On a peaceful hilltop campsite in the heat of summer, a private plane crash-lands. Several are killed, and many more lives are shattered – including those of the Gale family who own the site. For single parent Cathy Gale, her everyday struggles are eclipsed by the tragedy, as her boy Albie is one of the victims. He hangs onto life, while 18-year-old sister Nell, who was meant to be looking after him, is overcome with guilt.
As DS Ali Samson leads the investigation, locals are scandalised to learn that the amnesiac pilot has plans to stay on in the community. As dark secrets come to light, teenager Nell goes into freefall. What is it she’s so desperate to conceal? And exactly who is the Unknown Pilot?
If you loved HOMECOMING by Isabel Ashdown, return to the beautiful coastal town of Highcap, Dorset, a community hiding many secrets.
With several critically acclaimed novels already to her name, Isabel Ashdown first burst onto the thriller scene in 2017 with her Amazon bestseller LITTLE SISTER. She has since seen two of her thrillers shortlisted in the prestigious Dead Good Reader Awards, and her dark family dramas continue to hook readers across the globe.
My thoughts: set in the same Dorset town as Homecoming, we’re concerned with the opposite end of the community. Rather than the up market enclave of the Starlings, we’re with a family that’s been in the town for many years, the Gales run the Golden Rabbit campsite and caravan park, but they’re far from a happy family.
When a small aeroplane falls out of the sky onto the campsite, it changes everything. The youngest member of the family Albie is injured and the after effects cause family secrets and feuds to surface.
Another shocking crime is also under investigation by the local police – one that puts the spotlight on Nell Gale. DS Ali Samson (who I really like) is on both cases, and handles things very sensitively, Nell is fragile, the situation with her family and what has happened to her have caused damage and she’s not coping well.
I felt a lot of empathy with the Gale family (and not just because my Nan’s family name was Gale), it can be difficult mixing work and family together, and the uneven way Cathy and Elliot were given their share of responsibilities has caused a lot of tension.
But happiness is in sight, if only they can resolve their differences and come together, perhaps their house guest – the Unknown Pilot – can perhaps help?
Another clever and compelling read from a terrific writer, this blogathon is really fun, as this series of intelligent crime thrillers is extremely enjoyable and well written.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Late at night when I wander the streets of Paris, my thoughts turn to her… How do I tell her how I feel? Perhaps, I need to show her…
The pretty little streets of Montmartre are abuzz with a rumour. Apparently a mystery matchmaker, known only as ‘Paris Cupid’, has somehow helped the city’s most famous bachelor find love. But old-fashioned romantic Lilou is staying very quiet. She’d just wanted to set up her best friend, and to get on with her life selling whimsical old love letters, in Paris’s famous St. Ouen market. She hadn’t imagined her little Paris Cupid project could ever have attracted so many people looking for true, heartfelt romance. Though the truth is that Lilou adores helping people find the right person. Even if her own love life is nothing short of disastrous.
But then a message arrives. And it’s just for her. Someone is in love with her. Someone who knows her secret. But they’re keeping their own identity secret too… Could it be from cheerful, talkative, flame-haired Felix? Or quiet, beautifully handsome Benoit? Or even Pascale – who drives Lilou mad every day? After so long of helping others find their soulmate, is it time for Lilou to find love of her own in Paris herself?
Rebecca Raisin writes heartwarming romance from her home in sunny Perth, Australia. Her heroines tend to be on the quirky side and her books are usually set in exotic locations so her readers can armchair travel any day of the week. The only downfall about writing about gorgeous heroes who have brains as well as brawn, is falling in love with them – just as well they’re fictional. Rebecca aims to write characters you can see yourself being friends with. People with big hearts who care about relationships and believe in true, once in a lifetime love. Her bestselling novel Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop has been optioned for film with MRC studios and Frolic Media.
My thoughts: this was a delightful story about love, finding it in the last person you expected and about helping others find love.
Lilou sells old diaries, letters and books from her stall in one of Paris’ famous flea markets, giving new life to old things. She loves romance and wants to help others find it, even if her own love life has been a bit disastrous. Secretly she sets up Paris Cupid, a matchmaking website that connects you to your potential soulmate and then you write love letters to one another before agreeing to meet. Old fashioned romance for the 21st Century.
