Category: reviews

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Wife Upstairs – Rachel Hawkins*

ramblingmads

A girl looking for love…

When Jane, a broke dog-walker newly arrived in town, meets Eddie Rochester, she can’t believe her luck. Eddie is handsome, rich and lives alone in a beautiful mansion since the tragic death of his beloved wife a year ago. A man who seems perfect…

Eddie can give Jane everything she’s always wanted: stability, acceptance, and a picture-perfect life. A wife who just won’t stay buried…

But what Jane doesn’t know is that Eddie is keeping a secret – a big secret. And when the truth comes out, the consequences are far more deadly than anyone could ever have imagined…Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books for young readers, and her work has been translated in over a dozen countries.

She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama with her husband and son.

The Wife Upstairs is her first adult novel.

My thoughts:

I have a lot of issues with Jane Eyre but knew that Rachel Hawkins was a cracking writer and if anyone could redeem that awful, frustrating book, then it would be her, and I was not disappointed.

Her Jane is a lot smarter, savvier and less of a drip that Brontë’s, who quite frankly I have always wanted to shake and tell her “he’s nuts, run woman!” but there we go. Wide Sargasso Sea on the other hand is an excellent book and should be more widely read, so read that, then this.

Modernising and moving the story to the US, 21st Century Jane is walking dogs for uptight, rich housewives, who quite honestly have time in their days to walk their own dogs, when she meets Eddie, supposedly mourning his wife’s death in a terrible boat related accident.

Following the basic plot of the original novel but with updates and twists, in the style of a thriller, this is a lot of fun and with a much more satisfying ending. I really enjoyed it and would love for the author to tackle some more problematic classics – Wuthering Heights next perhaps?

*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: The Last Snow – Stina Jackson*

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Early spring has its icy grip on Ödesmark, a small village in northernmost Sweden, abandoned by many of its inhabitants. But Liv Björnlund never left. She lives in a derelict house together with her teenage son, Simon, and her ageing father, Vidar. They make for a peculiar family, and Liv knows that they are cause for gossip among their few remaining neighbours.

Just why has Liv stayed by her domineering father’s side all these years? And is it true that Vidar is sitting on a small fortune? His questionable business decisions have made him many enemies over the years, and in Ödesmark everyone knows everyone, and no one ever forgets.

Now someone wants back what is rightfully theirs. And they will stop at nothing to get it, no matter who stands in their way…

Stina Jackson was born in 1983 and raised in Skellefteå, northern Sweden. In 2006 she moved to Denver, Colorado, where she lives with her husband and small dog.

Her debut novel, The Silver Road, was an international bestseller and won The Best Swedish Crime Novel Award in 2018. The Last Snow is her second novel.

My thoughts:

This was so good, quietly compelling and mesmerising, drawing you into the lives of Vidar, his daughter Liv and grandson Simon. Living out in an old, slowly decaying house in Lapland, rumours swirl about Vidar’s hidden wealth, but he’s stingy and hoards it away.

When an incident happens in the dark forest around their home, everything changes and Liv must decide whether to finally leave.

What seems like a slow start quickly gathers pace as more of the rural community are introduced and various enemies and old friends of Vidar’s emerge, he’s managed to alienate pretty much everyone and his family keep secrets from him.

Interspersed with the chapters are flashbacks to Liv’s childhood and teen years, difficult years for a young girl living alone with her bitter and difficult father. These build a fuller picture of her life and the reasons she resents but also stays with her dad.

A slow burner of a wintery thriller, each character with a story of their own, hinted at in some cases, but never revealed, keeping the spotlight on the Björnlund family and their misfortunes.

*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: Find You First – Linwood Barclay*

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Tech millionaire Miles Cookson has more money than he can ever spend, and everything he could dream of—except time. He has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and there is a fifty percent chance that it can be passed on to the next generation. For Miles, this means taking a long hard look at his past . . .

Two decades ago, a young, struggling Miles was a sperm donor. Somewhere out there, he has kids—nine of them. And they might be about to inherit both the good and the bad from him—maybe his fortune, or maybe something much worse.

