I’m so excited to share my review of the fantastic My Mother’s Shadow by Nikola Scott.  I really enjoyed this book and it has definitely been one that has stayed with me a long time after reading it.  My Mother’s Shadow is now available in paperback and eBook where it is currently only 99p.

Book Description:

Hartland House has always been a faithful keeper of secrets…

1958. Sent to beautiful Hartland to be sheltered from her mother’s illness, Liz spends the summer with the wealthy Shaw family. They treat Liz as one of their own, but their influence could be dangerous…

Now. Addie believes she knows everything about her mother Elizabeth and their difficult relationship until her recent death. When a stranger appears claiming to be Addie’s sister, she is stunned. Is everything she’s been told about her early life a lie?

How can you find the truth about the past if the one person who could tell you is gone? Addie must go back to that golden summer her mother never spoke of…and the one night that changed a young girl’s life for ever.

My Review:

My Mother’s Shadow is definitely a book that is going to stay with me for a long time.  The poignant story line is deeply affecting, especially when read as a mother of two children, I found that i often had a lump in my throat whilst reading about Elizabeth’s horrific experiences.  It’s hard to believe that people judged and treated people so cruelly over so little without realizing the damaging effects that it would have on all concerned.  I’m very thankful that thinking has now moved on and we now live in a much more open-minded society.

The main character, Addie, was very realistic and hugely likeable and I found myself really drawn to her story and plight throughout the book.  The transformation she goes through is brilliant and I enjoyed watching her grow in confidence and start to stand up for herself, doing what she wanted to do rather than what she thought others wanted her to do.  I felt for her with her difficult relationship with her mother, who she felt she never pleased and was never good enough for.  It was hard reading about how this had affected her over the years and it was good to see her come out of her mother’s shadow in this regard and become a much more confident and together person.  Her relationship with Phoebe and Andrew was lovely to read about as i felt that in their presence we got to see the really Addie and i loved how much more confident and unafraid she was around them.

The descriptions of the idyllic summer that Elizabeth spent with the Shaws was beautifully described and I really felt that I could picture those lazy, summer days in my mind’s eye.  It was lovely to see a different, care free side to Elizabeth and to watch her grow throughout the summer in her new-found acceptance.  Some of the games and mischief the children got up to was stuff that i used to enjoy doing when i was a kid, which helped create a wonderful sense of nostalgia for me and the fun i used to have.

Unusually for me with a book with two time-lines I found that i enjoyed them both equally.  Normally I am rushing through one part of the story to find out what is happening in the other, normally older timeline.  I think this is down to the author cleverly sharing out the facts and reveals between the two timelines so as to keep both interesting whereas i don’t believe this is always the case with other books.  This also helped keep the story really interesting and I found that i kept reading, faster and faster as the book progressed in order to find out what had happened.  Sometimes one of the story lines revealed a clue that wasn’t yet known in the other story line and then i found myself on tender hooks, waiting for it to be discovered and to see what their reaction would be to the new information.  This helped create a lot of tension and anticipation in the book which made the book very easy to read.

Though it is hard to believe, this is Nikola Scott’s debut novel and I very much look forward to reading more from her.  I felt the comparison with Kate Morton & Rachel Hore was very much deserved and feel sure that if you like their books you will enjoy this one!

Huge thank you to Becky Hunter and Headline for providing me with a copy of this book.

Author Information:

Nikola Scott was born and raised in Germany and studied at university there. Having been obsessed with books from a young age, Nikola moved to New York City after her Master’s degree to begin her first job in book publishing – a career in which she could fully indulge her love of fiction. She spent ten years working in publishing in New York and then in London, editing other people’s books, before she decided to take the leap into becoming a full-time writer herself. She now lives in Frankfurt with her husband and two sons.

MY MOTHER’S SHADOW is her debut novel.

You can visit Nikola’s website www.nikolascott.com and you can find her on Twitter @nikola_scott and Facebook/NikolaScottAuthor.

