blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Before Her Eyes – Jack Jordan

She can’t see the killer but the killer can see her.

Naomi Hannah has been blind since birth. Struggling with living in a small, claustrophobic town, Naomi contemplates ending her life. But then she stumbles across the body of a young woman who has been brutally murdered. She senses someone else there at the scene – watching her. Naomi may not be able to see the killer’s face, but she is still the only person who can identify him.

As the police begin hunting the person responsible and more victims are discovered, Naomi is forced to answer the question on which her fate hangs: why did the killer let her live?

In a town this small, the murderer must be close, perhaps even before her very eyes…

My thoughts: Naomi is a deeply unhappy person, struggling with depression following the end of her marriage, having trouble talking to her family, she’s contemplated ending it all a few times.

Making her way home from work one evening, she takes a wrong turn and ends up in an alley. In the alley is a dead woman and her killer. Naomi can’t see the person standing right in front of her, and the killer uses that.

A series of truly terrible things happen to Naomi, who has the very serious misfortune of getting onto the radar of two different psychopaths. As her life is endangered, can the police solve the murders and keep Naomi alive?

Twisted, shocking and violent, the small town Naomi has lived in her whole life is rocked by the events, could it all be connected to the disappearance of a teenage girl years before, and if so, why does someone want to torment the blind woman?

The story of course has a signature Jack Jordan end twist, that is so well hidden, you won’t have any idea what’s coming, poor Naomi.

*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: Angel Takes Off – Roger Silverwood

Detective Inspector Michael Angel returns to face his toughest case yet — and this time, he’s missing his right-hand man!

Discover a brand-new, page-turning murder mystery in the bestselling series. One million books read!

A detective who’s no angel despite his name . . .

Meet Detective Michael Angel. An old-school policeman who sometimes rubs his team up the wrong way. He’s got his flaws, but he never gives up on a case.

One dead actor, murdered on set while the cameras roll.
When dashing Rodney Pertwee is shot dead at Northern Film Studios, everyone assumes it’s part of the script. Until Rodney’s leading lady spots a bloodstain that’s anything but fake.

Enter Inspector Angel. He arrives to find a room full of shaken witnesses. They all watched Rodney die. Yet no one saw the real-life shooter.
Who’s telling the truth — and who’s turning in an award-winning performance?

Out of the corner of his eye, Angel glimpses a mysterious woman in green, slipping out the exit. No one knows her name. Or what she was doing on the closed set.

Angel’s determined to find out. But he can’t do it without his loyal DC Scrivens — who’s
disappeared without a trace.

Can Angel track down his friend before the killer returns for one final cut?

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Roger Silverwood is a mystery crime writer who lives in Barnsley in Yorkshire at the foot of the Pennines. He has worked as a salesman and sales manager covering the UK and Ireland.

He has been a copywriter in an advertising agency and an antique dealer in precious jewellery until he retired in 1989 to write full-time.

His big success is the series of 29 books featuring Inspector Angel. He has also written 5 standalone novels and a radio play. His books are available in all English-speaking countries.

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My thoughts: This was really good, there was so much mystery around the identity and whereabouts of the probable murderer. This figure that was just out of Inspector Angel’s reach multiple times – he got so close.

But even before we got onto the murder, Angel had to rescue his number two, DC Scrivens, who had been abducted by the gang he brought down by arresting their leader.

Two investigations for the price of one!

This was hugely enjoyable and now I have the immense fun of exploring the rest of the series. Join 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.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Eleven Hours to Murder – D.B. Borton

A cold case from the Swinging Sixties.

A sassy senior sleuth.

If Cat Caliban’s not your favorite crime-solving grandma, you just haven’t met her yet.

Meet Cat Caliban: former housewife, widow, cat lady — and private eye in training. Who said fifty-something was too old to start again?

