Tag: reviews

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Blind Pool – Vicki Goldie*

ramblingmads

Read my review of Blind Witness here.

In 1923 flushed with the success of their last sluething escapade Major Alasdair Charters, a blind WW1 veteran and former intelligence officer and his aristocratic wife The Honourable Melissa, accept an invitation to a country house party on Somerset Levels in Winter.

There they find a dysfuctional family all living in a huge old house on a hill. Overnight the storm brings with it the flood waters and the house becomes surrounded and cut off from the rescue just as a murderer begins to stalk the residents.

An exciting murder mystery in the Golden Age tradition.Will our sleuths discover hidden secrets and unamsk the murderer before anymore else is killed?

This series follows amateur sleuths Major Alasdair Charters and the Honourable Melissa Charters as they inadvertently muddle their way through many investigations but always arrive at the truth. Alasdair was blinded in the First World War and uses his special skills to gain ‘insight’ into the crimes. The Honourable Melissa, who likes to think she is a socialist, has a large family and set of friends who always seem to run into problems. The books are set both in England and abroad.

Having a husband who is blind, author Vicki Goldie likes to explore perceptions about this disability and push the boundaries.

Vicki lives in Poole Dorset with her blind physiotherapist husband. She has a lifelong fascination with the Art Deco period and with books of the Golden Age of Crime. This led her to envision a series featuring a blind detective set in the 1920s. Blind Pool is the second in the series.

She is a co-pioneer for a reading charity Read Easy Bournemouth and volunteers at The Russell Cotes Museum in Bournemouth.

She is currently writing book three in the series Blind Haven set in Bournemouth.

My thoughts:

Another cracking case for the Charters’ to investigate in deepest Somerset.

Invited to a friend’s family home (even though neither is keen on staying at any more country houses, and who can blame them!), to investigate the possibility her grandmother was murdered, there’s soon bodies stacking up as the house becomes cut off by flooding and heavy rain.

I’m rather fond of Melissa and Alasdair, and this, their second outing, is full of the best Golden Age tropes and knowing winks to the crime loving reader, not least the odd mention of the excellent Poirot.

Despite being blind, Alastair sees a lot more clearly than most, and uses his brilliant mind, in conjunction with Melissa’s knowledge of psychology to work through the series of deaths and their causes.

Thoroughly enjoyable and great fun, I think Vicki Goldie may actually be from the Golden Age of Crime and have a handy time machine – these give even the marvellous Mrs Christie a run for her money. Bring on book three!

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Freedom is a Land I Cannot See – Peter Cunningham*

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1924. In the dangerous first years of the Irish Free State, beautiful Rose Raven, having lost her sight and her first love, is living quietly with her brother. But Ultan is involved in anti-government propaganda. As the net tightens, Rose is the only person who knows where the shameful truth is hidden – a truth so incendiary, it threatens the new Ireland itself.

Peter Cunningham is from Waterford in the south east of Ireland. He is the author of the Monument series, widely acclaimed novels set in a fictional version of his home town. His novel, The Taoiseach was a controversial best seller; The Sea and the Silence won the prestigious Prix de l’Europe.

He is a member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of arts and letters, and lives with his wife, not far from Dublin.His novel, The Taoiseach was a controversial best seller; The Sea and the Silence won the prestigious Prix de l’Europe.He is a member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of arts and letters, and lives with his wife, not far from Dublin.

My thoughts:

One of the many things that frustrates me about the UK’s education system is the erasure of the cruel and terrible things the British Empire did. Ireland is our closest neighbour, but I have to rely on stories from my friend’s Granny and brilliantly written books like this to even scratch the surface of its rich and complicated history.

Powerful, moving and haunting, this book is a body blow, especially in the second act as Rose reveals what happened to her and her father, the terrible love story and tragic ending of her sight.

I didn’t like the epilogue as it seemed a little heavy handed but the two sections before it, Rose’s ‘now’ and ‘then’ were intense and absorbing, leaving me reeling.

