Review - Canterbury Tales Cafe

[Daveo]

Punter's Turf by Peter Klein.

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John Punter, professional gambler and amateur private investigator, has seen his fair share of crime and shady dealings, both on the race track and off it. 
So when the daughter of a bookmaker friend is abducted, following hot on the heels of a gruesome murder after an abduction gone wrong, Punter's offer of help is gladly accepted. 
But then, just when everything seems to be going right, a local trainer hits a run of unusual bad luck and a young jockey dies under suspicious circumstances. 
With the help of a journalist friend, Kate, Punter begins to put the pieces together, and finds himself drawn into a tangled web of underworld crimes that are much more sinister than he had anticipated.

[Daveo]

The Little Drummer Girl: by John le Carré,

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John le Carre's classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow world's of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge, and have earned him unprecedented worldwide acclaim.

In this thrilling and thought provoking novel of Middle Eastern intrigue, Charlie, a brilliant and beautiful young English actress, is lured into "the theatre of the real" by an Israeli intelligence officer. Forced to play her ultimate role, she is plunged into a deceptive and delicate trap set to ensnare an elusive Palestinian terrorist.

[Daveo]

[Daveo]

[Daveo]

Alone in the Dark By Karen Rose.

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Author of Closer than you think, returns with a breathtaking new novel in the Cincinnati series, would you cross the line between danger and Desire, justice and revenge? 
A desperate hunt to find a young girl's killer is about to turn deadly...

Former Army Ranger Marcus O'Bannion and homicide cop Scarlett Bishop have met only briefly but when Scarlett receives a phone call in the middle of the night, she immediately recognises the hauntingly smooth voice asking her to meet him in one of Cincinnati's roughest areas.

On arriving, Scarlett finds the body of a seventeen year old Asian girl and Marcus injured. 
A fierce champion of victims' rights, Marcus claims the young woman was working for an affluent local family and the last time he saw her she was terrified, abused, and clearly in need of help. Having agreed to meet her, both Marcus and the young woman were targeted for death.

As they investigate, Scarlett and Marcus are pulled into the dangerous world of human trafficking where they soon realise they are going to have to become as ruthless as those they are hunting.

Because if they don't, how many other girls may end up alone in the dark?

[Daveo]

[Daveo]

[Daveo]

I Think You'll Find it's a Bit More Complicated Than That

by Ben Goldacre.

 

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The very best journalism from one of Britain’s most admired and outspoken science writers, author of the bestselling Bad Science and Bad Pharma.

 

In Bad Science, Ben Goldacre hilariously exposed the tricks that quacks and journalists use to distort science.

In Bad Pharma, he put the $600 billion global pharmaceutical industry under the microscope.

Now the pick of the journalism by one of our wittiest, most indignant and most fearless commentators on the worlds of medicine and science is collected in one volume.

[Daveo]

The Bone Yard: by Jefferson Bass.

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At a friend's request, Dr. Bill Brockton is called away from the Body Farm, his human decomposition research facility at the University of Tennessee, to help prove that a woman's suicide was, in fact, murder. 
But Brockton's quick consulting trip takes a harrowing detour through the Florida Panhandle when two adolescent skulls are discovered near the ruins of a once-notorious juvenile detention facility, destroyed by fire more than four decades ago.

Local stories about the North Florida Boys' Reformatory are chilling: nightmarish tales of savage beatings, torture, and worse. 
Guided by the diary of a former "student," Brockton's team soon makes a grisly discovery: a cluster of shallow graves containing the bones of teenage boys, all of whom suffered violent deaths. 
But the search for answers becomes more perilous the closer Brockton comes to the truth, because unexpected skeletons reside in some surprisingly prominent closets; and summoning ghosts from the past can have devastating consequences in the present.

[Daveo]

Where Underpants Come From by Joe Bennett.

 

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This is a wonderfully funny and insightful look at the new China, the factory of the world, tracing an ordinary pair of underpants from their purchase in New Zealand back to where they were made.

[Daveo]

The Guilty by Jason Pinter.

 

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As I lie in bed with Amanda, ignoring another late night call from my ex, a shot rings out in the New York night and a beautiful starlet dies outside the city's most popular nightclub.

This is the kind of story I was born to chase, but I never dreamed this story began over a hundred years ago.

 

Suddenly another life is taken, the bullet fired from one of the deadliest guns ever made.

Both victims are highly controversial, their murders more like public executions.

My search leads me into the twisted world of The Boy, a world defined by a demented code of honor and shocking, long-buried Secrets of the world's most infamous outlaw.

 

When this assassin realizes I'm getting too close to the truth, uncovering the past could jeopardize everything I care about. Because in his world there's a fine line between good and evil, and the difference between innocence and guilt depends on who's holding the gun.

[Daveo]

A Twist of the Knife by Peter James.

