Becca Palmer has just lost her job as assistant to Simon Jones MP – the highly-regarded Policing Minister, tipped as a future Prime Minister. But Becca claims that Simon was more than her boss, that she is in love with him.
WHY HERE?
When a heartbroken Becca leaves the Home Office, she heads to Westminster Bridge, intending to take her own life. Which is where hostage negotiator Alex Lewis meets her for the first time. It is his job to try to talk her back from the edge.
WHY NOW?
In the negotiation that follows, Becca suggests that she may know something about the Policing Minister that she shouldn’t. Something that could prompt a serious fall from grace were it to come out.
But can Alex save Becca – and get to the bottom of an alleged conspiracy that goes deep inside the highest levels of government – before it’s too late?
William Dunbar, the younger son of a Scottish nobleman, craves wealth, and marriage seems to be his simplest way to achieve it. His pursuit eventually leads him to Mercy Grundy, an old maid in the eyes of mid-1740s society who fears lifelong spinsterhood. Her father has offered a substantial dowry to the man who will take her hand in marriage. For William, marriage to Mercy would be a match made in heaven. But for Mercy, who has succumbed to William’s charms, would marrying him necessitate her taking one false step?
“One False Step is a historical novel prompted by an article I read about Mary Blandy – ‘the fair parricide’ who was hanged outside Oxford Castle for poisoning her father on the 6th of April 1752. I felt that Mary’s story would form the basis for a novel comprising a reimagining of the events leading to her execution – especially given the much-overlooked role played by William Henry Cranstoun, who duped Mary into poisoning her father.”
Now more than halfway through his eighth decade, Clive Woolliscroft is retired and lives in Cheshire with his wife, Sue, and Cocker Spaniel, Bonnie.
Before retiring, he served as an Army Officer in Germany, worked as an International Money Market Trader in London, was a Management Consultant in Prague and Riga and practised as a Solicitor in London, Hertfordshire and Staffordshire.
Ever since Clive was commissioned to write a book to demystify the derivative financial products that emerged in the 1980s, his ambition was to write a novel. That ambition was achieved more than thirty-five years later when Less Dreadful With Every Step was published in May 2023.
One False Step is Clive’s second novel.
My thoughts: inspired by true events, this is a very clever tale of twisted love and a ruthless obsession with money.
William Dunbar is a soldier and a younger son, he’s not set to inherit and his stipend doesn’t stretch far, so he plans to marry wealth. He’s a monster, he marries one woman in Scotland, then heads off to England to find another, richer, mark. In the form of Mercy Grundy, who at almost thirty is headed for a life as an old maid, according to society.
Mercy falls head over heels for the soldier, and vows to do anything she can to marry him. Even after her father learns about his previous (and contested) marriage, and forbids it. Mercy isn’t particularly educated (as women weren’t) and is incredibly naive. William talks her into putting a “love philtre” into her father’s food and drink. Things then take a far darker turn.
William’s single-minded pursuit of money, his obsession with living the high life, brings about his downfall and destroys lives.
The writing is gripping and brings the period vividly to life, the story ramps up the horror of what William has caused to happen and what Mercy has become entangled in, to its shocking conclusion. An excellent example of historical crime fiction.
*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’re thrilled to present the cover for the next Hart Sister’s book by Chrissy Hopewell, Since We’re Here!
Since We’re Here: A Grumpy Sunshine Irish Romance
Genre: Romance/ Interconnected Standalone
Expected Publication Date: September 9
Grumpy sunshine
Irish setting
Close proximity
He falls first
Fish out of water
Main characters in their 30s
Just once to get it out of our system
Pet sheep
Open door/ medium spice
Nine messy breakups, nine jobs lost. When restaurant manager Maddie Hart learns that number ten—a surf instructor based in the Caribbean—is cheating on her, she changes her destination flight (but not the contents of her suitcase) to Ireland. She’ll delay disappointing her family and figure out how to get her life back on track, while also planning her oldest sister’s pre-wedding Irish road trip. Except the groom-to-be’s best friend isn’t replying to her emails.
Ex-pro soccer goalkeeper Patrick McNulty has deep roots in the seaside town of Dingle, Ireland. He’s got clear priorities: be there for his aging parents, support his sister and nieces, and take over the family brewery while also managing his pub. None of that includes dating, because after one disastrous engagement, Patrick is done with relationships.
