Category: reviews

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Find You – Mary Burton

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The chase is on in this utterly suspenseful and unputdownable mystery from New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.

After being on the run for the last nine months, Kristen Rodale has finally settled in a small town in Virginia, where she hopes her dangerous and deadly brother Benito can never find her.
 
But former FBI agent, Dane Cambia, has other ideas: after his sister died at the hands of Kristen’s brother, he wants to hunt Kristen down and use her as bait to get his final revenge on Benito.
 
Cambia manages to locate Kristen, setting his plan in motion. But playing into the killer’s hands is just the beginning of Kristen and Cambia’s new nightmare…

My thoughts: I felt a bit sorry for Kristen, none of this is her fault and she’s been used as a pawn by her brother and then by Dane and Lucien. All she wants is the quiet life, keeping her head down, in a place where she finally feels safe.

Yes, she should have testified but how many people might have died protecting her on the way to court. Dane manipulates her and uses her, rather than just being honest and asking for her help.

I got a bit frustrated reading this because I don’t agree that falling for Dane was the right storyline, Kristen should have kicked him out when she learnt the truth and stayed with Sheridan and Crystal, running the yoga studio. Though I am glad her awful thug of a brother got his comeuppance in the end.

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

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Blog Tour: The Shot – Sarah Sultoon

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Samira is an up-and-coming TV journalist, working the nightshift at a major news channel and yearning for greater things. So when she’s offered a trip to the Middle East, with Kris, the station’s brilliant but impetuous star photographer, she leaps at the chance In the field together, Sami and Kris feel invincible, shining a light into the darkest of corners … except the newsroom, and the rest of the world, doesn’t seem to care as much as they do. Until Kris takes the photograph. With a single image of young Sudanese mother, injured in a raid on her camp, Sami and the genocide in Darfur are catapulted into the limelight. But everything is not as it seems, and the shots taken by Kris reveal something deeper and much darker … something that puts not only their careers but their lives in mortal danger. Sarah Sultoon brings all her experience as a CNN news executive to bear on this shocking, searingly authentic thriller, which asks immense questions about the world we live in. You’ll never look at a news report in the same way again…

Sarah Sultoon is a journalist and writer, whose work as an international news executive at CNN has taken her all over the world, from the seats of power in both Westminster and Washington to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. She has extensive experience in conflict zones, winning three Peabody awards for her work on the war in Syria, an Emmy for her contribution to the coverage of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, and a number of Royal Television Society gongs. As passionate about fiction as nonfiction, she recently completed a Masters of Studies in Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge, adding to an undergraduate language degree in French and Spanish, and Masters of Philosophy in History, Film and Television. When not reading or writing she can usually be found somewhere outside, either running, swimming or throwing a ball for her three children and dog while she imagines what might happen if… Her debut thriller The Source is currently in production with Lime Pictures, and was a Capital Crime Book Club pick and a number one bestseller on Kindle.

My thoughts: this book was so good, gripping, shocking and impossible to put down. There is something about the character of Kris that is so compelling, but then all the women in the book would probably agree.

Heading to some of the worst atrocities in the world (Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur) with naive but talented Sami at his side, Kris captures the human interest stories we, as consumers of news and media, want. The ones that are more than just facts and figures. Quite literally, the faces of these human tragedies. Sami puts them together for the team back home, not realising there’s something much darker going on.

The final section of the book flips everything that’s gone before upside down. Suddenly there’s something else going on, acts of mercy or cruelty? Sami’s naivete was a shield, but others were watching and picking the story out. Absolutely brilliant writing, honestly not at all where I thought this book was going. Not giving anything away, so you’ll have to read it yourself.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Dread Wood – Jennifer Killick

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Turn the lights on. Lock the door. Things are about to get SERIOUSLY SCARY!

The brand new must-read middle-grade novel from the author of super-spooky Crater Lake. Perfect for 9+ fans of R.L.Stine’s Goosebumps

It’s basically the worst school detention ever. When classmates (but not mate-mates) Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school on a SATURDAY, they think things can’t get much worse. But they’re wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary.

What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keeping humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute…? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang’s only hope is to work together. But it’s no coincidence that they’re all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge…

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Jennifer Killick is the author of Crater Lake, the Alex Sparrow series, and middle-grade sci-fi adventure Mo, Lottie and the Junkers. She regularly visits schools and festivals, and her books have three times been selected for The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge. She lives in Uxbridge, in a house full of children, animals and Lego. When she isn’t busy mothering or step-mothering (which isn’t often) she loves to read, write and run, as fast as she can.

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My thoughts: The Breakfast Club is one of my favourite films, with its group of misfits thrown together for a Saturday detention – something my school thankfully didn’t have. But Dread Wood school does, and this might be the worst detention ever because there’s something lurking in the grounds of the school and it’s hungry.

