A train crashes in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, leaving forty-three people dead. A prayer card of Saint Expeditus, the patron saint of urgent matters, flutters above the wreckage.
Hugo, a criminal on the run for murder, is on the train. He seizes his chance to sneak out of the wreckage unsuspected, abandoning his possessions – and, he hopes, his identity – among bodies mangled beyond recognition.
As the police descend on the scene, only grizzled Detective Domínguez sees a link between the crash and his murder case. Soon, he’s on Hugo’s tail. But he hasn’t banked on everything from the media to his mother-in-law getting in the way.
My thoughts:this is a short book but it packs a real punch as Hugo, suspected of murder, is involved in a terrible train accident. He escapes from hospital and goes into hiding, sort of.
His partner and daughter have no idea if he’s even survived and his mother-in-law sees an opportunity to get herself on TV. Seeking Hugo (but not for any particularly altruistic reasons) her family are suddenly all over the news, and the impact on Marta and her daughter is carefully and cleverly revealed.
This is an intriguing and complex narrative, peopled with a cast of newsreaders, sisters, assistants and stray dogs. A slice of unreal life really. Very interesting and enjoyable.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Princess Altagracia has lost everything. After a bloody civil war, her twin sister has claimed not just the crown of their planet Szayet but the Pearl of its prophecy, a computer that contains the immortal soul of their god. Stripped of her birthright, Altagracia prepares to flee the planet – just as Matheus Ceirran, Commander of the interstellar Empire of Ceiao, arrives in deadly pursuit. Princess Altagracia sees an opportunity to win back her planet, her god, and her throne . . . if she can win over the Commander and his distrustful right-hand officer, Anita.
But talking her way into Commander Matheus’s good graces, and his bed, is only the beginning. Dealing with the most powerful man in the galaxy is almost as dangerous as war, and Altagracia is quickly torn between Matheus and the wishes of the machine god that whispers in her ear.
For Szayet’s sake, and her own, Altagracia will need to become more than a princess with a silver tongue. She will have to become a queen as history has never seen before – even if it breaks an empire.
A spectacular space opera debut perfect for readers of Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice and Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire, inspired by the lives and loves of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.
My thoughts: I only really know about Cleopatra and Julius Caesar from Shakespeare and a few other places but I do remember a few things like the carpet delivery and the incredible description of the royal barge Shakespeare lifted wholesale from a historical record.
Inspired by their romance and Caesar’s political machinations, this turns countries into planets and those clever Romans into the Empire of Ceiao, conquerors of the cosmos and bickering members of the Council.
There are a lot of political intrigues and plots, with various figures from antiquity becoming a new version. Marc Anthony becomes Anita – Ceirran’s right hand woman, but with blood just as hot as the original.
It’s all very cleverly done and you don’t really need to know anything about the notorious Egyptian Queen and her Roman lovers to enjoy it or get to grips with the sci fi and magical elements.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
High Fantasy with a double-shot of self-reinvention
Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.
However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.
A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.
My thoughts: this book is a lot of fun. Viv is a great protagonist. All she wants to do is hang up her sword and open a coffee shop, but trouble has a way of finding her.
So she makes some new friends and deals with the trouble, gets her coffee machine working, and is in business. There’s also some time for romance and delicious baked treats! If you’re a regular fantasy reader you can play spot the tropes and enjoy the way they’re turned upside down in this funny, entertaining read.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Return to #1 New York Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn world of Scadrial as its second era, which began with THE ALLOY OF LAW, comes to its earth-shattering conclusion in THE LOST METAL.
For years, frontier lawman turned big-city senator Waxillium Ladrian has hunted the shadowy organization the Set – with his late uncle and his sister among their leaders – since they started kidnapping people with the power of Allomancy in their bloodlines. When Detective Marasi Colms and her partner, Wayne, find stockpiled weapons bound for the Outer City of Bilming, this opens a new lead. Conflict between the capital, Elendel, and the Outer Cities only favors the Set, and their tendrils now reach to the Elendel Senate – whose corruption Wax and his wife, Steris, have sought to expose – and Bilming is even more entangled.
After Wax discovers a new type of explosive that can unleash unprecedented destruction and realizes that the Set must already have it, an immortal kandra serving Scadrial’s god, Harmony, reveals that Bilming has fallen under the influence of another god: Trell, worshipped by the Set. And Trell isn’t the only factor at play from the larger Cosmere – Marasi is recruited by offworlders with strange abilities who claim their goal is to protect Scadrial…at any cost.
