Ray Eke has always found peace in his job, collecting litter for the city council. Until the day he finds the brutalized, bloodless body of a girl on his round. He recognizes her immediately too. Lauren Pascoe went missing three years before. It’s also clear she hasn’t been lying on the roadside verge all this time. Someone’s clearly been holding her prisoner. Keeping her as their very special toy.
The police know it couldn’t have been Ray, whose gentle heart is obvious to all. But then another girl is taken. And she’s someone who Ray had a connection to, back in his previous job as an accountant, before his breakdown…
The twists in this novel are guaranteed to leave readers with their jaws on the floor. Just when you think you know who the killer is, you’ll have your mind blown!
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.
My thoughts: Well, this was deeply unsettling stuff, the police have a nightmare of a case on their hands. Lauren went missing three years ago and now her broken, tortured body is found dumped by the road still dressed in the clothes she was wearing when she went missing.
Opening a cold case when it isn’t good news must be quite hard but the team are dedicated and willing to dig until they get some answers. And then Hannah goes missing. She just popped out to get some milk for the office, and then she was gone. If it is the same person, then she’s in for a world of pain.
Ray Eke, who works for the council collecting rubbish, found Lauren, and he knew Hannah too. Can this seemingly benign musician be involved? It seems unlikely, but as they struggle to find any evidence of who might have taken both victims, and as what they do uncover seems to point in one direction…oops, no spoilers but the twists will make your head spin.
I enjoyed this but was definitely creeped out at the same time, the things Lauren endured are horrific. And the shocking moments towards the end, the last page *shudders*. So good but also so sinister.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Fleeing from domestic violence, Chloe Morgan spent months hotel hopping in fear until the paperwork was finally signed off on the mortgage for her new home. Moving across the country and into a house situated on the outskirts of a quaint village will grant her the fresh start she needs and freedom from her dangerous ex-partner, Martin.
The relief and excitement is palpable, but as Chloe gets to know the strange new residents of The Glen, something feels just a little off, and her new neighbourhood might not be the idyllic dream she thought. She may have run from one nightmare, directly into another…
A.D Jones brings you Little Horn, a novel packed with mystery, intrigue, and confusion as Chloe tries to rebuild her life following the harrowing events of her past.
A.D Jones lives in the North of England; where he spends his time favouring books over people and can be found writing or devouring said books to review online. He loves Coca-Cola, Twin Peaks, all things horror, and cult movies. He dislikes the movie ‘The Karate Kid’ with a passion that burns brighter than the sun.
His debut novel – Umbrate was released in October 2023 to positive feedback. He also has multiple short stories in print through publishing houses such as Dark Village Publications and January Ember Press. You can find him on Instagram – the_evergrowing_library
My thoughts: Chloe is very brave and very lucky, leaving an abusive relationship is not easy and not everyone makes it out alive. Buying a house sight unseen is a bit crazy, but she’s hoping a fresh start and a clean break from the past will lead to better things.
Shame all her neighbours are so weird. She makes one friend, who might not be who she says, and has to deal with a dose or two of crazy from across the road. But things seem to be going OK, until events take a decidedly weird turn. Finding a secret notebook from the previous owner of her house lets her in to exactly how strange her new neighbours are and then, well, now she’s got a hell of a problem to deal with…
Creepy, clever and quite funny in places, this is why it’s definitely best not to get to know your neighbours too well!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Returning to Little Clarsden to claim her half of Rose Cottage, Frankie receives a chilly reception from her estranged sister, Julia, who still nurtures an old grievance. Hoping to manage their fractured relationship, they take part in a murder mystery weekend at a Somerset mansion. But the playful intrigue turns deadly when they stumble upon a real corpse.
Amid the glamour and intrigue of the other guests and the actors slipping in and out of character, it’s difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction. Nothing and no one is as they seem
With a killer on the loose, a body that vanishes without a trace, and trust in short supply, Frankie and Julia must set aside their differences to uncover the truth.
Can the sisters solve the mystery before they become the next victim?
This is the first book in this intriguing, witty, cosy crime series.
My thoughts: This was a fun, funny, entertaining and enjoyable read as estranged sisters, forced to co-habit by their late aunt’s will, end up on a murder mystery holiday where the murders end up being rather more real than expected.
