This toe-tapping, fish-flapping, and worm-squirming adventure will have kids aged 2-8 in stitches.
Watch as these three tiny titans team up against the fisherman, Stan.
But guess who joins the underwater shenanigans?
A toothless Crocodile! With their hilarious hijinks and a pinch of teamwork, they give Stan the fright of his fishing life.
It’s a rip-roaring rhyme-time, proving that even the littlest critters can outsmart the biggest bullies. So dive into this gigglesome, fin-tastic tale, and let the underwater fun begin!
Christina has had a successful career in the Art, Design and TV Industry before owning her very own Art Gallery.
Inspired by her love of reading and doodling, Christina decided to put pen to paper and create ‘Dorothy Dustbucket.’
Splitting time between Europe and the UK, she lives in the beautiful county of Cheshire, along with her husband and two children, who provided much of the inspiration for the children’s books.
As grape harvest season rolls around, retired DCI Dan Armstrong and his beloved canine companion, Oscar, are looking forward to a nice quiet September. But when Dan is contacted about a mysterious death out in the Tuscan Hills, it seems that work must come before pleasure.
A suspicious find…
At first it appears that the body found lying outside a prestigious winery has been the result of a tragic hit and run. But then the police discover that this is a cover up for murder…but who would kill in such an idyllic spot and why?
A face from the past?
As Dan investigates, he meets famous ex rock star, Digger, owner of the winery and prestigious Podere Dei Santi hotel. Digger’s guests include wealthy businessmen, tourists, and, among them, suspected mafia hitmen. But more significant for Dan is a face he knows only too well from his own past and he soon finds that wine isn’t the only thing fermenting around him.
Could this murder be the start of a gangland war, or do the killer’s motives lie much closer to home?
Will complications from Dan’s past return to trouble his future? Either way, Dan and Oscar must work around the clock to solve another mystery.
T A Williams is the author of over twenty bestselling romances for HQ and Canelo and is now turning his hand to cosy crime, set in his beloved Italy, for Boldwood. The series will introduce us to retired DCI Armstrong and his labrador Oscar and the first book, entitled Murder in Tuscany, will be published in October 2022. Trevor lives in Devon with his Italian wife.
My thoughts: It’s another case for Detective Dan and Officer Oscar in beautiful Tuscany. This time there’s multiple murders to solve and potentially a dangerous mafiosa type is the killer.
Dan’s asked to help out with the translation work at a glamorous hotel and winery, owned by a retired rock star. Among the guests are a suspicious trio of “businessmen” and Dan’s ex-wife, awkward.
Luckily she’s seen and heard pretty much nothing, although her companion, a dodgy Anglo-Italian restaurant owner is a bit suspect, although he hasn’t done anything criminal here (hedgehog salami? No thank you)
It’s also Anna’s, Dan’s girlfriend, birthday, and she’s very understanding about him helping on the case, less so about the presence of his ex, who just seems to be hanging around like a bad smell, worse than wet Labrador (sorry Oscar).
Obviously, my favourite character, the always excellent Oscar, finds several clues and saves Dan (again), whatever would they do without him?
Another excellent, highly enjoyable, fiendish and clever case for the dynamic duo.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
‘The Brandon blood is dark with lies and treachery and as it flows through my heart, my vow is this: they will all pay.’
Hampton Court Palace 1530s
Anne Brandon has always understood the power of a king’s patronage and, though the court of Henry VIII is a dangerous place for women, as the daughter of the king’s best friend, Anne feels safer than most. But Anne’s husband Lord Powis is tiring of her childlessness and when Henry VIII begins plotting to rid himself of a queen in his quest for an heir, suddenly Anne’s life is in danger. And as whispers of the name of her friend Anne Boleyn get ever louder, there is peril in every loose word, every forbidden conversation.
Pembrokshire Present Day
Caroline Harvey has spent years helping her grandfather, the reclusive bestselling novelist Dexter Blake, hide from his legions of fans in his home on the Pembrokshire coast. After his death, the vultures begin to circle Dexter’s fortune. When Caroline’s ownership of the house she has inherited is called into question, her research into its history reveals it was once owned by Anne Brandon who had sought refuge there. Intrigued, Caroline is determined to discover why Anne fled the court of Henry VIII.
Two women divided by centuries but joined by secrets and courage. And when a twist in their histories threatens them both with the same fate – losing the man they love – their revenge will be the same too. Because there’s no one mightier than a woman underestimated or more powerful than the need to save those they love.
Bestseller Alexandra Walsh is back with a compelling, captivating insight into the Tudor court through the eyes of a woman who had only her guile to keep her alive. Perfect for all fans of Barbara Erskine, Philippa Gregory, Anne O’Brien and Elena Collins.
Alexandra Walsh is the bestselling author of dual timeline historical mysteries, previously published by Sapere. Her books range from the fifteenth century to the Victorian era and are inspired by the hidden voices of women that have been lost over the centuries. Formerly a journalist, writing for national newspapers, magazines and TV, her first book for Boldwood will be published in Spring 2023.
My thoughts: I really like these dual narrative stories, especially when they bring a forgotten woman in history back to life. Anne Brandon was the daughter of Henry VIII’s best friend and stepdaughter to his sister, the Dowager Queen of France, she lived a life of privilege but in a time where daughters were traded in marriage to ensure fortunes and land, favours and heirs.
