Member "Rupert B's " Book; a review of a fine read.

[kaceyk2]

First off, I feel that I should point out, that out of all the folk in the world, who should undertake to review a book written by a traffic officer , I would probably be considered the last person qualified to do so.
After all, I have never tried to understand these guys, but have endevoured to avoid them at all costs, and when that has failed, it has allways ended in a manner that has made me want to avoid them better next time........
That said, I knew that to give a fair account of the book, I had to put many pre-conceived notions, and many hard earnt prejudices aside.... after all, writing a book takes time and effort, and we all have a story to tell, if we want ours heard, we should give a fair hearing to others.
So,
Saturday morning at 10.30 am I sat down with "Prisoners, Property, and Prostitutes" by Tom Ratcliffe (Rupert B's pen name, or if you are really clever " nom de plume")

I admit totally that it "may" have been the "label on the tin" Visa vie the "prostitutes" part of the title, that initially drew me in, coupled with the picture on the front of the book that did indeed seem to portray a "lady of the night"
In this instance,
I should not have "judged a book by it's cover" but feel compelled to point out, in my defence that some books should be judged by their covers, say for instance "The cb750 K2 parts manual" where you would correctly expect to see numbered parts of the cb750 K2 model of Honda motorcycle, and not find Nigella Lawsons recipes.

Anyways, I had "jumped to conclusions" again, and had only just got the book; mistake.

I quickly realised, that this was a book written in an engaging way, and also, in a language that anyone can access and understand, but also, that I had let my brew go cold, which was a sign I was totally  absorbed in the book.......

Furthermore, I was soon bursting out laughing, randomly at the contents....I do not want to give the plot away any so I will have to be carefull just what I say here...

I never knew for instance, it was possible for the police to "damage" deceased elderly folk in the manner that is described....

Or that Mortuaries are used as "playgrounds" where some Hideously  funny practical jokes are played upon the unwary for the amusement of all who are "in on it"

I had "suspected" that High powered 140MPH plus traffic cars, were sometimes used in a way that may be deemed as "un-appropriate"
In this respect, my suspicians were not only confirmed, but Bolstered, but in the most unusual of ways, as I hadn't expect the traffic police to do these particular things when bored in the middle of the night.

By three "O" clock in the afternoon, I was half way through the book, many brews had gone cold, I had been told off by the misses for constantly "dinging" my brew in the microwave.... and had failed to do anything else that day except read the book.

The CID's "old-school" ways of extracting information, are touched upon, and in these particular instances, even they are Hilarious...albeit (sadly) Politically incorrect today an all that...

The Author, got into the force "by accident rather than design" but once accepted, all he wanted to do, was drive one of those very fast cars, with no one breathing down his neck telling him what to do, with the genuine hopes that he would get to help folk......

Which he succeeded in doing, What he didn't expect though, was that attending so many fatal Road traffic accidents, would eventually take it's toll, in a way that cannot be predicted in advance.

And it is this, more than anything else for me, that portrays so well a "Human" element of frailty and vulnerabilty, mostly never , ever seen by the public at large...

And on a completely different level, I recognised, that the Humour and  Practical jokes were a "common denominater" between the Authors life and my own, in so much as they were and are essential tools in the fight to "ward-off" the damaging affects of overexposure to excessive trauma.

I finished the book at 10.30 ish at night,
and realised,
I had spent all day saturday, 12 hrs ... reading a book written by a Traffic Patrol Officer, and whats more,
had totally enjoyed it, a day well spent.
I had also, almost forgoton to whine on about the lack of prostitutes..
And that, for me, is not only unusual, but means I can Honestly Recomend This Book..

Available at amazon in normal book form and on "Kindle"  The electronic ebook thing that I havent got.














 

 

[UK Pete]

Nice reveiw, sounds like you really went for it all in one sitting
Pete

[SteveD CB500K0]

A nice review KC - and written in your normal inimical style...

Anyone else read this book?

What did you think?


... I'm off to Amazon right now.


I think I'll sticky this thread for a while and see what comes of it.

[kaceyk2]

A nice review KC - and written in your normal inimical style

Steve, "inimical" means "tending to obstruct or harm, unfriendly, hostile"

I really tried hard as well!!
OR,
Did you mean "inimitable?" meaning "so good or unusual as to be immpossible to copy, unique, surpassing or defining imitation, matchless.." my misses had the oxford word book  to hand...

[SteveD CB500K0]

I blame spellcheck. I'm sure that's not what I wrote...

[kaceyk2]

You got spellcheck?
wow, I am still in the stoneage... I gotta shout over to the misses.."how do you spell........" usually she tells me, but more recently I am getting "google it for your F in self" "and dont forget to open a new tab first or when you go back to your post there wont be one"
Just asked, and apparently, the answer is "dont be stupid everyones got spellcheck, and If you haven't just go and download it"
See how clever wifes are...If she is wrong about everyone having it..( and she is cos I havent) she can still claim not being wrong by having told me how to get it.........
I also just got told,
"Do you think that something you download can check Voodoo spells?" (spell-check)
I will go and get it , thing is, If I remember from last time I had it...it struggled with my sisters name...

[RupertB]

Eye halve a spelling chequer
 

I have a spelling checker.
It came with my pea sea.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.
Its vary polished in it's weigh.
My checker tolled me sew.

A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when I rime.

Each frays come posed up on my screen
eye trussed too bee a joule.
The checker pours o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.

Bee fore a veiling checker's Hour
spelling mite decline,
And if we're lacks oar have a laps,
We wood bee maid too wine.

Butt now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flair,
Their are no fault's with in my cite,
Of nun eye am a ware.

Now spelling does knot phase me,
It does knot bring a tier.
My pay purrs awl due glad den
With wrapped word's fare as hear.

To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud,
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaw's are knot aloud.

Sow ewe can sea why aye dew prays,
Such soft wear four pea seas,
And why eye brake in two averse
Buy righting too pleas.

Anon.
But good for Luddites to recite to techies!

[kaceyk2]

spell check will not except my sisters name "Gaynor"
But it isn't as bad as google,
which asks "did you mean Gay nun?"   In this instance, I did not.