Tag: crime fiction

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Jericho Manuscript – Julian Doyle

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At last, the incredible account of Sherlock Holmes’ investigation into the brutal murder of Canon Alfred Lilly and the secrets of the Jericho Manuscript can finally be published. Although Holmes’ faithful friend, Dr. John Watson, gave strict instructions that his account should not be released till a hundred years after his death, it has not made the astonishing discoveries any less explosive now as they were when written in 1901.

“Sherlock Holmes meets the Da Vinci Code in a gripping murder mystery.” – Daily Express
“Is this the most extraordinary Holmes Adventure ever written? The answer is ‘elementary'” – The Sun

It was 24th June, when the Rev. David Adams discovered his friend Canon Alfred Lilly dead at his desk in a pool of blood. The police considered it suicide, but the Rev. Adams refused to accept the verdict and employed the celebrated detective to locate the murderer and the missing Jericho Manuscript that Lilly had been translating.
The hunt for the killer takes Holmes and Watson to Paris where an encounter with mystic composer, Claude Debussy and his symbolist friends, not only leads to Holmes unravelling the secret history of Notre Dame Cathedral but forces the chase south to the birthplace of Nostradamus and the fortified town of Carcassonne. At the mysterious Magdalene church at Rennes-le-Châteaux, Holmes uses all his observational skills to decipher the heretical statues recently erected by the local priest, Abbé Saunière.
Clues lead the intrepid detective and his excitable friend to the Monastère de Prouilhe, the centre of the dreaded Dominican monks who supervised the horrifying tortures and burnings of thousands of innocent Christian Cathars in the area. Can Sherlock Holmes use his special talents to extract from these monks the final link to the Jericho Manuscript and the monumental secrets it contains? The game’s afoot in an unmissable thriller that breaks through from fascinating fiction to extraordinary reality.

As we unravel the secrets of the Jericho Manuscript, never forget Sherlock Holmes famous axiom,
“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth”

JULIAN DOYLE, is one of the world’s most versatile Film Makers. He has written, directed, photographed, edited and created Fxs all to the highest standards. He is most famous for editing the Monty Python Films like ‘LIFE OF BRIAN’ and shooting the Fxs for Terry Gilliam’s ‘TIMEBANDITS and ‘BRAZIL’, which he also edited. His cult classic ‘CHEMICAL WEDDING’ featuring Simon Callow about the outrageous British occultist, Aleister Crowley and described by one US reviewer as ‘Thoroughly entertaining although at times you wonder if the film makers have not lost all there senses’. He has directed award winning pop videos such as Kate Bush’s ‘CLOUDBUSTING’ featuring Donald Sutherland and Iron Maiden’s ‘PLAY WITH MADNESS’. He recently wrote and directed the play ‘TWILIGHT OF THE GODS’ investigating the tumultuous relationship between Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche and described by ‘Philosophy Today’ magazine as ‘masterful’.

Julian was born in London and started life in the slums of Paddington. His Irish father, Bob, was one of the youngest members of the International Brigade that went to fight against Franco’s invasion of democratic Spain. His mother, Lola, was born in Spain of an Asturian miner who died early of silicosis. She was thereafter brought up in a Catholic orphanage in Oviedo.

Julian started his education at St. Saviours, a church primary school. He went on to Haverstock Secondary school, one of the first comprehensive schools in England. His first job was as a junior technician to Professor Peter Medawar’s team, which won the Nobel Prize soon after Julian’s arrival. Not that he claims any credit for that. At night school he passed his ‘A’ level exams and took a Zoology degree at London University. After a year at the Institute of Education, he taught biology for a year before going to the London Film School. Besides film making, Julian is well known for his Master-classes in Film Directing. While still at school, Julian had a daughter, Margarita who was brought up in the family. He then had 2 further children, Jud and Jessie.

My thoughts: An interesting blend of Sherlock Holmes and The Da Vinci Code (which I thought was rubbish) inspired by the author’s research into the history of the Bible (his book The After-life of Brian expands on a lot of this)

After a Canon is murdered, a friend of his asks Dr Watson for his and Holmes’ help in solving the murder and locating a stolen scroll relating to the Bible, that the Canon (a position in the Church of England, higher than a vicar but lower than a Bishop) was translating when he was killed. The hunt takes Holmes and Watson across the Channel to France and deep into the turbulent history of early Christianity in Europe and also the literal history of the Biblical figures around the time of the crucifixion.