As Miles begins to search for the children he’s never known, aspiring film documentarian Chloe Swanson embarks on a quest to find her biological father, armed with the knowledge that twenty-two years ago, her mother used a New York sperm bank to become pregnant.

When Miles and Chloe eventually connect, their excitement at finding each other is overshadowed by a series of mysterious and terrifying events. One by one, Miles’s other potential heirs are vanishing—every trace of them wiped, like they never existed at all.

Who is the vicious killer—another heir methodically erasing rivals? Or is something even more sinister going on?

It’s a deadly race against time . . .

My thoughts:

This book was going in one direction and then went in a completely different one! What looked like a story about family became something much darker when the bodies started turning up and the disparate strands start to weave together.

It was cracking stuff and I really enjoyed it, the ending was jaw dropping, Chloe is an incredible person, resilient, strong and determined. I wouldn’t mind a whole series about her and Miles having adventures and solving crimes!


*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: A Conventicle of Magpies – L.M.R. Clarke*

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Rook is a thief, and entirely unapologetic about it as she’s determined to do anything to ensure her mother and siblings survive the squalid and dangerous streets of Stamchester.

Rook slips in and out of the homes of the ruling elite of Stamchester, the Avanish,like a shadow taking what she needs without regret.

Why should she? Had the Avanish not stolen her own people, the Saouiasei, from their own homes years before and transported them across the ocean to Stamchester to work as virtual slaves?

And, now the Avanish had no more use for Rook and her people, where they not determined to dispose of them?

The Avanish had already laid waste to a swathe of Saouiasei homes, a region which had become known as ‘The Scar’, in an attempt to drive them out?

However, Rook was not the only person hiding in the shadows. A far more dangerous figure was haunting the filthy streets of Stamchester striking fear into Avanish and Saouiasei alike; Billy Drainer, a serial killer who not only murdered his victims but drained them of every ounce of their precious, life giving blood.

For within blood was a highly sought-after commodity, the ability to enhance a person’s natural abilities through the art of Bloodskill. To be faster and stronger than a normal person was something those with money were willing to pay handsomely for.

‘A Conventicle of Magpies’ is a fast-paced gaslamp fantasy adventure set in a Victorian-inspired world. Perfect for fans of Charlie N. Holmberg’s Spellbreaker and Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

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Safe and sound in the Magpie’s Nest, Rook divested herself of her corseted dress and heels and returned to the comfort of a shirt and trousers. The young woman fell into an armchair, threw her booted feet onto the battered coffee table, and plucked up a newspaper. Even though she’d been out all day, she hadn’t seen the latest in the Stamchester Review. As she scanned the page, Rook shook her head, and a lock of black hair fell over her face.

YET ANOTHER BLOODLESS CORPSE

At two o’clock this morning, a police constable came upon the scene of yet another gruesome murder. The body, which has not yet been identified, was found on the southbank end of the Buxridge Bridge. Like the other five bodies found in similar circumstances over the last few months, the corpse appeared to be drained of every last ounce of blood. Suspicion for this killing falls once more on the elusive fiend known only as Billy Drainer, although Inspector Kip Kerstammen declined to comment on this observation.

Rook licked her thumb and flicked to the next page. Inches and inches of news stretched through the broadsheet, as always full of sensationalism and very little fact. Only two parties enjoyed Stamchester’s string of murders: so-called Billy Drainer himself, whoever he was, and the newspapers. Both made significant gains from the events. News was always a profitable commodity in Stamchester, but blood was more valuable than gold. Those corpses weren’t bloodless for no reason.

A cough came from the doorway. Rook glanced up from the grim columns. A slim figure stood in the doorway, a tiny girl at the end of her teenage years. Pigeon stood in the low doorframe that led to the main Nest bar and jerked her head. The action sent her mass of dark curls tumbling to one side.

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I’m LMR Clarke, though you can call me Rain, and I’m a writer from Northern Ireland. I’m thirty-something, a parent, and a teacher. I love books and I also draw.