When the sunshine-y American tourist who asked him to kiss her in the pub turns out to be the same woman emailing for help planning a road trip, Patrick vows to keep it platonic. Especially after his pub manager quits and Maddie jumps in to help. Their sizzling chemistry leads them to sleep together just once, but it’s not nearly enough for either of them.
Maddie knows her future isn’t in Ireland—or with Patrick. And he needs to stay focused before his carefully planned life unravels with the distraction of the American tourist. The Irish road trip is their last chance…Will Patrick be able to convince her (and himself) that fighting for number eleven is worth the journey?
Happy release day and congratulations to author Brittany Gossin on the release of Dream Walker, the first book in a brand-new series!
Dream Walker (Realm of Dreams #1)
Publication Date: July 2, 2024
Genre Romantic Fantasy
🗡️found family 🗡️Secrets and betrayal 🗡Closed-door spice 🗡️magic, fae, elves 🗡Dragons and demons 🗡️slow burn
In the aftermath of a harrowing nightmare, seventeen-year-old Ella Windsor must face a chilling reality as the wounds from her dreams appear on her body. To add to her terror, she witnesses the intrusion of a nightmarish creature come to life, lurking on her high school campus.
Faced with no choice but to escape the nightmares and search for why she’s the only one who can see them, Ella ventures into the mysterious Astral Realm. Alongside Ethan Wessex, a stunningly gorgeous Lieutenant of the Queen’s Astral Guard with his own air of mystery, Ella discovers a realm on the brink of war.
Azvameth, the King of Nightmares, harboring secrets of his own, seeks dominion not just over the Astral Realm but every waking world. With the assistance of other dream walkers, including the devastatingly handsome Cole, a Fae Prince, and Rhea, a feisty Elven female, each armed with latent magic, Ella may prove to be the missing piece in destroying Azvameth and saving her precious Mortal and Astral Realms.
In this epic romantasy, Ella grapples with love and betrayal, torn between the mysterious Ethan and the potential true love of Cole, all while embarking on a journey of self-discovery and found family. The nightmares have awakened, but so has she.
Set in London in 1968, A CURTAIN TWITCHER’S BOOK OF MURDER follows the lives of the inhabitants of a suburban London street. But this is no ordinary road.
“Ask anyone on Atbara Avenue how well they know their neighbours, and they’ll answer ‘well’. After all, they see each other across the vast distance afforded by close proximity, and that is probably for the best”
For the best, because Atbara Avenue is a street where, all too often, murder feels like the solution.
With a delicious cast of characters, dazzling plotting, and an utterly unique voice, Gay Marris’ first book is remarkably accomplished. If you’ve been longing for a fresh and compelling new voice in the world of crime fiction, your wait is over.
Dr. Gay Marris is a retired research scientist. Her career focused on insect ecology, parasites and honey bee health. A Curtain Twitcher’s Book of Murder is her first novel, set in the suburbs of the deceptively dangerous suburbs of 1960s London, where she grew up. Gay now lives in York with her husband, a cat and a tortoise.
My thoughts: Atbara Avenue is full of secrets hidden behind the net curtains, each house full of people with hidden desires and grudges.
As we get to meet the residents of some of the houses, and spend time with them, seething resentment seems to be the order of the day, and some of the residents are pretty weird. I certainly don’t think I’d want to move there.
Funny, dark and twisted, this selection of stories where Death knocks on the doors of this street are entertainingly macabre.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
A town under fire. A detective with something to prove. A killer hiding in plain sight.
The small town of Rislake in the picturesque Blue Mountains is about to be engulfed by a major bushfire. The order has been given for the residents to clear out. But a last sweep uncovers one person is missing: Tracey Hilmeyer, wife of one of the firefighters tackling the blaze.
Detective Kennard is in town to help with crowd control, but instead he finds himself driving straight towards the inferno to look for Tracey at the Hilmeyer home. When he gets there, he finds her dead at the bottom of the stairs, and it’s clear she was murdered.
With the evacuation almost complete there is barely enough time to save the living never mind the dead. But Detective Kennard has something to prove and cannot let this one go.
Can he solve her murder before the crime scene, and the entire town, turns to ash?
James Delargy was born and raised in Ireland and lived in South Africa, Australia and Scotland, before ending up in semi-rural England where he now lives. He incorporates this diverse knowledge of towns, cities, landscapes and cultures picked up on his travels into his writing. His first novel, 55, was published in 2019 by Simon & Schuster and has been sold to 21 territories to date, and was followed by the standalone thrillers Vanished (2021) and Into the Flames (2023). Find him on Twitter: @jdelargyauthor
My thoughts: I never quite understand why anyone moves to Australia, where everything, including the weather, wants to kill you, and that’s without human killers.