The quest focuses on the historic Jesus, the person, not the Christ of faith, so please read with a large pinch of salt if you’re religious, and if you’re easily offended, maybe read something else.

As someone raised in the Church, named after Mary Magdalene, whose family come from France, and who has studied the Bible quite extensively. I nodded at a lot of the points Holmes raises, I’ve also read not only this author’s previous book, but others with similar interests. Some of the things Holmes and Watson discuss as they travel across France I am familiar with, some was new to me. At no point are they disrespectful although I always thought Holmes was an atheist, partly because his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was a Spiritualist who believed in ghosts and fairies, and partly because I can’t imagine him believing in anything without being able to see it for himself. Dr Watson is definitely CofE.

I really enjoyed this book, it’s a fascinating mix of fiction and theory that is debated theologians and historians of the period. While ultimately Holmes cannot reclaim the vital scroll, he does solve the murder along the way, and indulges in a complex and enjoyable debate with his friend and companion.

*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

Blogathon: One By One – Chris Carter

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‘I need your help, Detective. Fire or water?’

Detective Robert Hunter of the LAPD’s Homicide Special Section receives an anonymous call asking him to go to a specific web address – a private broadcast. Hunter logs on and a show devised for his eyes only immediately begins. But the caller doesn’t want Detective Hunter to just watch, he wants him to participate, and refusal is simply not an option.

Forced to make a sickening choice, Hunter must sit and watch as an unidentified victim is tortured and murdered live over the Internet. The LAPD, together with the FBI, use everything at their disposal to electronically trace the transmission down, but this killer is no amateur, and he has covered his tracks from start to finish.

And before Hunter and his partner Garcia are even able to get their investigation going, Hunter receives a new phone call. A new website address. A new victim. But this time the killer has upgraded his game into a live murder reality show, where anyone can cast the deciding vote.

My thoughts: Another gripping and stomach churning case for detectives Hunter and Garcia, this time with a killer who is manipulating them with technology. Turning death onto a reality show, where the audience votes on the method of execution.

Of course that audience probably believes they’re watching something staged, not real deaths. But Hunter and Garcia know differently and they are racing to shut this horror show down.

Hunter’s insomnia, always an issue, means he can’t let go of the things he’s seen and now countless others are watching murder happen in front of their eyes, whether they believe it’s real or not. The killer is exploiting new technology and people’s inability to look away.

Bringing in the FBI and their own advanced tech in order to try to track and locate the killer, and the site of his home made nightmare, is deemed necessary, even as it causes resentment. Hunter doesn’t really enjoy collaboration or being told what to do. But even he can see that the LAPD doesn’t have the resources to do this on their own. But it’s still his case, and he will find 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.

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Blog Tour: The Catch – Michael Leese

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Meet the Met’s Detective Martha Munro, in the most pulse-pounding page-turner you’ll read this summer.

First comes the win. Then comes the catch . . .

For years, Martha Munro dreamed of taking down her mother’s killer. The charming, and rotten-to-the-core, DCI Tony Green.
Martha exposed his corruption. The crimes he tried so hard to bury.
Now he’s back with a chilling new obsession: burying Martha.
A string of threatening letters lands on the doorstep of Martha’s cozy Victorian terrace.
Scrawled in red ink, the message is always the same: Die, bitch. Die.

It’s game on between Martha and her old adversary — and Tony’s playing dirtier than ever.
Before long, Martha realizes that someone is leaking secrets to Tony. Secrets that only those closest to Martha could possibly know.
Can she hunt Tony down? Before he catches her first…

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Before taking up writing, Michael Leese was a national newspaper journalist for over 25 years, with the last part of his career working for the London Evening Standard. The most memorable stories he covered ranged from Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the death of
Princess Diana, the 9/11 attacks and the two Gulf wars.
In the latter part of his career, Mike was a news editor. In this role he gained insights into many specialties from crime and court reporting, to political and science news and the behind-the-scenes working of government, the City and other institutions. Mike’s passion for news and
current affairs remains very strong and influences the writing of his books.

