Category: reviews

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Launch Date – Annabelle Slator

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Grace Hastings’s dream job at the popular ‘true love’ dating app, Fate, has turned
into a nightmare. Her boss is a leech, her career is stagnating, and her fiancé has
just brutally dumped her. Her hope for finding her own love story is waning, and
she feels like a fraud for promoting a concept she no longer believes in.

When the company’s CEO offers her an opportunity to earn a big promotion, she
resolves to fight her imposter syndrome to show she deserves a seat at the table.

The opportunity?

To launch a brand-new app focusing on IRL dating and genuine connection.

The problem?

She must develop and test drive a series of ‘first dates’ with the other person
gunning for the job: notorious socialite playboy and Grace’s biggest work rival, Eric Bancroft.

During their disastrous hikes, dangerous cooking classes and steamy yoga sessions,
they begin to realise their stark differences may just be surface level and Eric might
just be the perfect person to challenge Grace’s perceptions of love, dating culture
and self-worth.

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Annabelle Slator grew up writing stories in the depths of the British countryside.
After achieving a degree in creative writing spent most of her late teens and early twenties writing social media and blog posts for start-ups and tech companies in London.
Nowadays, if she isn’t spending time writing, you can almost always find her
obsessing over niche internet drama, practicing her fencing parry or mooching
around vintage fairs and flea markets with her husband and two mini dachshunds,
Gruffalo and Gryffin.
The Launch Date is Annabelle’s first book, inspired by her time working at a globally
popular dating app.

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My thoughts: Grace has a horrible boss, but having been offered the opportunity to pitch for a new concern at the parent company, she just might be able to get away from the woman who treats her like a skivvy.

Unfortunately it means working with her workplace nemesis – Eric Bancroft. And it gets worse, they’re going to have to test run some fun dates with potential business partners in order to develop the idea further. Which is a lot of enforced time with someone you can’t stand. Except that isn’t exactly true…

Fun, funny and quirky, this was an enjoyable workplace, enemies to lovers romance, that would make a great rom com film, a sort of 2025 Bridget Jones.

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

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Blog Tour: The Confessions of a Lady – Darcy McGuire

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Dare she risk her secrets?

In the world of upstairs/downstairs, Housemaid Penny Smith anticipates her employer’s needs and blends into the background making her the perfect spy for the prime minister against a suspected
member of the Devil’s Sons. There’s only one problem. When she meets the guilty marquess, his actions don’t match the evidence against him. Lord William Renquist defies her every expectation
and sets her traitorous heart racing.

Lord William Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway and secret spy to Queen Victoria, must infiltrate the Devil’s Sons, tearing the brotherhood apart from the inside. His mission – to bring evil men to justice
while atoning for the sins of his family, proving honour is stronger than tainted blood. There’s only one problem. A canny maid who is always in the right place at the wrong time and who deliciously
challenges his every order.

Liam and Penny are unknowingly playing a dangerous game from opposite sides of justice. And at a masked ball, forbidden attraction burns into something far more complex as their secrets spin into
daring confessions. This battle against their enemy will only be won if Penny and Liam can work together. But can a maid from downstairs ever trust an upstairs marquess?

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Darcy McGuire is an award-winning New Zealand-born writer now living in the Pacific Northwest.
She will write a five-part Victorian romance series for Boldwood, focused on a group of ‘Deadly Damsels’.

Facebook: AuthorDarcyMcGuire
Instagram: @authordarcymcguire
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Bookbub profile: @meleemcguire

My thoughts: Queen Victoria’s Deadly Damsels are back, although Penny doesn’t start out as one. She’s genuinely a maid, from London’s tough streets, who gives as good as it gets, determined to get her mother out of debtors’ prison by exposing the Devil’s Sons, especially the Marquess of Stoneway, her current employer, and claim the reward money her police contact has promised her.

That’s before she meets the new Marquess. His father might have been rotten to the core, his brother heading the same way before his death, but Liam is not quite what Penny expected.

There’s an instant spark between them, but would it be right to take advantage of that? A lord seducing his maid would be as Penny expects, and might get her the information she needs, but what if it’s more? Can a Marquess marry a girl who grew up with nothing?

