Tag: crime fiction

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Home Before Dark – Eva Björg, Ægisdottir, translated by Victoria Cribb

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November, 1967, Iceland. Fourteen-year-old Marsí has a secret penpal – a boy who lives on the other side of the country – but she has been writing to him in her older sister’s name. Now she is excited to meet him for the first time. But when the date arrives, Marsí is prevented from going, and during the night her sister Stína goes missing – her bloodstained anorak later found at the place where Marsí and her penpal had agreed to meet. 

November, 1977. Stína’s disappearance remains unsolved. Then an unexpected letter arrives for Marsí It’s from her penpal, and he’s still out there…  Desperate for news of her missing sister, but terrified that he might coming after her next, Marsí returns to her hometown and embarks on an investigation of her own. But Marsí has always had trouble distinguishing her vivid dreams from reality, and as insomnia threatens her sanity, it seems she can’t even trust her own memories. And her sister’s killer is still on the loose…

Born in Akranes, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir studied for an MSc in Globalisation in Norway before returning to Iceland and deciding to write a novel. Her debut, The Creak on the Stairs, was published in 2018, becoming a bestseller in Iceland and going on to win the Blackbird Award and the Storytel Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year. It was published in English by Orenda Books in 2020, and became a number-one bestseller in ebook, shortlisting for Capital Crime’s Amazon Publishing Awards in two categories, and winning the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger.

Girls Who Lie, Night Shadows, You Can’t See Me and Boys Who Hurt soon followed suit, shortlisting for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger, the Capital Crime Awards, and the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. You Can’t See Me won the Storytel Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year in Iceland in 2023. In 2024, Eva won Iceland’s prestigious Crime Fiction Award, the Blood Drop, for Home before Dark and was shortlisted for the coveted Glass Key. The Forbidden Iceland series has established Eva as one of Iceland’s bestselling and most distinguished crime writers, and her books are published in eighteen languages with more than a million copies sold.

My thoughts: This was really good, sinister and full of twists and red herrings. Marsí has returned to her parents’ house on the tenth anniversary of her older sister’s disappearance when they were teenagers. She’s determined to find out what happened to Stina, and who killed her.

She’s received a letter from the penpal she failed to meet on the very evening Stina vanished. Something she has always thought connected. Could the boy she was writing to be the person who harmed her sister? She was using Stina’s name and parts of her identity, like her age, in her letters. But she doesn’t think her sister knew anything about them.

With dual timelines, showing Stina and Marsí in both 1967 and ’77, the truth is slowly revealed to us, and it is shocking. Marsí also finally confronts her parents about their reluctance to search for their missing daughter and the limited police investigation. What they believe happened completely changes everything for her.

*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 Whistle of Revenge – KD Sherrinford

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Sometimes, our deepest fear is not the darkness but the light that blinds.

If you loved Conan Doyle’s, The Hound of the Baskervilles, prepare to be enthralled by KD Sherrinford’s captivating follow-up, The Whistle of Revenge.

The deadly antagonist, Jack Stapleton, makes a spectacular return to the city of Milan in pursuit of his old nemesis, the celebrated Detective Sherlock Holmes.

Adopting the enigmatic persona of Janus, a vengeful Stapleton, along with the Italian mafia, wreak havoc on the Italian horse racing fraternity and fledgling car manufacturing industry, and kidnapping Holmes’s beloved son as part of their evil and well-executed master plan— Operation Whistle.

Will Holmes, Irene Adler, and their trusted ally, Inspector Romano, crack the code, rescue the boy, and unmask the deadly Janus?

Set against the backdrop of modern Milan, mind games and misdeeds of the highest order play out as the story reaches its thrilling and memorable conclusion.