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My thoughts: This was very good, Martha and her pals are having to work outside of the law, her nemesis, former detective Tony Green has way too many eyes on the inside, she doesn’t trust this new task force to be clean of his malign influence, especially as someone is feeding him information.

The two MI5 agents on the task force don’t trust her, they think she might even be working with Green, a ridiculous prospect for Martha, he killed her mother. Thankfully Harry, Julie and the rest of their team are hot on his trail, but he’s still coming for Martha and she might have to do some things that are pretty dangerous to keep her daughter, Betty, safe.

Gripping and shocking, I was completely hooked from page one and cannot wait for the next one.

*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: Deadly Reckoning – Liz Mistry

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A DEADLY DISCOVERY

Enjoying a rare day off, DS Jazzy Solanki’s peaceful spring walk is interrupted when a body is discovered along her path. Instinct tells her it’s not a coincidence.

A HIDDEN THREAT

Could Jazzy’s estranged, vengeful stepsister – consumed by grief over their brother’s death – be sending her a deadly message?

A RACE AGAINST TIME

Then a child goes missing. The crimes appear unrelated, but Jazzy’s gut insists there’s a sinister connection, one that points straight at her. With time running out, Jazzy and her team must uncover
the truth before the killer finds them.

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Liz Mistry moved to West Yorkshire in the late 1980s. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath. Yet, her heart remains in Scotland, where childhood tales of bogey men, Bible John and grey lady ghosts fed her imagination.
Her latest work, The Solanki and McQueen crime series is set around West Lothian, where she uses the distinctive landscape, historic heritage and Scottish culture as a backdrop to her gritty yet often humorous stories.
Struggling with clinical depression and anxiety for many years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits her MA in Creative Writing from Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. The
synergy been creative and academic writing led Liz to complete a doctorate in creative writing researching the importance of representation of marginalised groups within the genre she loves.
Her husband, three children and huge extended British Indian family are a constant support to her. In her spare time, Liz loves visiting the varied Scottish and Yorkshire landscape, travelling, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her website blog, The Crime Warp.
Liz is represented by Lorella Belli literary agency. For rights enquiries contact
lorella@lorellabelliagency.com
You can contact the agency at: info@lorellabelliagency.com

You can connect with Liz here:

Website X (Twitter): LizMistryAuthor
Facebook Instagram: @liz.mistry

My thoughts: The Jazz Queens are back, with Jazzy finally getting to investigate the whereabouts of her estranged and increasingly strange half-sister, serial killer Mhairi, whose twin, Simon, has required Jazzy to organise his funeral in a twisted request from death.

Will Simon’s funeral draw out the vengeful Mhairi, or will it all come to a head as she increasingly loses what little grip on reality she has left? She hates Jazzy for what happened when they were children, the neglect and abuse they suffered, even though none of it was Jazzy’s fault.

As events unfold, a body is found stuffed in a bottle kiln, another in a Loch, all connected to old cases Jazzy worked on, they know Mhairi and her collection of disguises is around, but when her boss (and biological father)’s daughter is kidnapped, it’s up to the Jazz Queens to find her before Mhairi can do anything else.

If Jazzy can finally bring this reign of terror to an end, her friends will be safe, her lovely parents and especially the vulnerable and increasingly struggling teenagers who have appointed themselves her watchdogs, will also be free. The Jazz Queens will be able to focus on solving crimes not connected to one of their own and maybe DI Dick will leave them alone too. It’s a race against time, a fight against someone consumed by hate and rage and only Jazzy’s brain and Queenie’s incredible memory can solve this. 

Absolutely cracking stuff from one of my favourite crime writers with some of my favourite crime fighters.

*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 Other Boy – Heidi Field

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When the worst comes calling…

Scott and Blair Bagby are a happy, successful English couple living in the suburbs with their teenage son and Great Dane. Life seems good, until one beautiful spring morning when a detective inspector knocks on their door asking if their son is home, unleashing an unspeakable horror that blows apart the life they thought they had.

Police have discovered bodies buried deep in the Peasedale forest and the inspector suspects one is Jamie, the final victim of a brutal and prolific serial killer. But Jamie’s death is unlike all the others, starting with his emergency phone call that leads to a macabre burial ground near a dilapidated hunting shack and creates shocking suspicions.

