Category: blog tour

Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge is bestselling author Spencer Quinn’s first novel in a new series since the meteoric launch of Chet and Bernie — introducing the irresistible and unforgettable Mrs. Plansky, in a story perfect for book clubs and commercial fiction readers.

Mrs. Loretta Plansky, a widow in her seventies, is settling into retirement in Florida while dealing with her 98-year-old father and fielding requests for money from her beloved children and grandchildren. Thankfully, her new hip hasn’t changed her killer tennis game one bit. One night Mrs. Plansky is startled awake by a phone call from a voice claiming to be her grandson Will, who needs ten thousand dollars to get out of a jam. By morning, Mrs. Plansky has lost everything. Law enforcement announces that Loretta’s life savings have vanished, and that it’s hopeless to find the scammers behind the heist.

First humiliated, then furious, Loretta Plansky refuses to be just another victim. In a courageous bid for justice, Mrs. Plansky follows her only clue on a whirlwind adventure to a small village in Romania to get her money and her dignity back — and perhaps find a new lease on life, too.

Spencer Quinn is the bestselling author of eight Chet and Bernie mystery series, as well as the #1 New York Times bestselling Bowser and Birdie series. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife Diana and dogs Audrey and Pearl. Keep up with him by visiting SpenceQuinn.com.

My thoughts: this was great, I want to be Loretta Planksy when I grow up. She could have just sat there and given up when her life savings are stolen in a telephone scam. One of those horrible ones that you hear about every now and then targeting the elderly. My own grandparents have received similar phone calls, though not this exact one, in the past and as my parents get older I worry about them too – these scammers are smart.

But not Mrs Plansky, she’s not taking this nonsense and when law enforcement don’t seem too keen to push to go after the gang who took her money – she buys a plane ticket to Romania and goes hunting.

She’s an active seventy-something and not afraid to get stuck in, the American Embassy in Bucharest try to send her straight back to Florida, but instead she rents a car and drives off to the small town she’s heard back in the States from an slightly more loose lipped FBI agent, than he should be.

This is a funny, wry revenge thriller with an incredible protagonist in the brilliant and determined Mrs Plansky, culminating in a chase through the Carpathian mountains to save two young men and a journalist from thugs.

I want Mrs P to start her own detective agency, helping other older people who’ve been targeted by scammers and con artists, or who just need someone to help them when officialdom fails. I think she’d be fantastic at that. She’s not afraid of action – climbing out of windows and sneaking around secret tunnels. I reckon she’d do a better job than some of the cops out there.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Mrs. Sidhu – unofficial Aunty to everyone, caterer, and amateur sleuth from Slough – spices up the lives of Berkshire’s elite with both her mouth-watering dishes and her sharp detective skills. But when she stirs up trouble among the rich and ruthless, she finds herself an outsider in her own community.

Banished to the kitchen by her boss and sentenced to an endless loop of aubergine bhajis, Mrs. Sidhu seizes the opportunity to whip up a new recipe for success – getting a job as a private chef at an exclusive celebrity rehab retreat. But when a therapist is found dead in the quiet village, Mrs. Sidhu’s appetite for mystery is rekindled.

As the plot thickens, it becomes clear that the killer is picking victims through a twisted raffle at the village fete. Is a vengeful spirit returning to exact a horrifying revenge, or is there an impostor among the residents hiding a deadly secret?

Suk grew up along the M4, the draughty corridor that connects London to Slough. The son of immigrants, his upbringing was filled with discipline, love and aunties. At an early age, he got his head stuck into books and escaped into other worlds. He has long believed that one of his aunties would be the perfect crime solver.

Suk Pannu has written for some of Britain’s best-loved Asian shows including Goodness Gracious Me and five series of the award-winning The Kumars at No 42. He has also contributed to radio shows like The News Quiz and Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive, and he has had several successful series and pilots of his own. This is his debut novel.

My thoughts: first of all it took me ages to get the pun in the title because I say scone with an ‘e’ like stone not gone. But that’s a me issue (me and a lot of other people!)

Anyway, I didn’t know this series from the radio, but my mum did, so I now need to seek it out online and listen. But I thought the book was hilarious and I loved Mrs Sidhu, she reminded me of a lot of my friends’ mums and aunties, always feeding everyone, always worrying and a lot smarter than you might think.

Mrs Sidhu knows people, and that’s her secret talent, she can read them, she’s sure everyone else is looking in the wrong place, at the wrong suspect, and missing the clues. And of course, she’s right.

But even her detective friend overlooks her theories, and lets others lead him the wrong way. They’re all fascinated by the “Dr” who runs the rehab centre, and celebrities in recovery, missing the quietly odd cult still existing in their midst. But not Mrs Sidhu, who follows her own path, solves the murders, and a few other mysteries along the way. All the time cooking up a storm and producing perfect scones for the fete. More please!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

For Matt Forrester, The Forrester Detective Agency is going from strength to strength: they’ve expanded their office space and even hired a new office manager – a qualified and astute woman named Carol.
What starts as a simple burglary case soon turns into something darker. The victim of said burglary soon turns up dead, after engaging in threats with the local yobs she believed to have been responsible.
But it soon becomes clear that there’s more at play here, and Matt – alongside sister Hermia, partner Steve, and life partner Karen – will have to put all their skills to the test, even if it puts them in
danger…
Purchase

Anita Waller is the author of many bestselling psychological thrillers and the Kat and Mouse crime series. She lives in Sheffield, which continues to be the setting of many of her thrillers.

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My thoughts: the Forrester Detective Agency is getting plenty of work, mostly of the cheating spouse kind, when there’s a burglary round the corner. It’s one of Karen’s official police ones, but Matt casts an eye over it, hoping he can help.

While Steve has a landscaping client whose garden has been trashed, and as well as putting it right, he offers to look into the incident.

A brilliant new receptionist, in the shape of scone baking, file sorting, super capable Carol, helps them get the office into shape and creates a database, WATSON, to keep their cases organised.

A strange woman, claiming to be an old friend of Matt’s dad, has appeared but no one has heard of her, but Carol offers to dig through the files for a trace of her. What does this woman really want?

As the team work on their cases, there’s still time for family, although Harry is struggling, and needs his dad more than ever with a new baby sister in the picture.

Another gripping and intelligent thriller that might keep you awake if you read it too late!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.