Tag: reviews

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: .Dot/Slash (Magic) – Liz Shipton

ramblingmads

Welcome to the ARC tour for Dot Slash Magic, a truly genre-blurring with magic, AI and punk culture, and spice, all in an academy setting! Follow #rrbtDotSlashMagicTour for early reviews and more!

Dot Slash Magic

Expected Release Date: August 19, 2025

Genre: Spicy Urban Romantasy/ “Romantas-topian”

Perfect for fans of I am Number Four and Zodiac Academy

Tropes:

  • Romantas-topian
  • Academy setting
  • Found family
  • Forced proximity
  • Strangers to lovers
  • Slow burn
  • New adult

Micro Tropes:

☆Unique Magic System

☆Bonkers Spice

☆College Setting

☆Punk Vibes

☆🍆Jokes

☆Monsters & Mayhem

☆Enby & Ace Folks

☆Cat

Blurb:

When twenty-something coder Seven Jones goes back to school at a community college in San Diego, the last thing she wants is to join some stupid club. And the last thing she expects is for that club to be an underground magic club. Like, actual wizards and sh*t.

Surrounded by a motley crew of magic weirdos, Seven discovers her own power and struggles to control it…until she figures out how to channel her magic through an artificially intelligent computer program.

But when terrifying creatures from all sorts of mythologies show up and start hunting students, Seven fears her magic AI is somehow summoning them. When another student is killed, blame falls on Seven and her “artificial magic.”

With only one person – cute ex-Navy seal Logan – on her side, Seven fights for her life against the monsters, and struggles to convince everyone that her AI has nothing to do with them.

But how can she convince her peers when she isn’t totally convinced herself?

Dot Slash Magic is a “Romantas-topian” about love and friendship and how we can work together to bring down the real bad guys.

PRE-ORDER HERE

My thoughts: Seven agrees to go to college in exchange for her late uncle’s boat, Dragonfly, to use as her home. She signs up for some courses, not entirely sure what she wants to do. A coder, one of the courses is in computing, she has to design a program, which she does. Only Dot is a little more sentient than most AI.

At the same time Seven has also stumbled into a secret club operating at the college. A club of magic users – not wizards, and not all very friendly. Seven it seems has magic powers and with the help of Dot, she can do all sorts of things, like levitate. But something has gone terribly wrong.

This was a really fun read, I liked Seven, I felt for her as she struggles to fit in and make friends, being a bit older than some of the other students and a bit socially awkward. She is a good person, nothing she’s done is malicious. Not intentionally.

I’m keen to see what happens next, as the end third of the story is very different and puts a different spin on the preceding story so it would be interesting to see how it proceeds.

IG: @lizshiptonauthor @rrbooktours

TIKTOK: @lizshiptonauthor @shannon_of_rrbooktours

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#rrbooktours #rrbtDotSlashMagicTour #dotslashmagic #dotslashmagic #lizshipton #urbanromantasy #spicyromantasy #urbanfantasy #scifantasy #arctour #booktours

*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: You Can Trust Me – Miranda Rijks

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They were the best of friends. And the worst of enemies.

When yoga teacher Amelia falls victim to an online scam, her colleague Paige really comes through for her. And with their daughters Marnie and Taryn becoming best friends, the two families grow even closer.
But all is not as it seems. Paige has an agenda.

Once she has won Amelia’s trust, Paige starts to execute her carefully laid plan… stealing Amelia’s money, destroying her business, undermining her marriage. All the while pretending to be Amelia’s closest friend.

Will Amelia realize what’s going on before it’s too late? Or will Paige succeed in turning her life into a living hell before finally extinguishing it?

Two women trapped in a fight to the bitter end – the best of friends, the worst of enemies.

Goodreads Purchase

Miranda Rijks is a writer of fast-paced, twisty psychological thrillers many of which have been Amazon bestsellers. She has an eclectic background ranging from law to running a garden centre.
After surviving bone cancer, Miranda turned to writing and is now living the dream, writing suspense novels full time.
She lives in West Sussex, England with her Dutch husband and two black Labradors and spends as much time as she can in the Swiss Alps.

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My thoughts: Amelia is a bit naive, falling for an online scam rather easily, then as things start to get worse in her life, she doesn’t really try to resolve anything, just expecting things to just sort themselves out. But when the crunch comes and her daughter’s the one at threat, she comes through.

Paige’s plan has been a long time coming, and is very cruel. It isn’t actually Amelia’s fault, but her pain and grief have twisted things in her mind and Amelia is the person she pours that rage into destroying.

