Tag: reviews

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: A Death of Fresh Air – Helen Golden

ramblingmads


In a charming seaside town, secrets don’t stay buried for long…

Body of Chef Found in Wall Three Years After He ‘Left to go to Australia’

Human remains found inside the wall of a disused building have now been identified as those of Victor Blackwell. He was the head chef at Windstanton’s The Seaside Lounge until just over three years ago, when, according his friends, he left for a job in Australia. Detective Inspector Albert Finch from Fenshire’s Cold Case Unit has asked for anyone who has information about the chef’s movements three years ago to come forward.

We have no choice! With only three weeks until the Grand Opening, the last thing Bea and Perry need is the grim discovery of a skeleton in the wall of Simon and Ryan’s soon-to-open restaurant, SaltAir. But when it’s designated a crime scene, and the policeman in charge of the investigation into Vic’s murder refuses to let them have access to continue the refurbishment, they have no other option than to investigate the murder themselves or risk letting Simon and Ryan down.

But in a town where everyone harbours secrets, can they uncover the truth in time or will SaltAir’s opening be a damp squib?

Amazon UK Amazon US


Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two
dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise.
I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far I’m loving it.
It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a
lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes.

Instagram Facebook TikTok Twitter

My thoughts: We’re back in Fenshire with Lady Beatrice and the gang getting ready for the opening of Simon and Ryan’s new restaurant. Bea and Perry are handling the makeover and as a false wall is knocked down to reveal the sea view – a grisly find is discovered. The remains of the former head chef, supposedly in Australia for the last three years. Grim. And totally against hygiene rules.

Time is short and the detective assigned the case, head of the cold case unit, Finch, doesn’t seem too inclined to investigate. So, despite promising to stay out of murders, Bea and Perry (along with Simon, Rich and Ryan, not to mention Daisy the dog) have no choice but to run their own investigation.

They uncover a rather different version of events to those that supposedly happened when the chef first went missing. There’s an ex-girlfriend, former colleagues and a rather panicked ex-boss, running for local MP, to interview. But something isn’t quite right. Luckily Bea’s brother Fred has a good eye for dodgy accounting.

Bea and Rich are also about to go public, Bea’s grandmother, aka the Dowager Queen, is keen to meet him and Bea’s son is home for the holidays, so it’s all happy families at the royal estate.

Daisy does her canine detective best and finds a vital clue – dogs (and cats) often make excellent crime busters. And there’s lots of very tasty sounding food being eaten. Fun as ever and highly entertaining.

*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 Thirteenth Child – Erin A. Craig

ramblingmads

Drawing on the Grimm Brothers’ dark fairytale, “Godfather Death,” this new novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows is a sweeping, fantastical saga of actions and consequences.

This is the story of Hazel, a young healer navigating a ruthless court to save the life of the king, grappling with a pantheon of gods with questionable agendas as she fights for agency and true love in her own life as the goddaughter of none other than Death himself.

All gifts come with a price.

Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.

When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.

But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?

From the astonishing mind of Erin A. Craig comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for— what does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love? The Thirteenth Child is a must-read for fans of dark fairy tales, romantasy, and epic fantasy alike.

ERIN A. CRAIG is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows, Small Favors, and House of Roots and Ruin. She has always loved telling stories. After getting her BFA in Theatre Design and Production from the University of Michigan, she stage-managed tragic operas filled with hunchbacks, séances, and murderous clowns, then decided she wanted to write books that were just as spooky. An avid reader, decent quilter, rabid basketball fan, and collector of typewriters, brass figurines, and sparkly shoes, Erin makes her home in West Michigan with her husband and daughter.

My thoughts: drawing on the Grimm Brothers’ Grandfather Death, this fairy tale features Hazel, the Thirteenth Child of the title, born to parents who should really have stopped at one or two children. The gods come to them and offer to foster her, her parents decline the offers until the Dreaded End, the god of death, arrives.

Then nothing. He doesn’t come for Hazel until she’s a teenager, whisking her away to the Between, the home of the gods, to fulfil the destiny he lays out for her.

There’s a twist to his requirements and as Hazel grows, she learns that there is more required of her than first appears. A healer must also become a killer. She must honour Death’s instructions. Until she finds she can’t, killing the king could cause devastation and ruin hundreds of lives, but the only way to save him could destroy the bond between her and her godfather. Can she risk it all?