There’s lots of misunderstandings, double crossings, outright interference from familiar faces to fans of this series, a horrible butler, a secretly rather nice housekeeper, and Penny might just be my favourite.  She’s streetwise and brave, taking on potential rapists with a set of brass knuckles and her wits, thankfully Liam is pretty charming and a better man than she first believes.

And with some new friends, Penny might just be able to bring the Devil’s Sons and their kidnapping ways to an end.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Honeymoon – Jane E. James

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Three newlywed couples arrive on Bali’s Honeymoon Island expecting two weeks of
bliss. Some of them will die.

Bestselling author Jane E. James’ twistiest thriller ever.

White beaches, endless cocktails . . . and murder.

Which of the couples will make it off the island alive?
Samantha: ‘Nathan hired me as his children’s nanny. Now I’m the third Mrs Price. Nathan collects wives like he collects designer suits . . . and tires of them just as
quickly. Whatever happens, he must never find out my secret.’

Angelika: ‘My handsome new husband worships the ground I walk on. He’s accepted my past. But no one else on the island can know what I used to do for a living.’

Timothy: ‘I love our son — but I wish we hadn’t brought him on our honeymoon. His tantrums are ruining everything. What my husband doesn’t know is that I’ve been
here before . . .’

Welcome to Honeymoon Island. Where secrets come to die . . .

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Jane E. James is a bestselling author who likes to create chilling reads that appeal
to fans of psychological suspense thrillers, mysteries, and dark fiction. Her novels
are packed with plot twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. All of them are
standalone novels.
Jane is an animal lover and lives with her cat, Hero, in a small country village near
Stamford, Lincolnshire in the UK, which is known for its quirky tea shops and
cobbled streets. Rebecca, Carrie, The Woman in Black and Wuthering Heights are among some of Jane’s favourite reads.

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My thoughts: Nobody at this luxury honeymoon resort is entirely happy to be there and a lot of them are keeping secrets from their new spouses.

Before the honeymoon is over, quite a few people will be dead, and their killers may not be facing the justice they deserve. It’s a complicated mess, as it turns out several of the guests (and even some of the staff) know each other from before they arrived in this idyllic paradise, and in most cases, before they got married.

As everyone’s dirty little secrets start to come tumbling out, someone takes it into their own hands to keep things quiet. And the reverberations through the resort are shocking. Who will survive the honeymoon from Hell?

Gripping, darkly humorous at times, twisted and highly enjoyable.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Only Child – S. Englefield

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How well do you really know the people you love?

After her parents are killed in a tragic accident, Amelia Simpson retreats from her old life and moves to the sleepy Isle of Wight to be near her grandmother, her last remaining family.

But as the people closest to her start to die and secrets from her parent’s past are uncovered, Amelia is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her childhood and the people that she loved the most.

In order to find the killer, Detective Inspector Jennifer Stone will have to delve into Amelia’s past where she learns that there’s no such thing as a perfect family and that stopping them may end up costing her everything that she holds dear.

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Scott Englefield grew up on the Isle of Wight. Despite being surrounded by idyllic beaches and woodland walks, he was often to be found with his head buried in a book.

His love of reading endured into adulthood and now he spends his free time writing crime and psychological thrillers, often having to stop to fend off his cat James who believes his keyboard is the perfect place to sleep.

He is in his mid-forties (and feels it) and lives with his wife, son and cat in the East of England.

He grew a beard once – his wife hated it

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My thoughts: Amelia lives on the Isle of Wight with her boyfriend, her gran, her only living relative lives nearby. Her parents died in a car crash when she was younger.

Everything seems normal until someone close to her is murdered, and then her car goes missing. She thought the recent vandalism at her florist shop was a rival business, but maybe it’s part of something more. She doesn’t have any enemies…that she knows of.

Luckily DI Stone and her team are willing to dig into her past, her parents and hunt for the truth, but someone close to the case may be a little more involved than they thought.

Clever, intense, the mystery narrator is sinister and clearly troubled, and with several great twists, this was a very enjoyable read.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Day She Disappeared – Sam Genever

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Discover one of the most suspenseful crime thrillers you’ll read this year. Winner of the Joffe Books Prize.

TRUST NO ONE.

