January 24

How Much For A Happy Ending – S E Winters

It was only a few photos. We needed the money. No one would have to know…

Growing up on a council estate in Thatcher’s Britain is no simple task. Bullied at school, with a rocky home life and a desire to escape the trappings of working-class life, Sinead discovers boys, recreational drugs and the nineties club scene.

After a string of abusive partners, she struggles as a skint single mum. A chance meeting offers her a new life of glitz and glamour, but it’s not all it seems. Plunged into a world of adult entertainment, Sinead finds herself in the heart of the UK glamour modelling industry, later becoming a dominatrix to make ends meet.

After paying the price of her own self-exploitation, she has the determination to forge a new career as a therapist, with bad decisions galore along the way.

In this autobiographical novel, a now forty-something Winters pulls no punches as she recounts the tales in graphic detail, with down-to-earth wit, refreshing honesty and an unapologetic potty mouth! Hilarious and sometimes heartrendingly uncomfortable, Sinead will make the reader squirm in their seat as she dishes the dirt on the tease and the sleaze of the adult industry.

Love or hate her, she says the things we’ve all probably thought at one time or another.

 

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley.

 

Last year I discovered biographies are not just a stream of dry facts or a film by film summary of a starlet’s life. A life is colourful and fascinaing and if that story is well told then an engaging read can follow. I hopped onto Netgalley and for the first time I headed to the biography section. There were several books which just looked to be as dry as the desert sun. Some “celeb” stories for people I had never heard of and in the mix was a title which stood out: How Much For A Happy Ending? It caught the eye and I liked the use of an ironic pun for a title so I had a scan of the blurb and it didn’t sound like it would be boring. I was right, it’s many things but boring isn’t one of them!

From a young age our narrator, Sinead, takes the reader through her early awakening sexuality. Her upbringing in a council estate and her relationship with her seemingly unconventional parents and then her story moves into her relationships with troubling partners. Through the story Sinead’s developing sexual confidence grows and she finds herself turning to various ways to use her body and knowledge to earn a wage. It should be made clear that Sinead isn’t setting out to paint a rosy story of positive life experiences but the humour is often self-deprecating and she keeps a confidence in herself (in the main) to push through challenging situations.

After a few youthful encounters Sinead realises she has the confidence in her body to turn her hand to modeling. She speaks openly about the pressure young women can find themselves put under to offer more than just pictures and also the variety of pictures which could be taken may also shock some readers. Time and time again Sinead finds herself in new and unfamiliar situations and must decide how best to contend with the dilemmas she faces. The night she tried to become a model for tv chat numbers is told with humour but the pressure of the situation for a young woman to face alone is also somewhat concerning.

From photoshoots, to TV appearances (walking naked down the high street) and then to more personal one to one liaisons – while always keeping on the right side of appropriate behaviour – there are shocks, tears and upsetting events. It can be a hard read but the tone is kept light and matter of fact so despite the seriousness of a situation you feel the author is just looking to tell a story rather than use examples of behaviours to seek to change the world. There will be things which will feel inappropriate and some of these are between Sinead and her partner rather than any clients or firms she is working with. We are all different and all have different desires did feel like an approach which is used more than once.

Very much not my normal type of read but it was interesting and even educational (though I am not sure when I may ever need to use some of the knowledge I gained). Possibly not for the more prudish reader, the scenes of a sexual nature are not presented in vivid technicolour but discussed in mature and sensible manner – the book is better for this non-glorification of our desires.

I will be looking to read more biographies over time, perhaps not one quite so eye-opening as this!

 

How Much For A Happy Ending? is published in paperback and digital format and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09GPSTH6S/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off on How Much For A Happy Ending – S E Winters
September 11

The Quiet Ones – Theresa Talbot

If only someone had listened…

When the supposed suicide of famous Scottish football coach Harry Nugent hits the headlines, the tabloids are filled with tributes to a charitable pillar of the community that gave so much back to sport and to those less fortunate. But something isn’t right. Normally celebrities are queuing up to claim to have had a very special relationship with the deceased, but investigative journalist, Oonagh O’Neil is getting the distinct impression that people are trying to distance themselves from Harry.

Oonagh’s investigation leads her to uncover a heartbreakingly haunting coverup that chills her to the core…and place her in mortal danger from those willing to protect their sadistic and dark secrets at any cost….

 

I received a review copy from the publishers.

 

A new Oonagh O’Neil book is very much a cause for celebration.  After a debut appearance in The Lost Children (which I review here as Penance) and a return in Keep Her Silent (reviewed here) I was dying to see what Theresa Talbot had in store for investigative journalist Oonagh.

The appeal of these books is that Theresa Talbot puts a real (and distressing) story at the heart of Oonagh’s fictional adventures. The story is fictional but that core of reality and the way the author conveys the hurt the characters experienced makes the books utterly compelling.

In The Quiet Ones Oonagh is confronted with the possibility that a murdered sporting hero may have been killed because of a dark secret from his past.  Can Oonagh find a way to get vulnerable strangers to open up and discuss their past horrors? Even if she can, will there be evidence she can pass to the police to ensure justice can be done?

The Quiet Ones opens with a murder. It has the appearance of a professional hit and the police are baffled. The victim is a prominent figure in Scottish football circles, he supports a number of charities and good causes and his death is a headline writer’s goldmine. Particularly when it is obvious the police have no leads, suspects or can even work out a motive.

Oonagh gets suspicious when “friends” of the deceased seem keen to distance themselves from him. She follows her instincts knowing there is a story to uncover. Her boss is not keen to give her time to chase a story which he doesn’t believe is there to be found so Oonagh is forced to play politics in the office to cut herself the leeway she needs to uncover the truth.

There are very sensitive subjects incorporated into The Quiet Ones and the author handles these superbly. In the acknowledgements Ms Talbot thanks David Gordon who “shared his story with such quiet dignity” that reflects perfectly how the more upsetting elements of The Quiet Ones are addressed within the book. It is a deeply emotive and moving read.

Despite being the third book in the series The Quiet Ones can easily be read as a stand alone thriller. It is highly recommended and once you have finished it I am sure you will seek out the first two as well. Top stuff.

 

The Quiet Ones will be published on 12 September 2019 by Aria and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1788545346/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off on The Quiet Ones – Theresa Talbot