When a famous actor gets matched and then talks about how he found his fiancèe, in every interview he gives, word is out and Paris Cupid is overwhelmed with lonely hearts. And now they’re wondering who the anonymous matchmaker is. What can Lilou do?
Meanwhile she’s being sent love letters of her own, but who is her secret admirer? Is it Felix, with his printing press, or Benoit with his beautiful calligraphy? Or is perhaps grumpy scowling Pascale who sells vintage typewriters across the way?
A charming, whimsical romance story set in beautiful Montmartre in Paris. There’s even a pair of loved up feral cats as well. So cute.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
To celebrate the paperback publication of the very funny The Beaver Theory, I am re-sharing my review from the hardback tour. If you’d like a copy, head over to Orenda Books.
Henri Koskinen, intrepid insurance mathematician and adventure-park entrepreneur, firmly believes in the power of common sense and order. That is until he moves in with painter Laura Helanto and her daughter…
As Henri realises he has inadvertently become part of a group of local dads, a competing adventure park is seeking to expand their operations, not always sticking to the law in the process…
Is it possible to combine the increasingly dangerous world of the adventure-park business with the unpredictability of life in a blended family? At first glance, the two appear to have only one thing in common: neither deals particularly well with a mounting body count.
In order to solve this seemingly impossible conundrum, Henri is forced to step far beyond the mathematical precision of his comfort zone … and the stakes have never been higher…
Warmly funny, quirky, touching, and a nail-biting triumph of a thriller, The Beaver Theory is the final instalment in the award-winning Rabbit Factor Trilogy, as Henri encounters the biggest challenge of his career, with hair-raising results…
Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when we made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula,and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach, Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the prequel to The Moose Paradox, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios.
My thoughts: we return, for the final time, to the crazy world of adventure theme parks and Henri, the actuary who often seems to wind up solving crimes, instead of his actual job at YouMeFun.
Now living with girlfriend Laura and her daughter, you might think joining the dads club at the school and settling into domesticity, would mean less crime solving and fewer murders. But no, Henri’s ne rivals are a bunch of gangsters, who are attracting all the customers with free entry and free food, but Henri can’t see them lasting long in business. And then the owner is murdered. Which brings the cops to his door, again.
So, in between reassuring his staff and baking cakes to fundraise for the school trip to Paris, Henri sets out to solve a murder, or several, find out what the two dodgy cops are up to, and what this all has to do with horses, before he gets arrested or killed.
Written (and translated) with great wit, this delightfully funny black comedy of theme park shenanigans and espionage, is a wonderful high note for the highly entertaining trilogy to end up. Henri’s life is settled and happy, his crack team at the park are more committed than ever and things just might, finally, be ok.
Nora is done with dating, but still dreams of finding the one. So when a handsome stranger comes to her rescue one night and vanishes leaving only a business card, it’s like a scene out of a movie…
It doesn’t take long for the two to ‘bump’ into each other again, and Nora falls for the perfect-on-paper Gabe. Only a few weeks later, he invites her to Sicily, and she cannot believe her luck!
Until Gabe is forced away for work, leaving her alone with his big and warm family in gorgeous Sicily who welcome her with open arms. Everyone but Luca, his older and distrustful brother, who is always around.
Soon Nora finds herself on a dreamy, romantic getaway-just with the wrong brother.
A charity-working, dog-walking, child-wrangling, dust-ignoring bookworm, Jessica lives in the beautiful and historic city of York with one patient husband, one daughter, one very fluffy dog, two dog-loathing cats and a goldfish called Bob. As day dreaming is her very favourite hobby and she loves a good happy-ever-after Jessica can’t believe she’s lucky enough to write romance for a living. Say hi on Twitter at @yrosered or visit sprigmuslin.blogspot.com
My thoughts: I seem to be reading a lot of books set in Florence recently, maybe it’s a sign! Nora visits Florence while staying with her sort-of fiancé’s family in Sicily, on the trail of her father, the great love story of her mother’s sadly cut short life.
Her own love story is a bit bumpy too. She’s dating Gabe, who doesn’t really seem too interested in her as a person and abandons her at the airport with his entire family, who she has never met before, and goes off to New York for work. Which considering he works in finance and the internet exists seems suspicious. I’m sure he could have stayed in Sicily and worked from there. I’m onto you Gabe.