DS Kennard is sent to the small town of Rislake after failing to stop a teenager from shooting himself in a tense situation. He’s got PTSD but won’t take time off. Rislake is in the grip of a raging wildfire and as the town evacuates, the body of Tracey Hilmeyer is found in her hallway, her head caved in. Who killed her and why?
Trying to investigate a murder in the middle of a huge fire, evidence on the verge of being destroyed, the husband (and possible suspect) a firefighter, witnesses quite lacking, is not easy. And hardly anyone seems to have known the victim well.
She was locked in a war with her sister over their inheritance, had lost her business and spent much of her time alone. As the detectives dig into her life and possible murderers, they discover she had plenty of secrets. Could one of them have got her killed?
Tense and clever, this was a gripping and engaging crime thriller with a deadline – they might have to evacuate any moment as the fire creeps closer and lose all their evidence and suspects.
*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 secrets of Rayna Laurence’s past threaten to unravel the life she’s created for herself in West London in 1957.
A young West Indian girl with a talent for singing, Rayna takes a job as a barmaid in a local pub, and it’s there that she meets the charismatic leader of a West Indian jazz band, Eddie Keane. But when her affections become the subject of a tug-of-war between Terry Collins, the pub owner, and Eddie, Rayna chooses Terry, but the love triangle is far from over.
As her fame and fortune as a performer grow, Rayna finds her past catching up with her.
Will the secrets of her former life in the West Indies destroy the life she’s built for herself?
An emotional story of love, music, and hidden truths in post Windrush London.
Fran Clark writes Women’s Fiction, both contemporary and historical. Her first novel was published by Indigo Dreams in 2014. In the same year she achieved a Distinction in her Creative Writing MA from Brunel University. In 2016 she was shortlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize. In February 2024, her Island Secrets Book Series will be published, starting with Holding Paradise Book 1.
Originally from London, Fran moved to the English countryside with her musician husband. A musician herself, Fran teaches vocals and leads a local choir. She has two sons.
Fran also writes under the pseudonym, Rosa Temple, writing contemporary fiction and published by HQ Digital and Simon & Schuster UK
My thoughts: I am always interested in why people would pack up their lives and move to the sad, soggy archipelago that is the UK, confronting racism, the crap weather, the grinding poverty and the terrible jobs immigrants often take, which no one else wants to do.
In Rayna’s case, it’s desperation. The job she had back in Dominica wasn’t one she could return to – so to England, and a nursing course she came. My mum was a nurse for over 40 years and worked with lots of women just like Rayna, young, intelligent and resourceful, hardworking and a long way from home.
But Rayna gives up the nursing, ends up in a factory, then when that closes, panicking, she asks a new friend for help. Taking a job as a barmaid in West London isn’t her dream, but she hopes it will keep a roof over her head.
Her talent as a singer leads her on stage, first just in the Pelican, but from there, on world tours, but jazz draws her back to the corner of London she considers home. And into a conflict of the heart, the pub landlord who loves her, the jazz musician who offers her the world. It also brings her face to face with her past, with what she ran from.
It’s an engaging, intelligent book, there’s a lot of heart and Rayna is a wonderful protagonist – big hearted, gentle and talented. She’s not perfect and she makes mistakes but she admits to them, and makes changes to mend them. I really enjoyed this one and rooted for it’s characters all the way through.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Detective duo Mrs Jameson and Marjorie Swallow are called to investigate when a renowned garden designer suspects that someone is sabotaging her priceless Himalayan Sapphire Lilies, ahead of the 1923 Chelsea Flower Show. But soon it’s not just the flowers that are dying. Rival gardeners, intrepid plant hunters and even King George V himself are caught up in a poisonous bouquet with its roots deep in the mountains of Tibet. The third in the Marjorie Swallow 1920s murder mystery series requires all her wit, charm and pluck to solve.
Anna Sayburn Lane is the author of page-turning murder mysteries set in jazz age London, and of award-winning short stories and contemporary thrillers. Her debut novel, Unlawful Things, was shortlisted for the Virago New Crime Writing award, and her first historical mystery, Blackmail In Bloomsbury, has been described as ‘like slipping on a pair of elegant evening gloves and slipping back to the golden age of detective fiction’. Before turning to fiction, Anna worked as a journalist for local newspapers and medical journals – useful for thinking up novel ways of bumping off fictional characters. She lives in the UK, sharing her time between London and a small seaside town.
