Suffrajitsu.com is pleased to present these two guest reviews of the Kindle Worlds stories The Pale Blue Ribbon and The Isle of Dogs, reviewed by Val Brown, author of the Toupie Lowther – her life website.
Click on the cover images below to visit the Kindle Worlds sales pages for each story!
THE PALE BLUE RIBBON by John Longenbaugh
A new, sparkling novella that opens up into an upper-class time frame wherein the young sportswoman “Miss Toupie” innocently falls in love with a charming young man. They become engaged to be married, but her engagement ring is villainously stolen. Sadly the charming young man rapidly shows an unadmirable side to his character: to her amazement he declines to seek out the villain, declaring that the ring was of little value and refusing to contact the police!
However, “Miss Toupie” is made of mightier stuff and she decides to turn detective and search for the mugger herself. Needing to know how to defend herself if needed, she prudently enrolls at the famous “Macpherson’s Gymnasium and School of Arms” – Fencing for Gentlemen”. Quickly becoming skilled to an extent that amazes the great MacPherson, she sets off fearlessly into deepest east end London, locates her villain and finally discovers the terrible truth …
Hovering around the reality of the real-life Toupie Lowther – who was, indeed, a noted sportswoman with both blade and racket – the author of this novella successfully merges her real life character into a thoughtful, vigourous and likeable heroine. Polished and dramatic, this a great new read.
THE ISLE OF DOGS by Michael Lussier
A new novella that will grip your imagination, The Isle of Dogs features the amazing all-fighting, all-women battalion of bodyguards – known widely as “Mrs. Pankhurst’s Amazons” – in a mystery tale of blackmail, villainy and kidnapping.
Shocked by the sudden suicide of a former Amazon, the Bartitsu babes search out and uncover the evil “Grex Canum“; a strangely secretive sodality with grim headquarters in a public house – the Anne Boleyn – situated on the aptly named Isle of Dogs in east London.
The fighting Amazons arrive on a dark night, primed and battle ready for the assault on the Anne Boleyn. They are led by Miss Persephone Wright (always known as Persi) – star of the graphic novel Suffrajitsu and a skilled champion with foot, fist and her deadly malacca fighting-stick. The Amazon Army soon attacks and holds the first and second floors of the Anne Boleyn, and finally Persi, along with Katie Brumbach the muscular heavyweight wrestler and the swordswoman Toupie Lowther – readily armed with her holstered and loaded Bisley Colt (and recently prey to the blackmailing Grex Canum herself) – fight their way up to the secret top floor, finally bursting into the black heart of the Grex Canum.
A good read that will keep the reader entranced by the action, The Isle of Dogs is smoothly presented with a fine unravelling of dramatic action. The incorporation of real life Amazons, trained in the application of the art of Bartitsu and fearful of no brutal opposition adds style as well as imagination to this well thought out and captivating novella.