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KD Sherrinford was born and raised in Preston, Lancashire, and now resides on The Fylde Coast with her husband John, and their four children.
An avid reader from an early age, KD was fascinated by the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, she read the entire Doyle Canon by the time she was 13.
A talented pianist, KD played piano from age six, the music of some of her favourite
composers, Beethoven, Schubert, Stephen Foster, and Richard Wagner, all strongly feature in her novel.
KD had a varied early career, working with horses and racing greyhounds, she and her husband won the Blackpool Greyhound Derby in 1987 with Scottie.
Then to mix things up KD joined Countrywide, where she was employed for over 20 years and became a Fellow of The National Association of Estate Agents.
Retirement finally gave KD the opportunity to follow her dreams and start work on her first novel. She gained inspiration to write” Song for Someone” from her daughter Katie, after a
visit to the Sherlock Holmes museum on Baker Street in 2019. It had always been a passion to write about Irene Adler, she is such an iconic character, and KD wanted to give her a voice.

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My thoughts: This is an interesting series, imagining that Irene Adler, the infamous woman who beat Sherlock Holmes, later became the detective’s wife, although he uses an other identity in an attempt to keep his family safe from his enemies.

Unfortunately that has failed – a vengeful Jack Stapleton, presumed dead at the end of The Hound of the Baskervilles, has returned to destroy the detective. Working with the Italian mafia, in a rather intricate plot to steal a painting, fix a horse race and kidnap Holmes’ son Nicco for an extortionate ransom.

As Holmes and the police race to find Nicco and foil the rest of the plot, the gang Stapleton has assembled carry out the rest of the plot, but Holmes is one step ahead of them. Inspector Romano (think an Italian Lestrade, but smarter) has liaised with colleagues across Italy to stop the bigger conspiracy from going ahead.

Clever, engaging writing, with lots of twists, a devastated Irene and Sherlock must put aside their fears, rely on the police and Holmes’ genius as well as Nicco’s inherited brilliance to bring the boy safely home to them.

*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 Reunion – Sonya Bateman

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I almost didn’t come.
Even with the free champagne, the five-star resort, the promise of closure.
Even though it’s fifteen years since we all finished high school.
But now I’m here. Snowed in.
And someone’s already dead.

It should’ve been a reunion. Laughter. Memories. Old friends — even if
they never  really saw me. But our old prom dates are waiting tables. Our teachers are lurking in  corridors. And one by one, the people I once called friends are acting like we’re back  in school. There are eight of us.

There were eight of us then.
But one vanished after prom.
And someone knows what really happened that night. They invited us here for a reason.
And they’re not going to let us leave.

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Sonya Bateman is an award-winning copywriter and novelist, a mid-eighties to late-nineties fantasy movie enthusiast, coffee hoarder, and collector of cool rocks who spent a not-insignificant portion of her childhood climbing trees in order to read books in peace. She grew up in Central New York, where the seasons are Winter and Road Construction and “not the city” is officially part of everyone’s address.
Sonya has been writing professionally for more than 15 years. She currently lives in a big house in a little city, still in Central New York (not the city), with her husband, son, and feline overlords. She writes fast-
paced urban fantasy and twisty, shocking psychological fiction that may leave you suspicious of your friends and neighbors—and sleeping with the lights on.

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My thoughts: We don’t really do high school reunions in the UK, thankfully. There aren’t a huge number of people I’d want to see again, those I do I am by and large still in contact with.

But they do seem a popular thing in films, books and TV shows (I don’t know how realistic that is) in the States. And having read this, I’m not sure why. You change a huge amount after leaving school, hopefully. And going back in time, no thank you.

Desiree isn’t entirely sure why she’s decided to attend this reunion, she’s avoided all the previous ones, but here she is, in a luxury resort at the top of a mountain in the snow with some of her old “friends”.

And someone has arranged for her a selection of other old faces from school to be there too, and the events of that rather dramatic prom night – where one student died and another disappeared – are brought shockingly back to them.

Terrifying moments are in store for the assembled group, someone wants revenge and is willing to kill for it.