This book needs to be on your to-be-read piles, its power and characters lingering on long after the last page, for such a slim volume it packs an emotive punch.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Coyote Fork – James Wilson*

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British journalist Robert Lovelace travels to California to report on the social media giant Global Village. He’s horrified by what he finds: a company—guided by the ruthless vision of its founder, Evan Bone—that seems to be making journalism itself redundant. Appalled, he decides to abandon the project and return home.

But as he leaves he has a disconcerting encounter that sends him off in a totally different direction. Soon he finds himself embarking on an increasingly fraught and dangerous mission. The aim: to uncover the murky truth about Evan Bone’s past and his pathological disregard for the human cost of the behemoth he has created.

Robert’s quest takes him from San Francisco to a small college town in the Midwest, to the site of a former hippie commune in northern California, introducing us to a range of vivid characters and confronting us with the price we pay—online trolling, the loss of privacy, professional ruin—for living in an “interconnected” world. Finally, he makes a startling discovery—and is thrown into a completely unforeseen existential dilemma.

A timely, stylishly written, and brilliantly conceived metaphysical thriller, Coyote Fork carries us on an unforgettable journey, before bringing us face to face with the darkness at the heart of Silicon Valley itself.

James Wilson is a London-based writer. His previous novels include The Dark Clue, The Bastard Boy, The Woman in the Picture, Consolation, and The Summer of Broken Stories. He has written BBC TV and radio documentaries, and is the author of a work of narrative nonfiction, The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America, which won a Myers Outstanding Book Award.

My thoughts:

A clever, convoluted thriller that is a lot more complex that at first glance and with an ending that left me going “and then what happened?” as I really wanted to know the fallout from the investigation.

Robert is a smart reporter, for all that he’s a travel writer, he has the instincts of an investigator – he keeps on tugging on the thread of the story to see what comes along next – even after being warned off. He makes a fascinating protagonist.

He’s determined and nothing will stop him as he collects ghosts whose deaths need resolving and laying to rest. They follow him up and down California, urging him to keep seeking answers.

He’s both helped and hindered by the people he meets, some seek to lead him astray and others drop crumbs he follows till the bitter end – keeping the reader guessing.

An involving and interesting look at how tech companies can change and ruin lives, cancel culture and how very rich people manipulate and bury the origins of their power.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Forger & the Thief – Kirsten McKenzie*

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FIVE STRANGERS IN FLORENCE, EACH WITH A DANGEROUS SECRET. AND AN APOCALYPTIC FLOOD
THREATENING TO REVEAL EVERYTHING.

A wife on the run, a student searching for stolen art, a cleaner who has lined more than his pockets, a policeman whose career is almost over, and a guest who should never have received a wedding invite. Five strangers, entangled in the forger’s wicked web, amidst Florence’s devastating flood of November 1966.

In a race against time, and desperate to save themselves and all they hold dear, will their secrets prove more treacherous than the ominous floodwaters swallowing the historic city?

Dive into a world of lies and deceit, where nothing is as it seems on the surface…

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A full time author, Kirsten is a former customs officer and antiques dealer, and who has also dabbled
in film and television.

Her historical time-slip series – The Old Curiosity Shop Series, has been described as ‘Time Travellers Wife meets Far Pavilions’, an ‘Antiques Roadshow gone viral’.

Kirsten released her bestselling gothic horror novel Painted in 2017, with her medical thriller – Doctor Perry, following in 2018.
Her latest thriller – The Forger and the Thief, is set in 1966 Florence, Italy, amidst the devastating floods. Kirsten lives in New Zealand with her husband, her daughters, two rescue cats.

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My thoughts:

In the terrible flood of Florence, a disparate group of strangers fight for their lives and freedom, as the Arno pours her rage into the ancient streets.

I’ve been to Florence, a long time ago, and it is a beautiful city, but one that clearly needs better flood defences, as both Da Vinci and Michaelangelo told the authorities.

The characters in this novel are not all good people, and don’t necessarily deserve good things. But for most of them the flood offers a chance of redemption in some form or another.