 

 

 

 

Today i’m thrilled to be doing a spotlight feature for The Snow Globe by Judith Kinghorn.  Due to personal circumstances I’ve unfortunately not had a chance to read this book yet, but hope to do so at the earliest opportunity as it sounds right up my street.

BASIC INFORMATION:

Title: The Snow Globe

Author Name: Judith Kinghorn

Previous Books (if applicable): The Echo of Twilight

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release Date: 25th September 2017

Publisher:  Canelo

BOOK BLURB:

A beautiful story of enduring love and heartbreaking choices.

As Christmas 1926 approaches, the Forbes family are preparing to host a celebration at Eden Hall. Eighteen-year-old Daisy is preoccupied by a sense of change in the air. Overnight, her relationship with Stephen Jessop, the housekeeper’s son, has shifted and every encounter seems fraught with tension. Before the festivities are over, Daisy has received a declaration of love, a proposal and a kiss – from three different men. Unable to bear the confusion she flees to London and stays with her elder sister.

By the following summer, Daisy has bowed to the persistence of the man who proposed to her the previous year. When the family reunite for a party at Eden Hall and Stephen is once more in her life, it is clear to Daisy she is committing to the wrong person. Yet she also believes that family secrets mean she has no choice but to follow her head instead of her heart. Will love conquer all, or is Daisy’s fate already written?

LINKS TO BOOK:

Amazon: Amazon

Kobo: Kobo

Goodreads: Goodreads

AUTHOR BIO:

Judith Kinghorn is the author of four novels: The Echo of Twilight, The Snow Globe, The Memory of Lost Senses and The Last Summer. She was born in Northumberland, educated in the Lake District, and is a graduate in English and History of Art. She lives in Hampshire, England, with her husband and two children.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Judith Kinghorn is available on a variety of social media platforms.  Including:

Twitter: @judithkinghorn

Facebook: Writer Judith Kinghorn

Website: https://www.judithkinghornwriter.com

FOLLOW THE BLOG TOUR:

 

I’m very excited to be on The House of Spines Blog Tour today and to be able to share my review of this fabulous book with you!  House of Spines is out now as an ebook or paperback, published by the brilliant Orenda Books.

Book Blurb:

A terrifying psychological thriller cum Gothic mystery, as a young man with mental health issues inherits an isolate mansion, where all is not as it seems…Ran McGhie’s world has been turned upside down. A young, lonely and frustrated writer, and suffering from mental-health problems, he discovers that his long-dead mother was related to one of Glasgow’s oldest merchant families. Not only that, but Ran has inherited Newton Hall, a vast mansion that belonged to his great-uncle, who it seems has been watching from afar as his estranged great-nephew has grown up. Entering his new-found home, it seems Great-Uncle Fitzpatrick has turned it into a temple to the written word – the perfect place for poet Ran. But everything is not as it seems. As he explores the Hall’s endless corridors, Ran’s grasp on reality appears to be loosening. And then he comes across an ancient lift; and in that lift a mirror. And in the mirror… the reflection of a woman… A terrifying psychological thriller with more than a hint of the Gothic, House of Spines is a love letter to the power of books, and an exploration of how lust and betrayal can be deadly…

My Review:

Wow! This book is definitely going onto the list of the best books I have ever read.  I so enjoyed reading it and found it incredibly hard to put down.

I have to admit to being a little apprehensive when I first started this book.  I had heard lots of great reviews from my fellow bloggers but i am a huge wimp at heart and the title along with the reviews of ‘terrifying’ led me to believe that this would be a horror book.  I’m not good with horror and get scared incredibly easily (i managed to have nightmares after watching the advert for IT) so i started this book wondering if I would be able to finish it.  To put fellow nervous readers at ease the house of spines refers to the spines of books, not humans, as i was worried it would be!