Julia is bored with retirement and her long held plan of writing a book isn’t happening. When chaotic sister Frankie crashes back into her life, she’s furious. At the village fete Frankie wins a murder mystery weekend for two in the raffle, and so the sisters head off to Medfield House in Somerset to play at being detectives. Only someone is using the fake murders as cover for real ones.
Julia and Frankie set about solving both sets of deaths, the fictional and the non. Julia’s actually a rather brilliant detective, her many years running a school means she’s excellent at sussing people out and Frankie, while far more impulsive, isn’t too bad either. It might even cure Julia’s writer’s block.
This is the first book in the series and I’m looking forward to seeing where the sisters end up next.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book to read and review, but all opinions remain my own*
Detective Mike Nash thought that moving back to Yorkshire from London would give him a quieter life. Instead he finds a sleepy little town where nothing is what it seems . . .
Two dead bodies, locked in a disused mortuary. In the basement of a hospital that shut its doors over twenty years ago. The irony isn’t lost on veteran DI Mike Nash.
The victims have been shot in the head, execution style — by a consummate professional who knows exactly how to cover their tracks, leaving no evidence and no solid leads for Nash to go on.
The deeper Nash digs, the more he fears the past will come back to bite him. These bodies are tied to a dark history of crime and betrayal, and a past case with more loose ends than Nash cares to remember. It’s not long before a third body surfaces. This time the scene’s awash with DNA, belonging to a man who died decades ago. Now Nash must face the chilling possibility that his oldest adversary is behind it all, watching and waiting to take his own brand of deadly vengeance . . .
Bill Kitson was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire. His father, a wool merchant, was a fan of crime books giving Bill access to his diverse thriller collection from a young age. Educated at Ashville College, Bill worked in the family business before spending over thirty years as a bank executive. A keen cricketer and sportsman, the highlight of his career came when he umpired a one-day international at Lords. He and his wife now live in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, where he writes crime, romance, and general fiction. Bill’s interests include Cricket, Crime, Crete, Cookery, Cryptic crosswords – and also Alliteration.
My thoughts: This was really good, very clever, compelling and just convoluted enough. When a fire at an old hospital building reveals two corpses in the former mortuary, both with gun shot wounds, the bullets and the victims are linked to a series of underworld killings, almost like someone was cleaning house.
Then there’s a dummy with a bullet hole or three, a dead hitman, a pair of lovers on the run, and all sorts of other complications in this far from simple case. Could it all be linked to a man Detective Mike Nash knew at school? Even though he’s dead.
As the team investigate and attempted to ID ‘The Keeper’, the criminal shot caller they believe might be behind it all, other interested parties are making plans of their own. Can Mike get to the bottom of this and help out a charming former celebrity at the same time?
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Tensions are high at the Three Counties Show when accusations of cheating add fuel to a longstanding feud. For Jude Gray, whose only hope was to not make a fool of herself showing her Kerry Hill sheep, farming life has never been so dramatic.
When a body is found, belonging to one of the competitors, there is no shortage of suspects. Every sheep farmer in this close-knit community has a motive and beneath their show-ready smiles, they all have something to hide. Experience has taught Jude that when there’s a murderer at large, nobody is truly safe. And with secrets simmering beneath the surface, this may be her most challenging investigation yet.
Can she unearth the truth before it’s too late?
A gripping new instalment in the Malvern Farm Mystery series, perfect for fans of Frances Evesham, Merryn Allingham, and Faith Martin.
Kate Wells is the author of a number of well-reviewed books for children, and is now writing cosy crime set in the Malvern hills, inspired by the farm where she grew up.
My thoughts: I never thought a county fair would have so much scandal and intrigue, they don’t sound like they would be that exciting. Especially among the sheep farmers, who you would think would be more like their flocks, placid and cuddly. Not so this lot.
Jude is only showing two of her flock, but the more experienced farmers have more animals, and history. Lots of history, prickly, difficult history. Which Jude slowly learns as things go sideways and someone is killed. Was the murderer former musician turned eco warrior farmer/social media nuisance Zander? I was surprised he wasn’t the victim, the way he was carrying on.
Or will it be one of the farmers? Someone who knew the victim of old and was acting out an old grudge? Jude helps Binnie out with this case from the inside, the other sheep farmers are happier to confide in her than the police. But there’s other secrets and schemes going on and now Jude is in a bit too deep…
Another cracking case for Jude to solve in between mucking out and taking the always adorable Sebbie to school or out on the tractor. Her sister’s wedding plans are coming along nicely, or expensively, depending on how you look at it, and the farm is doing well. As long as Jude doesn’t end up as another victim of this killer.