Gripping, with its mysteries and twists, it will make you glad your high school days weren’t quite so dramatic (I hope).

*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: Murder at Castle Vyne – Louise Marley

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More than a decade ago, the body of eighteen-year-old Sarah Grove was found floating among the water lilies in the pond at Castle Vyne. The case was never solved. Now her sister Natalie is determined to finally uncover the truth.

But when Natalie appears publicly to discuss Sarah’s murder, she never expects it to unleash a deadly chain of events. Within hours, bodies start turning up in the nearby village of Calahurst… it
seems someone will do anything to keep the past buried.

As Natalie delves deeper into her family’s history – with the help of mysterious castle gardener Bryn Llewellyn – she finds that nothing is truly what it seems. Behind the charming castle walls and chocolate-box cottages, the respectable villagers of Calahurst are hiding some very deadly secrets indeed.

When another young woman is found dead in the very same lily pond where Sarah died, Natalie realises the killer has returned to finish what they started. But in a village where everyone has something to hide, who can she trust? And will she become the next victim of Castle Vyne’s deadly legacy?

Set in the world of Raven’s Edge, this standalone gothic cosy mystery will have you up all night!

Perfect for fans of Clare Chase, Fiona Leitch and Agatha Christie.

This book was previously published as Nemesis and has since had significant rewrites.

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Most of my stories are set in small villages filled with quirky characters. These are partly inspired by the places I’ve lived in over the years, although the characters are straight out of my imagination!

I currently live in Wales, close to a famous library and two ruined castles. My husband thinks we moved here by accident.

My first published novel was Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, which was a finalist in Poolbeg’s Write a Bestseller competition. As well as nine novels, I’ve written short stories for women’s magazines such
as Take a Break and My Weekly. Before becoming a full-time writer, I worked as an administrative officer for the police.

When I’m not writing, I enjoy visiting big old houses, which I use as inspiration for the houses in my novels, and reading other people’s books when I ought to be writing my own…

Website Raven’s Edge Bluesky

My thoughts: Another excellent mystery thriller from Louise, I really enjoyed her previous books and this was just as good.

Natalie’s sister Sarah was murdered over ten years ago, and now a crime novelist herself, she’s determined to find the killer. During a TV interview about her latest book, she mentions a diary her sister wrote, hoping to lure the killer out. Instead she unleashes chaos. Her home is broken into and ransacked, her dad’s care home goes up in flames and she’s nearly killed herself.

With the help of Welsh landscaper Bryn, she carries on, someone in the small town knows something and the killer might just be closer than she thinks.

With lots of twists and turns, a genuinely unpleasant mother (if Cruella DeVil was a parent), some rather dodgy suspects (all of the men in her life up till now are a bit…odd) and a very determined protagonist, this was a really fun read, clever and compelling.

*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 Betrayal of Thomas True – A.J. West

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The Betrayal of Thomas True is out now in glorious purple paperback and I am re-sharing my thoughts from the hardback tour below. You can buy a copy from all the best bookshops or direct from Orenda Books.

It is the year 1710, and Thomas True has arrived on old London Bridge with a dangerous secret. One night, lost amongst the squalor of London’s hidden back streets, he finds himself drawn into the outrageous underworld of the molly houses.

Meanwhile, carpenter Gabriel Griffin struggles to hide his double life as Lotty, the molly’s stoic guard. When a young man is found murdered, he realises there is a rat amongst them, betraying their secrets to a pair of murderous Justices. Can Gabriel unmask the traitor before they hang? Can he save hapless Thomas from peril, and their own forbidden love?

