blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Mother – Laura Jarratt*

Two Girls. One Chance.

When Lizzie’s car crashes with her two daughters inside, she faces a terrible choice. And when she recovers from her injuries, she has to deal with the impact of that tragedy as well as the police investigation into it.

As Lizzie and her family struggle to come to terms with the events of that night, things take an even darker turn. Just what did happen on that remote country road? Who is responsible? And can the family get through this together…Or will the truth finally tear them apart?

A stunning, deeply emotional and beautifully realised cross between SOPHIE’S CHOICE and DAUGHTER.

My thoughts:

Written like a thriller, this is a moving study of grief and guilt. Lizzie is riddled with both following a horrific accident that leaves her family a member short, a hole they will never fill.

As Lizzie struggles with her emotions, her husband and daughter wrestle with their own. This could tear them apart, or bring them closer together.

Well written with a strong sense of character and a gripping plot, this lingers with you, the sense of loss and trying to move on are articulate and powerful.

*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: If She Dies – Erik Therme*

How far would you go to right a wrong?

Nine months ago, Tess’s five-year-old daughter was killed in a car accident. The driver, Brady Becker, was sentenced to two years in prison. It didn’t make Tess’s pain go away.

Brady also has a daughter: A twelve-year-old named Eve who walks to Chandler Middle School every day. Tess knows this because she’s been watching Eve for the last three weeks. It isn’t fair that Brady’s daughter gets to live, while Tess’s daughter does not.

When Eve goes missing, all eyes turn to Tess, who doesn’t have an alibi. But Tess isn’t guilty.

Or so she believes.

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Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering on his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his oldest.

When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering on his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his oldest.

He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only twenty-eight places in the world that UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature.

Join Erik’s mailing list to be notified of new releases and author giveaways.

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My thoughts:

This was a well written, gripping thriller. Like anything involving children, there’s an extra sense of tension to the plot.

Tess isn’t dealing with her grief well and has fixated on Eve, an innocent child, after losing her own daughter. This puts her firmly in the spotlight when Eve goes missing.

Grief is a powerful and sometimes dangerous emotion, and can lead to some dark places. But is Tess guilty?

I liked the characters and enjoyed the book, it kept me guessing and was strong and cleverly done.

*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: Two Wrongs – Mel McGrath*


One girl jumped. And then another followed…

In the city of Bristol, young women are dying in mysterious circumstances. The deaths look like suicides – but are they something more sinister?

Honor is terrified that her daughter might be next. But as she looks for clues as to what really happened to the girls, she stumbles upon a link to a dark secret in her own past – one that she’s kept from her daughter.

Now Honor has the chance to avenge her child for the terrible events of years ago. But how far will she go to protect her daughter and right the wrongs done to her family?

My thoughts:

This was really good and very clever. I couldn’t tell where it was going to end up. Mel McGrath writes enjoyable thrillers which keep you guessing so I knew this would be good, and it was. What starts out with a dramatic life or death moment on Bristol’s famous bridge takes a turn into some dark places, a world of corrupt academics and vulnerable young women, murder and revenge.

Honor and Nevis are engaging and realistic protagonists, I felt for them as they navigated their relationship while dealing with the distressing events happening around them.

*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 Ex – Diane Saxon*

Read my review of What She Saw

Sometimes your past just won’t let go…

As a heat wave grips the country, DS Jenna Morgan is called to a domestic incident at the home of a young family in Ironbridge. Pregnant Imelda Cheetham-Epstein has been found unconscious by her husband, Zak with serious head injuries.

When Jenna arrives on the scene, she discovers something even more disturbing – the couple’s eleven-month-old son, Joshua, is missing and the race against time begins to find him.

Is this an accident or something more sinister?

Are the two incidents linked?

Or has something in the Cheetham-Epstein’s past caught up with them?

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Diane Saxon is back with a gripping new psychological crime novel, perfect for fans of Cara Hunter
and Carol Wyer.

Diane Saxon previously wrote romantic fiction for the US market but has now turned to writing psychological crime. Find Her Alive was her first novel in this genre and introduced series character DS Jenna Morgan.

She is married to a retired policeman and lives in Shropshire.

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My thoughts:

This was really good, a solid thriller that led to some interesting places. With his wife in a coma and his son kissing, Zak Cheetham-Epstein is top of the suspect list, but something else is going on and it’s upto DS Jenna Morgan to find out what’s what and rescue little Joshua before anything else can happen.