My thoughts: I really enjoy this series, I love Marjorie and Mrs Jameson and this particular investigation is very fiendish. After an act of sabotage, which they’ve been called into investigate, a gardener is killed, which is puzzling, and then another body drops at the famous Chelsea Flower Show – in front of the king! That just won’t do.
Is it because of the mysterious flowers due to be exhibited – rare Himalayan Sapphire Lilies or is there something even murkier in their acquisition that’s behind the deaths? There’s lots of shady figures in the flower world it seems, and Mrs Jameson and Marjorie must solve all of this – by Royal request, as murder in front of the monarch is a big problem.
Witty and clever, there’s little time for socialising and lunch in fancy restaurants this time round, and Marjorie is increasingly becoming the quicker detective as she hones her skills of observation and interrogation. Delightful.
*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’re celebrating the newly released vampire romance, Our Little Monster by Lashell Rain!
 Our Little Monster: A Why Choose Vampire Romance (Deviant Desires Series) Publication Date: May 28, 2024 Genre: Vampire Romance/ Why Choose
Inspired by The Vampire Diaries & Supernatural
Monster Hunter FMC
Touch Her & Di3
She Saves Them
Why Choose MFM
Vampires She doesn’t know whether to kill them or keep them…
In a world where monsters lurk in the shadows, Serina Velika is a hunter, born and raised to keep the balance between humans and everything that goes bump in the night.
But no one is safe in the dark.
When vampires viciously attack her and her father, she is left shattered and bleeding on the forest floor, forced to bear witness to the horrifying scene as they mercilessly take her father’s life. The one person who anchored her is gone and now she has nothing left to lose.
She embarks on a mission for vengeance, keeping her heart guarded and her loved ones at arm’s length. But fate has other plans.
After eight months of little to no answers, Serina crosses paths with three captivating vampires—Bastian, Nox, and Thorne, who propose an intriguing deal. With no other options, she reluctantly allows them into her life and is thrust into a world of deception, unaware that with every shared moment her resolve weakens and her emotions ignite like wildfire. Will their love conquer all, or will her need for vengeance tear them apart? Dive into this thrilling adventure where passion ignites, bonds are tested, and a new dawn of hope awaits. 18+ Adult content and explicit scenes AVAILABLE ON AMAZON Book Tour Organized By:
 R&R Book Tours
1798: A magical, dark adventure. Fourteen-year-old Pâtca, initiated in the occult arts, comes to Bucharest, to her uncle, Cuviosu Zăval, to retrieve the Book of Perilous Dishes. The recipes in this magical book can bring about damaging sincerity, forgetfulness, the gift of prediction, or hysterical laughter. She finds her uncle murdered and the book missing. All that Zăval has left her is a strange map she must decipher. Travelling from Romania to France and on to Germany to do so, Patca’s family’s true past and powers are revealed, as is her connection to the famous and sublime chef, Silica.
DOINA RUŞTI, important contemporary Romanian novelist, is unanimously appreciated for epic force, for originality and erudition of her novels. She received all major Romanian awards, including the Romanian Academy Prize, and was translated into many languages (even in Chinese).
She wrote ten novels, including: Fantoma din moară (The Phantom in the Mill, 2008), Lizoanca (2009), Zogru (2006).
The novels Manuscrisul fanariot (The Phanariot Manuscript, 2015), Mâța Vinerii (The Book of Perilous Dishes, 2017) and “Homeric” (2019) can be a Phanariotic Trilogy (18th century). The most recent novel: Paturi oculte (Occult beds), 2020.
Good international reviews in: La Stampa, Stato Quotidiano, Il Venerdì di Repubblica. Il Libero, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Magyar Nemzet, La Opinion, Turia. Il Mercurio etc.
Doina Rusti lives in Bucharest, and is a professor and screenwriter.
My thoughts: After her grandmother is dragged away to be executed, our 14 year old protagonist heads to Bucharest to find her uncle. Unfortunately he has been murdered and she gets involved in the various intrigues of society.
The titular book, one Pâtca wrote several years before, has fallen into the hands of a cook who is now making those perilous dishes for the local ruler, and they’re having some strange effects.
As she attempts to get the book back from the cook, solve her uncle’s murder, and stay ahead of the city – who are looking for a witch called Cat O’ Friday, another name for Pâtca.
I really enjoyed this book, Pâtca is an intriguing character, trying to figure all of these different things out, she’s only a teenager but seems wise beyond her years and quite dangerous.
*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 