I should also state I am massively arachnophobic and reading this book freaked me out – a lot. If spiders aren’t your jam, don’t read this just before bed.

Angelo, Hallie, Gus and Naira are thrown together but they combine their individual smarts and talents as a group to fight back against those who want to hurt them and save the day, if not the school, but who hasn’t wanted to blow up at least one part of their school?

The first in a new series featuring this intrepid gang – The Loser Club – as Gus dubs them, it’s funny, smart and a bit creepy. There’s also bonus points for positive disability rep and diversity – no one is negative about the differences between them, which is great to see. And the gang do learn their lesson – they didn’t need to be menaced by monsters and crazed scientists to learn it either. Which bodes well for the rest of the series. Can’t wait.

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

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Blog Tour: The Book Share – Phaedra Patrick

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It’s never too late to start a new chapter…

The utterly charming and feel-good new novel from the bestselling author of The Secrets of Sunshine and The Library of Lost and Found.

Liv Green loves losing herself in a good book. But her everyday reality is less romantic, cleaning houses for people who barely give her the time of day. So when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero and mega-bestselling author Essie Starling, she can’t believe her luck.

When Essie dies unexpectedly, Liv is left with a life-changing last wish: to complete Essie’s final novel. To do so, change-averse Liv will have to step away from the fictitious worlds in her head, and into Essie’s shoes. As she begins to write, she uncovers a surprising connection between the two women – and a secret that will change Liv’s life forever…

Brimming with joy and packed with a sparkling cast of characters, The Book Share is a moving reminder that it’s never too late to re-write your own story – perfect for fans of All the Lonely People and The Authenticity Project.

My thoughts: as someone who wants to write but keeps getting sidetracked by life, I completely related to Liv, her passion isn’t for cleaning, like mine isn’t office admin, but it pays the bills and that is more important than living your dreams sometimes. When one of her cleaning clients is an award winning author however, and needs her help, Liv is more than happy to step in and make sure Essie’s last book, her twentieth, makes it to print by the deadline.

Even though it completely messes up Liv’s life, keeping all the secrets and making sure no one learns the truth, it also liberates her in many ways. She realises that she can have a life that makes her happy, and finds a way to really talk to her husband Jake about the things that they’ve both been worrying about.

I loved Liv, her determination to finish the book, her love for her family, her ballsy, take no prisoners attitude and the way she forgives Essie her secrets. Tremendous fun to read, sweet and heartfelt.

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

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Blog Tour: The Killer’s Family – Miranda Smith

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We should never have kept our father’s secret.

Before, my sisters and I were close. Now, a year after our father’s funeral, we barely speak to each other. Molly won’t accept the truth. Rachel can’t forgive him. And I spend all my time digging through his life, trying to understand.

Then we hear the news. A woman has been found by the docks, her wedding ring stolen. The reporter says it appears the local serial killer has returned…

But I know that can’t be right, because I know who the killer was.

Henry Martin. Our father.

Someone is sending us a message. Someone knows we lied.

Now my sisters and I must work together to find out who is targeting us. How do they know what we’ve hidden? What do they want? And what other secrets lie buried in the past, putting us all in danger?

A brilliantly twisty suspense thriller that will have you flying through the pages and gasping at the twist. Fans of Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn and Ruth Ware will love The Killer’s Family.

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Miranda Smith writes psychological and domestic suspense. She is drawn to stories about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Before completing her first novel, she worked as a newspaper staff writer and a secondary English teacher. She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three young children.

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My thoughts: this was very clever, full of twists and turns and kept me guessing all along. Three sisters, united in grief are divided when they find out their father’s darkest secret – he was a serial killer. Dying suddenly his hidden cache of trophies and sinister photos weren’t destroyed, and when his grown up daughters find them hidden beneath the floor in his shed, they’re devastated. One of them, Cara is a crime writer married to a detective. Can they keep their dad’s secret? And what happens when a series of copycat killings begin, targeting people close to them?

Grief is a horrible thing and it can make us react in all sorts of ways, as it does here. Each of the sisters react in different ways and their discovery drives a deep wedge between them, they all want to do something with the knowledge, whether it’s destroy it or tell the police. And that pushes them apart.

The writing is tense and compelling, the new killings place the sisters right in the centre but not in ways they’re willing to point out too closely to Cara’s husband Tate, who happens to be on the investigative team. There’s a couple of huge twists towards the end, no spoilers, that you won’t see coming, they’re so cleverly done. But everything gets cast in a new light and honestly, the ending leaves you with questions, in the best way. Really enjoyable stuff.