*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 Yorkshire village of Beddingfield is home to the wonderful women of the Allen family: teacher Robyn, wannabe chef Jess, teenage tearaway Sorrel and matriarch Lisa, who holds the whole family together. But underneath her warmth and brilliance, Lisa has a secret – she longs to know who she really is.
In Hudson House, the grand manor on the edge of Beddingfield which is now a care home, lives seventy-something Eloise Howard. With film star beauty but memories fading fast, Eloise is slowly taking one foot at a time back into her past. Born into a prestigious family, her father the owner of the local Hudson’s Mill, Eloise’s life was destined to be one of finishing schools and balls. But when her path crossed Junayd Sattar’s, the most striking and kindest man she had ever met, nothing would ever be the same again.
When Lisa begins to spend time at Hudson House and befriends Eloise, the two women form an unbreakable bond. But unbeknownst to them both, they share secrets that, once uncovered, will change everything they believed about their own lives.
In her unmatched warm and uplifting voice, Julie Houston’s funny and profoundly moving tale of forbidden love, friendship and family ties will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page…
Perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Fiona Gibson and Cathy Kelly.
My thoughts: Yay! We’re back in Beddingfield in another fun, heart warming, enjoyable book from Julie Houston. Picking up a short while after the last book, we find Robyn still teaching at the worst school in Yorkshire, and all loved up with former barrister turned hopeful restauranteur Fabian.
Her mum, Lisa, is doing much better now under the care of her doctors and at a bit of a loose end volunteers at the care home where eldest daughter Jess works. There she meets Eloise, who used to live in Hudson House when it was a private home. Lisa is also wondering about looking into her biological parents, even if that means tackling her awful adoptive ones.
With the help of her girls, and a few friends, she starts to piece the past together, but what she uncovers is not what she was expecting at all. A love story across class and racial lines, heartbreak and tragedy, but in piecing it all together, she might just find happiness of her own. As long as none of her daughters have a crisis…
Funny, warm, witty and wise, this is a great book to curl up with of an evening, or out in the sun. Whatever the weather feels like doing really!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Skylark in the Fog was the 9th place finalist in BBNYA 2024!
About BBNYA
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner. If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.
So when the universe falls to pieces, it doesn’t mean your life has to, right? That comes later.
Jeane Blake, captain of the spaceship Skylark, makes her living by looting dead worlds, planets fallen prey to naturally occurring wormhole-like rifts plaguing the cosmos. She survives the only way she knows how: avoiding commitment and arguing with her dead foster father’s ghost. But when her crew stumbles upon an alien device that could collapse the wormhole network and wipe out all sentient life, they catch the hungry eyes of the Union, a tyrannical empire hunting the sinister tech.
As she flees the Union’s brainwashed agents, Jeane is forced to take on a shady mission and gets stuck assisting the runaway monarch of a technocrat planet. Queen Maura Tholis is seeking the aid of an interstellar resistance to reclaim her war-torn world, with another trouble-magnet device as her bargaining chip: a glove that allows her to command AI systems. Jeane couldn’t care less about the whole deal, but things become personal when the Union annexes the place she calls home. And it might be her fault.
Reluctant to become weapons in the hands of power-hungry militants and desperate rebels, smuggler and queen join forces. But to save their homes, they must redefine themselves, work with the enemy, and face personal traumas they’d buried long ago-and only stars know which challenge might break them in the end.
Helyna L. Clove (she/they) is a lover of the written word, hot comfort drinks, a universe full of stars, and all things neat and kind. She was born in 1988 in Hungary, and was raised in a small village a few miles off the shores of Lake Balaton. Described as someone always having “her head in the clouds”, she spent the first fifteen years of her life mostly consuming books from her dad’s home library, watching some great 90’s sci-fi series and movies, slowly working on her eclectic music taste, and dreaming about being abducted by cool alien friends.
After the arduous years of acquiring her astrophysics degree (because if they were not coming for her, she would damn well at least try and spy on those aliens) she worked as a researcher in Budapest, moving onto the green pastures of South-France in 2018, then Wales in 2022, where she currently lives with her small family of a wonderful boyfriend and Puddle, the tortoiseshell cat. She spends most of her time commandeering telescopes, staring at molecular spectra, writing/reading, cooking, playing video games, and trying her hand at different crafts.