But if Cat’s not old, the case that lands on her desk sure is. Back in the summer of ’69, rebellious teen Leila Perle secretly boarded a bus to Woodstock, and never came home.
What really happened at the legendary music festival — if the missing girl even made it there at all?

Some say that if you can remember the Sixties, you weren’t there. But Cat’s certain someone from the hazy, drug-addled era of peace, love and rock ‘n’ roll remembers exactly what happened to the missing music-lover.
And they’ll do anything to keep their terrible secret buried.

ELEVEN HOURS TO MURDER — a whip-smart, witty mystery featuring Cincinnati’s sharpest-tongued sleuth, three cats, one retired Black cop friend with a very unruly beagle, and a case where justice is long overdue.

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D. B. Borton is the author of two mystery series—the Cat Caliban series and the Gilda Liberty series —as well as the standalone mystery novels Smoke and Bayou City Burning and the humorous science fiction novel Second Coming.

In graduate school, Borton converted a lifetime of passionate reading and late-night movie-watching into a doctorate in English. She is Professor Emeritus of English at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Borton currently lives with Zoe the cat in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she gardens, practices aikido, a martial art, and, of course, reads.

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My thoughts: This is easily one of my absolute favourite crime series out there. I love Cat and her band of merry housemates, especially juvenile delinquent Sidney (he’s a cat) and of course Foggy, the voice of reason and experience, that Cat often ignores!

This case takes them back in time to 1969, when Cat was busy raising her children, and the summer of love was underway.

A teenage musician with dreams of making it big, Leila Perle disappeared, supposedly on the way to Woodstock. But as they investigate, Cat becomes certain she never left town.

This might be the saddest case Cat and co have investigated yet, there’s no joyful reunion or humour in what they discover. But it’s all done with such grace, the narrative really buoys you along.

Cat and a few other regular characters are such colourful, genuine people, you can’t help but love them. And it’s Valentine’s Day so Kevin has decorated the building in a way that’s guaranteed to annoy Foggy. And there’s Leon, who must be the hardest-working person ever. He’s on his 600th job here and still has time to help Cat out. It’s just the best.  

*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 Secret Lives of the Dead – Tim Lebbon

A dark folk horror tale of a deadly family curse, crime and murder that is sure to turn your blood cold, from the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Netflix’s The Silence.

When Jodi, BB and Matt decide to burgle a derelict country home as a thrilling dare, they become embroiled in a twisted legacy of supernatural terror. There are rumours of a bizarre curse hanging over the hoard of antiques and jewellery within the house. And unbeknownst to the others, one member of the trio has darker motives for breaking into the property.

Lem is a brutal man obsessed with a gruesome family legend. He is determined to right the wrongs of the past and lift the curse placed on his bloodline. By completing the work of his father and bringing a bizarre selection of scattered relics back together, he hopes to be free of
the malign influence that has hounded every generation of his family for two centuries.

Across a single day, a deadly pursuit will culminate on the desolate, storm-swept Crow Island, and those involved are given cause to wonder… can believing in a curse deeply enough bring its own bad luck?

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TIM LEBBON is a New York Times-bestselling writer from South Wales. He’s written over fifty novels, as well as hundreds of novellas and short stories. His latest novel is Secret Lives of the Dead. He has won a World Fantasy Award, four British Fantasy Awards, a Dragon Award and a Scribe Award. His novel The Silence is a movie on Netflix starring Stanley Tucci
and Kiernan Shipka. The movie of his novella Pay The Ghost stars Nicolas Cage.

Tim has written extensively in existing universes including Alien, Conan the Barbarian, Predator, Star Wars, Firefly and Hellboy novels. He also novelised the movies 30 Days of Night, The Cabin in the Woods, and Kong: Skull Island.

He has written computer games, comics, and audio dramas. He is currently developing more novels, and both original and adapted screen projects.
He loves the outdoors, and spends a lot of time walking, running, cycling and swimming around the Welsh countryside. He’s competed in many Ironman and other triathlons. He’s a huge music fan and believes you’re never too old to jump up and down in a mosh pit.