Hazel is a fascinating character, her godfather, Merrick, has no humanity and doesn’t understand hers, her reluctance and her fear of death. Her choices upset and perplex him. He doesn’t understand free will or empathy.

The story twists and turns, humanity and the gods exist in such different spheres, their desires clash with those of the humans they manipulate and request worship from. Hazel struggles with her gifts, powerful as they are, but she cannot be what the gods desire and remain human. The book is clever and intriguing, beautifully written and at times moving and effecting.

*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: Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel – Rebecca Raisin

ramblingmads


Turn a tumbledown Paris hotel into a perfect boutique, bookish retreat, and have it open for Christmas? What could possibly go wrong?

When Anais receives a near-derelict Paris hotel in her divorce settlement, her first thought is to tidy it up and sell it immediately. All she wants is to move on and forget her disaster of a marriage ever
happened.
But selling it proves impossible, so she has only one option: to make it gorgeous and open by Christmas… when her funds will almost certainly run out.

She’s not counting on the grumpy American bar-owner next door, Noah, coming and interfering at every moment though. Nor is she expecting to find a mysterious room – which holds the key to a one-hundred-year-old secret – about a woman who chose love against the odds.

One thing’s for sure… as the fairy lights twinkle all over the city of lights and the first snowflakes start to fall… this will be a Christmas in Paris to remember.

A totally gorgeous, escapist romantic comedy, with an unforgettable mystery! A perfect festive read for fans of Emily Henry and Sarah Morgan to curl up with this winter.

Purchase


Rebecca Raisin writes heartwarming romance from her home in sunny Perth, Australia. Her heroines tend to be on the quirky side and her books are usually set in exotic locations so her readers can
armchair travel any day of the week.

Facebook Twitter Instagram
Newsletter Bookbub

My thoughts: After catching her crummy husband in bed with the cleaner, Anais chucks him and gets a bit screwed over in the divorce, he gets their lovely apartment, she gets the run down hotel he bought with her money.

Luckily her hilarious cousin Manon is on hand to help do it up, ideally to sell ASAP. Of course both women fall in love with the place in all it’s salmon pink bathrooms glory. There’s also a mystery at the heart of the hotel – why are two of the rooms walled off and what is hidden within?

There’s a tiny cameo from a familiar Paris Cupid, secrets and mysteries to uncover, a grumpy bar owner to win over, lots of renovations to do, plus Anais owes her publisher a novel, Christmas is coming and her rubbish ex puts in an unwelcome experience (Manon, I’ll help you hide the body!)

Lots of fun to read, with a lovely but bittersweet mystery to resolve that draws the characters together, because Paris is the city of love, lights and it seems, literature. Bon.

*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: How to Slay at Work – Sarah Bonner

ramblingmads


When your boss is at a conference in a city where there’s a suspicious death, it’s unlucky.

If it happens twice, it’s odd.

But when she’s in the same city at the same time as a third unexplained death . . .

Could she be a stone-cold killer?

Millie’s always known her boss Freya is a psycho – the demanding and ever-changing coffee orders, the cryptic instructions, the apparently expected mind reading and don’t even start on the insistence that Millie wears heels . . . All. The. Time.

But it only extends as far as exacting office standards. Right?

As Freya’s assistant, Millie has privileged access to her diary and travel history and when a pattern emerges of men (who seem to have no connection to each other) dying in cities where Freya is travelling, Millie is determined to figure out what’s going on.

After all, a stone-cold killer could be exactly what Millie needs . . .

A sharp, funny and deliciously dark thriller that fans of Katy Brent, Bella Mackie or Killing Eve will love.

Purchase 

Sarah Bonner is the author of several bestselling psychological thrillers.

Facebook: @sarah.bonner.35574
Twitter: @sarahbonner101
Instagram: @sarahbonner101

My thoughts: Millie’s boss is demanding, exacting and something of a nightmare. But is she also a serial killer?

Getting a promotion (with no pay rise, or new job title) means suddenly having to travel to Paris, where Millie sees something a bit odd, why is her boss scaling the hotel balconies?

Doing some digging into a series of deaths that match Freya’s travel plans and even the hotels she’s stayed in leave her with more questions than answers, so she starts snooping. 