There are several heart in the mouth moments and some twists that threw me completely – when they’re explained you’ll want to revisit some scenes with new eyes. Very enjoyable and gripping stuff.

*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 Night Has Seen Your Mind – Simon Kearns*

Tech billionaire, Mattias Goff, has invited five creative professionals – programmer, pianist, writer,
actor, and photographer – for a monthlong residency at Crystal Falls, his Arctic retreat.

Researching brain waves, and especially the enigmatic gamma wave, Goff asks his guests to wear a
kind of EEG cap in order to record the electrical activity in their brains while they engage with their
respective disciplines. Although they will be paid $5million each for the experience, they all start their sojourn a little wary – some more than others.

Cut off from the outside world in the stunningly beautiful, if stark, Alaskan winter landscape they immerse themselves in their work. Soon, though, reality seems to be shifting.

What is Goff really researching? Are his guests only being observed, or manipulated?

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Simon Kearns was born in London in 1972 and grew up in Northern Ireland. In his teens he returned to London to study philosophy. At the end of 2004 he moved to the south of France where he lives with his partner and two children.

His debut, Virtual Assassin, (Revenge Ink, 2010), explores personal responsibility in a corrupt society. It was followed by Dark Waves, (Blood Bound Books, 2014), about a powerful haunting and the scientist determined to debunk it.

His stories have appeared in publications such as The Future Fire, Litro, The Honest Ulsterman, and on numerous websites. He revels in etymology, guitar, gaming, and the science of superstition.

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My thoughts:

This book was very strange and sinister and a tiny bit bewildering, but all in a good way. Five creatives are invited to the Alaskan hideaway of a reclusive tech millionaire to help with his new project – he wants to record their gamma waves while they create. Or does he?

Weird things start happening and there’s an intense sense of claustrophobia despite being in the middle of nowhere. It gets stranger and more terrifying the longer the five are in the house. Will they survive?

I was gripped, desperate to figure out just what was going on, this book did not go anywhere I could possibly expect it to, but was way more out there.

It was however, super enjoyable and written in a relatable, easy to follow style, not getting too technical for me (I’m not great with techy stuff). I was completely drawn in and it reminded me a little of those classic locked house mysteries like Agatha Christie specialised in. But more modern and terrifying.

*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: Travel by Night – Sophie Morton-Thomas*

A nebulous memory. Caught in a dangerous trap. A life-changing discovery.

When Yalina wakes in hospital following surgery, she doesn’t recognise her own parents.
Following her release, she decides to meet her estranged brother, Ali, in Sheffield. On her arrival, Yalina is taken to a house where girls are held against their will and forced into sex slavery. Too late, she realises she has fallen into a trap.
Over time, Yalina discovers a love of playing the old piano that lives in the house. It keeps her sane. As friendships blossom between the women, Yalina finds herself taking a young girl, Rebecca, under her wing.
When the women are threatened with violence, Yalina reluctantly accepts help from a stranger she met in the house. But he carries a secret that could impact on her whole life.
Will Yalina escape her captors? And how will she cope with the unexpected revelation?
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Sophie Morton-Thomas is a British writer based in West Sussex where she lives with her husband and children. She’s an English teacher by day and a Creative Writing Master’s degree student and writer in her spare time.

Travel By Night is her first novel, and is based in Sheffield, where she lived for a number of years.

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My thoughts:

I got a bit frustrated with Yalina a few times, she has several chances to escape and get help but every time she gives up and returns to the house of horrors she’s been kept in.

This was an intelligent thriller about trafficking and modern slavery, the women are kept half starved and terrified, their passports taken from them.

The twist at the end, in terms of the stranger who finally helps them, is very clever and unexpected.

*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

Cover Reveal: A Chance Encounter – Rae Shaw

Julianna Baptiste, a feisty bodyguard, finds her new job tedious, that is until her boss, the evasive Jackson Haynes, spikes her curiosity. Who is behind the vicious threats to his beautiful wife and why is he interested in two estranged siblings?

Mark works for Haynes’s vast company. He’s hiding from ruthless money launderers.

His teenage sister Ellen has an online friend whom she has never met. Ellen guards a terrible secret.

For eight years their duplicitous father has languished in prison, claiming he is innocent of murder. The evidence against him is overwhelming, so why does Mark persist with an appeal?

Keen to prove her potential as an investigator, Julianna forces Mark to confront his mistakes. The consequences will put all their lives in danger.