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

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Blog Tour: A Moment of Faith – Martin Svaneborg

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Copenhagen, 1840 – Fighting to reconcile his obligations with a quest for romance, the eccentric philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, rushes through the cobbled streets, thrusting himself into the arms

of Regine and a disastrous engagement.
Copenhagen, 1855 – Withering away in a hospital bed, Bitter and alone, Kierkegaard conjures up a preposterous scheme. A vendetta against the Bishop of Copenhagen, and a mission to save the
future of love.
Copenhagen, now – Introvert Christian Kardahl, meets devout and mysterious Emma for the first time. Two days later, Christian comes across an old letter aimed to destroy a famous, eccentric philosopher. When a sudden murder is added to the mystery, the past has caught up. Christian and Emma are drawn into an involuntary quest that will make them question their belief in history and, unless they can sort out the puzzle, their faith and love will be forever doomed.
‘Brilliantly written, a bridge between the present and Kierkegaard past’ – Book Reviewer

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With a background in musical theatre as both an actor, singer, and dancer, Martin
Svaneborg has spent his teenage and adult life as a storyteller. In 2018, driven mainly by his interest in the history of religion, Martin started studying theology at the University of Copenhagen while
exploring other ways of telling stories as a theatre director, speech coach, and speaker, hence the transition to novel writing felt natural, and his debut novel is a fusion of his growing interest for the
personal life of the philosophers he encountered during his studies and the desire to tell an adventurous love story. Also, he, like Kierkegaard, has a thing for nice, long sentences.

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My thoughts: I remember reading about Kierkegaard when I was studying theology and philosophy, although it was some time ago. So I was intrigued by this book, which moves between Kierkegaard’s life and a modern day mystery.

Christian has become fascinated by an unusual offshoot of Christianity and visits a church that follows this doctrine. There are not many congregants so he stands out as a stranger. He is drawn into a race against time to find the original deeds to the church building and save it from being sold and demolished. He and his new friend Emma need his knowledge of Kierkegaard and her knowledge of the church to solve the mystery.

Once this got going it was really enjoyable, I liked the glimpses into past Denmark and the adventure Christian and Emma find themselves on – hunting for hidden archives in the library and then being tracked to England, where they’re threatened in a church and chased to the airport. It’s all very exciting, gung-ho stuff.

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

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Blog Tour: Death in the Mist – Jo Allen

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A drowned man. A missing teenager. A deadly secret.
When Emmy Leach discovers the body of a drug addict, wrapped in a tent and submerged in the icy waters of a Cumbrian tarn, she causes more than one problem for investigating officer DCI Jude Satterthwaite. Not only does the discovery revive his first, unsolved, case, but the case
reveals Emmy’s complicated past and opens old wounds on the personal front, regarding Jude’s relationship with his colleague and former partner, Ashleigh O’Halloran.
As Jude and his team unpick an old story, it becomes increasingly clear that Emmy is in danger.
What secrets are she and her controlling, coercive husband hiding, from the police and from each other? What connection does the dead man have with a recently-busted network of drug
dealers? And, as the net closes in on the killer, can Jude and Ashleigh solve a murder — and prevent another?
A traditional British detective novel set in Cumbria.

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Jo Allen was born in Wolverhampton and is a graduate of Edinburgh, Strathclyde and the Open University, with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in geography and Earth science. She’s
been writing for pleasure and publication for as long as she can remember. After a career in economic consultancy she took up writing and was first published under the name Jennifer Young, in genres of short stories, romance and romantic suspense. She wrote online articles on travel and on her favourite academic subject, Earth science. In 2017 she took the plunge and began writing the genre she most likes to read — crime.
Jo lives in the English Lakes, where the DCI Satterthwaite series is set. In common with all her favourite characters, she loves football (she’s a season ticket holder with her beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers) and cats.

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My thoughts: this was very clever, when you find out who the body is and then as the case unfolds, there’s so much more going on than just an accident or misadventure. Family secrets will be revealed and relationships changed forever.

Jude and Ashleigh have their own complicated relationship to work out while investigating the family at the centre of this terrible crime. It adds extra layers, looking at others makes them look at themselves too. No one wants to admit to their dysfunction after all.

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

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Blog Tour: The Book of Last Letters – Kerry Barrett

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Inspired by an incredible true story, this is an unforgettable novel about love, loss and one impossible choice…

London, 1940
When nurse Elsie offers to send a reassuring letter to the family of a patient, she has an idea. She begins a book of last letters: messages to be sent on to wounded soldiers’ loved ones should the very worst come to pass, so that no one is left without a final goodbye.

But one message will change Elsie’s life forever. When a patient makes a devastating request, can Elsie find the strength to do the unthinkable?