Set amidst the buried streets of Georgian London, The Betrayal of Thomas True is a brutal and devastating thriller, where love must overcome evil, and the only true sin is betrayal…

A.J. West’s bestselling debut novel The Spirit Engineer won the Historical Writers’ Association Debut Crown Award, gaining international praise for its telling of a longforgotten true story. An award winning BBC newsreader and reporter, he has written for national newspapers and regularly appears on network television discussing his writing and the historical context of contemporary events. A passionate historical researcher, he writes at The London Library and museum archives around the world. To connect with AJ and discover more about his research, visit http://www.ajwestauthor.com

My thoughts: set in the world of molly houses, secretive clubs where gay and bisexual men gathered when homosexuality was illegal and men could be hung for the crime of sodomy, The Betrayal of Thomas True relates in slightly Dickensian ways, the story of young Thomas True, who runs away to London from Highgate (then a village outside of London) to stay with his relatives, a macabre uncle and aunt and cousin Abigail, his pen pal. They run a chandlery – making candles, and Thomas asks to apprentice rather than return to his parents.

He meets The community of “mollies” that gather at Mother Clap’s, discovering his place and his true desires there. Unfortunately the men who congregate there are under threat and with a Rat passing their names to the authorities and their friends being killed.

There’s a playfulness to the language – and certainly in the nicknames the mollies use for themselves in their community, as well as in the characters’ daytime names. As Gabriel and Thomas hunt for this Rat, as their friends are arrested and prosecuted, executed and murdered, and as the two fall in love; they see horrors, confront assassins and venture into Bedlam to rescue one of their number.

Georgian London’s dank underworld, it’s sinister demi monde is explored in fascinating and intelligent detail. Despite the darkness of Thomas’ London life, there is some brightness and colour in his misadventures. I found the book thoroughly enjoyable and was sad to reach its end.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Jaipur Moon – Liz Harris

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Jaipur, 1934

When Philip Grainger and Frank Fletcher met late at night on the edge of an indigo plantation in Gujarat back in 1916, and one of them handed a new born baby to the other and walked away, their stated intention was never to see each other again.

In Jaipur, 1934, almost eighteen years later, Philip’s daughter, Eleanor, is excited to learn that a new family has moved into the street where they live, and that the family has a daughter similar in age to
herself.

When Frank Fletcher, having struggled for years to make a profit from his isolated indigo plantation, turns to exporting, he is encouraged by his exporter friend, Maxwell Anderson, to move his family to
Jaipur. His daughter, Alice, hopes that at last she will make some friends.
But where there are secrets, someone invariably senses a secret, is determined to uncover it and use it to his advantage. Nothing stays hidden for ever…

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Liz Harris is the author of the historical novels THE ROAD BACK (US Coffee Time &
Romance Book of the Year 2012) and A BARGAIN STRUCK (shortlisted for the RoNA Historical 2013).

Both they and THE LOST GIRL/GOLDEN TIGER and A WESTERN HEART were shortlisted for Best Historical Romance by The Festival of Romance. In addition are contemporary novels EVIE UNDERCOVER, THE ART OF DECEPTION, THE BEST FRIEND and WORD PERFECT. THE DARK HORIZON, THE FLAME WITHIN and THE LENGTHENING SHADOW, set between the wars, comprise The Linford Collection, which was followed by The Colonials : DARJEELING INHERITANCE, COCHIN FALL, HANOI SPRING and SIMLA MIST.

The second edition of THE ROAD BACK appeared in August 2022, followed by IN A FAR PLACE. Second editions of A BARGAIN STRUCK and GOLDEN TIGER were published in 2023. THE LOOSE THREAD, the first in the Three Sisters trilogy, was published in February 2024, THE SILKEN KNOT, the second in September 2024 and THE WOVEN LIE in February 2025. AWESTERN HEART was published December 2024.

In addition to these, Liz has had short stories published in anthologies and magazines.

Twitter Handle: @lizharrisauthor
Bluesky handle: @lizharris.bsky.social
Instagram Handle: liz.harris.52206
Facebook: Liz Harris Website

My thoughts: Set during the height of the British Empire among the expat community of Jaipur, who gather at the Bitish club to socialise and mingle. 