Wax must choose whether to set aside his rocky relationship with God and once again become the Sword that Harmony has groomed him to be. If no one steps forward to be the hero Scadrial needs, the planet and its millions of people will come to a sudden and calamitous ruin.
My thoughts: this is a heck of a way to end Era Two of the Mistborn series. A huge bomb might just destroy Elendel if Wax and Wayne (plus Steris and Marasi) don’t stop it.
There’s visits from Death, Harmony (God) and even immortal heroes like Kell (the Survivor from Era One), all bringing stark warnings of danger from beyond. If army Autonomy is building enters their world, nothing they do will stop this foreign god defeating Harmony and destroying their world.
Wax’s sister is deeply involved in these nefarious plots and he knows he might have to kill her to stop things escalating. But she’s not the only one under thrall to Autonomy, and out in the town of Bilming all sorts of strange things are happening. With new allies from other worlds, and new metals, they might just be the heroes this rusting world needs. But there will be loss and sacrifice too.
I am a huge fan of the Mistborn series and was very excited to read this one. I am intrigued by the project Sanderson is creating with this series. Each era moves a little further forward in time and technology. So the next story cycle will be more advanced than these books, and the next even more so and so on.
Which means saying goodbye to this set of characters – Wax, Wayne, Steris, Marasi and the others will go on but not feature again. Some will, since gods and kandra are immortal, I imagine a few will appear here and there, but not the human ones. The Lost Metal is a fantastic, high stakes, ending, full of all of the adventure and chaos you want. And while we wait for the Third Era, time to read the whole series so far, again!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
A severed hand is found washed up on a beach next to the Queen’s estate at Sandringham.
Elizabeth has become quite accustomed to solving even the most complex of murders. And though she quickly identifies the 70-year-old victim, Edward St Cyr, from his signet ring, the search for his killer is not so straightforward.
St Cyr led an unconventional, often controversial life, making many enemies along the way in the quiet, rural world of North Norfolk, where everyone knows each other’s business.
But when a second man is found dead, and a prominent local woman is nearly killed in a hit-and-run, the mystery takes an even darker turn.
With the Christmas break coming to an end, the Queen and her trusted assistant Rozie must race to discover how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Or the next victim may be found even closer to home.
The third book (which can be read as a stand-alone), in the delightfully clever mystery series following the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2016 as she secretly solves crimes alongside her royal duties.
My thoughts; this series is just so much fun. The Queen (RIP Your Maj) is at Sandringham for Christmas with various members of the Royal family and staff. Including Rozie, her assistant secretary, and the person she entrusts with secret errands and investigations.
A hand has been found up the Norfolk coast, that belongs to the son of one of the Queen’s late friends and neighbours. Scandal and skulduggery in deepest North Norfolk. But Her Majesty has good instincts for these things and sends Rozie off to look into it, while making a few discreet enquiries herself. As one does when one is the monarch.
Accompanied by her corgis and occasionally Lady Caroline (her lady-in-waiting), the Queen visits some old friends, keeps Prince Philip updated and even has time for some fun with her great-grandchildren, as well as visiting her various animals on the estate.
This would make a great present next month for anyone who was fond of our late Queen and enjoys a fun and funny story. The author writes the Royals sympathetically and with warmth, but not overly sentimental, making them seem a bit more human than the press sometimes does. I like this version of the Queen and Rozie too.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
A uniquely amusing and page-turning mystery novel set in January 2003, the eve of the Iraq War.
On sabbatical at Oxford University, Scottish teacher Judith Fraser is horrified to find a professor dead, a student missing and eccentric housemates who are not as they claim.
Whom can she trust? Is she being followed? And what is the relevance of ancient text fragments appearing from Iraq?
Aided by personable DCI Steadman and spirited Rhodes Scholar, Abbie Goldman, Judith unravels mysteries of locked doors, missing computers, cat’s collars and Reuter’s reports. Traumatized to the hilt by the kidnapping of her medical student daughter Sophie, Judith reappraises what’s important in life, learns not to trust first impressions, and finds power, sex and politics have changed little in three millennia.