London, present day
Stephanie has a lot of people she’d like to speak to: her estranged brother, to whom her last words were in anger; her nan, whose dementia means she is only occasionally lucid enough to talk.

When she discovers a book of wartime letters, Stephanie realises the importance of our final words – and uncovers the story of a secret love, a desperate choice, and the unimaginable courage of the woman behind it all…

A moving and compelling historical novel from the author of The Girl in the Picture, perfect for fans of The Nightingale and The Keeper of Happy Endings.

My thoughts: inspired by a real book of letters and other things, this is a lovely story, set partly in 1940/1 and now. Elsie is a nurse in a South London hospital during the Blitz, to cheer up her patients and provide some hope, she brings in a scrapbook and asks them to write letters to their loved ones, draw pictures, whatever they’d like.

Years later the book resurfaces after being thought lost and inspires Stevie to create a new book and a mural at the retirement home she works in. She wants to track Elsie down and find out what happened next.

Both Elsie and Stevie are dealing with complicated situations, struggling to stay afloat in their lives. The book connects them across the years and changes their lives forever. Heartwarming, bittersweet and rather lovely.

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

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Blog Tour: Four Aunties and a Wedding – Jesse Sutanto

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It’s supposed to be the perfect day…
After getting away with literal murder, Meddy can’t wait to settle down and marry the love of her life, Nathan. She’s found the dress, got the dream venue at Christ Church College, Oxford, plus having a destination wedding comes with the added bonus of not having to invite her very large extended family.

…But is it even a wedding if nobody gets killed?
Although when her meddling aunties get involved, Meddy knows her wedding is going to be anything but quiet. Even though there’s no dead body hidden in the freezer this time, for better or worse, it’s certainly going to be a day she’s never going to forget…

My thoughts: Meddy and her delightful family (I genuinely can’t decide which aunt is my favourite) are back for another stab at wedding bliss – this time it’s Meddy’s own happily ever after at stake, and they’re in Oxford with Nathan’s very different family in tow. No one has ever seen anything quite like these four Chinese-Indonesian ladies, with their Komodo dragon headgear and unique sense of style. And of course they’re tangled up in a crazy caper with the wedding organisers and kidnapping galore.

I laughed so hard I snorted in a very unladylike manner reading this, Meddy’s family are hilarious and rather brilliant, their unique way of dealing with any problems is hysterical and while I did feel for Meddy and Nathan, I did enjoy the enthusiasm with which her family do everything. Can’t wait to see what chaos they cause next!

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

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Book Review: The Copper Chevalier – Emily Owen

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For George and Douglas Abernathy, life is on the up. Their new android-building business is thriving and they are set to move from their clockmaker’s shop in Soho to a spectacular country mansion.

Then, the bombastic General Brassington forces the brothers to create a mechanical soldier to help quell the Indian Mutiny. The resulting steam-powered, clockwork soldier is promptly shipped to India.

The soldier’s mission is clear, he must subdue the rebellious sepoys and uphold the British Empire’s interests. But after becoming embroiled in the struggle, he’s no longer certain who the true enemy is. When the soldier uncovers a plot that could turn the tide of the conflict and alter the nature of warfare, he must decide where his loyalty lies.

Meanwhile, Molly, the brothers’ botanist teenage sister, faces her own challenges while trying to create her dream garden at the family’s new home…

My thoughts: after their success with The Mechanical Maestro, the Abernathys’ fortunes are on the rise as they move house, and build more automatons. Commissioned by a General to build a mechanical soldier to aid in quashing an uprising in India, they create an extraordinary being – Colonel Copperton. But when he uncovers a plot to use a chemical weapon on the sepoys, his true ingenuity is revealed.

Meanwhile Molly (who’s my favourite character) is designing her garden and bickering with the landscape designer her brother George has hired. But methinks the lady doth protest too much…

This was lots of fun but with a serious point at its heart, what the East India Company and the British Army did in India during the 1800s and 1900s was often cruel and brutal, native peoples were oppressed and killed simply for wanting to be left alone to self govern. The history of the British in India is very sad and shameful, unfortunately not everyone is as good as Copperton and his friends, who have strong moral foundations and won’t harm civilians.

I liked the contrast between the chapters set in India and those back home in Britain – the lighthearted escapades of Molly and the various automatons in the house stopped the book feeling too heavy – as even in the Abernathy household there were some more serious things going on with George that set his siblings at odds with him. This was also sensitively handled and Doctor Molly is a force to be reckoned with.

I was gifted a copy of this book to read and review by the author, who remembered I had been on the blog tour for The Mechanical Maestro, so thank you Emily. The Copper Chevalier will be published in paperback and ebook formats on March 31st, 2022.