Paul Mendelson – författare

Most people playing online poker think they are winning players when they''re actually losing month after month. But, if you have basic knowledge of the game and follow Paul Mendelson''s techniques, you can ensure that you win regularly and consistently.Find out how to:Select the best poker sites for your standard.Analyse your opponents and their games.Adapt your game to combat the styles of play you meet.Counter the costly dangers of ''tilt'' and temperament.Manage your bankroll and build it into serious money.Play to benefit from being alert while others - in another time zone - are exhausted.Make the right decisions - and avoid costly mistakes.Read your opponents correctly - and keep them guessing about you!

Learn how to play bridge with this simple step-by-step guide.While good bridge classes are, of course, of great value, this book is itself the complete tutorial. It will help you to learn properly without other help and give you a solid foundation on which to start playing this absorbing game.Work at your own paceUnderstand the key basic principlesLearn about the Acol system of biddingDiscover how to play a hand, both as declarer and in defence

Seven years ago in Cape Town three young white South African schoolboys were abducted in broad daylight on three consecutive days. They were never heard of again.Now, a new case for the unpredictable Colonel Vaughn de Vries casts a light on the original enquiry; for him, a personal failure which has haunted him for those seven years and has cost him his marriage and peace of mind.A former British government agent, friend to De Vries, provides intelligence on this new case, but is any of it admissible? Struggling in a mire of departmental and racial rivalry, De Vries seeks the whole truth and unravels a complex history of abuse, deception and murder. Challenging friends, colleagues and enemies, De Vries comes to realise he doesn''t know who is which.Set against the background of Cape Town and the endless, rolling South African veld, this chilling thriller reveals layer after layer of abuse - physical, political and psychological.Shortlisted for the Crime Writer''s Association Gold Dagger 2014 (Crime Novel of the Year)Praise for Paul Mendelson:''An excellent, uncompromising crime thriller made even better by its setting ... the story is two journeys in one, and I''m glad I took both'' Lee Child''A jaw-droppingly brilliant crime thriller. Imagine The Killing moved to Cape Town and into the landscape of the hot and dusty African veld'' Philip Glenister''The First Rule of Survival is an incredibly atmospheric, complex and dazzling debut from a thrilling and authentic new voice in crime fiction'' Brian McGilloway''An impressive debut'' The Times

Even after the release of Nelson Mandela and the promise of free elections, extremist groups terrorized South Africa, bombing churches, opening fire in bars and restaurants. Nearly twenty-five years ago, as a young Captain, Vaughn de Vries finds himself in pursuit of the suspects of a fatal bombing in his precinct, under the command of one of the most feared white police officers of the time: Major Kobus Nel. Out of radio communication and without clear evidence, the SAPS barge into a township and set off a chain of events which will resonate for a quarter of a century. In Cape Town in 2015, the heiress of an Apartheid-era industrialist is found murdered, her body posed to suggest a racial hate crime. But, as Colonel Vaughn De Vries investigates, possible motives for her death abound: a highly controversial art exhibition, her sexual preferences, her relationship - as yet unknown by the press - with the son of one of the heroes of The Struggle. And, moving South down through the country, five men are murdered, each with a connection to a point in history De Vries would sooner forget. When the link is made, De Vries must re-live the traumatic event to uncover the perpetrator. Old wounds, hidden in history, are exposed, and a mysterious killer approaches, whom no one seems able to stop.Longlisted for the 2015 Crime Writer''s Association Golden Dagger (Crime Novel of the Year)Praise for Paul Mendelson:''Authoritative and unblinkered fare'' Financial Times''Once more, South Africa is brought vividly to life in a fine crimer which delivers a warm change from the regular diet of Scandinavian angst'' Weekend Sport ''The Serpentine Road has been my discovery of the year. Paul Mendelson has the makings of a literary superstar'' Jenny Crwys Williams, Radio 702/Cape Talk 567 ''In another superb slice of South African noir, Mendelson illuminates the corruption and criminality that plagues a country still haunted by apartheid. A taut thriller which evokes a unique political and geographic landscape'' Cath Staincliffe ''An excellent, uncompromising crime thriller made even better by its setting ... the story is two journeys in one, and I''m glad I took both'' Lee Child''A jaw-droppingly brilliant crime thriller. Imagine The Killing moved to Cape Town and into the landscape of the hot and dusty African veld'' Philip Glenister''The First Rule of Survival is an incredibly atmospheric, complex and dazzling debut from a thrilling and authentic new voice in crime fiction'' Brian McGilloway''An impressive debut'' The Times

When the South African Police Service receive a panicked call for help from the wayward daughter of a former Apartheid-era politician, they discover only her body but, within it, a message which will take Colonel Vaughn de Vries and Don February of the Special Crimes Unit on a journey through their country - and their country''s past - to decipher and resolve. As organised crime grips South Africa, new players arrive in Cape Town, determined to exploit the poor and hopeless, promising redemption. While other government agencies snap impotently at the small fish, De Vries, linked by a personal connection, resolves to follow this trail to its source and take it down from the top. As decades old webs of corruption and influence are exposed, and the boundaries of morality blur, his decisions begin to impact on his friends, colleagues and family.