Throw in the CIA, Saddam Hussein’s ancient king obsession, a glimpse of an Oxford underbelly and a hint of romance, to find a cross-genre novel for lovers of Helen Fielding, Lucy Foley, Agatha Christie and Dan Brown. Buy a copy
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Anne Pettigrew was a family doctor for 31 years and also has a degree in Medical Anthropology from Oxford. She wrote extensively in the national medical and lay press until retirement when she turned to penning novels about women doctors, discrimination, and crime. She was a Bloody Scotland Crime Fiction Festival 2019 Spotlight Author – ‘one to watch.’ Member of several writers’ groups and multiple short story competition winner, she lives in Ayrshire and enjoys good books, good wine, and good company.
Past novels: Apart from containing crime, Not The Life Imagined and Not The Deaths Imagined follow Dr Beth Slater’s career and challenges from the 1960s to the ‘80s. This latest stand-alone novel, The Carnelian Tree, charts the tribulations of Scots teacher Judith Fraser on sabbatical in Oxford at the time of the Iraq War.
My thoughts: I remember 2003, I was a teenager and the news was full of the threat of war in the Middle East and Bush and Blair’s fear-mongering.
This is set then, and a Stop the War protest even takes place in the later part of the book. It’s very interesting as some of the characters, like Jared, are caught up in things much bigger than them and related to what was happening in Iraq.
Judith is taking a sabbatical and doing an MA in Education – I’ve done an MA and they’re hard work so I appreciate that she has to keep rushing to finish her assignments, despite the murder and then the kidnapping of her daughter. I’m glad mine was less dramatic.
All of the terrible events are linked to some ancient clay tablets, smuggled out of Iraq, and an obsession with ancient kings like Gilgamesh and Nebuchadnezzar. The murdered professor was an expert in ancient history and was writing a new translation of Gilgamesh based on the clay tablets.
The book has lots of twists and turns, some characters turn out to be better than you expect and some very dodgy. I liked DCI Steadman, he was a nice and kind man as well as being an excellent copper. His fledgling romance with Judith was lovely.
I liked Judith and her friends too, Abbie gets really into investigating their suspicious housemate Guy and then starts branching out. If they decide teaching isn’t for them, she and Judith could easily open a PI agency!
Funny, clever and with plenty of strange occurrences, kidnappings, strange postal deliveries and spies, conspiracies and broken hearts to keep us all going. Really great read.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Everything you’ve heard about Wonderland is wrong.
Instead of falling through the looking glass, I’ve entered a cursed world where the tarot deck has come alive, there are impossible creatures that talk, and the high seas are deadly and filled with pirates.
My name’s Soren, and I’m not innocent. But my sister is and I’ll do anything to protect her. When my final con goes wrong and I steal a golden tarot card from a fortune teller that can open portals, I’m whisked away like Alice and the white rabbit, only it’s a spider who beckons me and Tarotland makes Wonderland look like a walk in the park.
I wake up on the ship of the Devil himself who brands me a spy, trading one jail for another. He has a darkness in him that sends shivers down my spine. Still, there’s something about him that piques my curiosity.
All I want is to get back home to my sister, but the only way to do that is to get the Devil to release me, and steal the Ace of Wands, a weapon of great power inside of this world. Unfortunately, it’s being protected by the Empress’s magic, and she wants my head on a platter.
Unless I can steal the Ace of Wands, there’s no escape from this world, and I’ll never see my sister again.
Killian Wolf is a Miami, Florida native who enjoys pirates, rum, and skulls as much as she loves writing about dark magick and sorcerers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology and a Master of Science in Environmental Archaeology and Palaeoeconomy.
Killian writes books about obtaining magickal powers, and stepping into other dimensions. She lives in England with her husband, a tornado of a cat, and the most timid snake you’d ever meet.
When she isn’t writing, you might find her at an Archaeological dig, rock climbing, or sipping on dark spiced rum while working on a painting.
My thoughts: Alice in Wonderland this isn’t. Soren, a streetwise foster kid from the US steals a beautiful tarot card and ends up in another world, one based not on playing cards, but on the tarot. There’s an Empress, a Heirophant, a Devil and a whole lot of Fools. Curses are real and Soren’s on a ship full of cursed pirates on a mission to bring down the Empress.
I found this really enjoyable, I am a huge Alice nerd (seriously) and am fascinated by retellings (at one point I collected them, till I ran out of shelf space!) and this is a really interesting take on Lewis Carroll.
