Book Review Archives - Expat In Bacolod

Book Review: Undercover: The True Story of Britain’s Secret Police

Book Review: Undercover: The True Story of Britain’s Secret Police

Published by Stephen Bentley on November 21, 2016

This is my review of an excellent book Undercover: The True Story of Britain’s Secret Police by Rob Evans and Paul Lewis. What a disgrace!, 21 Nov. 2016 By SB Verified Purchase(What is this?) This review is from: Undercover: The True Story of Britain’s Secret Police (Kindle Edition) As a former UK undercover detective on the 1970s Operation Julie [ ASIN B01JUTPN30 Undercover: Operation Julie – The Inside Story] who has written a book about my experiences, I thought it was high time I read this book by Rob Evans and Paul Lewis. I am glad I did. It was an eye-opener and revealed a world I hadn’t got a clue existed even though I was part of one of the UKs largest drug busts.…

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They’re Rugby Boys, Don’t You Know? – Book Review

Published by Stephen Bentley on October 12, 2016

They’re Rugby Boys, Don’t You Know? by Natalie Vellacott My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book intrigued me for two reasons. I am also a former UK police officer as is the author of this book and I now live in the Philippines, the location for the tale of the “Rugby Boys.” It was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative read and I recommend it to all who are concerned about the plight and suffering of our fellow humans no matter where they happen to live. I was aware of this problem and sometimes see the effects of solvent abuse on the streets of the provincial city where I live. I…

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The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way … – Book Review

Published by Stephen Bentley on September 30, 2016

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a book I did enjoy for more reasons than one. The first reason is I found it fascinating in itself. The second, is that it helped me enormously in understanding the hallucinatory experiences of users of psychedelics. Why was that important? Back in the day as an undercover cop, there was no training for that role. I took it upon myself to learn about drug experiences prior to my involvement in one of the world’s largest drug busts, Operation Julie. You may read about those days in my book Undercover: Operation Julie – The Inside Story View all my reviews That was the review…

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Alarm Starboard!: Book Review

Published by Stephen Bentley on September 25, 2016

Alarm Starboard!: A Remarkable True Story of the War at Sea by Geoffrey Brooke My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is truly a remarkable story. In fact it is several remarkable stories resulting from the author’s career in the British Royal Navy from pre-WW2 1939 to the end of WW2 in 1945. It is remarkable and fascinating. So fascinating that I read all 288-pages of the hardcover version inside two days. I simply could not put it down! The author’s easy writing style certainly assists as the story gallops along from one life-threatening incident to another, and some of them were not related to ships or the sea. I seriously wonder whether the world will ever see another generation of young men like Geoffrey…

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Crossing The Whitewash by Nick Rippington: Book Review

Published by Stephen Bentley on September 13, 2016

Perhaps it is not surprising, given my background as both a former undercover cop and barrister (trial attorney for my American friends), that my taste in reading books leans towards crime fiction and true crime. Nick Rippington is the author of Crossing The Whitewash, a UK gangland thriller. The author interview with Nick recently appeared both here and on my author website. This is my review of his marvelous novel as left on both Goodreads and Amazon. Crossing The Whitewash: A UK gangland thriller by Nick Rippington My rating: 5 of 5 stars Cracking read! This is an author to watch. For a first novel it is quite a challenge to achieve all the right ingredients but Nick Rippington did it for me. The characters…

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Good Cop Bad War: Book Review

Published by Stephen Bentley on September 9, 2016

Good Cop Bad War is co-written by a former British undercover cop, Neil Woods with JS Rafaeli. Of course I was keen to read it in light of my own book about my undercover cop days due for publication next Wednesday, September 14, 2016. You can find Good Cop Bad War listed here on Amazon. I must confess that the book initially irritated me for reasons which become clear in my review below. Gradually the main message of Woods seeped into my head and I did my research. I now agree that the UK should follow Portugal’s ground-breaking example in decriminalizing drug use. There will be more to follow on that point eventually. Amazon Review A Must Read For All Interested In The Debate On Decriminalization…

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Curious Case of the Iceberg Lettuce and a Cranky Book Reviewer

Published by Stephen Bentley on August 27, 2016

Welcome to the World of Books (and Iceberg Lettuce) You may ask what an iceberg lettuce has got to do with book reviews. Read on my friend … One of my recent book reviews on the Goodreads website was for a book called A Harvest Passion by Emily Murdoch. I also posted my review on Amazon. While I was on the Goodreads site, I spotted a 1* Review. I thought ‘no, it can’t be.’ But it was and here is what was posted by the reviewer. If there’s a worse book out there, I can’t think of what it is. This was awkward and weird, with neither main character having anything remotely interesting about them. There was absolutely no reason for them to “fall in…

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Book Review: ‘Carly’ by D.M. Wolfenden

Published by Stephen Bentley on August 23, 2016

This is my review posted on Goodreads and UK Amazon. It is a very short story but brilliantly written. This is the “blurb” on Amazon: Written in British English, including some slang. Carly: Her cousin, Lisa disappeared, her family murdered in front of her. Held in prison for kidnapper’s murder, she has to try and find a way to save Lisa. Carly by D.M. Wolfenden My rating: 5 of 5 stars Carly by D.M. Wolfenden is an excellent short story. And by short, I mean short. Yet, that does not detract from the quality of such a well written tale of a dialogue between Carly and the reporter Vanessa in a police custody interview room. The main character of Carly comes alive from the pages…

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Category: Book Review