The book soon drew me in and had me desperately trying to read more whenever I could, hoping that my little girl would sleep longer at nap time just so i could read a few more pages and find out what happens.  The book is a little spooky and the tension is incredible and that combined makes you want to keep reading it.  It is not necessarily the action that is happening on the page that makes this tension but rather the anticipation that something is going to happen.  I found this rather exciting and quite enjoyed the feeling of being a little scared and out of my comfort zone which i was surprised about.

The main character, Ranald, is a very sympathetic and sweet character who I liked almost instantly.  I come from a Scottish family and am married to a Scot so I loved how realistic he sounded when he spoke and how he used the correct Scottish terms in his speech.  His  struggles with his parents death and his mental health was very emotional and quite poignant to read about.  The reader can’t help but feel sorry for him and sympathetic to the lonely situation he finds himself him.  His attempts to make friends further endeared himself to me and i found that I wanted him to be happy and was willing him to make friends with people.  I also really wanted the house to work out for him and kept reading to find out what happened to him.

The Twist towards the end of the book was brilliant and one I definitely didn’t see coming.  It was one of those that had me gasping in surprise and flicking back through the pages of the book to try to discover new information I might have missed the first time.  As i read quite a lot it is quite hard to surprise me nowadays and I always really enjoy it when someone manages to!

This is the first book of Michael Malone that I have read but it won’t be my last.  In fact I have already downloaded a copy of his first book A Suitable Lie to read.

Huge thanks to Karen from Orenda books and Anne Carter for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.  This is definitely going to be one of those books that I will be recommending to everyone for a long time.

Author Information:

Michael Malone was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country, just a stone’s throw from the great man’s cottage in Ayr. Well, a stone thrown by a catapult, maybe.

He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. His career as a poet has also included a (very) brief stint as the Poet-In-Residence for an adult gift shop. Don’t ask.

BLOOD TEARS, his debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize (judge:Alex Gray) from the Scottish Association of Writers and when it was published he added a “J” to his name to differentiate it from the work of his talented U.S. namesake.

He is a regular reviewer for the hugely popular crime fiction website http://www.crimesquad.com and his blog, May Contain Nuts can be found at http://mickmal1.blogspot.com/

He can be found on twitter – @michaelJmalone1

Follow the Blog Tour:

If you liked the sound of this book from my review, do go and check out what my fellow book bloggers are saying!

Today i’m very excited to be on the blog tour for the amazing The Waterway Girls.  This is the first book i have read by Milly Adams and it certainly won’t be my last.  If you are a fan of World War Two fiction or sagas you will love this book! The Waterway Girls is out now in paperback and ebook.

Book Blurb:

THE FIRST NOVEL IN MILLY ADAMS’ BRAND NEW SAGA SERIES. Perfect for fans of Daisy Styles and Nancy Revell.

War lands them in the same boat. Can they pull together?

October 1943, West London
Nineteen-year-old Polly Holmes is leaving poor bombed London behind to join the war effort on Britain’s canals.

Stepping aboard the Marigold amid pouring rain, there’s lots for Polly to get to grips with. Not least her fellow crew: strong and impetuous Verity, whose bark is worse than her bite, and seasoned skipper Bet.

With her sweetheart away fighting in the RAF and her beloved brother killed in action, there’s plenty of heartache to be healed on the waterway. And as Polly rolls up her sleeves and gets stuck into life on board the narrowboat – making the gruelling journey London up to Birmingham – she will soon discover that a world of new beginnings awaits amid the anguish of the war.

My Review:

I really enjoyed this fantastic trip into the forgotten world of the Boaters who helped transport various materials on the canals in World war Two which was considered much safer than using the roads, especially as petrol was scarce. It was fascinating to learn more about their world and culture, the different roles everyone played in day to day life and the hardships they endured whilst working on the canals.  Some of the descriptions regarding these hardships were very poignant to read about and I often had a lump in my throat when i was reading them.  It’s hard to believe in this day and age, where people are quick to blame and sue, that people actually used to work like this.  The descrimination and abuse the boaters received was also very upsetting to read about.  They were often mocked for their dirty apperances which were just caused from the hard work that they did.