With bone deep grief threatening to destroy their marriage and their sanity, Scott and Blair set out to investigate Jamie’s death, a journey that not only upends their perceptions of who they
are, but torturously reveals they may not have known Jamie at all…

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Heidi Field was raised in the beautiful countryside of the South of England with her parents and her two sisters. In her twenties she was a freelance Sports Massage Therapist. She achieved a Degree in Zoology at the age of thirty and then went on to raise two boys and became the stepmother of three more young children. She still lives near her family home with her partner, their Great Dane and the children that have yet to fly the nest.
In her early forties Heidi completed a Masters in Creative Writing at Winchester University. She entered the course hoping she would become a children’s fantasy writer and left with a burning desire to write contemporary mysteries and thrillers.
Heidi wanted to put relatable people in extraordinary situations, challenge
them, push them to their limits and watch them fight for their sanity. The Other Boy is her first novel.

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My thoughts: Sad, shocking and chilling, Scott and Blair’s quest to find answers to their son’s death at the hands of a sadistic killer lead them to unexpected and disturbing places. Grieving but unable to let go of Jamie’s last hours, they hunt for the titular other boy, a friend of their son’s who might just have been helping his killer.

Blair especially struggles with her grief, manifesting a version of Jamie that only she can see in order to cope with the loss. Time at an inpatient clinic helps her come to terms but only answers will help her finally let him go.

Scott, an investigative journalist, doggedly follows every lead, chasing down a burglar and hunting through his son’s things. He too wants answers, but more for Blair than himself.

Combining an exploration of parental grief with a quest for truth and answers to Jamie’s death, this is an unusual and highly enjoyable 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.

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Blog Tour: The Woman at Number 3 – Rebecca Collomosse

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The moment we moved in, I knew something was wrong.

We’ve finally found our dream home. It’s perfect for our little family: my hardworking husband Mike, my two-year-old daughter Poppy, and me. Three nice bedrooms. An Aga. A river view.
And, best of all, a garden for Poppy to play in.
But something is off.

A cracked stove. Scribbles on the wall. The lights flicking off every evening — always at the same time. Our daughter crying in the night, pointing at the corner of her room. “She has no face.”

Then I met Josie, the woman at No.3.
Pale. Polite. Smiling. Obsessed. She knows things she shouldn’t. Offers to babysit my daughter again and again. And when I told her no — she didn’t like that.
Now the gifts are arriving. Notes through the door. A bottle left in the kitchen with no explanation. And my daughter won’t stop screaming in her sleep.

Everyone thinks I’m imagining it. But I know what I saw. What I heard.
We finally found our dream home. But what if our worst nightmare lives next door . . . ?

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Rebecca Collomosse is a journalist with more than 20 years’ experience. She has worked on both business and women’s magazines, writing true life stories for magazines including Bella, That’s Life, Real People and Take a Break. She is currently an editor of three magazines within
the shipping sector.

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My thoughts: When I was little, my aunt and uncle lived in Twickenham, so I could picture the houses very clearly, it’s a lovely place to live, although they didn’t have a river view, like Clara and her family.

The house they move into seems like their ideal family home. Commutable to the city, local parks, a lovely nursery nearby, big garden, a good size for their family. Unfortunately it has a dark past and comes with slightly peculiar neighbours. There’s Mabel, who might be entering a cognitive decline and seems a bit vague, although kind and welcoming. Then there’s Josie, who’s a bit too intense.

Clara really doesn’t like Josie, she’s always watching them, seems obsessed with Poppy, Clara’s daughter, flirts too hard with Mike, Clara’s husband, and is always popping round uninvited.

Then someone posts newspaper cuttings about a tragic incident in the house, years ago. There’s strange noises in the attic, messages on Poppy’s whiteboard, and Poppy’s nightmares about a girl with no face aren’t easing at all. Is Josie somehow behind all of this?

As Clara starts to fear for her sanity, things are building to a head and can only get worse. Do they need to leave their dream home before it becomes their worst nightmare?

Gripping, shocking and intense, don’t read this if you live in a creaky house that bothers you, or do, if you don’t mind getting a bit paranoid!! Hope you like your neighbours!

*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: You Don’t Know Me – Theo Baxter

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They came for an inheritance. They stayed for revenge.