When a new family move in down the road, Eleanor Grainger is pleased that there’s a daughter close to her age, potentially a new friend. But there’s a connection between the two families that she has no idea about. She and Alice do become friends, although Alice has secretly learnt about the connection.

As the two girls shop and Eleanor and friend Harriet show Alice the beautiful buildings of Jaipur, the fathers attempt to keep their families apart. Meanwhile a gem smuggling operation sets up in town, risking businesses and prison for anyone caught. As the men get drawn into conspiracies and plots, they are secretly under surveillance. When the truth is exposed, everything will change.

Intelligent and engaging, this was a pleasure to read and brought the past vividly to life, with an intriguing plot and likeable characters.

    *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: Murder Most Wilde – Helen Golden

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    In the world of amateur theatre, the drama isn’t all onstage…

    Tragedy Strikes the Windstanton Players
    Popular local actor, Noel Ashworth, who collapsed during the rehearsal of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, was pronounced dead at the scene. As shock ripples through Windstanton’s tight-knit amateur theatre group, the Fenshire Police are looking at them as suspects.

    I can’t let Perry’s acting debut end in disaster! With the cast spooked and the local police under-resourced, Bea—along with Perry, Rich, Simon, and her trusty Westie, Daisy must shift through the
    cast’s petty jealousies and diva behaviour to unmask the killer before they strike again.

    When the show must go on…will everyone make it to opening night?

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    Helen Golden spins mysteries that are charmingly British, delightfully deadly, and served with a twist of humour.
    With quirky characters, clever red herrings, and plots that keep the pages turning, she’s the author of the much-loved A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series, following Lady Beatrice and her friends—
    including one clever little dog—as they uncover secrets hidden in country houses and royal palaces.
    Her new historical mystery series, The Duchess of Stortford Mysteries, is set in Victorian England and introduces an equally curious sleuth from Lady Beatrice’s own family tree—where murders are solved over cups of tea, whispered gossip, and overheard conversations in drawing rooms and grand estates.
    Helen lives in a quintessential English village in Lincolnshire with her husband, stepdaughter, and a menagerie of pets—including a dog, several cats, a tortoise, and far too many fish.
    If you love clever puzzles, charming settings, and sleuths with spark, her books are waiting for you.

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    My thoughts: Yay! We’re back in Fenshire with Lady Bea, Perry, the rest of team Royal Investigation and most importantly, of course, Daisy. Perry’s landed the lead role of Algernon in the local am dram production of The Importance of Being Earnest, and is eagerly looking forward to opening night. Then mid rehearsal, disaster strikes as Noel, playing Jack, collapses on stage.

    It could be a heart attack, but forensics reveal it was murder! Call in the team. While Perry keeps his ear to the ground with the cast and crew, Bea helps the local detectives search for evidence. Someone’s telling fibs, and everyone has secrets.

    Bea’s also trying to look forward to marrying Rich, but the press interest is a nightmare and now her uncle and aunt, the King and Queen, have asked for her help. Will her future look so very different from how it does now?

    With another clever and complicated case to investigate, questions about the future have to wait, but everyone’s in a state of flux and if they can get this mystery solved, maybe it’s time to make some decisions. Hopefully it’ll all end well!

    Loved this outing for the gang, Daisy is still on a diet, and once again finds clues and generally is an excellent canine detective. The humans have plenty on their plates and need a break to sort through it all. The series is taking a hiatus, as are the whole gang, so fingers crossed more adventures await in the future. 

    *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 Case of the Body on the Orient Express – Kelly Oliver

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    Paris, 1928: Agatha Christie and fellow writer Dorothy L Sayers board the Orient Express, bound for Constantinople. Christie in particular is looking forward to a break from recent dispiriting events in
    both her work and private life – the finalisation of her divorce from her philanderous husband Archie, and the miserly reception of her latest book.