Preorder

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Publication Date: 24th March

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Rae Shaw is a pen name for the author Rachel Walkley.

Rachel is based in the North West of England. She read her first grown-up detective novel at the age of eleven, which proved to be a catalyst for filling many shelves with crime books, which still occupy her home and grow in number whenever she visits a book shop.

As well as crime, Rachel likes to unplug from the real world and writes mysteries that have a touch of magic woven into family secrets.

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Cover Reveal: Mimic – Daniel Cole #Mimic @trapezebooks

Daniel Cole’s latest novel MIMIC, the chilling new standalone thriller, is to be released by Trapeze in Hardback on the 19th August 2021. Sam Eades acquired UK and Commonwealth Rights from Sue Armstrong at C & W.

1989. DS Benjamin Chambers and DC Adam Winters are on the trail of a serial killer with a twisted passion for recreating the world’s greatest works of art through the bodies of his victims. After Chambers nearly loses his life, the case goes cold due to lack of evidence. The killer lies dormant, his collection unfinished.

Seven years later, DS Marshall has excelled through the ranks of the Metropolitan Police Service, despite being haunted by the case that defined her teenage years.

She obtains new evidence and joins Chambers and Winters to reopen the case. However, their resurrected investigation brings about a fresh reign of terror, the team treading a fine line between justice and vigilante in pursuit of a monster far more dangerous and intelligent than any of them had anticipated.

The killer lies dormant, his collection unfinished.

Seven years later, DS Marshall has excelled through the ranks of the Metropolitan Police Service, despite being haunted by the case that defined her teenage years.

She obtains new evidence and joins Chambers and Winters to reopen the case. However, their resurrected investigation brings about a fresh reign of terror, the team treading a fine line between justice and vigilante in pursuit of a monster far more dangerous and intelligent than any of them had anticipated.

Pre-order here

TV announcement!
Daniel Cole’s bestselling crime novel RAGDOLL greenlit for six-part series,
from the team behind hit television show Killing Eve.

Trapeze announces the acquisition of MIMIC, the new standalone from Daniel Cole, to be published August 2021.

UKTV has teamed up with Sid Gentle Films Ltd and AMC to announce the greenlight of the new modern-day Faustian thriller Ragdoll (6×60), based on the international bestselling debut novel by Daniel Cole, for its crime drama pay TV channel Alibi. The project will air on Alibi in the UK and AMC in the United States. The pitch black and darkly witty thriller will be adapted into six parts, with a writing team led by Freddy Syborn (Ms Marvel, Bad Education).

Six people have been murdered, dismembered and sewn into the shape of one grotesque body — nicknamed the ‘Ragdoll’. Assigned to the shocking case are DS Nathan Rose, recently reinstated to the London Met; his best friend and boss, DI Emily Baxter; and the unit’s new recruit, DC Lake Edmunds. The ‘Ragdoll Killer’ taunts the police by sending them a list of his next victims, with Rose’s name among them. And with those victims to protect, our heroes soon come under intense public scrutiny. A darkly funny, gruesomely imaginative serial killer thriller, Ragdoll also captures the fascinating but flawed friends struggling with the consequences of institutionalisation and trauma.

Filming will commence in Spring 2021 around London and air in late 2021. Cast will be announced at a later date.

Daniel Cole says; “’With “Killing Eve”, Sid Gentle Films have already demonstrated an uncanny ability to walk the line between black humour and gripping TV. They bought the rights way back, before I even had my first book deal, and their passion for the project hasn’t wavered since. They got it from the off, and I feel that RAGDOLL couldn’t be in safer hands.”

Freddy Syborn says; “I hope RAGDOLL will be a visually exciting, darkly funny thriller in which the personal is the political. Above all, I hope our characters can make you laugh, then break your heart.”

Sally Woodward Gentle, Executive Producer, Sid Gentle Films says; “I am so excited that we are embarking on this twisty and sophisticated piece with Freddy and the team. AMC have already proved themselves to be brilliant partners and we can’t wait to work with Alibi.”

Philippa Collie Cousins, Commissioning Editor, Drama, UKTV says; “RAGDOLL is a dystopian, mesmerising, wickedly funny piece of hard-boiled detective screen fiction. It invites the audience into a timeless world of crime thriller, sending us on a rollercoaster ride with flawed, compelling Rose, his best friend/cop partner Baxter and rookie Edmunds. Together, they tread a maverick route to the truth in a broken world, with touches of Raymond Chandler meets Tina Fey in their memorable banter. Beautifully designed, this atmospheric project mirrors the pure evil, suspense and attention to detail of Silence of the Lambs.”