Johannesburg, 1980s Apartheid South Africa. The neglected streets hum with tension as Augustine flees her vengeful ex-boyfriend with nothing but her child and the clothes on her back, terrified he will find her.

Because she also possesses a dangerous secret.

One he will kill for. One he will never stop hunting her for.

But Augustine is rescued by a wealthy white housewife who takes pity on her, offering both employment and refuge. Or so she thinks.

It might seem that she is safe inside the walls of the prosperous Diamond family home, but outside her every move is watched. Her sanctuary has become her prison.

In this city, where trust is a rare commodity, Augustine has made a mistake that could cost her everything.

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I had written short stories, poems and travel journals under a pen name, Bianca M., and been published in South African magazines and journals in the 90s. I had also been published in various poetry journals around the same time, in England. But had not been writing steadily for some years, focussing instead on my career and family. Whenever I am in London, I take short courses at the Literary Consultancy. My assessments are also done at the LC.

I have self-published this novel on Amazon in August 2022.

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My thoughts: This was really good, Joffe Books often bring new (to me) writers to the fore and this is no exception. I am really pleased that I got to read this for the blog tour and can recommend it to all of you.

Set in 1980s Johannesburg, during apartheid, we first meet Augustine and baby Justice as she runs away from her white boyfriend, her former school teacher Teddy. She’s taken with her some things that could get him into serious trouble – more serious than the law he’s breaking by being with her.

Taken in by the Diamond family as a maid and nanny to their infant son Nicholas, she thinks she landed on her feet. But after Kimberley Diamond dies, she’s in danger again.

Meanwhile Teddy has hired a PI, Segert, to find Augustine and his son. And more importantly the proof of his crimes that she’s stolen. Not that he shares that little detail.

Segert takes over the story as he hunts for Augustine, becoming increasingly concerned that hardly anyone seems to care that’s she gone. Certainly not her parents, but a friend, Rosalind, helps him to search for her.

What he discovers is tragic and criminal and someone will go to great lengths to protect this secret. It will take years to prove the crimes that Augustine unwittingly became a part of. She just wanted a better life for herself and her son, instead she became the victim of terrible men and miscarriages of justice that allowed them to get away with their crimes for a long time.

Shocking, moving and tragic, this was a powerful and intense read that had me hooked from the beginning. I really liked Augustine and Segert too. He was a total slob, but he loved his dogs and was determined and dedicated to his cause. I can’t wait to see what else this author writes.

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

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Blog Tour: A Fatal Silence  – Rachel Amphlett

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When the body of a young woman is discovered at an outdoor music festival, Detective Kay Hunter’s investigation stalls almost as soon as it starts.

Because the killer has left no trace, and the victim’s identity is unknown.

Amidst a media backlash, and faced with thousands of potential suspects, Kay must piece together the last hours of the woman’s life before her killer can escape.

But when Kay finds out the truth, her discovery will shake her investigation team to its core…

A Fatal Silence is the 14th book in the Detective Kay Hunter series from USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett, and perfect for readers who love fast-paced crime fiction.

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Before turning to writing, USA Today bestselling crime author Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio, and worked in publishing as an editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction with over 30 crime novels and short stories featuring spies, detectives, vigilantes, and assassins.

A keen traveller and accidental private investigator, Rachel has both Australian and British citizenship.

You can find out more about Rachel and her books at http://www.rachelamphlett.com. 

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My thoughts: Musical festivals do suffer from crime, but not like this. When the body of a young woman is found by litter picking volunteers, the police swing into action. Her fingers have been cut, so there’s no prints, and she isn’t carrying any ID.

Unfortunately the sheer number of people in the park makes narrowing down the suspect list a bit tricky. Lots of work for the team, as they try to solve the case.

Full of shocking moments and a huge twist that sends the case national, this is an excellent slice of police procedural crime fiction. The team are hard working and dedicated, determined to solve the case and get justice for their victim.

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

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Blog Tour: The Witness – Sadie Ryan

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Wife. Mother. Witness. Liar.

Jane has a great marriage and a beautiful teenage daughter. She spends her days illustrating books in her stunning lakeside home. Her life is as close to perfect as she could imagine.

She’s been lying to her husband for a decade.

Ten years ago, Jane witnessed an unspeakable crime. Her testimony put Curtis Murk in prison for manslaughter. She never told her husband.