 

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With each twist of the knife, a chilling new journey begins.

From a woman intent on bizarre revenge, to a restaurant critic with a morbid fear of the number thirteen; and from a man arranging a life changing assignation, to a couple heading for a disaster-filled vacation . . .

 

In multi million copy bestselling author Peter James' collection of short stories we first come to meet Brighton's finest detective, Roy Grace, and read the tale that went on to inspire James' hugely successful novel, Dead Simple.

James exposes the Achilles heel of each of his characters, and makes us question how well we can trust ourselves, and one another.

Each tale carries a twist that will haunt readers for days after they turn the final page.

 

Combining every twisted tale from the ebook bestsellers Short Shockers One and Short Shockers Two, with a never seen before collection of new material, A Twist of the Knife shows Peter James as the undisputed grand master of storytellers with this sometimes funny, often haunting, but always shocking collection.

[Daveo]

Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor.

 

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Legend states the Devil once danced in Bleeding Heart Square and left a murdered woman behind him.

Formerly the site of a medieval Palace, it is now, in 1934, a decaying north London cul-de-sac.

In a lodging house resides a collection of tenants with equally colourful histories, including the sinister Samuel Serridge.

[Daveo]

Broken Heart by Tim Weaver.

 

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Where did she go?

What did she know?

A heart-stopping missing persons investigation.

 

A woman drives to a beautiful headland overlooking the Devon coast.

She is never seen again, and no trace of where she went can be found.

The woman's sister calls missing persons investigator David Raker. As Raker tries to find her whereabouts, fearing the worst, he learns that she was recently widowed from a reclusive film director.

 

It seems that, going through her husband's belongings, she found a secret so dark and shocking that it forced her to leave her entire life behind.

Chasing the truth will consume Raker and place him in grave danger .

[Daveo]

Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie.

 

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In the extensive Classics section in the bookshop, mostly around

60 baht.

 

According to the courts, Jacko Argyle Bludgeoned his mother to death with a poker.

The sentence was life imprisonment.But when Dr. Arthur Calgary arrives with the proof that confirms Jacko’s innocence, it is too late Jacko died behind bars following a bout of pneumonia.

Worse still, the doctor’s revelations reopen old wounds in the family, increasing the likelihood that the real murderer will strike again.

[Daveo]

The Paultain Experience.....

 

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Follow Paultain across 30 years worth of Southeast Asian hedonism, as told from the local pub.

You'll be taken from Manila to Pattaya and points in between, on a roller coaster ride of chasing tail, getting pissed, and the odd cameo of famous faces and (in)famous places.

There is no better way to learn the ways of the mongering world than from this firsthand account.

The Paultain Experience is a must read for the uninitiated and the veteran whore monger alike.

[Daveo]

Belching Out the Devil: Global Adventures with Coca-Cola

by Mark Thomas.

 

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Coca-Cola and its logo are everywhere.

In our homes, our workplaces, even our schools.

It is a company that sponsors the Olympics, backs US presidents and even re-brands Santa Claus.

A truly universal product, it has even been served in space.

 

From Istanbul to Mexico City, Mark travels the globe investigating the stories and people Coca-Cola's iconic advertising campaigns don't mention.

Child labourers in the sugar cane fields of El Salvador.

Indian workers exposed to toxic chemicals.

Colombian union leaders falsely accused of terrorism and jailed alongside the paramilitaries who want to kill them.

And many more...

 

Provocative, funny and stirring, Belching Out the Devil investigates the truth behind one of the planet's biggest brands.

[Daveo]

 

[Daveo]

The Secret Speech (The Child 44 Trilogy) by Tom Rob Smith.

 

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THE SECRET SPEECH

Soviet Union, 1956. Stalin is dead, and a violent regime is beginning to fracture leaving behind a society where the police are the criminals, and the criminals are innocent.

A secret speech composed by Stalin's successor Khrushchev is distributed to the entire nation. Its message: Stalin was a tyrant.

Its promise: The Soviet Union will change.

Facing his own personal turmoil, former state security officer Leo Demidov is also struggling to change.

The two young girls he and his wife Raisa adopted have yet to forgive him for his part in the death of their parents.

They are not alone. Now that the truth is out, Leo, Raisa, and their family are in grave danger from someone consumed by the dark legacy of Leo's past career.

Someone transformed beyond recognition into the perfect model of vengeance.

From the streets of Moscow in the throes of political upheaval, to the Siberian gulags, and to the center of the Hungarian uprising in Budapest, THE SECRET SPEECH is a breathtaking, epic novel that confirms Tom Rob Smith as one of the most exciting new authors writing today.

 

[Daveo]

Torn By Casey Hill.

 

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Read the clues. Decode the science. Reveal the murderer.

 

That's Reilly Steel's mantra.

Find the answers, solve the crime.