Married to a cold hearted man, who cares only about his legacy, unable to give him children, she is in love with another, and considering the emphasis placed on marriage, is somehow able to live with her lover, far from court, while her estranged husband openly takes his mistress with him.
She was also a contemporary and possibly a friend of Anne Boleyn – Henry’s ill-fated second wife, so would have seen the huge upheaval and turmoil during her life.
What links her story to our modern day heroine is a plot of woodland on the Pembrokshire coast. Here reclusive writer Dexter Blake created his incredible sci-fi series that became a worldwide sensation, and here his granddaughter Caroline has made her home. She has a lot of secrets, and with Blake’s death, she’s finally coming clean, at least to her oldest friends, Ben and Gideon.
As she researches the land her home stands on, she learns about Anne Brandon and her bravery in defying the norm and living with the man she loved, rather than the husband she had been made to marry. In finding her own safe and beloved home, she lived a quiet but safe life. Aunt to the tragic Lady Jane Grey, she could have been right at the heart of Tudor court life, and had been as a younger woman, but in choosing her own path, she is instead an inspiration and one who should not have been forgotten.
Caroline’s story weaves around Anne’s and as her secrets come to light, can she find a way back to her true love, just as Anne did?
Clever, enjoyable, moving and enthralling.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
DC Jack Warr and his girlfriend Maggie have just moved to London to start a new life together. Though charming, Jack can’t seem to find his place in the world – until he’s drawn into an investigation that turns his life upside down.
In the aftermath of a fire at an isolated cottage, a badly charred body is discovered, along with the burnt remains of millions of stolen, untraceable bank notes.
Jack’s search leads him deep into a murky criminal underworld – a world he finds himself surprisingly good at navigating. But as the line of the law becomes blurred, how far will Jack go to find the answers – and what will it cost him?
In BURIED, it’s time to meet DC Jack Warr as he digs up the deadly secrets of the past . . .
My thoughts: Obviously, Lynda La Plante is one of the best crime writers out there, and her quality never lets up.
This series is so, so good. I have raved about it in person already to several friends, in the best way. Now it’s your turn faithful blog readers.
Jack Warr has recently joined the Met from Devon, and is plunged into a complicated case involving murder, robbery and conspiracy going back decades.
The story is so clever and I really love the gang of female crooks he uncovers, who wanted to do something really good with their ill gotten gains, but couldn’t, because the police were already suspicious of them. They’ve waited years, lost several of their original group and now, just as it seems they’ve been forgotten, a dead body and a burnt out cottage might spoil everything. Unless Jack looks the other way.
He’s also dealing with complicated personal issues – his beloved adoptive dad Charlie has terminal cancer and his parents are planning to take an around the world cruise for his final few months. He doesn’t want treatment, and he doesn’t want Jack to be upset.
This triggers a desire to find out more about his biological parents, especially his father. Even though his partner, Maggie, thinks this might not be for the best.
As he investigates his origins, it crosses paths with some of the names in his new case, will learning who his father was lead Jack down a dangerous path?
This is addictive writing, as soon as I finished this book, I was straight into book two, which I will tell you all about very soon.
If you love well written, gripping, intelligent crime writing, get reading!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
In 1031, an Arab scientist, a Jewish astronomer and a Christian monk gather under the dome of an observatory in Spain.
A foretelling written on the blade of a knife tells of a new ruler, whose power will come from the knowledge in a centuries old book. As its guardians begin to covet this knowledge for themselves, the book is drawn into the conflict between the houses of Wessex and Godwin, and England’s destiny. It will carry a secret at the heart of the succession to the English throne. But the book is in danger, from those who will use it for the wealth and power it can bring — or who want to destroy it.
From Spain to Normandy and England, The Book and the Knife: Thegn of Berewic is the story of the power of knowledge, of a generation—spanning blood feud, and of the struggle for control of England before the Norman invasion of 1066. A story of loyalty and treachery, love and hate.
Paul Cobb was born into a Yorkshire farming family and lives in Kent. A conservationist by profession and a historian by interest, he has lived and worked his whole life in the landscapes he writes about, and loves weaving his fictional characters around these as much as around the real figures from history.
Paul has also published poetry and is a former magazine columnist.
My thoughts: set before the Norman Conquest in 1066, which is a period I’m a bit hazy on history wise (at school it went Alfred the Great….Norman Conquest, which isn’t very helpful) during a time of struggle for the English throne between powerful families, this chronicles the events that lead to William, Duke of Normandy deciding to take the throne he was supposedly promised by force.
The characters know William, they’re in his orbit and some even serve him, but the power struggle for the seat of Berewic is beneath his notice, even though it’s important in how the future will play out, two young men’s destinies are tied to it.
The sacred book passes through several hands, some who would use its knowledge for their own gain, and some who would safeguard it for the future. It’s a bit like the Holy Grail or the Philosopher’s Stone (which is even in the book), powerful, dangerous and desired by many.
This is the first in a series and does a lot of world building, taking us back more than 900 years to a time when Westminster Cathedral is being built, when the Britain we live in today was very, very different. From Spain to France to England, the journey the book and it’s secrets go on leads to power and conflict.
Interesting and clearly well researched, with lots of detail to bring the period and the figures, real and imagined, to life.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 