It gets pretty dark and there’s a rather creepy killer/artist making girls disappear as well, adding a supernatural element to the apocalyptic drowning of the city of the Medicis.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Sherlock Holmes & the Ripper of Whitechapel – M.K. Wiseman*

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I am afraid that I, Sherlock Holmes, must act as my own chronicler in this singular case, that of the Whitechapel murders of 1888. For the way in which the affair was dropped upon my doorstep left me with little choice as to the contrary. Not twelve months prior, the siren’s call of quiet domesticity and married life had robbed me of Watson’s assistance as both partner and recorder of my cases.

Thus, when detective inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard required a lead—any lead—I found myself forced to pursue Jack the Ripper alone and without the aid of my faithful friend. And all for the most damnedable of reasons:

Early on in my investigations, Dr. John H. Watson, formerly of 221B Baker Street, emerged as my prime suspect.

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M. K. Wiseman has degrees in Interarts & Technology and Library &
Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her office, therefore, is a curious mix of storyboards and reference materials. Both help immensely in the writing of
historical novels.

She currently resides in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

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My thoughts:

Interestingly Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never gave Holmes a real crime to solve, and certainly not this long unsolved one. There’s also a sixth victim included, which is unusual but I understand that there is some uncertainty about exactly how many poor women were butchered.

This reads like a decent Doyle story, capturing his tone well and feels very accurate in terms of London and the 19th Century (I studied the Strand stories at uni), which is good. I’ve read some Holmesian stories that really get themselves muddled regarding the historic setting.

It’s the right length too – just enough plot and red herrings to go along with, it doesn’t get overblown or bogged down in invented details. Instead real information is woven into the narrative, and real people too. Stitching Holmes, Watson and Lestrade into the plot rather than thr other way round, which gives it a sense of reality and the truly horrific acts the Ripper committed.

I thought the denouement was just enough, since no one knows the Ripper’s real identity, it’s always good not to give a definitive solution, and this allows him to fade into the history books.

A really enjoyable Holmes sequel all in all, paced and executed strongly and with plenty for fans of the original stories to enjoy.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: One Kiss Before Christmas – Emma Jackson*

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A romantic festive read from the author of A Mistletoe Miracle, guaranteed to warm your heart this Christmas!

Could it be the start of her happy ever after?
Ashleigh could use a little Christmas magic. She’s still living in Brighton with her Nan — who could
give the Grinch lessons in how to be miserable — her acting career has been reduced to playing one
of Santa’s elves, and not even the prospect of a friend’s winter wedding can cheer her up…

That is until Olivier, the gorgeous French chef, reappears in her life. Or more accurately, next door.
When they were teenagers, Olivier would spend every other Christmas with his mother, who just happens to be Ash’s neighbour and owner of the best chocolate shop in England.
If anyone can bring a little sparkle back to Ash’s life, it’s Olivier. All she needs is one kiss before Christmas…

Feel-good and festive, this is the perfect romance to curl up with this winter!

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Author of the Best Selling A MISTLETOE MIRACLE and contender for the Joan Hessayon Award 2020, Emma has been a devoted bookworm and secret-story-scribbler since she was 6 years old. When she’s not running around after her two daughters and trying to complete her current work-in-progress, Emma loves to read, bake, catch up on binge-watching TV programmes with her partner and plan lots of craft projects that will inevitably end up unfinished. Her latest romantic
comedy, SUMMER IN THE CITY, was released in June 2020.

Emma also writes historical and fantasy fiction as Emma S Jackson. THE DEVIL’S BRIDE was published
by DarkStroke in February 2020.You can find out news about Emma via her website, by signing up to her newsletter.

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My thoughts:

A lovely festive romance, complete with ice skating, elves and lots of chocolate.

Ash’s acting career has stalled and this Christmas she is once again playing Santa’s Helper, while struggling to get into the spirit. Until dashing French pastry chef Olivier comes to spend the festive season with his mum, right next door! Cue hearts and Hollywood montages.

Basically this is adorable, and also funny, with a grumpy Grandma, an over-affectionate dog, a lovely pair of gay best friends, a wedding, fairy lights galore and a Happily Ever After.

Perfect for reading under a blanket while the wind howls outside, just have the chocolate handy as this book makes you hungry!