From the author of the acclaimed The First Rule of Survival, praised by Lee Child as ''excellent and uncompromising'', comes Paul Mendelson''s explosive latest thriller.Apostle Lodge looks out over the ocean, an award-winning mansion built by a renowned architect. Stark and minimal, its black opaque windows hide a terrible secret. As Colonel Vaughn de Vries investigates the depraved crime committed within its walls, he believes there may be more than one killer on the loose, all with connections to a charismatic man who, as a child, drowned his sister and shattered his family.And his work is not over yet.''A jaw-droppingly brilliant crime thriller. Imagine The Killing moved to Cape Town and into the landscape of the hot and dusty African veld'' Philip Glenister''Mendelson plots so smoothly and writes so powerfully'' The Guardian

This book shows you how to improve your bridge at both a social and competitive level.

Clear examples explain the detail of modern Acol bidding. This will enable the reader to plan and reassess their campaign step-by-step and calculate with precision who holds which cards.

Guidance is also given on how and when to obstruct or bluff, how to pinpoint the best leads and steal the best contracts, and ways to think strategically under pressure.

Unique at-the-table charts - designed to foster partnership understanding used appropriately at home, club or class - summarise key bids.

Many bridge books feature magical and inspiring hands but hands that are never seen in day-to-day play at the bridge table. Bridge: Winning Ways to Play Your Cards concentrates on the type of hands that will make a real difference to your scores and which will help you improve your game.

Discover how to assess your opponents'' strengths and weaknesses - in relation to your own - and win!

There is such an abundance of hints, tips and advice available to bridge players that when faced with a particularly difficult problem, we find ourselves scrambling to remember that crucial solution. In this book, Paul Mendelson explains that when you stop trying to remember what to do, but simply think instead, the answers to expert problems become more apparent, accessible and easier to apply at the table. Packed with tips, examples, hands to study and practise at the table, system improvements, guidance for maximising your score at duplicate pairs, and innovations just for you, for your partnership and group of bridge friends, this book will improve every reader''s game markedly.Following on from Control the Bidding and Winning Ways to Play Your Cards, Thinking About Bridge will reinforce some of the key elements of the game, whilst adding a new expert dimension on understanding to each discipline, making the game more enjoyable and your performance more successful.

Six entertaining thrillers featuring slovenly sleuth Chief Inspector Dover, Scotland Yard''s most unwanted manCantankerous and dishevelled, Chief Inspector Dover is no-one''s idea of a model detective - but he does have an uncanny knack for solving crimes. In these radio dramas, set in the 1960s and ''70s, he and his long-suffering Sergeant, Charlie McGregor, investigate sinister cases of kidnap and murder. The first four are adapted from Joyce Porter''s novels, while the latter two are original stories based on her characters.Dover Goes to Pott - The irascible Chief Inspector travels to the Yorkshire town of Pott Winckle to look into the murder of leading businessman Daniel Wibbley''s daughter.Dover and the Claret Tappers - When Dover is kidnapped, only to be released 36 hours later, he finds himself leading the hunt for a criminal gang. Can he catch them before they strike again?Dover Beats the Band - A body is found at Didcaster dump, naked, burned and strangled. Dover follows the trail to Rankin''s Holiday Ranch and an eccentric group of stamp collectors - but was the dead man really an innocent philatelist?Dover and the Unkindest Cut of All - Dover''s annual seaside break becomes a busman''s holiday after his wife witnesses a policeman throwing himself off a cliff. Was it suicide, and is it linked to the recent murder of a local gangster?Dover and the Sleeping Beauty - Isabel Slatcher has been in an irreversible coma for eight months after being shot outside her local church. Now she has been smothered to death. Are the shooter and the killer the same person, and if so, why did they wait till now to complete their evil deed?Dover and the Smoking Gun - McGregor takes compassionate leave to return to Glasgow for an old flame''s funeral. But was Fiona Gordon''s death accidental, or foul play? Dover heads north to find out...Kenneth Cranham stars as Chief Inspector Dover and Stuart McQuarrie as Sergeant McGregor, with casts including Carolyn Pickles, Crawford Logan, Shaun Prendergast and Frances Grey.Produced and directed by David Ian Neville© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

In bridge, there are thousands of rules, guidelines, and understandings - but which are golden?

Many players enjoy their game without knowing some of the most significant underlying facts about the game, making mistakes which ruin their scores. With some gentle and entertaining reading, all players can improve their game hugely, just by knowing the Golden Rules of Bridge.

From thirty years of teaching and playing, Paul Mendelson presents a book containing what he considers are the golden rules of bridge: the techniques and tips which occur most frequently and which provide the biggest edge against your opponents, and offer the biggest scoring advantages. He explains the thinking and logical reasoning behind each element - bidding, declarer play, defence - to ensure that readers remember and understand why they do what they do.

These tips and techniques will transform your results and enjoyment of the game, whether you play social rubber bridge or Chicago, club teams events or duplicate pairs. If you play an Acol-based system or any of the many natural bidding systems available, knowing the Golden Rules will improve your score and frustrate your opponents, leaving you in the best spots and them with the tough decisions.