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My thoughts: This was a creepy, sinister book with a rather terrifying but apparently ordinary man in pursuit of something rather extraordinary.

Having convinced boyfriend BB and best friend Matt to go with her, Jodi and her pals break into an abandoned manor house. In the basement is a treasure trove, and if that was all they took, things would have been very different. 

But Jodi has an ulterior motive, one that ends in death and destruction as her theft attracts the attention of a determined and murderous Lem.

He’s attempting to reverse a curse laid on his family many generations ago, and he doesn’t care who gets hurt along the way. He and Jodi have crossed paths before, and this spurs her need for revenge.

As the two pursue each other, and the strange relics Lem so needs, chaos unfolds. Neither is willing to back down, and innocents will be the price they pay.

Gripping, dark and sinister, this was fascinating and disturbing in equal measures.

*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: Black as Death – Lilja Sigurđardóttir, translated by Lorenza Garcia

The haunting final chapter to an award-winning series… And a final reckoning…

With the fate of her missing sister, Ísafold, finally uncovered, Áróra feels a fragile relief as the search that consumed her life draws to a close. But when Ísafold’s boyfriend – the prime suspect in her disappearance – is found dead at the same site where Ísafold’s body was discovered, Áróra’s grip on reality starts to unravel … and the mystery remains far from solved.

To distract herself, she dives headfirst into a money-laundering case that her friend Daníel is investigating. But she soon finds that there is more than meets the eye and, once again, all leads point towards Engihjalli, the street where Ísafold lived and died, and a series of shocking secrets that could both explain and endanger everything…

Icelandic crime writer Lilja Sigurðardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written eleven crime novels, including Snare, Trap and Cage, making up the Reykjavík Noir trilogy, and her standalone thriller Betrayal, all of which have hit bestseller lists worldwide.

Snare was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger, Cage won Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year and was a Guardian Book of the Year, and Betrayal was shortlisted for the prestigious Glass Key Award and won Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year. The film rights for the Reykjavík Noir trilogy have been bought by Glassriver.

Cold as Hell, the first book in the An Áróra Investigation series, was published in the UK in 2021 and was followed by Red as Blood, White as Snow and Dark as Night. TV rights to the series have been bought by Studio Zentral in Germany.

Lilja lives in Reykjavík with her partner and a brood of chickens.

My thoughts: The police are still investigating the deaths of Áróra’s sister and her abusive partner, now that their bodies have been found. The theory that Bjorn killed her and then fled to Canada has been destroyed and now they need to find out what really happened.

Daniel asks Áróra to help with his latest case, hoping to distract her, he’s looking into a chain of coffee shops that seem to be making money that doesn’t entirely add up in terms of their customer numbers.

The police discover a link between Bjorn and a known local drug dealer and thug. Will this lead to answers about Isafold’s death?

Another gripping instalment in this series, and Áróra might finally get some closure around her sister’s tragic end.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Earth Weighs Heavy – Alison Joseph

Meet Sister Agnes. She’s not your typical nun. She loves killer shoes, sipping prosecco — and solving baffling mysteries . . .

Now an acclaimed BBC Radio Crime drama, starring Anne-Marie Duff.

Hackney convent — home to Agnes and her sisters — may be a house of God. But what’s buried beneath is anything but saintly.
After days of brutal storms and lashing rains, the convent’s crumbling cellar gives up a terrible secret. The skeleton of a woman.

Her identity is a puzzle the police can’t solve. Not without a helping hand from sleuthing Sister Agnes.
But her search for answers, deep in the convent’s chequered past, only leads to more questions.

Late one night, Agnes is woken by a gunshot — and the fear that history is about to repeat itself.
Someone under this roof knows more than they’re saying. And they’ll stop at nothing to keep their secrets.