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Unbroken Truth – Lukas Lundh*

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Beneath the arcane Rustpeaks lies the city of Lansfyrd, where visibility is at an all-time low and airships rumble through the skies. Detective Lentsay “Len” Yoriya is a former homicide detective stuck at a burglary assignment as punishment for loving the wrong person. But when a xenophobic radio-shaman is murdered and the killers try to frame the city’s oppressed insectoids, Len sees a chance to prove her worth. Though high-profile murders are rarely uncomplicated.

In the city’s affluent quarters, Len’s partner Vli-Rana Talie works as a lector at the university, studying the history of a species that once ruled the world. As the temperature rises for her partner, Vli will soon realize that delving into history, that some would prefer was forgotten, will carry risks of its own. Especially when the ambitions of empires are affected.

Meanwhile, there is an election coming up, and the tension simmering in the city is reaching a
boiling point. Vli and Len must findwhat allies they can and face the powers that threaten their home.

History never ends, and unless its lessons are heeded what was once the past might become the present.

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Lukas Lundh grew up around books and started writing in early childhood. He speaks English, Swedish and Japanese from living in New Zealand as a teen and studying for a year in Japan in early 20s.
He is educated in philosophy, game design, creative writing and is currently working on a history
degree.
Between reading course books which inspire history flash-fictions, Lukas writes everything in between space opera, fantasy steelpunk, and post-ap war dystopias.
His debut novel, a steelpunk spy thriller, Unbroken Truth, is available for pre-order. He doesn’t blog,
but he is active on twitter.

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My thoughts:

This was a fast paced crime thriller with a political edge, set in a city full of tension.

Len is a determined cop, racing against time to defuse racial tensions following the murder of a popular politician, a killing that frames an ethnic minority and stokes tension among the residents of Lansfyrd.

Her partner, Vli, is a post-grad lecturer at the university, where those same tensions are beginning to rise amongst the students, and Vli’s research may unearth further complications.

Despite being set in a dystopian other world, this feels very apt to our current situation. With racial tensions on the rise, lockdown, political rallies and riots, this could be Earth in 2020.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Poisoned – Jennifer Donnelly*

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Beautiful Sophie, with lips as red as blood, skin as pale as snow, and hair as dark as night, is about to come of age and inherit her father’s throne. But Sophie’s stepmother wants rid of her – beautiful she may be, but too weak and foolish to reign. And Sophie believes her, as she believes all the things that have been said about her – all the poisonous words people use to keep girls like her from becoming too powerful, too strong.

When the huntsman carries out his orders of killing Sophie, she finds a fire burning inside her that will not be extinguished, and sets off to reclaim what was taken from her.

Jennifer Donnelly turns her feminist eye to this most delicious of fairy tales and shows Snow White as she’s never been seen before.

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Jennifer Donnelly is the author of seven novels and a picture book for children. She grew up in New York State, in Lewis and Westchester counties, and attended the University of Rochester where she majored in English Literature and European History.

Jennifer’s first novel, THE TEA ROSE, an epic historical novel set in London and New York in the late 19th century, was called ‘exquisite’ by Booklist, ‘so much fun’ by the Washington Post, a ‘guilty pleasure’ by People and was named a Top Pick by the Romantic Times.

Her second novel, A GATHERING LIGHT, won the Carnegie Medal, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Borders Original Voices Award, and was named a Printz Honor book. Described as ‘rich and true’ by The New York Times, the book was named on the Best Book lists of The Times (London), The Irish Times, The Financial Times, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and the School Library Journal.

REVOLUTION was named a Best Book by Amazon, Kirkus, School Library Journal, and the Chicago Public Library, and was nominated for a Carnegie Medal. The audio edition was awarded an Odyssey Honor for Excellence.

In 2014, Jennifer teamed up with Disney to launch the bestselling WATERFIRE saga, an epic series about six mermaids on a quest to rid the world of an ancient evil. The first book in the series, DEEP BLUE, was released in May, 2014; the second book, ROGUE WAVE, launched in January 2015.

Jennifer Donnelly lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.

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My thoughts:

This was a very good retelling of Snow White – but with a bit more bite and a princess that was determined even if a bit naive.

The seven dwarves are given a bit more in terms of personality, and the charming prince is anything but. Instead it is up to Sophie herself to defeat her stepmother and the evil King of Crows to regain her heart and her throne.