However, Gabe aside, the Catalano family are a delight, loud, loving Italians (Sicilians don’t always identify as Italian, I was told once, the island’s history being quite complicated) who feed her, give her a place to stay and take her to their hearts. And then there’s Gabe’s older brother Luca. Well, I think he might be the perfect Italian Stallion. And so does Nora. Which might be a bit awkward.
I loved Nora and her supportive and charming friends, the Catalanos never stop talking and embrace her so thoroughly, and it just has such a sweet and charming ending. Delightful, lovely heartwarming stuff.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
When Jake Meredith is arrested for the murder of his wife, he’s adamant he isn’t guilty, even though her blood is all over his hands and his prints are on the murder weapon. He has no memory of attacking her.
His solicitor brother claims Jake is a sleepwalker, and he is sent to a revolutionary new sleep clinic for assessment.
Jake is convinced he didn’t kill his wife, and is intent on finding answers. But locked away in a clinic, he’s impeded at every turn. Is his incarceration accidental, or part of a larger web of lies? And worse still, is he losing his mind or the unwitting victim of something far more sinister? All he knows is there’s something going on in the room with the red door…
A dark and twisty psychological thriller that’ll have you guessing right up until the end, perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, The Silent Patient and Anna O.
M. A. Hunter is the alter ego of Stephen Edger, the bestselling author of psychological and crime thrillers, including the Kate Matthews series. Living in Southampton, he uses his insider knowledge to deliver realistic and unsettling suspense on every page. M.A. enjoys reading anything that will keep him awake at night and is a passionate advocate for contemporary cinema.
My thoughts: Jake is admitted to a sleep clinic on Lundy Island off the coast of Devon, he’s been accused of killing his wife, something he can’t remember, and according to his brother he might have been sleepwalking.
As the assessment begins he starts to lose time, his memory seems to be getting worse and the other patients unnerve him. Worse still he’s dreaming about his experiences in the army, terrible nightmares that might be PTSD.
It all gets a bit Shutter Island, things are much stranger than Jake first thinks, and his fractured reality is more complicated than he remembers.
Full of twists and turns, this is a compelling and clever thriller.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
We all have that friend – the one who doesn’t quite belong. Dinah Marshall is that person and knows it. After someone drops out, she’s invited to spend the weekend at a luxury holiday home with women she’s known since university. However, the gulf between them has widened since then, and Dinah is conscious of being the only one with no money, career, partner or children. Feeling like an outsider, she takes to snooping around the house. She’s fascinated by its owners, Sarah and Isaac Rivers – and when she discovers she can secretly stay an extra night, that fascination quickly spirals into obsession.
When Isaac Rivers meets ‘Diana Malone’ at an exclusive members club, he introduces her to his wife and friends, and she’s soon welcomed into the group. She seems to be trying a little too hard, however, and as her somewhat intense behaviour starts to raise both eyebrows and questions, one of her new acquaintances begins to suspect she isn’t who she says she is. For Diana – or is it Dinah? -this is a disaster: she’s worked hard to get where she has, and these suspicions threaten everything. But Diana isn’t the only one with secrets, and if she’s going down, then she might just take everyone else with her . . .
My thoughts: Dinah is very strange, we all wish we lived different lives, how the other half live etc, but she inveigles her way into Sarah and Isaac’s life, leaving a trail of disruption and chaos. Their friend (frenemy?) Evangeline aka Vanjie, suspects her of being someone she’s not, and is not welcoming, their perfect foursome doesn’t need a fifth wheel. Only it’s not so perfect and Dinah’s intrusion causes the cracks to show and everything starts to crumble.
What she discovers and puts together is shocking, someone in this tight knit group has risked everything to keep things the way they want them and will even stoop to harming the children if they get in their way. For all Dinah’s pretending and slightly creepy behaviour, she’s far from the worst person around.
Tense, clever and a bit disturbing, this is an excellent psychological thriller that takes the whole “grass is greener”, “I’ll have what they’ve got” to extremes. Delicious.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Kara Bryant is everything Chris Abrams ever wanted. She’s passionate, beautiful, and smart.
She’s also married to his boss.