Annabelle Marconi thought she’d already lost everything—first her father to cancer, then her mother in a brutal hit-and-run. But the worst blow comes at their double funeral, when a woman named Mary steps forward… with Annabelle’s half-brother, David.

The revelation of her father’s secret life shatters the family. Still reeling, Annabelle’s siblings make a reckless decision: they invite Mary and David to stay at the family ranch while the estate is settled. Annabelle can’t shake the feeling something is off—and when a strange car
begins following her and her sister suddenly falls dangerously ill, her instincts are proven right.

Someone is determined to erase the Marconi family for good. As paranoia spirals into terror, Annabelle must unearth the truth about her father’s past—and face a chilling question: What if the enemy is already inside the house?

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Theo Baxter loves writing psychological suspense thrillers. It’s all about that last reveal that he loves shocking readers with.
He grew up in New York, where there was crime all around. He decided to turn that into something positive with his fiction.
His stories will have you reading through the night—they are very addictive!

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My thoughts: This was very, very good. I really liked Annabelle, she had excellent instincts and knew there was something about Mary and David that wasn’t right. But her siblings, especially Isabel, were stubborn and wouldn’t listen to her or do any due diligence  – like hire a PI, which would have saved them all a lot of trouble and from nearly dying.

Thankfully the apparently disinterested detective at the police was paying attention and did his job, investigating Annabelle’s concerns, from being followed by a strange car, to Isabel’s poisoning, her medication going missing, someone prowling around the family ranch. Because they were all in danger.

That final twist, did not expect that. Shocking and edge of the seat stuff. So good.

*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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Cover Reveal: A Claim to Murder – Jean G. Goodhind

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Life couldn’t be sweeter for Honey Driver, floating around the Med on her own private yacht, with her dishy detective husband Steve.
But dark clouds are gathering on Honey’s perfect horizon. And the forecast looks like
murder!

When Honey’s love boat sinks in a freak accident, she has no choice but to return to rain-drenched Bath. But now that Honey needs him, her insurance broker, silver-tongued Norman Glendower, is nowhere to be found.
He’s not at his luxury offices in town and he’s not answering his phone.
Honey could kill Norman for leaving her in this fix. But what if someone got there first?

Behind the gates of leafy Regency Gardens, the exclusive complex where Norman lives, something is terribly amiss. Norman’s mewling cat leads a curious neighbour straight to his dead body!
He’s been bludgeoned and left for dead on the pristine tiles of his designer kitchen. Which of his many enemies was the one to strike the fatal blow?

Honey’s on the case — with a killer watching her every move . . .

Jean, the alter ego of bestselling historical author Lizzie Lane, has lived in and around the Bath area for some time and was indeed a member of Bath Hotels and Restaurants Association — so well in touch with the hospitality trade in that fair city. However, unlike Bath hotelier Honey
Driver, she was never asked to be Crime Liaison Officer and neither does she collect antique underwear! However, her daughter assures her she is just as zany as the quirky Honey Driver and will never grow old gracefully.

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Blog Tour: Murder at the Lunatic’s Ball – R S Leonard

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A Victorian asylum. A woman imprisoned. A deadly secret.

England, 1875. London journalist, Harris Mortimer, visits a Hampshire lunatic asylum to investigate society’s treatment of the insane, only to find himself in a fateful encounter with a beautiful woman claiming to be wrongly incarcerated.

Horrified by a series of murders, he soon becomes drawn into the strange world of the asylum and begins to wonder who is truly mad and who is sane.

Back in London, Harris meets Nancy Carter, a young woman striving to become a music hall star.  Nancy’s shocking act, based on madness and murder, has uncanny parallels with Harris’s recent experiences in Hampshire.

Is it all just a coincidence? To what lengths will one person go to exact their revenge?

As the fates of Harris and Nancy intertwine, they are about to discover the terrible consequences of uncovering the truth.

Music, madness and murder collide in this thrilling historical mystery for fans of Stacey Halls, Jessie Burton and Elizabeth Macneal. A perfect book club fiction selection, Murder at the Lunatics’ Ball discusses themes of social control, the female lunatic stereotype, and the struggle by women to earn their bread and find their voice in Victorian England.

R S Leonard was born in Cheshire, England, and after a long stint in London, then Hampshire, now lives back in her home county.