Although she has been, as the Hungarians say, writing to her desk drawer since she was a kindergartener, it wasn’t until 2019 that she stepped out into the world with her stories. In the hell-year of 2020 she finished her first full-length novel, Skylark in the Fog, a light-hearted but honest space opera featuring a grumpy spaceship captain and her wayward friends on a quest to find their metaphorical (and maybe literal) homes, and, if everything goes well which it rarely does, to save the universe as well.
Her current projects include Imbued and Untwined, a new adult/adult dark fantasy duology about magic and love and how those might break the world, a paranormal horror about a team of demonhunters, several other speculative story ideas, and the so-far-untitled sequel to the adventures of the Skylark-crew.
My thoughts: I loved this, it’s exactly the kind of sci-fi I enjoy, a crew of misfits, an impossible mission, chaos, adventure, secrets, overthrowing the evil empire. And it was just lots of fun. Jeane was my favourite, after ALU, that little tin can with its mysterious origin, love of helping and strong bonds of friendship, too cute.
Although if I’m really honest, I loved the whole gang – not a duff character among them. And poor Skylark, definitely here for Skylark 2: Taping the ship back together.
Jeane takes on a quick pick up job for an old friend, while avoiding the Union (evil empire) who are hunting their ship, because of the super secret alien tech they previously collected. Then they get involved in about three wars all at once. Everyone is forced to reckon with their families and upbringing, Jeane almost dies inside an AI system, the evil empire keeps trying to kill everyone, some stuff explodes, some people die (boo!) and then the gang goes their separate ways…which I did not like.
I really hope when book 2 arrives, my new pals are reunited, the evil empire is less evil and Jeane gets to smile occasionally, even though her permanently grumpy mood is very funny. Look, I loved this, it filled a sci-fi hole that I didn’t know I had.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Imagine you knew exactly when you were going to die…
Robin Edmund Blake is halfway through his life. Born in 1986, when Halley’s Comet crossed the sky, he is destined to go out with it, when it returns in 2061. Until that day, he can’t die. He has proof. With his future mapped out in minute detail, a lucrative but increasingly dull job in the City of London, and Gemma to share his life with, Robin has a plan to be remembered forever.
But when Robin’s sick father has one accident too many, the plan starts to unravel. Robin must return home to the tiny seaside town of Eastgate, learn to care for the man who never really cared for him, and face the childhood ghosts he fled decades ago.
Desperate to get his life back on schedule, he connects with fellow outsider Astrid. Brutally direct, sharp-witted and a professor at a nearby university, she’s unlike anyone he’s ever met. But Astrid is hiding something and someone from Robin and he’s hiding even more from her.
Katie Allen was a journalist and columnist at Guardian and Observer, starting her career as a Reuters correspondent in Berlin and London. Her warmly funny, immensely moving literary debut novel, Everything Happens for a Reason, was based on her own devastating experience of stillbirth and was a number-one digital bestseller, with wide critical acclaim. Katie grew up in Warwickshire and now lives in South London with her family.
My thoughts: I am the same age as Robin, we’re both 1986 babies, but the comet didn’t cross the sky on my birthday. Robin believes he is destined to live until Halley’s Comet returns in 2061. It’s very specific, and Mark Twain-ish. He’s got spreadsheets and everything.
But then his plans are knocked off course by his father requiring more care than the local council can provide, and he returns home to the small town he couldn’t wait to leave. His best friend Danny is still there, and as the two men reconnect, Robin has a lot to think about.
He also meets Astrid, who teaches German literature at the university, and who he forms a connection with, from rude garden gnomes to Kafka. She’s got a few secrets and doesn’t believe in pre-destination. So it’s not all smooth sailing.
Robin starts asking people what they’d do if they knew exactly when they were going to die. The answers range from the obvious – holiday of a lifetime, splurge, quit my job, to the more insightful. As he explores ideas around death and living, Robin stops keeping his spreadsheets and perhaps finally starts living in the moment.
Moving (there are some very sad bits), thought provoking, challenging but also very readable and enjoyable, this was an interesting and engaging book.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Summer can be murder out on the sun-scorched Yorkshire Fells.
When the body of eighteen-year-old Tyler Prasad is found up on lonely Skye Moss, Detectives Leo Donovan and Shan Young are called in to investigate.