    But before the duo can settle in to enjoy the luxuries of their first-class journey, their journey is derailed when a fellow guest drops dead during the dinner service. And as the last person to speak to
    the victim, Dorothy finds herself a prime suspect in his murder.

    As the train hurtles East, Sayers’ resourceful assistant Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate a maze of suspects. But with each passing mile, the stakes rise, and when another body is discovered, their search to find the killer before they reach their destination becomes increasingly complicated.

    Can Eliza and Theo stay one step ahead, crack the mystery and clear Dorothy’s name? Or will this be one journey too far for the amateur sleuths?

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    Kelly Oliver is the award-winning, bestselling author of three mysteries series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, and the historical cozies The Fiona Figg Mysteries, set in
    WW1. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

    Facebook: @KellyOliverAuthor
    Twitter: @KellyOliverBook
    Instagram: @kellyoliverbooks
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    Bookbub profile: @KellyOliverBook

    My thoughts: Would I willingly get on the Orient Express with Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers having already been involved in a murder case with them? Not sure, but Eliza does. And a fellow traveller, an old flame of Sayers’, promptly drops dead in the dining car.

    Eliza knows her employer didn’t kill him, but somebody did, and far from the heart attack others suspect, she thinks it’s poison. Christie of course was a pharmacist and knew all about poison, but has no connection to the deceased, so Eliza rules her out. But the man’s wife ate from the same plate, so how, if it poison, did she survive?

    Digging into the man’s life and secrets, Eliza and Theo (working on the train as a waiter/general dogsbody alongside a very young future George Orwell) must solve the case before anyone else is killed or disappears. With a train full of suspects, a mysterious inspector, and no official authority to investigate, what could go wrong?

    Clever, full of little literary references, twists and with a canine sidekick, courtesy of Eliza’s beagle Queenie, as well as an espionage angle when MI5 operative (and Eliza’s sister) Jane joins them, there’s plenty for the duo to dig into here. Very 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: Secrets Among Thorns – J A Andrews

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    She’s been missing for 10 years, but can a gut feeling unravel the truth?

    Carol, is a mother struggling to hold her family together in the aftermath of her brother-in-law Luke’s terminal diagnosis. As Carol and her husband Darren grapple with this tragedy, their daughter Lauren mysteriously vanishes. This inciting incident sets the stage for a decade-long
    mystery that consumes Carol and Darren’s lives, straining their already tumultuous marriage.

    Years later, Brenda, a 63-year-old woman who is partially retired, becomes obsessed with Lauren’s disappearance after seeing her face in a local newspaper. Despite her husband Alan’s scepticism, Brenda feels a profound spiritual connection to the case and is convinced that she is meant to help
    uncover the truth.

    Does Brenda know something she shouldn’t? What secrets are the family hiding? And, who is lying?

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    JA Andrews is from Devon in the UK and is the author of gripping twisty psychological
    thrillers. As well as writing fiction, he enjoys reading a mix of genres, watching reality TV and spending time with family and friends…

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    My thoughts: This was really good, with a shocking twist at the end you won’t see coming.

    When Carol and Darren come to town, following a supposed sighting of their missing daughter, they meet Brenda, who cleans the cottages at the holiday site they’re staying at. Brenda comes from a Romani Gypsy background and thinks she might have inherited her grandmother’s gift. On meeting Carol she gets the strong sense of Lauren and following a strange dream, decides to offer up her insights, much to husband Al’s dismay.

    Carol and Darren’s marriage is barely holding on, Darren drinks too much and is violent and aggressive. Carol seems terrified. She hopes that finding Lauren will fix things, but doesn’t know if they ever will. She turns to the kind-hearted Brenda as a friend and ally. Things take a shocking turn and Brenda’s insights might put her in danger.

    I was totally gripped, nothing in this story goes the way you might expect, whether you believe Brenda has psychic powers or not. Maybe she’s just really good at reading people or a bit of an empath, picking up on their moods. Regardless, the twists and turns throw up surprises and revelations that you cannot imagine. Definitely read this!