Soren is much more clued in than Alice was (although the age gap and the fact modern teens are much more savvy might have a lot to do with it), and tries to work out what’s going on and how to get back to her sister, rather than just being enchanted by everything. Whether you’re familiar with Alice and her adventures or not, this is a fun fantasy novel.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
A women-in-horror anthology edited by Lindy Ryan. Foreword by Christina Henry.
Into the Forest features twenty-three new and exclusive stories inspired by the Baba Yaga—the witch of Slavic folklore—written by some of today’s leading women-in-horror. Featured contributors include Bram Stoker Award® winners and nominees Gwendolyn Kiste, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Mercedes M. Yardley, Monique Snyman, Donna Lynch, Lisa Quigley, and R. J. Joseph, among others, as well as New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline West, and an introduction by novelist Christina Henry. The collection also features a poem from Bram Stoker Award® winning poet, Stephanie M. Wytovich, and pieces penned by “freshly hatched” voices of women-in-horror from around the globe
Deep in the dark forest, in a cottage that spins on birds’ legs behind a fence topped with human skulls, lives the Baba Yaga. A guardian of the water of life, she lives with her sisters and takes to the skies in a giant mortar and pestle, creating tempests as she goes. Those who come across the Baba Yaga may find help, or hinderance, or horror.
She is wild, she is woman, she is witch—and these are her tales.
Edited by Lindy Ryan (Under Her Skin), this collection brings together some of today’s leading voices of women-in-horror as they pay tribute to the baba yaga, and go Into the Forest. Each story reflects the wild and temperamental nature of the Baba Yaga, ranging from dark fantasy and folklore to horror as each go deep in the dark forest, and the diverse and inclusive experiences of women as they look to Baba Yaga as their muse.
Lindy Ryan is a bestselling and multi-award-winning author-editor-director with numerous titles in development for film/television adaptation. An award-winning professor, Lindy has published two textbooks on visual data analytics as well as numerous papers and chapters. She also writes seasonal romance as Lindy Miller and is the author of the forthcoming books-to-film Renovate My Heart and The Magic Ingredient. Lindy currently serves as a board member for the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and was named a 2020 Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree. She is an active member and staff volunteer for the Horror Writers Association.
Christina Henry is the best-selling author of the BLACK WINGS series featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle. She enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies and/or subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.
My thoughts: as a child the only witch I was afraid of was Baba Yaga, all of the fairy tales, myths and legends I read, all of the scary things dwelling in the pages but only an old woman in a house on chicken legs, with a fence made of bones, who travels in a giant pestle and mortar, terrified me.
This excellent collection of poems, short stories and reimaginings reignited the finger of fear that Baba Yaga left in my spine as a child. I can’t pick a favourite piece, they’re all so good. And while all of the authors are women, they’re a diverse crowd and bring their unique styles and backgrounds to these tales. While the Baba Yaga originated in Slavic countries and the most famous version is Russian, she resonates in many cultures and traditions, the old woman whose sometimes young, sometimes one or three, and sometimes she’s you, or me…
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
When Gemma Lamb takes a job at a quirky English girls’ boarding school, she believes she’s found the perfect escape route from her controlling boyfriend – until she discovers the rest of the staff are hiding sinister secrets: ● Hairnet, the eccentric headmistress who doesn’t hold with academic qualifications ● Oriana Bliss, Head of Maths and master of disguise ● Joscelyn Spryke, the suspiciously rugged Head of PE ● Geography teacher Mavis Brook, surreptitiously selling off the library books ● creepy night watchman Max Security, with his network of hidden tunnels Even McPhee, the school cat, is leading a double life. Tucked away in the school’s beautiful private estate in the Cotswolds, can Gemma stay safe and build a new independent future, or will past secrets catch up with her and the rest of the staff? With a little help from her new friends, including some wise pupils, she’s going to give it her best shot… Purchase
When an American stranger turns up claiming to be the rightful owner of the school’s magnificent country estate it could spell trouble for everyone at St Bride’s . . . No one can believe it when the headmistress, Hairnet, instantly accepts the stranger’s claim, not: ● the put-upon Bursar, ousted from his cosy estate cottage by the stranger ● the enigmatic Max Security, raring to engage in a spot of espionage ● the sensible Judith Gosling, who knows more about Lord Bunting than she’s letting on ● the irrepressible Gemma Lamb, determined to keep the school open. Only fickle maths teacher Oriana Bliss isn’t suspicious of the stranger, after all she can just marry him and secure St Bride’s future forever. That’s if inventive pranks by the girls – and the school cat – don’t drive him away first. Who will nab the stranger first? Oriana with the parson’s noose? Gemma with sinister secrets? Or could this be the end of St Bride’s? Purchase
Gemma Lamb is ready for an uneventful term at St Bride’s, she’s had enough of dastardly deeds and sinister strangers. However, she’s barely back at school before: ● Unlucky in love Oriana is sneaking around at odd hours ● Handsome Joe is keeping secrets ● Militant Mavis feels a scandal is brewing It’s all a bit much, but when a stranger appears Gemma thinks she’s had enough. But this stranger isn’t so sinister, instead he looks rather too familiar. If Gemma can’t get him away from the school the whispers and scandal his presence could unleash may just close St Bride’s doors for good. Purchase
Debbie Young is the much-loved author of the Sophie Sayers and St Brides cosy crime mysteries. She lives in a Cotswold village where she runs the local literary festival, and has worked at Westonbirt School, both of which provide inspiration for her writing. She is bringing both her series to Boldwood in a 13-book contract. They will be publishing several new titles in each series and republishing the backlist, starting in September 2022.