Emma Ayech, channel director for Alibi adds: “I am thrilled to be bringing this exciting series to Alibi and to be working with such great partners in Sid Gentle Films and AMC. RAGDOLL is a dark and twisty murder mystery that will hook our viewers with its macabre sense of humour and addictive plot; it will be a great addition to our growing slate of brand-new British crime drama.”

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Dragonfly Girl – Marti Leimbach*

In this spellbinding thriller and YA debut from bestselling author Marti Leimbach, Kira Adams has discovered a cure for deathand it may just cost her life.

Things aren’t going well for Kira. At home, she cares for her mother and fends off debt collectors. At school, she’s awkward and shy. Plus, she may flunk out if she doesn’t stop obsessing about science, her passion and the one thing she’s good at . . . very good at.

When she wins a prestigious science contest she draws the attention of the celebrated professor Dr. Gregory Munn (as well as his handsome assistant), leading to a part-time job in a top-secret laboratory.

The job is mostly cleaning floors and equipment, but one night, while running her own experiment, she revives a lab rat that has died in her care.

One minute it is dead, the next it is not.

Suddenly she’s the remarkable wunderkind, the girl who can bring back the dead. Everything is going her way. But it turns out that science can be a dangerous business, and Kira is swept up into a world of international rivalry with dark forces that threaten her life.

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Marti Leimbach’s latest novel is DRAGONFLY GIRL, a YA action/thriller about a high school girl with a gift for science who discovers a “cure” for death and ends up embroiled in an international rivalry. It is published by Harper Collins in February 2021.

Marti Leimbach is known for her bestsellers, Dying Young, made into a film starring Julia Roberts, and Daniel Isn’t Talking. She is interested in neurodiversity and has shared the stage with young inventors at the Human Genome Project (Toronto), the National Autistic Society, and the University of Oxford.
She teaches on the Masters Programme in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford. Dragonfly Girl is her eighth novel, but her first for young adults.

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My thoughts:

This was very good, blending science fiction and fact, action and intrigue, Dragonfly Girl takes us from small town America to Stockholm’s fanciest hotels and then to Russia in all its decaying finery.

Kari is a science genius, her brilliant mind can process information quickly and she can think out a method for all sorts of experiments in no time.

Her intelligence gets her awarded science prizes that stave off debt collectors but then catch the attention of men who might not be entirely as they seem.

I loved April the rat carer and Dmitry the grumpy Russian defector in the lab, I felt for Kari as she took on her family’s worries and tried to juggle high school as well.

This was really enjoyable and I hope there’s a book two in the works.

*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: Killing the Girl – Elizabeth Hill*

For over forty years Carol Cage has been living as a recluse in her mansion, Oaktree House. Fear is her constant companion. She’s been keeping a secret – and it’s about to be unearthed.

When she receives a compulsory purchase order for her home, she knows that everyone is going to find out what she did to survive her darkest weeks in 1970. She writes her confession so that we can understand what happened because she wasn’t the only one living a lie. The events that turned her fairy-tale life into a living hell were not all they seemed.
She’s determined not to pay for the mistakes of others; if she has to suffer, then they will too.
Carol Cage has a terrible secret … and she’s about to exact retribution on everyone who’d let her suffer.
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Elizabeth published ‘Killing The Girl’ in April 2019, which has won the ‘Chill With A Book’ Premier Readers Award and Book Of The Month for October 2020. She is now busy working on her second novel, Killing The Shadowman.

We all love a great murder mystery and ‘Killing The Girl explores the reasons why an ordinary woman kills. What pushes her to her limit of endurance and sanity? And could that woman be you?
Elizabeth is a member of The Alliance of Independent Authors, The Bristol Fiction Writers Group and Noir At The Bar, Bath. She was a speaker at the 2019 Bristol Festival of Literature.
Find out more on her website
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Elizabeth lives in Bristol, UK.

My thoughts:

This was a really interesting, compelling book that keeps you guessing. Carol is an unreliable narrator as she doesn’t know everything and can’t always be trusted to remember or tell the truth.

There are so many layers of secrets and lies to unravel as the ghosts from 1970 are revealed. Very cleverly done.

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