I’m an enby (non-binary) and am still finding my way! My stories are all about identity and acceptance and trying to find your place in the world.

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My thoughts:

This was really enjoyable and a great start to a new duology, setting up explosive events to come, as Rook and her friends determine to stop the oppression of their people once and for all.

As well as fighting against monstrous government oppressors determined to do terrible harm, there’s also a serial killer stalking the streets, and Rook runs into him. He needs stopping too, but can she bring herself to take a life?

Rook is an interesting protagonist, her crimes never harm anyone directly and she tries to be a Robin Hood type figure, taking from rich factory owners to help out their poor employees, whose wages don’t stretch far enough. She’s loyal and her family mean everything to her.

I look forward to reading book two of this smart and intelligent series.

*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: The Puritan Princess – Miranda Malins*

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1657. The youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell, eighteen-year-old Frances is finding her place at England’s new centre of power.

Following the turmoil of Civil War, a fragile sense of stability has returned to the country. Her father has risen to the unprecedented position of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, and Frances has found herself transported from her humble childhood home to the sumptuous palaces of Hampton Court and Whitehall, where she dreams of romance.

But after an assassination attempt on the Cromwell family, Frances realises the precarious danger of her position – and when her father is officially offered the crown, Frances’ fate becomes a matter of diplomatic and dynastic importance.

Trapped in the web of court intrigue, Frances must make a choice. Allow herself to be a political pawn, or use her new status to take control – of her own future, and of her country’s…

My thoughts:

This was really interesting in that it was told from the perspective of Cromwell’s youngest daughter, a figure pretty much forgotten, along with the rest of her family, in the story of Civil War and Restoration.

Using the biographical facts of her life, Malins builds an intricate, thoughtful and detailed narrative in which Frances falls in love, and watches as the country struggled to adjust to life as a republic.

She comes across as intelligent, politically engaged, driven by love for her family and aware of how momentous the times she’s living through are. Born in the East Anglian fens, then brought to live in royal splendour at Westminster Palace and Hampton Court, she’s a different sort of princess.

Thoroughly enjoyable and an interesting angle onto the turbulent period she lived through, not a dry record of Parliament’s arguments but the domestic drama and supportive family that allowed Oliver Cromwell to rise so high.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Longest Shadow – R.J. Mitchell*

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This is my review of the third book in the DS Thoroughgood series. Book one (Parallel Lines) is here and book two (The Hurting) is here.

THE LONGEST SHADOW begins atop Scotland’s Wallace Monument where a skeleton from DS Thoroughgood’s past threatens to put a stop to his future.

The third installment in the DS Thoroughgood series of Scottish crime thrillers sees Angus Thoroughgood in pursuit of a suspect he believes to be the psychotic leader of a vicious gang wanted for abduction and murder.

Taking to the streets of Glasgow’s West End, these famous streets are the stage for a high octane pursuit that will leave the reader gasping for breath — but does Thoroughgood have the right man?
With the case still wide open, Thorughgood’s complicated love life drags him into the battle for the control of the Roxburgh Whisky dynasty. Tensions build towards a nail-biting crescendo as Thoroughgood works to identify the killer intent of wiping out Scotland’s most famous whisky family. With the finger of guilt pointed at a powerful Triad leader, clues from a 70-year-old war-time diary lead Thoroughgood to realise nothing as it seems.

However, with the charms of Victoria Roxburgh clouding his judgement, Thoroughgood is dragged into a fight to the end with a ruthless foe whose identity shocks them both.
The Longest Shadow sees author RJ Mitchell drawing from his 12 years of experience as a Glasgow police officer utilising his knowledge of the city and its history to his advantage in this thrilling third chapter of the DS Thoroughgood series.

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Matthew James Publishing

Robert James Mitchell was brought up in Stirling. Mitchell was initially detailed beat duties out of the former Blackhill Police Office and then Baird Street Police Office in the former ‘D’ Division, or the North, as it was known to all the men who served in the division.