That’s not the only secret she’s hiding from him.

Now, Curtis is being released from prison. And he’s not willing to let the past rest. He’s searching for revenge. It’s only a matter of time before he finds her.

Her perfect life is built on lies. And it’s about to unravel . . .

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Sadie Ryan is the author of three books. Her latest, Guilty came out in April 2021, a psychological thriller. She loves animals and lives in leafy Cheshire in the North West of England with her daughter and rescue dog. When not writing she spends her time reading, gardening, walking her dog or watching old black and white movies.

When asked where she gets her ideas from, she says, ‘From observation, inspiration and lots of wicked thoughts.’

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My thoughts: This was really good, so many twists. Jane can’t prove that she’s being stalked and driven a bit crazy by Curtis, mostly because she’s never told her husband about what she saw or about Curtis at all.

Her perfect life is about to crumble around her and she’s pretty sure neighbour Pauline and her son are somehow involved, but she can’t prove that either.

As things get worse and the family all start to feel the impact of Jane’s secrets, Curtis finally reveals himself and the stage is set for the showdown. That island hideaway becomes a place of danger and Jane’s very life is at stake. The secrets all come tumbling out then. Utterly gripping, clever and twisted.

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

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Blog Tour: A Light of Little Radiance – Keith Anthony Baird & Beverley Lee

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Selina Dragavei wanders the northern wastes in fear of persecution from the Holy Roman Church. In Europe’s Dark Age, witchfinders scour the lands and traveller folk such as she are put to flame and suffering. On the ruthless steppes, she evades them but something far sinister will lay claim to her soul.

Returning to the world of men, a dark, transformed Selina has a thirst for blood and only the drift down through the centuries will quench it. But she won’t make that journey alone, as she determines to bring others to her. As a troupe of entertainers, they attend pageants, festivals, and even royal galas, where a family bound to darkness feed on unsuspecting mortals. Such debauchery, however, does not go unnoticed. Famed witchfinder, Desider von Brandenburg, becomes obsessed with bringing this band of vampire-devils to a righteous cleansing, and so a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues.

Will the holy man bring God’s wrath down upon them, or will Selina and her nightwalkers battle the might of Heaven and emerge unscathed? Only instinct, cunning, and a little luck under the watch of a wolf moon will tell…

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Keith Anthony Baird has written a number of works, all of which can be found using your browser – get busy!

He lives in Cumbria, in the United Kingdom, on the edge of the Lake District National Park.

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Beverley Lee is a bestselling dark fiction author who lives close to the dreaming spires of Oxford, England. Her work specialises in atmospheric horror, creeping dread, and broken boys – sometimes altogether – but are always filled with heart and the tenuous threads of relationships pushed to the brink. All the Feels all the time. Vampires are her first love and occasionally they stop whispering long enough for her to write other books. When she’s not writing you’ll find her rambling through the countryside, dreaming about male vampires kissing, and exploring time-worn graveyards.

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My thoughts: Roaming Europe, a family of vampires has been lucky so far, they move on before anyone finds their victims, but their luck is running out. A team of hunters is on their trail and their leader has sworn not to stop until they, or he, are dead.

As the hunters harry their undead prey across Europe’s wintery depths, they must use all their skills to stay one step ahead of the men who see it as a holy duty to wipe out the creatures. The two parties clash and both sides suffer losses, who will prevail and at what cost? 

A dark and bloody tale of monsters and men, wolves and snow. Selina is cunning and has stayed “alive” a long time but she and her family may just have met their match, can all her centuries of wandering last or will she be brought to an end?

There’s some clever twists in this story and fans of horror and folklore will enjoy it.

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

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Blog Tour: Strays & Fetch – Janeen Leese-Taylor

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A murder without evidence, a secret that could topple society and a cop with a bit of a coffee habit!

Three things were certain in the mind of Officer Theodore Night.

There’s a serial killer loose in Portstewart

His new friend is a werewolf

He’s in way over his head

When bloody paw prints at a crime scene leads Officer Night to consider the impossible, he must rely not only on his years of investigative experience, but on the local werewolf pack, for help.

An unlikely friendship gives Night the edge he needs to prevent an all-out war. Has Blair, the mysterious barista from Bean and Gone, caused him to bite off more than he can chew?