Millie has her own secrets and plans, and this might actually work in her favour, if her boss doesn’t kill her first.

This is really funny, pitch black humour, which I love, it’s smart and a bit silly. I really enjoyed it. Millie’s not a great detective even though she does uncover some interesting things. But Freya is genuinely stone cold, terrifying psychopath material. There’s a lot of twists, especially towards the end, as things head to a point of no return. Great stuff.

*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 Torments – Michael J Malone

ramblingmads

Hiding from the world in her little white cottage on the shores of a loch, Annie Jackson is fighting to come to terms with the world of the murmurs, a curse that has haunted female members of her family for centuries.

While she is within the ancient, heavy stone of the old dwelling, the voices merely buzz, but the moment she steps outside the door they clamour to torment her all over again, bringing with them shocking visions of imminent deaths.

Into this oasis comes her adoptive mother, Mandy McEvoy, begging for Annie’s help. Mandy’s nephew Damien has gone missing, after dropping off his four-year old son at his mother’s home. Unable to refuse, but terrified to leave her sanctuary, Annie, with the help of her brother Lewis, is drawn in to a secretive, seductive world that will have her question everything she holds dear, while Lewis’ life may be changed forever…

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His dark psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and is currently in production for the screen, and five powerful standalone thrillers followed suit.

The Murmurs, first in the Annie Jackson Mysteries series, was published to critical acclaim in 2023. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr, where he also works as a hypnotherapist.

My thoughts: Annie has finally found some peace, but then her cousin goes missing and she and Lewis team up to look into his disappearance. What they end up tangling with is way more complex and scary than they expected. Annie’s gift – those whispers in her mind might help but they could also put her in harm’s way. 

There are dangerous people who believe in some dark things, who have caused terrible harm to others because of it, and now they have Annie in their sights.

Annie and Lewis aren’t detectives, they’re not equipped to go around asking questions of some of the more troubling and dangerous people who they come across. They’re also aided though by a few good souls, thankfully.

Darker and more twisted than the previous book, Annie is dragged into a world of the Occult and dark magic beliefs. I can’t imagine that she and Lewis will survive intact after this and all the tragedy they find. But it’s totally compelling and gripping to read.

*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 Hollow – Rachael Holyhead

ramblingmads

Derbyshire, England 1977

Marie is a girl with strange obsessions and a free and often wayward spirit.

Anna is shy and bookish, kept on a short rein by her repressive parents.

An unlikely alliance. A friendship forged in blood. Families intertwined forever.

Autumn 2010

A brutal murder is just the case chain-smoking detective Kate Fox has been waiting for, except her nemesis has other ideas.

Newton is struggling to live up to his own high standards. As he grapples with chronic pain and a hidden phobia, his wife leaves him and things begin to unravel.

As Anna comes to terms with her father’s murder, Marie returns after more than 30 years, sending her well-established drink problem spiralling out of control.

Set in a fictional town in Derbyshire, England, this gripping saga takes you on an emotional journey, with an abundance of twists and turns…

Goodreads Purchase

Rachael Holyhead was born in the industrial heart of Sheffield. She grew up in South Yorkshire, at the edge of the Peak District.

She attended Carter Lodge Comprehensive School and read History at the University of Liverpool.

A lifelong Sheffield United supporter, she also loves snooker and is an all-round armchair sports fan.

Still passionate about history, she has eclectic reading tastes, enjoying everything from the Brontës and Wilkie Collins to more modern writers of mystery, horror and crime.

As a child, Rachael began writing stories and letters for her Uncle, who was stationed overseas with the army.

She considers Liverpool her second home and loves the city’s music, culture and maritime heritage. Her roots remain in Sheffield, where she lives with her sons and her pet cat, Luther.

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Blossom Spring Publishing

Facebook Twitter Instagram Website

My thoughts: the murder of a local business owner has complicated links to the past for his daughter Anna, who has never quite put the past behind her.

The police are looking for someone with a reason to kill, and after a neighbour also dies, seemingly of a heart attack, Kate I’d sure something more complicated and connected to the secrets that lie in the past.

Anna’s friend Marie has returned to town, armed with knowledge Anna doesn’t have, does she have any connection to the deaths or at least some idea of who Anna’s father really was.