In January, 2007, while recovering from an appendicitis, Mitchell decided to write the first draft of ‘Parallel Lines: The Glasgow Supremacy‘, drawing heavily on his own experiences and featuring the characters of Detective Sergeant Gus Thoroughgood and DC Kenny Hardie.

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My thoughts:

Another cracking case for Thoroughgood and Hardie, as they pursue a gang of meat thieves turned kidnappers and then solve the hunt the killer stalking the Roxburgh family as they attempt to save their distillery business and family name.

Thoroughgood never gets a chance to rest, his cases crack on at a pace, his body taking some serious damage as he literally runs after madmen and throws himself around trying to stop them.

These books are really clever and highly enjoyable, the details are all there and I felt like I was there with the intrepid duo as they chase criminals through Glasgow’s streets and the stunning Scottish countryside.


*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: An Eye For an Eye – Carol Wyer*

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A killer running rings around the police. A detective spiralling out of control.

DI Kate Young is on leave. She’s the force’s best detective, but her bosses know she’s under pressure, on medication and overcoming trauma. So after her bad judgement call leads to a narrowly averted public disaster, they’re sure all she needs is a rest.

But when Staffordshire Police summon her back to work on a murder case, it’s a harder, more suspicious Kate Young who returns. With a new ruthlessness, she sets about tracking down a clinical, calculating serial killer who is torturing victims and leaving clues to taunt the police. Spurred on by her reporter husband, Young begins to suspect that the murderer might be closer than she ever imagined.

As she works to uncover the truth, Young unravels a network of secrets and lies, with even those closest to her having something to hide. But with her own competence—and her grip on reality—called into question, can she unmask the killer before they strike again?

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USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People’s Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in LITTLE GIRL LOST and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 750,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ”Irritable Male Syndrome’ and ‘Ageing Disgracefully’ and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’, featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy… who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

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My thoughts:

This was a very enjoyable, clever and sinister thriller with a dedicated and determined protagonist in DI Kate Young, ably assisted by her team as she hunts the killer while struggling with traumatic flashbacks.

The killer and their torturous methods kept me hooked, wondering who it was and why they were killing the specific victims, the ending was satisfying and neatly done.

*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: Dark Memories – Liz Mistry*

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Three letters. Three murders. The clock is ticking…

When the body of a homeless woman is found under Bradford’s railway arches, DS Nikki Parekh and her trusty partner DC Sajid Malik are on the case.

With little evidence, it’s impossible to make a breakthrough, and when Nikki receives a newspaper
clipping taunting her about her lack of progress in catching the killer, she wonders if she has a personal link to the case.

When another seemingly unrelated body is discovered, Nikki receives another note. Someone is
clearly trying to send her clues… but who?

And then a third body is found.
This time on Nikki’s old street, opposite the house she used to live in as a child. And there’s another
message… underneath the victim’s body.

With nothing but the notes to connect the murders, Nikki must revisit the traumatic events of her childhood to work out her connection to the investigation.

But some memories are best left forgotten, and it’s going to take all Nikki’s inner strength to catch the killer…

Before they strike again.

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Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree.

Once here, Liz fell in love with three things; curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats (Winky and Scumpy) and a huge extended family later, Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing.

Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.

Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes
mental health themes in her writing. She credits the MA in Creative Writing she took at Leeds Trinity
University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health
struggles.

Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. She also teaches creative writing too.

Now, having nearly completed a PhD in Creative Writing focussing on ‘the absence of the teen voice in adult crime fiction’ and ‘why expansive narratives matter’, Liz is chock full of ideas to continue writing.

In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary – her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire landscape, with Robin Hoods Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp.

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My thoughts:

This was a really dark, gripping read. As bodies of seemingly unrelated victims turn up in Bradford, and Cambridge, DS Nikki Parekh is receiving anonymous messages and starts to realise that she might be the connection. Which means contending with her past.

The plot jogs along at a good pace and the characters are well written and realistic, I particularly liked Nikki’s cheeky nephew and her partner, Saj, with his immaculate suits and pocket hankies.