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Denma Aeoir.

The Devil’s Breath.

The thing that goes bump in the night.

It’s not just a story.

Not anymore.

When modern blades break the God’s seal, it is up to Detective Theodore Night and his werewolf partner, Blair Blackwolfe, to save the North Coast from devastation.

Or die trying.

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Janeen is an Irish author born and raised on the scenic Causeway Coast. Curious, and with a great love for adventure, Jan spent her childhood climbing trees and talking to her imaginary friends, many of whom have now found a home in her writing.

She has a bachelor’s degree in advertising and works for gaming companies around the world. She is a lover of all things fantasy and aims to bring some magic to the places that she visits in her writing. Portstewart, Dublin and Chester City each feature prominently in both her travels and her writing, and her stories often draw from real life places that have captured her heart.

As an ultramarathon runner, Jan often writes on the go, using her trusty phone and stylus to craft scenes that come to her after hours on her feet. 

She lives with her husband, Liam, their Border Collie-Cross, Zarya, and their Guinea Pig, (Peek-A) Boo, who they all fear will one day take over the world!

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My thoughts: Turns out I’d read and earlier version of Strays before, and so I was really pleased to read it again and to read Fetch, the sequel, for the first time.

In Strays we meet PSNI Officer Theodore Night, who has 7 dogs and is always half asleep due to nightmares that stop him getting a good night’s rest. A strange murder scene, covered in giant pawprints, has him, as the animal expert, called out. But he’s at a loss until he rescues barista Blair Blackwolfe, who is having some sort of medical episode, and learns a huge secret, known to no-one in Blair’s life – he’s a werewolf, from a long line of them and they mostly live in a vast cavern network under the city. 

And one of them is killing people. 

Blair agrees to help Theo solve the case and stop the horrific murders, especially after meeting the young boy intentionally left alive to report a “really big dog” killed his family. Heartbreaking.

The duo have to involve the local packs, but things get a bit hairy and the case is way more complicated than a lone wolf.

In Fetch, still dealing with the repercussions of Strays, our detective duo are involved in another case with otherworldly connections. Someone, or something, is abducting children for a terrible reason. And it’s up to Blair and Theo to stop it. This time they need help from a few of their friends and colleagues (and Blair’s matchmaking sister Alice) to get to grips with the monstrous kidnapper.

Filled with references to Irish folklore and fantasy tropes (and with a very nice queer will they/won’t they – Blair’s gay but Theo?) this is a series which I really enjoyed and hope there’s more to come from it. 

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

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Blogathon: Judas Horse – Lynda La Plante

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‘Do you know what a Judas Horse is? When the wild mustangs are running free, you corral one and train it. When he’s ready, you release him and he’ll bring his team back into the corral – like Judas betraying them…’

Violent burglars have been terrorising residents across the English countryside. But when a mutilated body is discovered in a Cotswolds house, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary group of opportunist thieves.

As Detective Jack Warr investigates, he discovers locals with dark secrets, unearths hidden crimes – and hits countless dead ends. With few leads and the violent attacks escalating, he will have to act as audaciously as the criminals if he hopes to stop them.

When Warr meets Charlotte Miles, a terrified woman with links to the group, he must use her to lure the unsuspecting killers into one last job, and into his trap. But with the law already stretched to breaking point, any failure will be on Warr’s head – and any more blood spilled, on his hands…

My thoughts: So, so good, another excellent outing for DI Jack Warr. This time he’s on loan to the police force in the Cotswolds, helping to investigate a string of burglaries that have escalated to violence, and butting heads with the Oxford murder squad.

He suspects someone local is giving the gang insider information on the homes that have been targeted and that this person may now be at risk themselves as the gang turn nasty and assault an autistic man in his home. They’ve also committed at least one murder. He goes undercover to find out a bit more about them.

On the home front, his partner Maggie is pregnant and her colleague is as well. With his mum Penny living with them, Maggie is happy for him to be off chasing the criminals. He’s anxious about becoming a dad, but knows solving cases like this make his future child’s world safer.

Gripping and clever, Jack is a brilliant protagonist in a case that sees him pit his wits against a mastermind and his gang of thugs.

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