    *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 Silent Witness – K.J. McGillick

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    History is fragile. A single brush can forge it anew.

    When a stolen Klimt painting becomes a death sentence, lawyer-turned-writer Saoirse St. James must choose between justice and survival.

    Eleanor Ashford should have been safe in her Boston home. Instead, she’s found murdered—and The Golden Veil, her priceless Gustav Klimt, has vanished without a trace. As executor of Eleanor’s will and the painting’s unexpected heir, Saoirse inherits more than art: she inherits a target on her back.

    What begins as a simple insurance claim spirals into a deadly conspiracy stretching from Boston’s elite galleries to Venice’s shadowed auction houses. Alongside enigmatic investigator Matthew O’Donnell, Saoirse uncovers a criminal network that has been rewriting history itself—using forged masterpieces to manipulate the past, reshape power, and conceal the truth behind decades of crimes.

    But Eleanor’s death was just the beginning. As bodies fall and evidence vanishes, Saoirse realizes The Golden Veil hides secrets that could expose this empire of lies—and powerful people will kill to protect it. Every step toward the truth draws her deeper into the crosshairs of Maximilian Devereaux, a ruthless powerbroker whose fortune and influence were built on stolen identities, forged
    provenance, and silenced witnesses.

    From Zurich’s cobbled streets to Venice’s labyrinthine canals, this fast-paced thriller follows Saoirse as she stays ahead of assassins who erase their victims as cleanly as they forge the records of history.
    Because in a world where beauty masks brutality and culture conceals corruption, the most dangerous thing isn’t possessing a stolen masterpiece—it’s knowing who forged it and why.

    Some inheritances are worth dying for. Others are worth killing for.

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    From the bustling courtrooms of Atlanta to the vibrant tapestry of 16th-century England, Kathleen McGillick’s life and career have been a captivating blend of legal expertise, artistic passion, and a
    thirst for adventure.

    Fueled by an undergraduate and graduate degree in nursing, Kathleen built a foundation of compassion and care. This dedication to service later led her to pursue a Juris Doctorate, allowing
    her to navigate the intricacies of the legal system for nearly three decades. Her courtroom experience now breathes life into the intricate details of her legal thrillers, ensuring every courtroom
    scene crackles with authenticity.

    But Kathleen’s story does not end there. A deep fascination with art history led her to delve into the world of renowned artists and captivating eras. Her particular passion for 16th-century British history
    allows her to transport readers to richly detailed historical settings, immersing them in the culture,  politics, and societal nuances of the time.

    Driven by an unwavering dedication to her craft, Kathleen has independently published twelve thrillers since 2018. Her commitment extends beyond solo creation, as she actively engages with the
    writing community, honing her skills through workshops and courses led by renowned authors.

    And when she’s not crafting captivating narratives, Kathleen embarks on international journeys, soaking in diverse cultures and experiences that further enrich her writing. This global perspective
    adds another layer of depth and realism to her stories, allowing readers to connect with characters  and settings that transcend geographical boundaries.

    Website

    My thoughts: The world of international art dealing is infamously riddled with forgeries, dodgy paperwork and mysterious collectors. Saoirse St. James is drawn into that world when a client, and friend, is murdered and leaves a priceless Gustav Klimt to her. Unfortunately the murderer stole the painting and the police don’t seem too bothered about getting it back.

    With the help of Naval intelligence turned insurance investigator Matthew O’Donnell, she traces it across the globe, drawing the attention of ruthless Maximilian Devereaux, a collector, dealer and underworld fixer. He has no qualms about ordering the deaths of those who cross him, and now Saoirse is on his hit list.

    Clever, filled with labyrinthine art world intrigue, gripping and enjoyable thriller that takes the characters from Boston to Vienna, Zurich to Venice on the trail of the painting and the 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.