When millionaire Perry Bryant offers psychologist Chris a position on his healthcare staff it seems the perfect chance for Chris to escape the mistakes of his past and start over.
But then he meets Perry’s wife, Kara. She takes his breath away. It soon becomes clear she wants him just as much as he wants her. And more… much more.
In fact, she wants everything.
Kara asks Chris to help her kill her husband. In spite of himself, Chris can feel himself falling under her spell. It makes him question everything – his friendship with Perry, his loyalty, even his own character.
Until finally he’s faced with the ultimate question – just how far will he go for love?
My thoughts: this was very clever, I really didn’t see the twists and turns coming. Perry just seemed too trusting and naive to be real, and Chris didn’t even seem to really care about betraying him for Kara. Who was a total nightmare. Anyone can get a job, but she’s decided she just wants to have a nice life spending someone else’s money and never work, despite not having any of the issues that Perry deals with in order to be able to make all that money.
But oh, the shock twists, so nicely done, so clever. So yes, read this and while I give nothing away, it’s jaw dropping stuff. Trust me.
*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 ostentatious party descends into violence—and a disgraced cop sets out to redeem herself by solving the case . . .
Susan Grey’s fiftieth birthday party promised to be a talked-about event—an over-the-top extravagant gathering of a hundred guests at her sprawling Georgian home. But it would be talked about for all the wrong reasons . . .
From an escalated argument to the disappearance of an expensive piece of jewelry, the party was quickly spiraling out of control. But the worst was yet to come, when Susan suffered a horrific fall down the grand staircase. Was it an accident or was she pushed?
For DI Grace Roth, relegated to desk duty due to an internal investigation, this could be a high-profile case and a chance to redeem herself. But every lead seems to send her in circles. As the badly injured Susan lies in her hospital bed, DI Roth must try to gather the scattered pieces of the puzzle and make them fit—before anyone else gets hurt . . .
When I’m not working within the NHS as a Health Visitor, or stood on the side of a football pitch watching my son play football, I can be found hauled up in my favourite spot with a good book in my hand. I could literally spend all day every day reading books, talking about books and writing books. I especially enjoy women’s fiction, crime and fantasy.
My thoughts: Susan has organised a big 50th birthday bash, despite the many problems in her life, she’s hoping to enjoy herself while her husband Martin sulks in his study. But then she takes a tumble down the stairs – did she fall or was she pushed?
DI Grace Roth is assigned the case, while it might have been an accident, there’s some questions that still need answering. Susan’s in critical condition and her family all seem to be hiding things, making them all a bit suspicious. As she investigates, those secrets come to the surface and Grace unravels the whole story.
An intelligent police procedural with sympathetic characters and an interesting case to solve – what more can you want?
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg, comes an explosive, page-turning investigative thriller – with a mind-blowing twist.
There’s a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert . . .
The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away.
But it’s the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption.
Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance.
His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave . . . and also tries to identify a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm.
Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, force Beth to confront her own troubled past . . . and a past that’s not her own . . . until it all smashes together in a revelation that could change the world.
Lee Goldberg is an ex-Navy SEAL, nuclear physicist and a professional Daniel Craig impersonator.
Okay, that’s not true. But he wants this biography to be really exciting, so pay attention. If things bog down, I’ve been instructed to add a car chase or some explicit sex.
Here’s the real story. Lee Goldberg writes books and television shows.
His mother wanted him to be a doctor, and his grandfather wanted him to go into the family furniture business. Instead, he put himself through UCLA as a freelance journalist, writing for such publications as American Film, Starlog, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, The Washington Post and The San Francisco Chronicle (He also wrote erotic letters to the editor for Playgirl at twenty-five-dollars-a-letter, but he doesn’t tell people about that, he just likes to boast about those “tiffany” credits).
He published his first book “.357 Vigilante” (as “Ian Ludlow,” so he’d be on the shelf next to Robert Ludlum) while he was still a UCLA student. The West Coast Review of Books called his debut “as stunning as the report of a .357 Magnum, a dynamic premiere effort,” singling the book out as “The Best New Paperback Series” of the year. Naturally, the publisher promptly went bankrupt and he never saw a dime in royalties. (But the books are available on the Kindle as “The Jury Series”)
Welcome to publishing, Lee.