The book features three very strong, firery female characters which i enjoyed reading about.  They were very happy to work hard and pull their weight to prove that they could do just as good a job as the male boaters could.  They were also not afraid to stand up for other people when they felt it was needed and lend a helping hand which was a really admirable trait.  The three girls form a really strong friendship which helped them in the day to day hardship of their lives.  Some of the exploits they get up to were hilarious to read about and actually caused me to laugh out loud at times.  I started off not liking the two main boaters in the story as they seemed unnecessarily rude at the beginning but as i got to know them more i started to warm to them and ended up really liking them.  I liked how loyal they are and how they look after the girls whilst they are on the Canal.

The book has a great pace to it which makes it really easy to read and to become absorbed in the story.  There is always something happening or some new thing that the girls are doing that keeps the book interesting and fresh.  The change to the story about half way through the book was surprising and definetly added a new element to the story, taking it on a new direction which i hadn’t expected.

The ending was brilliant and exactly how i wanted the book to end.  I really like that the characters all got the ending i felt they deserved and was very excited to learn that there is to be a sequel to this book where i will get to spend more time with such terrific characters!

Thank you to Becky McCarthy at Penguin Random house for my copy of this book and for inviting me on the blog tour.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definetly be reading more from MIlly Adams in the future.

About the Author:

 

Milly Adams lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, dog and cat.  Her children live nearby.  Her grandchildren are fun and lead her astray.  She insists that it is that way round.  Milly Adams is also the author of Above Us The Sky and Sisters At War.

 

Follow the Blog Tour:

If you like the sound of this book from my review, do check out what the other bloggers on the tour have to say!

 

I am a huge fan of Kristin Hannah so I was very excited to be offered a review copy of her latest book, Between Sisters.  I read this book in two days whilst in hospital and it was so nice to have a great book to keep me company.

Book Description:

We all make mistakes, but for Meghann Dontess the terrible choice she made some years ago cost her everything, including the love of her sister, Claire. Meghann is now a highly successful attorney, and has put all thoughts of love completely behind her – until she meets the one man who believes he can change her mind.

Claire has fallen in love for the first time in her life, and as her wedding day approaches she prepares to face her strong-willed older sister. Reunited after two decades, these two women who believe they have nothing in common will try to become what they never were: a family.

Tender, funny, bittersweet and moving, Kristin Hannah’s Between Sisters skilfully explores the profound joys and sorrows shared in a close relationship, the mistakes made in the name of love, and the promise of redemption.

My Review:

Kristin Hannah has created a thoroughly absorbing but emotional story in Between Sisters.  It was great to read about the estranged sisters attempts to rebuild their relationship and be there for each other.  I think this story appealed to me on a personal level as I also have a younger sister who I don’t always see eye to eye with.

The character development in this book was brilliant.  I started off not really liking or feeling sympathy with either of the sisters but by the end I found myself hoping they had a good ending and even shedding a few tears when things went right for them.  I think this is down to the subtle way the author introduces facts about their lives and their past that’s let’s the reader understand more about why they are like they are and what makes then tick.  The sister’s fall out about quite normal, everyday things which makes the story seem more realistic and allows the reader to be more involved in the story as you want to keep reading to find out what will happen next.

The differences between the two sisters is very vividly described throughout the story and leads to some of the more emotional moments in the book.  The cold, impersonal almost clinical corporate life Meghann lives in without any close friends and family is very different to the vibrant, casual life full of friends and loved ones that Claire lives.  At times I had a lump in my throat reading some of the passages describing these differences and realising how much this affects the sisters when these differences become apparent.

I absolutely loved the ending! It was exactly how I wanted it to end.  I felt all the characters got the ending I wanted them to have and I must confess I had tears in my eyes reading how things turned out for them.  It was lovely to see how much the characters had changed and how far they had come.

Huge thanks to Jess Duffy and Pan Macmillan for my review copy of this book.

About The Author:

Kristin Hannah is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale, Winter Garden, Night Road, and Firefly Lane.