A clever, knotty story with lots of twists, moving back and forth as the truth slowly reveals itself, both Anna and Kate are drawn into the things bubbling below the surface of the town.

*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: Little Sister – Isabel Ashdown

ramblingmads

After sixteen years apart sisters Jessica and Emily are reunited. With the past now behind them, the warmth they once shared quickly returns and before long Jess has moved into Emily’s comfortable island home. Life couldn’t be better. But when baby Daisy disappears while in Jess’s care, the perfect life Emily has so carefully built starts to fall apart.

Was Emily right to trust her sister after everything that happened before?

My thoughts: I’m a big sister and while my younger sister sometimes drives me nuts, I would do anything to keep her safe. I think it’s why I found Jess and Emily’s story and their relationship at times hard to believe, especially what happened between them as teenagers. 

Daisy being kidnapped is absolutely awful, but none of it was Jess’ fault, if anything Emily has a not insignificant role in what happens – as does her husband, who isn’t as wonderful and trustworthy as she thought.

But as the story unravels and the long separation between Jess and Emily – sixteen years – and the reasons why – or the reasons that Jess thinks and what Emily did turn out to be very different. That was what was shocking. As an older sister, yes sometimes I have wanted to get rid of sister – maybe not permanently, and resented her, of course. But I would never stoop as low as Emily did, never drive a wedge between parents and child.

I think I had such a strong reaction to this book not just because of my own sibling relationship, but because I am surrounded by sisters. My mum is an older sister, my dad has two older sisters, many of my friends are older (and younger) sisters. And even at their worst, I can’t imagine any of them doing what Emily did. She’s monstrous. But it’s all hidden so well behind a veneer of charm, success and happiness. The ending might be quite twisted, but a part of me can’t blame Jess for wanting to put Emily in her place, for taking a sort of revenge.

It’s also incredibly well written, moving back and forth between the sisters, creating empathy and antipathy as you learn more, the darkness of Emily’s cruel behaviour, Jess’ own plotting to finally get one over on her sister.

Cassie (Emily’s step-daughter), a big sister herself, is contrasted against the nasty relationship between Emily and Jess, is more empathetic. There’s a big age gap between her and Daisy (I have a friend with a similar one, it does complicate things sometimes) but Cassie doesn’t resent her sister, the way Emily does hers.

The book is excellent, the writing strong and the plot intense, something I’ve really come to enjoy in Isabel’s books. A real pleasure to read even as I sort of hated Emily!

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Tis the Damn Season – Fiona Gibson

ramblingmads


This year, their families can deck the bloody halls themselves…

Old friends Shelley, Lena and Pearl have reached their limit with the festive preparation that has always fallen to them, and five days before Christmas, they’ve booked a mini break… without their
families. Up until Christmas Eve, they’ll be sipping prosecco in the Highlands while their kids wrap bacon around 100 chipolatas and their partners brave the supermarkets.

It’s exactly what they need… until they’re snowed in. Facing the prospect of Christmas 500 miles from home, each woman is forced to confront her real reasons for needing to escape: the fiance with the obnoxious family; the son’s new girlfriend who is taking over their home; the family who take their mother for granted all year round…

Will the friends make it home before Christmas day? And if they do, can they really go back to their old lives?

This Christmas, forget Elf on the Shelf, get ready for Mums on the Run in the hilarious and heartwarming new novel from Fiona Gibson.

Purchase


Fiona Gibson writes bestselling and brilliantly funny novels about the craziness and messiness of family life.

Facebook Twitter Instagram

My thoughts: I subscribe to Fiona’s Substack, which is funny and wry, much like her books, including this seasonal offering, complete with Taylor Swift title.

Christmas is a fraught time of year for many, Shelley and her friends Lena and Pearl too. Shelley’s sick of being taken for granted by her family, her husband seems completely oblivious to how much she does – he just expects everything to happen without doing anything himself, same with the kids.

Lena and Pearl have their own share of useless family members, Lena’s fiance just expects her to put up with his parents, who don’t treat her very well and constantly compare her to his ex-wife. Pearl’s son and his girlfriend are driving her crazy – the girlfriend has “borrowed” her favourite lipstick and taken over her flat.