His subsequent books include the non-fiction books “Successful Television Writing” and “Unsold Television Pilots” (“The Best Bathroom Reading Ever!” San Francisco Chronicle) as well as the novels “My Gun Has Bullets” (“It will make you cackle like a sitcom laugh track,” Entertainment Weekly), “Dead Space” (“Outrageously entertaining,” Kirkus Reviews), “Watch Me Die” (“as dark and twisted as anything Hammet or Chandler ever dreamed up,” Kirkus Reviews).
“Take me now,” she moaned, “you hot writer stud.”
She tore off her clothes and tackled him onto the floor, unable to control her raging lust. Nothing excited her more than being around a writer with a big list of books.
Got your attention again? Good. I don’t know about you, but I was starting to nod off. Where was I? Oh yes…
Goldberg broke into television with a freelance script sale to “Spenser: For Hire.” Since then, his TV writing & producing credits have covered a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi (SeaQuest), cop shows (Hunter, The Glades), martial arts (Martial Law), whodunits (Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe), the occult (She-Wolf of London), kid’s shows (R.L. Stine’s The Nightmare Room), T&A (Baywatch), comedy (Monk) and utter crap (The Highwayman). His TV work has earned him two Edgar Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.
His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he began writing the “Diagnosis Murder” series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced, and later wrote the 15 bestselling novels based on “Monk,” another show that he worked on. He is co-creator of the hit Hallmark movie series “Mystery 101.” He also he teamed up with Janet Evanovich to write the #1 New York Times bestselling Fox & O’Hare novels (“The Heist,” “The Chase,” “The Job,” “The Scam,” “The Pursuit”). His most recent books include “Movieland” (the 4th novel in the Eve Roninseries), “Malibu Burning” (the first novel in the Sharpe & Walker series) and the genre-bending thriller “Calico.”
But perhaps he’s best known for his pioneering work mapping the human genome and negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Goldberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his daughter and still sleeps in “Man From UNCLE” pajamas.
My thoughts: this was a great genre bending crime novel, blending science fiction and time travel with the small town cop trying to solve the appearance of a man from the 1800s with the disappearance at almost exactly the same time of a man driving through the same town. There’s a mysterious explosion on a military base, that’s definitely not a bin fire and all sorts of other weirdness for Detective Beth McDade to sort through as she attempts to solve the case.
Clever, blackly comic and entertaining, this is a great and compelling read. I can’t decide which of the storylines and characters I liked more, the accidental time traveller or the world weary, cynical detective discovering that things are both stranger and yet more believable than she first thought. I’d love more peculiar crimes in the desert for Beth to solve, especially now she knows the X-Files aren’t entirely fiction. A really fun 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.
In an alternative Elizabethan London, Fang awakes from his death to discover he is not quite human anymore. In fact, despite having somehow acquired the power of immortality, he’s also not quite vampire, zombie, werewolf or any of the other supernatural beings who roam the twin cities of Upper London and its underground counterpart, Deep London.
A jaded traveller from the Ming Empire, Fang is desperate to find a way to reverse the spell and get on with being dead when he stumbles upon Lazare de Quitte-Beuf, a theatrical Frenchman who is afflicted with the same mysterious condition. Thrown together by the curse they share, the two men set out to undo the strange magic that binds them. As they are drawn further into the shadowy world of Deep London, they unearth a dangerous plot which they appear to be right in the middle of…
And, surely, when in grave danger, the worst thing they could do would be to fall in love, wouldn’t it?
My thoughts: this is very very funny, very silly and just a bit brilliant. I loved it.
Fang is cursed not to die, he gets stabbed a fair bit, but nothing seems to kill him. He’s fed up, tired and a long way from home. Lazare also gets cursed but nothing (except maybe not getting cast in Kit Marlowe’s play) gets him down, he’s basically happy all the time. Thrown together in an attempt to undo their curses, successfully avoid getting arrested and finding themselves in Deep London, literally under the city, with a small dragon called Amber (I would love a small dragon pal), Nell the apothecary and a little girl who is very scared, they’re on the adventure of a lifetime and right in the middle of a total lunatic’s scheme!
It’s just a lot of fun, there’s so many fantasy (and romance) tropes and little references and I just had a ball reading it. The first in a new series, it’s an absolute treat.
*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 