An enjoyable, intelligent thriller with two mothers who will do whatever they can for their children.

*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 Heretic Cypher – Murray Bailey

ramblingmads

When Egyptologist Alex MacLure’s friend and mentor dies he’s stunned to discover she’s left a message—hidden, encoded, and meant only for him.

With a mysterious artifact and a trail of cryptic symbols, Alex is thrust into a deadly race against time. What begins as a quest to finish her research quickly spirals into a chilling conclusion: her death was no accident. She was murdered for what she discovered.

Now he’s the next target.

Hunted by a ruthless adversary, Alex finds himself swept from the academic halls of London to the heart of Egypt’s oldest sites.

As he races to decode a forgotten truth buried beneath centuries of deception, powerful enemies close in—willing to kill to protect a secret—a revelation so explosive, it could rewrite everything we know about ancient Egypt and religion.

My thoughts: A new series from the always excellent Murray Bailey is exciting. This time we’re in Egypt on the trail of ancient secrets in the desert. Alex MacLure is trying to solve the mystery left after his friend is brutally murdered. Her research must lead to something so explosive, it’s worth killing for.

Alex is an accountant turned Egyptologist, hardly a James Bond figure, but now he’s being followed, threatened, held up at gun point and generally having to live on his wits. Rescued by Rebecca, after a harrowing moment by the river, they join forces to unravel the secrets hidden in a stone tablet, translating the writing to find where it leads. But Alex is a bit too trusting sometimes, and not everyone he meets has his best interests at heart.

I was absolutely hooked, I’ve been fascinated by the world of Ancient Egypt since we first learnt about the pyramids at primary school, it’s incredible to think that such an advanced society existed thousands of years ago and all we’re left with are tombs and ruins, but what incredible tombs and ruins. My mum used to take me to the British Museum to see all the (stolen) artifacts housed there, and while now I think they should be returned and the mummies re-buried and allowed to rest in peace, as a child I was transfixed.

This book brings that lost world into the twenty-first century, the secrets of so long ago still matter to some people, and they will go to any lengths to stop them coming out.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the next installment, Alex is a great protagonist, clever and a bit naive, but somehow managing to stay alive and unravel the clues left behind.

*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 Marriage Monitoring Aunties’ Association – Ola Awonubi

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Friendships – fantastic. Family – getting better. Career – promotion on the cards.
Romance – seriously delayed Sade Sodipo is ready to meet ‘the one’ and finally fulfil the Nigerian Dream. So far God hasn’t
performed that little miracle quite yet, but it’ll happen this year for sure. Especially if her mother, two best friends, younger sister and all those in the unofficial Marriage Monitoring Aunties Association, have anything to say about it.
She might love her job, have great friends, and even own her own home, but according to the meddling aunties, this is why she’s still single at 50. Not wanting to turn into a bitter aunty herself, Sade knows it’s time to get serious, but the options aren’t looking great – zero potential at church, work or in her social life.
What if her prayers for the perfect man have got lost? Or maybe Sade’s happy-ever-after is right on time…

Amazon UK Amazon US

Author Bio –
Ola Awonubi is an award-winning author, creative writing tutor, and speaker, known for her compelling storytelling that bridges cultures and histories. Born in London to Nigerian parents, she spent part of her childhood in Nigeria before returning to the UK, where she pursued her passion for writing.

At the age of 40, Ola rekindled her dream of becoming a writer and earned an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East London. Her talent quickly gained recognition—her short story The Pink
House won first prize in the National Words of Colour competition (2008), and The Go-Slow Journey secured first prize in the fiction category of Queen Mary Wasafiri’s New Writing Prize (2009). She was also honored with the Best Author CA Award (2019).

Ola has authored eight books, including Love’s Persuasion, Love Me Unconditionally, and the anthology Naija Love Stories. Her historical fiction novel, A Nurse’s Tale, published by One More Chapter Books (HarperCollins) in July 2023, became a bestseller in Canada, earning a spot on The Globe and Mail’s historical fiction chart. It was also recognized by the Brown Girl Collective as a favourite historical fiction book of 2024.
Her upcoming romantic comedy, The Marriage Monitoring Aunties’ Association, is set for release in Summer 2025, as part of a two-book deal. She is also working on a Jane Austen adaptation set in Lagos, currently under consideration by publishers and agents.