I really enjoyed this book, I love a fairy tale retelling with a bit more bite, and a princess who saves herself.

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

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Blog Tour: One More For Christmas – Sarah Morgan*

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For sisters Samantha and Ella Mitchell, Christmas is their most precious time of the year—a time for togetherness, love and celebration. Most of all, it’s about making up for everything their childhood Christmases lacked. But this year, they’ll be buying presents for the most unexpected guest of all—their estranged mother. It’s been five years since they last saw each other. But when their mother calls out of the blue and promises that this Christmas will be different, Samantha and Ella cautiously agree to spend it all together…

Gayle Mitchell is at the top of her career, but her success has come at a price—her relationship with her daughters. She never seemed to say or do the right things. Her tough-love approach was designed to make them stronger, but instead managed to push them away…until a brush with her own mortality forces Gayle to make amends. As the snowflakes fall on their first family celebration in years, the Mitchell women must learn that sometimes facing up to the past is all you need to heal your heart…

My thoughts:

Sarah Morgan’s Christmas books are like a lovely hug, warm and friendly and they make you toasty inside. This is no different.

Families are complicated, difficult and Christmas can exacerbate all the things we hate about ourselves and our relatives.

Samantha and Ella have essentially no relationship to their work focused mother Gayle, but an accident brings them back together and soon they’re off to Scotland to spend Christmas in a remote manor house with the owners, a possible new experience for Samantha’s bespoke holiday company.

There’s a lot the three women need to talk about and a lot they need to deal with if they’re to rebuild their relationship, and being stuck in the snowy Highlands is perfect for long talks by the fire and healing.

This is a delightful book, enlivened by the presence of four year old Tab, reindeer and a spot of romance. Plus some delicious home cooked meals.

It really does have a cheering effect and makes the grey and miserable day melt away and leaves you feeling all cosy inside.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Inside Voices – Sarah Davis*

ramblingmads

The mind is a strange beast…extraordinary, unpredictable,
protective.

Penny Osborn’s mind is no exception. In High School, Penny witnessed a massacre and lost her father to the same killers. She had seen it unfold before it happened, in a premonition, but could not prevent it.

A college research project at the edge of the Arctic is her chance for a new beginning. Struggling with PTSD, Penny’s therapy includes running, dogs, and guitars. Yet her fresh start is plagued by new premonitions, dark and foreboding, that coincide with a rising number of murders in the community.

Her visions are vague, offering little to identify the killer.
When confronted with an orphaned polar bear cub, Penny risks everything to save its life. The deepening mystery of the murdered women, coupled with the exhaustive duties of caring for the small cub, draw her closer to her friend, Noah, and further from her sister.

Fearful for the serial killer’s next target, Penny discovers where her physical abilities can help her.

Will letting go of the past lead to healing? And can she stop the murders?

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Sarah Davis is many things…wife, mother, veterinarian, writer. An avid reader, she enjoys stories that transport her into new andexciting lands. Having read more books than she could ever count, she has considered writing a novel for ages.

It wasn’t until the idea for “Inside Voices” popped into her mind that she finally started pursuing that dream, with much encouragement from her family. She and her incredible husband share their remote home on the prairie with their three extraordinary children and one mostly human weimaraner.

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My thoughts:

This was a powerful and moving portrayal of PTSD and Survivors Guilt, Penny has survived horror and tragedy and time spent out on the Alaskan ice amid the snow and polar bears seems to he helping her heal.

Making new friends and rescuing a lost bear cub bring new challenges and the chance to build a new life, far from the scene of so much heartache and loss, but new nightmares emerge.

This is an incredible book, it made me want a dog (and a bear) even more, so bad news for my husband! It is also incredibly moving and a little heartbreaking, Penny has already been through so much but more happens to her and she has to keep fighting.

The scenes with Fjord are magical, as are the nights under the stars and Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) with Noah and the sled dogs. I don’t do well with the cold so have to explore these things through books and TV, and Davis captures these moments beautifully.

This is a beautifully written, accomplished first novel, with fully realised characters and a strong sense of place. I’m interested to see what Davis does next.

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

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