My thoughts: one of my favourite tropes is the boarding school story (Malory Towers, The Chalet School, you name it, I’ve probably read it!) and these books are a lot of fun. Told from the perspective of Gemma Lamb, newly the head of English (a team of one) at St Bride’s school for girls. The school holds a lot of secrets, among the staff, and of course the students have theirs too. But Gemma discovers it’s also full of kindness and good people, quirky though they are.
She helps see off several attempts to discredit and bring down the school and its unusual headteacher. A safe haven for the daughters of rich men, some of whom are perhaps a little questionable, and even teachers on the run or in hiding cough *PE teacher Jo* cough.
There’s lots of hijinks and a cat that changes gender in term time (which made me laugh out loud and my own cat jumped!), dodgy money grubbing frauds, bonfires, library books that could fund the school for some time, the lovelorn Burser, tunnels, a rather crazy security guard, expeditions to the town, all sorts of excitement. I think I would have liked St Bride’s even if my parents were perhaps wise in not giving in to my requests to go to boarding school when I was 10.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
“Blood is all there is.”“What happens when the blood is no longer enough?” The oldest and gravest of the Wild Folk laws dictates that human flesh must not be consumed. When half-eaten bodies start turning up between Old London and the North, Yannia Wilde knows the killer can only be one of her kind. When Yannia’s betrothed, Dearon, insists on joining forces with her and Karrion, things get even more complicated. While Yannia tries to balance tracking down the killer with the tension between her, Dearon, and Karrion, another case in Old London draws her attention. A West Mage Council member, whom Yannia exposed as a Leech only days before, has gone missing, and his girlfriend is found murdered in his flat. Is the Leech, a master of deception, capable of murder, or has someone framed him? Caught in the web of Old London’s political intrigue, Yannia must learn to play the game and to choose her allegiances with care. But to catch a predator of her kind, she must also embrace her wildness and set aside everything that makes her human. Purchase
My thoughts: I had heard of this series and read book one, but somehow missed the rest (I have fixed that omission now) but I think this works as a standalone as well as a continuation.
A series of terrible murders, kidnapped children, and Yannia is looking for a Wild Folk gone rogue. There’s also a Leech (who steals the power of others) on the Council, who might be a murderer too. Lots for her, Karrion and Jamie to investigate.
Then there’s her complicated relationship with Dearon, Elderman elect, from back home in the Wild Folk’s Northern lands. Hes her father’s heir and they’re supposed to be engaged, but despite the attraction between them, she’s not entirely thrilled to have him accompany her to London to “assist” in the hunt for the killer.
I was fascinated by the magic system in these books, it’s clever and intriguing, Britain has a long history of nature worship and folk magic. Books like The Rivers of London and The King’s Watch series both use a similar concept, solving magical crimes but with magic systems linked to nature and the land.
I like Yannia, she’s a clever and thoughtful detective, even when working as a PI for some unscrupulous people, she keeps her suspicions to herself till she has proof and works well with both Karrion and Jamie. I liked that the Met know about magic and no one seems bothered by it.
The plot was clever, with enough twists and turns for any crime fiction fan. The fact that there remains cases unsolved at the end was an interesting twist in itself – so many books end with everything tied up neatly in a bow, but here much remains to be done, hopefully in the next book.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 