Beyond her writing, Ola is a creative writing tutor and speaker, sharing her expertise at prestigious events such as the Black British Book Festival, Meet-Cute Romance Festival, and London Festival ofWriting. She will also be speaking at The London Writers Festival, Jericho Writers Conference,  inspiring aspiring authors with her insights on storytelling, publishing, and book marketing.
Ola’s work has been featured in Afreada, Brittle Paper, Story Time, Woven Tale Press, and  NaijaStories.com, with over 15 short stories published across various literary platforms.

Through her Substack newsletter, “The Resilient Writer,” she provides actionable writing guidance,  digital resources, and industry insights, helping fellow creatives refine their craft and build their
author brands.

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Tik Tok Author Central


Giveaway to Win a Paperback copy of The Marriage Monitoring Aunties Association (Open to UK only)

My thoughts: I really like Sade, she’s a successful woman, owns her own home, has a nice group of friends, is an active member of her church and a loving daughter, sister and auntie. She’s also single at almost fifty.

And while she’s not especially worried, it seems to be causing concern for her mum, and the infamous Marriage Monitoring Aunties Association, who always have plenty to say on the matter.

When she does meet the rather nice Jimi Taylor, there’s an instant attraction, but she wants to keep things professional and her mum isn’t too keen as he has an ex-wife and son. But Sade is a woman who knows her own mind and after a series of dates involving some very delicious sounding food (I wasn’t hungry before I read this book, I was after), things start hotting up, but can Sade keep things secret from the MMAA or will they be sticking their oars in?

Funny, wry and with a lot of heart, this is a great later in life love story.

Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The
winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by
Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources
reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal
data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with
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delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

*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: Solace of Dusk – K.V. Meadows

ramblingmads

Welcome to the tour for Solace of Dusk by K.V. Meadows. Read now on Kindle Unlimited!

Solace of Dusk (Dusk and Embers Book 1)

Release Date: March 2025

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Those who play with prophecies will get burned…

23-year-old Undesirable, Durvla Garrick, has a dangerous secret. Being both deaf and having a chronic ailment, her very existence is treasonous. So, when the Queen’s mercenaries accuse her of stealing a dress, she comes quietly—better to be arrested for her knitting skills than her illness.

Under the watchful eye of the broody royal guard, Tiernan Kilkenny—the embodiment of the very people she’s spent her life hiding from—Durvla is appointed dressmaker to the princess. But castle life isn’t quite what she expected, and nor is its staff…

With the Queen dying, Princess Carys Meredyth fa Rhodri is reluctant to inherit the throne of a broken Kingdom when she feels so broken herself. Magic has been outlawed for a millennium—so why are her memories filled with whispers of enchantment?

When Carys finds a book that only she can read, more questions unravel. Are the fairytales that have provided her comfort since childhood really only stories? Or has the truth been right there all along?

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

Content Warnings:


-Violence (real world weapons, prolonged torture, magic wielding), blood without gore, and violent killing
-Child abandonment, infant death (not detailed), and a brief mention of miscarriage
-Unmanaged severe mental illness, anxiety and anxiety attacks, suicidal ideation
-Sensual and sexual content (on page, non-explicit) -Grief and loss, mentions of parental death, terminal illness
-Disability prejudice, ableism, classism
-Profanity

My thoughts: I really enjoyed reading this book (now on KU) and am eagerly looking forward to book two.

With Welsh and Celtic mythology influences, this is a kingdom under attack from within. The princess, Carys, is worried about her invalid mother, and leaving much of the running of the country to the council. Which might not be the best idea.

Elsewhere Durvla, a botanist, is trying to keep her younger brother safe and hidden. She’s deaf and he’s autistic, both things seen as undesirable in the world they live in. Things that could see them taken away and thrown in the terrifying prison. When she does get seized, she ends up as Carys’ dressmaker, a path to freedom opens up.

But others have their own plans for the kingdom, evil plans. And things go wrong for Carys and for Durvla.

This is gripping, funny, intelligent fantasy with interesting and relatable protagonists and the magic system was also intriguing. I can’t wait for the next installment, it ends on such a cliffhanger.

IG: @authorkvmeadows @rrbooktours

Tags:

#rrbooktours #rrbtSolaceofDuskTour #solaceofdusk #duskandemberseries #romanticfantasy #romantasybooks #romantasyreads #kindleunlimited #kufantasy #booktours

*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.

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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?

    Amazon US Amazon UK 


    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?

    Purchase


    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
    Newsletter
    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.