*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: Winter’s Orbit – Everina Maxwell*

ramblingmads

A famously disappointing minor royal and the Emperor’s least favorite grandchild, Prince Kiem is summoned before the Emperor and commanded to renew the empire’s bonds with its newest vassal planet. The prince must marry Count Jainan, the recent widower of another royal prince of the empire.
But Jainan suspects his late husband’s death was no accident. And Prince Kiem discovers Jainan is a suspect himself. But broken bonds between the Empire and its vassal planets leaves the entire empire vulnerable, so together they must prove that their union is strong while uncovering a possible conspiracy.
Their successful marriage will align conflicting worlds.
Their failure will be the end of the empire.

My thoughts:

This was so good. I did not know I needed a gay space conspiracy thriller in my life, turns out I did.

The relationship between Kiem and Jainan is lovely to watch blossom as they investigate what really happened when Prince Taam was killed, unravel a plot to destabilise the treaty that keeps the Empire and its vassals from war, get to know each other better and wind up the security service.

Kiem is one of those people who lead a charmed life, people like them, even their worst moments are amusing and humanising. He can be a lot (I have a friend who is exactly the same) but he means well.

Jainan is a lot more reserved, and with reason as his story is revealed, he’s learnt to keep his thoughts to himself and make himself smaller to avoid attracting attention.

I also loved Bel, Kiem’s aide, who does her best to keep him on the straight and narrow, but has secrets of her own and not just about how she’s so organised.

This was a tremendously fun read, with lots of action and a labyrinthine conspiracy that goes all the way to the top, with the risk of serious danger the closer they get to the heart of it.


*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: White Trash Warlock – David R. Slayton*

ramblingmads

Not all magicians go to schools of magic.

Adam Binder has the Sight. It’s a power that runs in his bloodline: the ability to see beyond this world and into another, a realm of magic populated by elves, gnomes, and spirits of every kind. But for much of Adam’s life, that power has been a curse, hindering friendships, worrying his backwoods family, and fueling his abusive father’s rage.

Years after his brother, Bobby, had him committed to a psych ward, Adam is ready to come to grips with who he is, to live his life on his terms, to find love, and maybe even use his magic to do some good. Hoping to track down his missing father, Adam follows a trail of cursed artifacts to Denver, only to discover that an ancient and horrifying spirit has taken possession of Bobby’s wife.

It isn’t long before Adam becomes the spirit’s next target. To survive the confrontation, save his sister-in-law, and learn the truth about his father, Adam will have to risk bargaining with very dangerous beings … including his first love.

David R. Slayton grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding fantasy novels with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver, Colorado, with his partner, Brian, and writes the books he always wanted to read. White Trash Warlock is his first novel. In 2015, David founded Trick or Read, an annual initiative to give out books along with candy to children on Halloween as well as uplift lesser-known authors or those from marginalized backgrounds. Find him online

My thoughts:

This was a really fun read, it reminded me a bit of the very short lived TV series Midnight, Texas (of which I may be one of a total of three viewers) in that there’s a hero with the Sight and a ragtag band of supernatural friends along for the ride.

It’s also hella gay, which is very much my bag. Supernaturals, gays, monsters, yes please!

Adam is an everyman figure who really wishes he didn’t have any magical powers thanks all the same, but he does and he wants to use them for good. He’s been tracking a warlock making artifacts containing the souls of various creatures and then his brother, who he very much does not like, calls and he, being a better person than he wants to be, goes to help.

I basically love, want to be his best friend, although the scary elf queen might have a problem with that, and why are you still here? Go read the book.

As someone who would quite happily drown a certain boy wizard and his Terfy creator, this was a balm, sometimes you need to learn what they can’t teach you in any fancy pants wizard school, and the only way to do that is by, well, doing.

This was a fun, funny (the dry humour was very much my thing too) and clever romp of magical proportions and I enjoyed it very muchly. It has really heart too, in the shape of Adam and Vic and the whole reluctant hero thing.

Can’t wait to see what madness book two will hold in store, since Adam still has a few things left to tick off his to do list…

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