Scary Mary By S.A Hunter

Scary Mary by S.A Hunter, was a free novel I downloaded from the free section on the kindle. I wasn’t expecting it to be a highly intellectual read from the information in the synopsis, but I quite enjoyed it as a quick read all the same.

The Main Character, Mary has gained a reputation at high school, labelled the school freak. After losing her parents at the age of three, her fortuneteller grandmother raises her. Her grandmother runs her fortunetelling business from the home and often gets involved in a seance or two. Mary has become accustomed to what some may call the ‘gift’ of contacting ghosts.

Having really made only one true friend at school, the ‘wild child’ Rachel, Mary is shocked when the new guy at school, Cy shows an interest in her. Cy invites Mary to his home to watch movies, when Mary discovers the ghost of a homicidal man, Ricky haunts his house.

The synical Cy, does not believe in the afterlife however, it takes Mary quite some effort and grief to finally make Ricky leave Cy’s family home.

S.A Hunter has created quite a warming short story, I think this is more aimed at teenage girls. It is in no sense grammatically challenging, a very easy read!

I would recommend to anyone going on a long train journey, wanting a bit of heart warming entertainment.

A Review: The Poison Tree By Erin Kelly

“The Poison Tree” written by Erin Kelly, was a very enjoyable read. Full of suspense and thrills it became very difficult to put down. I first heard about the book whilst listening to a Richard and Judy book reveiw podcast and liked the sound of the plot so decided to read  this for myself. I believe this is the authors first novel, her career focus having been journalism since 1998.

When Erin Kelly first introduces the reader to Karen Clarke, an image of an abiding linguisitc student with little problems in her life is portrayed. However her life is due to experience quite a significant adjustment. She had been living with fellow students for two years previous and also had a boyfriend named Simon. When Simon ends their relationship and her flatmates decide to travel to France in the interim between sitting their finals and receiving their results, Karen formed a new bond with the eccentric Biba. Biba is in need of a German language tutor, when Karen offers her assistance. From this moment on the tale unfolds into one of obsession, guilt and murder.

I think the reader is made aware from the outset, that bad things are going to happen. The author uses flashbacks to illustrate the change in Karen’s personality. Karen looks back at the previous ten years as a nervy, neurotic adult, it’s as if she is being haunted by the past. The author does not reveal the details of the events that took place in the London mansion the three characters lived in together until the end of the novel.

In my opinion, the author captures the underlying themes of the novel very well. Love and friendship are strong components of the characters relationships with one another, I think Biba’s betrayal then becomes a lot more powerful. I believe claustrophobia to be a key theme also, Karen and Rex both appear to be overpowered by Biba and her dramatic, demanding attributes.

Throughout the novel, Karen’s past and present experiences are described separately. However as the reader reaches the climax, Karen’s past and present experiences crash and the mystery is revealed. The conclusion was not altogether unpredictable, however it did not fail to provide a riveting finale.

The McKie Controversy!

The scientific method, so widely used to assist in determining the identity of guilty parties involved in criminal activities, was completely undermined in the ongoing investigations of the Shirley Mckie case in Scotland. This challenges the efficiency and reliability of  the methods used by fingerprint examiners.

Inspired by an article accessed earlier this morning, I actually became engrossed in reading through the plentiful materials available on this topic.

The case was hugely controversial and dates back approximately ten years. Ms Mckie was acquitted of perjury, following being accused of leaving her fingerprints at a murder scene in Kilmarnock, Scotland. It is said to have affected many lives and careers, and called into serious question the Scottish Fingerprint Service.

In the United Kingdom, a sixteen point system is used, experts are required to find sixteen matching marks between two prints. In America a similar system is used, however in addition an accredited expert gives an opinion on whether the two prints match, two independent experts will then be required to uphold this opinion. It has been suggested that a more rigorous approach should be adopted for the United Kingdoms justice systems.

After what became a two year long public inquiry, Shirlie McKie received an apology for ‘human error’ and £750,000 compensation.

Ms McKie was a successful detective constable, who I suppose had contact with the right expertise to help overturn the conviction. It does make you think of any potential miscarriages of justice, where wrongly accused individuals may not be lucky enough to be able to appoint fingerprint experts.

This is obviously only a brief description of the actual events, but for anyone else who might be really interested, the reports and findings are all accessible online. I am definitely going to be doing a bit more reading up on this!