Tyler lies dead in a bone-dry ditch. His handsome face shattered in a brutal attack that leaves Donovan and Young baffled. They dig into Tyler’s deepest secrets, following a twisty trail that leads straight to Patefield Grange, a luxury country-house retreat across the moors. The well-heeled guests — gathered for a controversial grouse hunt in the sweltering summer heat — seem respectable on the surface.
But, beneath the façade, dark secrets smoulder. It’s only a question of which was worth killing for.
As temperatures soar, so does the pressure for Donovan and Shan to crack this impossible case.
Before tensions at the Grange ignite, and the body count rises again . . .
Cath Staincliffe is a best-selling, award-winning novelist, radio playwright and creator of ITV’s hit show Blue Murder. Cath has been shortlisted for the CWA Daggers five times, winning 2012’s Short Story Dagger. She won the WGBB Best Radio Drama Award in 2019. Cath’s standalone titles describe the human impact of crime on ordinary families, giving voice to victims, the bereaved, survivors and witnesses. Cath is a reading junkie who loves hill-walking or pottering in the garden. Her new detective series features chalk and cheese duo Leo Donovan and Shan Young in the stunning setting of the Yorkshire Dales.
My thoughts: This was a really gripping and quite shocking read. A young man is murdered and his body dumped in a ditch, found by the ubiquitous dog walker. He’s an environmental activist, there for a local art protest camp, but he’s been shot and beaten, his phone and wallet stolen.
Tracing his path to a local grouse shoot (a horrible, cruel and quite frankly pointless “sport”) at a former country house, there are frankly, too many gun toting suspects. But someone isn’t telling the truth. Then another person is shot and the shooter goes on the run across the Fells.
Tragedy follows, and the duo of Leo and Shan are in terrible danger as they pursue their suspect. Summer out on the fells can be dangerous, a single spark can be lethal. Can they survive long enough to catch their killer?
Things on the home front are rocky too, with both detectives dealing with tricky relationships. Their brushes with death help put things in perspective, but you’d hope you wouldn’t need to go that far for some clarity.
I was hooked from the first page, Leo and Shan make a great team and this case is full of twists and turns, becoming more complex as they investigate.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
An iconic bridge…🌉 Private investigator, Dan Armstrong, lives and works in Florence and knows the world famous Ponte Vecchio well. Usually a magnet for tourists, on this occasion it is the scene of an unexplained death, and Dan finds himself involved in the intriguing case.
An uncompromising man… 😠 Dan quickly discovers that the victim, an elderly jeweller, was every bit as hard as the diamonds he sold in his shop on the bridge. Few people liked him, not even his adult children, and his business dealings look murkier than the waters of the River Arno. Dan suspects more secrets lie hidden…perhaps inside the massive safe in the old man’s luxury villa…
A complex case.💎🔍 As the evidence begins to mount up, so too do the suspects with their different motives. With a fortune in gold bullion and precious stones involved, Dan thinks the only way to catch the killer is to lay a trap, but might he be caught in the killer’s sights? Fortunately, he has Oscar, his canine wingman at his side, always eager to prove that he’s as good as gold. 🐶
Can Dan and Oscar sniff out the killer’s tracks or will this case be a bridge too far?
T. A. Williams is the bestselling author of the Armstrong and Oscar cosy mystery series. Trevor studied languages at university and lived and worked in Italy for eight years, returning to England with his wife in 1972. Trevor and his wife now live in Devon.
My thoughts: We return to Italy with another case for one of my favourite detectives, Oscar, and his human assistant, Dan. This time, a jewellery merchant has been killed in his shop on the famous Ponte Vecchio in Florence. It’s been made to look like a suicide, although very clumsily, and the police are suspicious that the man’s estranged children are all in town to meet with their father for the first time in years.
But of course, it’s not that simple. The victim was involved in some dodgy dealings, and it soon becomes apparent his death is connected to those of two asylum seekers. There also seems to be something strange going on at the police headquarters and Virgilio asks Dan’s help in quietly looking into it.
Once more, Oscar’s excellent nose for rooting out the bad guys saves the day, whatever would Dan do without him?
I love this series and it goes from strength to strength, this was a really interesting addition, exploring the dark underbelly of the beautiful city on the Arno, and the lives of those at the bottom of the social order, who are easily forgotten. Dan makes a new connection and even has a go at treading the boards, I found Zebra the theatre director very intriguing, I hope we see her again.
*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 