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ALISON JOSEPH is a London-based crime writer and radio dramatist. She started her career in local radio, and then in television as a documentary director. Alison has written about twenty works for radio, including THE TRUE STORY and also dramatisations of Georges Simenon’s Maigret novels. She is the author of the series of novels featuring SISTER AGNES, a contemporary detective nun based in South London. She is also the author of
‘Dying to Know’, a crime novel about faith, evidence and particle physics featuring DI
Berenice Killick. Her new series of novellas features Agatha Christie as a detective. Alison was Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association 2012-2014.

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My thoughts: Sister Agnes has returned to the convent in Hackney from helping at the refugee camp in Calais, and is asked to assist in cataloguing the things in the basement.

However, there’s a bit of a problem with the basement – there’s a skeleton in it and the police say it’s not been there long enough to be history  – it’s probably a crime. So Sister Agnes is trying to help identify the person.

The police are also at a house across the road – one of the residents has died from a gunshot. It doesn’t quite look like suicide. So Sister Agnes is also interested in that.

I’ve read several of the books in this series and they’re really interesting, Sister Agnes is an intriguing protagonist, she often seems to find herself in the middle of events, and perhaps because of her slight ambivalence towards her calling always gets involved. She’s good with people and they often open up to her, much as happens here.

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

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Blogathon: Gallery of the Dead – Chris Carter

‘Thirty-seven years in the force, and if I was allowed to choose just one thing to erase from my mind, what’s inside that room would be it.’

That’s what a LAPD Lieutenant tells Detectives Hunter and Garcia of the Ultra Violent Crimes Unit as they arrive at one of the most shocking crime scenes they have ever attended.

In a completely unexpected turn of events, the detectives find themselves joining forces with the FBI to track down a serial killer whose hunting ground sees no borders; a psychopath who loves what he does because to him murder is much more than just killing – it’s an art form.

Welcome to The Gallery of the Dead.

My thoughts: Another macabre case for Hunter and Garcia sees them this time teaming up with the FBI to find a serial killer working across state lines.

This killer kills without cruelty, his victims don’t suffer, and then he removes their body parts. The LA victim that Hunter and Garcia are dealing with has had almost all her skin, hands and feet removed. On the only patch of skin left on her back is carved a message in Latin.

As they work through the victims, it becomes apparent that their killer is collecting, now they just have to find him and what connects their victims.

It’s dark and sinister, like all of the cases the LAPD’s Ultra Violent Crime Unit specialise in and despite the initial resistance, the FBI agents find Hunter’s insights vitally important to solve the case.

Hunter also finally has a personal life, in the form of a very attractive psychology professor who shares his taste in whisky and wins him over. Shame Garcia is late for dinner with his in-laws again!

*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: Flight or Fight – N.L. Craig


When a body is found in the woods, more will soon be uncovered, and DS Felix will need to find the killer before another victim is claimed.

Private Investigator, Alison Greene, has been contacted to find a missing person, by the victim’s elderly father, but these two cases may be intertwined and working together will be the only way to solve this case.

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Nina Craig isthe author of the crime novel ‘Fight or Flight’. When she isn’t behind the keyboard, writing into the early hours of the morning while her young family is sleeping, she can be found escaping into
another book under the guise of it being ‘research’.
Nina studied Creative Writing at the University of Kingston in Surrey and was inspired to get straight into writing (After working on her poetry and writing several short stories, she was inspired to write
her first novel.)
Nina currently lives in Hampshire as a naval wife with two young children. In addition to her passion for literature, she is also a qualified yoga instructor and has been teaching classes for the last five years.
If you want to know what she’s reading now and to hear about her upcoming novel, connect with her on Instagram at @NLCraigwrites.

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My thoughts: When human remains are found in the woods by the stereotypical dog walker, the police struggle to get a match with any missing persons. Enter private investigator Alison Greene, she’s been hired to look into a missing young woman by her dying father.