But the Quantico trained forensic investigator is finding her skills aren't enough when a ferociously intelligent killer strikes Dublin.

 

The modus operandi is as perplexing as it is macabre, what connects the two seemingly disparate, high profile victims?

 

Their corpses refuse to give up their Secrets and the crime scenes prove a forensic investigator's worst nightmare.

Reilly soon suspects that she may be dealing with a killer, or killers who know all about crime scene investigation.

 

The police are just as frustrated by the crimes' impenetrable nature and it's only when a third murder occurs, equally graphic and elaborate in its execution, that they discover that this particular killer is using a very specific blueprint for his crimes.

 

Who is the killer's next victim, the real target?

And what's his endgame?

[Daveo]

Stalingrad by Antony Beevor.

 

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Antony Beevor's Stalingrad is a harrowing look at one of history's darkest moments.

 

In October 1942, a panzer officer wrote 'Stalingrad is no longer a town... Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure'.

 

The battle for Stalingrad became the focus of Hitler and Stalin's determination to win the gruesome, vicious war on the eastern front. The citizens of Stalingrad endured unimaginable hardship; the battle, with fierce hand-to-hand fighting in each room of each building, was brutally destructive to both armies.

But the eventual victory of the Red Army, and the failure of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa, was the first defeat of Hitler's territorial ambitions in Europe, and the start of his decline.

 

An extraordinary story of tactical genius, civilian bravery, obsession, carnage and the nature of war itself, Stalingrad will act as a testament to the vital role of the soviet war effort.

 

Antony Beevor is the renowned author of Stalingrad, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Wolfson Prize for History and the Hawthornden Prize for Literature, and Berlin, which received the first Longman-History Today Trustees' Award.

His books have sold nearly four million copies.

[Daveo]

Pattaya: The Good, The Bad & The Other by Tony Crossley.

In stock today @ Canterbury Tales Bookshop / Book exchange / Cafe, Pattaya..
Includes Pattaya maps, Bar maps, A Go Go map, general Pattaya map.

An All Sides Look at Thailand's Capital of Fun Includes a Comprehensive Guide.

Few holiday resorts in the world can have caused such polarised views as Thailand's Pattaya and be an idea of the place good or bad once one has been there, it is difficult for most people to ignore. As to the other, whether that is good or bad is a matter for debate.
Is Pattaya's notoriety deserved? 
Does it rival the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, as much comment about the place suggests?

The objective of this book is to take a balanced all sides look at not just Pattaya, its attractions (of various sorts) and some of the people who favour the place, but also to examine the pros & cons of expat life and, particularly, how Thai ways compare to Western traits. Certainly it is the case that Pattaya's uniqueness in a certain sphere means that the contents herein have relevance that extends far beyond the resort, and perhaps even in the world's highest corridors of power.

[Daveo]

Butterfly Circus by Tony Crossley.

In stock today @ Canterbury Tales Bookshop / Book exchange / Cafe, Pattaya..
Includes Pattaya maps, + bar and a go go maps

Before you start and then become a Cynic because of your own stupidity read this.
A balanced look at Partner-seeking in Thailand.
Are you controlled by your lower brain? Are you looking to Marry a bar girl? Do you believe all a Girl tells you? Is she different?

The common denominator of the Thailand Cynic, Guy comes to Thailand, falls in Love, buys her all sorts, a car, a house, sends her money, after time realises it's a business arrangement and stops doing it all, feels hurt, feels scammed, blames all but himself, there lies the Thailand Cynic, quite a common breed.
Dont become one, help is at hand.

[Daveo]

So, Anyway...: The Autobiography by John Cleese.

 

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Candid and brilliantly funny, this is the story of how a tall, shy youth from Weston-super-Mare went on to become a self-confessed legend.

En route, John Cleese describes his nerve wracking first public appearance, at St Peter’s Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic home life with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman.

And so on to his dizzying ascent via scriptwriting for Peter Sellers, David Frost, Marty Feldman and others to the heights of Monty Python.

 

Punctuated from time to time with John Cleese’s thoughts on topics as diverse as the nature of comedy, the relative merits of cricket and waterskiing, and the importance of knowing the dates of all the kings and Queens of England, this is a masterly performance by a former schoolmaster.

[Daveo]

The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson.

 

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Bizarre military history: In 1979, a crack commando unit was established by the most gifted minds within the U.S. Army. Defying all known laws of physics and accepted military practice, they believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls, and perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them.

They were the First Earth Battalion, entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries.

And they really weren’t joking.

What’s more, they’re back and they’re fighting the War on Terror.

 

An uproarious exploration of American military paranoia: With investigations ranging from the mysterious “Goat Lab,” to Uri Geller’s covert psychic work with the CIA, to the increasingly bizarre role played by a succession of U.S. presidents, this might just be the funniest, most unsettling book you will ever read if only because it is all true and is still happening today.