds.  The ship is still there and much of her deadly cargo is still on board.

Islands covered: Isle of Sheppey

Sheerness

 

Beach at Leysdown-on-Sea, Isle of Sheppey



Book 69 - Coastlines: The Story of Our Shore

Coastlines: The Story of Our Shore by Patrick Barkham - first published in 2015

This book takes a thematic approach to the coast of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  Each chapter covers a different them e.g. childhood, A Better World, War and Faith.  It feels slightly odd because it only covers the parts of the coastline owned by the National Trust.  I believe that Patrick Barkham was commissioned by them to write the book.  This means however that although England, Wales and Northern Ireland are included, Scotland's extremely long and beautiful coastline is not because the National Trust for Scotland is a separate and independent organisation.

Patrick Barkham did visit all the places mentioned in the book and I particularly enjoyed reading about his own experiences as a visitor.  It is an interesting and informative read but for me at times there was just a bit too much detail about the history of some of the places.  The thematic approach means that the book jumps around geographically, which I found a bit confusing.

At the end of each chapter there is information for visitors on how to get to the places mentioned in that chapter, Ordnance Survey maps needed to explore the area, websites and a bibliography of suggestions for further reading.

Happily the National Trust owns several islands and this is why I have decided to include it as one of my 80 books. 

I particularly liked the quote from Issie Winney, a PhD student on Lundy conducting research into house sparrows:

"If you stay here for any time, you have this immense feeling that this small lump of granite in the middle of the ocean is the world.  Your mind changes."

Islands covered: Scolt Head Island, Isle of Wight, Lundy, Brownsea, the Farnes, Lindisfarne, Northey and the Goodwin Sands (a part time island).

 Brownsea Island, Dorset

 Lindisfarne Castle

 The Needles, Isle of Wight

 Causeway to Northey Island, Essex

 North side of Scolt Head Island, Norfolk

 Brownsman Island from Staple Island, Farne Islands

Old Light, Lundy, Devon

Book 68 - The Bed I Made

The Bed I Made by Lucie Whitehouse - first published in 2010

The fact that it took me over a year to finish this book, says it all.  I did read plenty of other books during that year but rarely felt inclined to pick this one up again.

Kate flees to the Isle of Wight from London to escape her ex-boyfriend, Richard, who is violent and manipulative.  As she is a professional translator, she can carry on working from the Isle of Wight.  She had holidayed on the island as a child and settles down in a rented house in Yarmouth.  she makes a few friends and starts a relationship with Peter, whose wife has recently disappeared and is presumed drowned.  However Richard tracks Kate down and begins to stalk her.  The book is slow moving apart from the last few pages and I didn't really like Kate - she spends too much time feeling sorry for herself.

 Compton Chine on the south coast of the Isle of Wight

 Yarmouth Harbour - Gribble Seat

Islands covered - Isle of Wight