She stumbles across missing persons cases online and is able to match the details with those of one of the bodies found in the woods. If the police are willing to work with her,  she might be able to match some more remains with names.

Unfortunately DS Felix isn’t doing so well, struggling with alcohol addiction, his boss has just about had enough of his loss of focus, but meeting Alison gets him back on track and questioning why they haven’t even got a single suspect for the multiple murders. Between the two of them, perhaps they can shake something loose.

But solving the case could come at a high personal cost, unless they work together.

An interesting read, showing that a more unorthodox approach sometimes yields results and introducing Alison Greene, an intelligent and dedicated investigator.

*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 the Wedding – Anita Davison

Hannah Merrill is about to marry the love of her life…

The couple are determined that their low-key celebration will go without a hitch, but there can’t be an ‘I do’ while the vicar is missing. And when he’s found dead – a victim of a poisoning – in the crypt behind the church, Hannah knows only she and Aunt Violet can find out who did it.

Hannah’s beloved thinks she shouldn’t interfere. But if he fails to remember that an independent woman in 1916 doesn’t do what she’s told to by a man, the dead vicar may be the least of his worries…

Then the vicar’s own fiancé appears on the scene, even though nobody knew he was engaged. And suddenly it becomes clear someone has a secret, one shocking enough to kill for.

Will the intrepid pair of amateur sleuths catch the murderer before they kill again? Or will it be til death parts them all?

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Anita Davison is the author of the successful Flora Maguire historical mystery series.

Twitter: @AnitaSDavison
Instagram: @anitadavison3740
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Bookbub profile: @AnitaDavison

My thoughts: Hannah is about to get married in her local parish church, the only problem is the vicar is missing. Thankfully they find another who can fill in, but there’s still the question of where the original one went.

When the newlyweds find his body in the crypt, it initially looks like an accident – did he trip and fall down the stairs? The police reveal that the vicar was poisoned. And there’s so many secrets he was keeping  – including a fiancé who arrives the following day.

Hannah and Aunt Violet (I love Aunt Violet so much) investigate – they have access that the police don’t, and uncover secrets that someone has killed for in the vicar’s past.

Hannah might now be married, but with her husband involved in war work and crime still happening, she’s going to investigate, with or without his approval.

*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 Debt – Geoff Major

Mike McCleary is offered a fantastic new job. With his beautiful new girlfriend by his side, he can move back to England and be closer to his loving and supportive parents.

Newly-promoted Detective Inspector Steve Denton is basking in the spotlight after stopping a serial killer’s nationwide campaign, and feels he’s finally getting some deserved recognition.

The Broker continues to evade the long arm of the law and is about to invest in a new criminal venture, with the opportunity to earn billions.

But not all dreams come true, and some can turn into nightmares.

Writing is his hobby, which he fits in-between full-time work, family, and completing unusual fundraising challenges. For more information, visit geoffmajor.info.
He lives in Yorkshire, with his wife and their dog.

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My thoughts: The sequel to Hell Hath No Fury (ideally read that first to get background on what’s happening), this sees the police and Europol trying to bring down The Broker and BOrg (an online crime syndicate) with the assistance of a few determined individuals, some of whom may end up paying with their lives.

A retired man is pushed to his limits, forced to encourage his son to do certain things to benefit those blackmailing him. A lawyer decides to break privilege after her family comes under attack.

There have been more Lottery murders, which infuriate DI Denton, who thought he’d solved that one, he wants to bring The Broker down, and being told to stand down by Europol makes it worse. They want the whole crime syndicate, not just one London-based thug.

But as the case is being built, and more knowledgeable and intelligent people bring their pieces to the table, building up the best way to bring it all down – Denton is brought back in to share what he has, and the end of The Broker’s reign is nigh.

Clever, fast-paced, wrapping up some ends while leaving others waiting for further investigation, inspired by real-life crimes and criminals. Be careful what you put on the Internet!

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