So a quick jaunt to Scotland for a few days seems like a genius idea, a chance to get away from all the festive stress, the planning, the shopping, the wrapping. Let their families sort themselves out for a bit.

Then the weather takes a turn for the snowed in…

Funny, a bit silly, full of whatever the opposite of the joys of the season, the friendship between the three women is what sees them through everything that this suddenly unpredictable Christmas throws at them, from them not being able to find the freezer to being stranded by the snow, they persevere with laughter and lots of wine. Great fun and a good way to remind yourself to be grateful for the people in your life that you love and love you.

*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: Poison in Piccadilly – Kelly Oliver

ramblingmads


London 1918: Is Fiona Figg ready to exchange her sleuthing cap for a bridal veil?

Fiona is set to tie the knot with her dashing captain, Archie Somersby. But, while Fiona is busy planning her happily ever after, side-kick Kitty Lane and a group of judo-chopping suffragettes are kicking up trouble at the Piccadilly Jujitsu Club.

When Kitty is found unconscious in the locker room during a high-stakes competition, Fiona must forsake her bouquets and bridal gown to investigate. Her sleuthing leads to a posh lady’s luncheon where a mysterious death crashes Fiona’s wedding plans.

To make matters worse, the arch-nemesis of all things matrimonial Fredrick Fredricks is up to his old tricks, attempting to put the brakes on Fiona’s journey down the aisle. Will he succeed in tripping up
Fiona’s wedding vows? Or will she finally say “I don’t” to the charming devil?

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 Twitter Instagram Newsletter Bookbub

My thoughts: Fiona is finally about to marry her beloved Archie, or is she? Obviously charming German spy Frederick Fredericks says she shouldn’t, but she’s sure he’s just meddling with her. But after Kitty gets a bump to the head and loses her memory – telling Fiona she’s an MI5 agent and needs to find a woman called Jane, but not able to even remember her canine sidekick, Poppy. 

Fiona needs to find out who conked Kitty on the head, what it has to do with the war and the Irish independence struggle, and decide whether or not she’s actually going to marry Archie.

Without her usual know-it-all partner, but with Clifford acting as chauffeur, it’s off to Ireland on the hunt for a shillelagh with a distinctive shamrock decoration, and someone with it in for Kitty. Fiona gets arrested for murder along the way, and gets to wear some of her beloved disguises, as she unravels what happened to Kitty, and waits for the teenage spy to get her memory back. 

*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: Now You Are Mine – Amanda Brittany

ramblingmads


A remote lakeside house. Six strangers with something to hide.

Who’s out for revenge? Who will survive?

When Polly signs up to an art retreat in the Lake District, it’s an escape from the stress of recent months, when a stalker preyed on her and her friend.

It’s also an opportunity to find out more about her family history: Polly believes her biological mother once lived here, at Lakeside House.

But things quickly turn sinister. The previous owners supposedly took their own lives here, years before – and the glamorous new owners are now receiving disturbing threats. Someone is sabotaging Polly’s artwork. The five other guests on the retreat all seem to be hiding something.

Then one of them goes missing.

Is someone trying to scare Polly? Do the creepy goings-on have anything to do with the family she never knew? Or has the stalker followed her to Lakeside House, and is now hiding in plain sight?

Now You Are Mine is a pulse-pounding dark psychological thriller. If you like Lucy Foley or C.L. Taylor, you’ll love Amanda Brittany

Purchase


Amanda Brittany is a bestselling author of psychological thrillers including Her Last Lie.

Facebook Twitter Instagram Newsletter

My thoughts: I understand Polly’s impulse to try to find out about her biological parents, despite having the loveliest adoptive family. But I would never go to a creepy house where the previous owners disappeared under suspicious circumstances.

The art retreat is, of course, peopled with a selection of oddballs and people full or secrets. Even the owners are strange and unhappy. Then weird things start happening. And after being stalked and spied on, Polly’s nerves are on a knife edge.

She’s still keen to learn about where she came from, to get some answers as to whether she’s connected to the house and its former occupants. But as the situation gets worse, will she get answers before it’s too late?

Creepy and tense, with twist after twist, as the secrets and lies all come tumbling out during a terrifying and harrowing final day at the house, Polly is wishing she’d just gone to stay with her parents in France.

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