She’s always had a deep love of storytelling and history, inspired, no doubt, by her mum encouraging her to get the utmost out of the public library as a kid. She has a PhD in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture and MAs in Creative Writing and Victorian Studies. These inspired her recently-published second historical mystery novel, Murder at the Lunatics’ Ball, as well as her first, The Body, the Diamond and the Child. 

By day, she works in the non-profit sector.

rsleonardbooks.com | R S Leonard, Novelist

Dr Rachel S Leonard (@drrsleonard) • Instagram photos and videos

My thoughts: This was an interesting read, with several very surprising twists along the way.

Journalist Harris Mortimer is sent to write about the modern asylum for The Times newspaper, a family friend happens to be the senior doctor at one in Hampshire, and is here he meets both inmates and staff, although at times he struggles to see who is truly mad.

He also meets Titania Rossetti, a beautiful patient who seems to be terrified of something or someone at the asylum. He’s told she suffers from a specific type of melancholy  – an Ophelia – heartbroken from lost love. This was an actual diagnosis. There is a weird focus on women needing to fit into specific categories at the asylum, and Harris finds the whole thing peculiar.

The titular murder does indeed take place at a ball (of sorts) organised for the inmates. It won’t be the only one. Shocking and depraved, the murderer is among the residents, both patients and staff, and Harris is on the frontline. The reporting makes his name and on returning to London he is riding high. 

Meanwhile Nancy Carter, actress, returns home too. She’s been away, supposedly in Birmingham, but on return must get back into her sister’s good books and rebuild her performing career.

As Harris spins into madness, Nan works to build a new, successful life, and leave any evidence of the recent past, and her activities, behind her.

There were times when I didn’t think Harris was particularly bright, especially when Miss Rossetti and her friend Miss Millais meet him for tea. There are clues about his beloved’s reality but he just can’t seem to see them.

Nan is a brilliant character, both monstrous in her rage and revenge, her strange stage act that plays with murder and madness, but also sweet and beguiling, trying to find a way to take care of what’s left of her family.

This was an incredibly interesting and clearly well researched book, I am interested in the treatment of mental illness historically as it varies wildly and so much of it seems utterly barbaric. What Titania experiences demonstrates this, while some doctors are keen to treat their patients gently and with kindness, others prefer the more inhumane ideas that preceded them. But the true madness lies elsewhere in this story.  

*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 Wonderful Life of Connie Maguire – Dohmnall O’Donoghue

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Connie Maguire has always lived in the shadows. Battling low self-esteem, she has spent her life prioritising her only child — and he has flourished, becoming Ireland’s newest rugby star. On the day of her milestone birthday, with Liam’s career about to soar, Connie finally believes she might achieve some happiness.
Then tragedy strikes in the dark of night, changing everything.

On Ireland’s rugged west coast, the past refuses to stay buried, and Connie must finally confront the devastating truth of what happened on the night that destroyed so many lives. This powerful exploration of motherhood, guilt and redemption questions whether we can truly be free from the mistakes of our past.

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Hailing from Navan, Co. Meath, Domhnall works as a travel journalist, columnist and author. He writes extensively for the Irish and British media, with work regularly appearing in the Belfast Telegraph, Woman’s Way, The Sunday Times and the Irish Examiner. Domhnall has received many prestigious honours for his writing, including the 2025 Travel Extra Travel Journalist of the Year award.
Mercier Press published his novels Crazy for You and Colin and the Concubine. His début novel, Sister Agatha: the World’s Oldest Serial Killer, was released in 2016.
As an actor, he appeared in the award-winning series Ros na Rún for nine seasons.

Instagram: domhnall82
Facebook: Domhnall.o.donoghue

My thoughts: This was really interesting and gripping. Connie has just been released from prison and needs to find somewhere safe to stay, she can’t go back to the village she’s lived in her whole life, her son’s in Portugal, her best friend’s in Spain and there isn’t anyone else.

As she travels across Ireland to find safety, she is forced to reckon with the events that lead to her imprisonment. At her fortieth birthday party, after a night of drinking and dancing, tragedy struck. And she paid the price. But some think she should still be locked up and the truth is not quite as straightforward as the one she told in court.

This is intelligent, engaging and fascinating. Connie raised her son alone, and his success means everything to her, even at the expense of her own freedom. Can she reach a place of safety or have her actions poisoned everything?

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