Her novel, The Nightingale, has been published in over 39 languages and is currently in movie development at Tri Star Pictures. Her novel, Home Front has been optioned for film by 1492 Films (produced the Oscar-nominated The Help) with Chris Columbus attached to direct.

Kristin is a former-lawyer-turned writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii with her husband. She began her writing career as a young mother and has never looked back. Her novel, Firefly Lane, became a runaway bestseller in 2009, a touchstone novel that brought women together, and The Nightingale, in 2015 was voted a best book of the year by Amazon, Buzzfeed, iTunes, Library Journal, Paste, The Wall Street Journal and The Week.  Additionally, the novel won the coveted Goodreads and People’s Choice Awards. The audiobook of The Nightingale won the Audiobook of the Year Award in the fiction category.

 

Today I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for 37 hours by J. F. Kirwan.  37 hours is the second book in the Nadia Laksheva Spy Thriller Series and the sequel to the fabulous 66 Meters.  It is currently only £1.99 in eBook, a bargain!

Book Description:

The only way to hunt down a killer is to become one…

After two long years spent in a secret British prison, Nadia Laksheva is suddenly granted her freedom. Yet there is a dangerous price to pay for her release: she must retrieve the Russian nuclear warhead stolen by her deadliest enemy, a powerful and ruthless terrorist known only as The Client.

But her mysterious nemesis is always one step ahead and the clock is ticking. In 37 hours, the warhead will explode, reducing the city of London to a pile of ash. Only this time, Nadia is prepared to pull the trigger at any cost…

The deadly trail will take her from crowded Moscow to the silent streets of Chernobyl, but will Nadia find what she is looking for before the clock hits zero….

My Review:

Wow what a fast paced, action packed book this is! It grabbed me from the start and made it impossible to put down as theatre was always something new happening.

It was good to read a story where the Russians were the heroes rather than the villains as they are often depicted in books or films.  The author cleverly uses the recent conflict between Russia and the Ukraine as part of the storyline which meant the reader gets to learn a little more about the troubles from both points of views.

The main character, Nadia, was brilliant! I have always been a huge fan of strong female characters and I thought she was exceptional.  She never allows herself to show others any weaknesses and refuses to fail at any task, even if it is one that she’s never done before.  She is especially determined when it comes to proving her ability against men and refuses to be beaten or allowances to be made because she is female which was great to read about!

There are some quite chilling parts in the book.  The description of what a country could hush up or how they can make people disappear, if true, is quite terrifying.  It did make me wonder what our government could be capable of in real life.  There are also some quite graphic descriptions of torture at times whibutit isdid make for uncomfortable reading at times.

This is the authors second book but it is the first I have read.  Even though it is second in a series it can easily be read as a stand alone which is what I have done.

Thanks you to Kate from TAT Publicity for many copy of this book and for inviting me on the blog tour.

About The Author:

In his day job, J. F. Kirwan travels worldwide, working on aviation safety. He lives in Paris, where he first joined a fiction class – and became hooked! So when a back injury stopped him scuba diving for two years, he wrote a thriller about a young Russian woman, Nadia, where a lot of the action occurred in dangerously deep waters. It was the only way he could carry on diving! But as the story and characters grew, he realised it was not one book, but three…

 

I’m very excited to be able to share an extract of Rubies in the Roses, the second book in the Cornish Castle Mystery series.  Thank you to Vivian for her understanding when due to some unexpected hospital visits I was unable to finish reading the book and she was kind enough to sort out an extract for me to post instead.

Book Synopsis:

Welcome to Cornisea Island and spend your summer holidays in a Cornish Castle.

Guinevere Evans has a dream summer job: cataloging books at a castle on a tidal island off the coast of Cornwall. With her perky dachshund Dolly by her side she explores the island’s colourful history, tries fabulous local food and sees the gorgeous sunsets.

But when an old friend of her employer drops in, claiming a rare bejewelled wedding goblet is hidden in the castle gardens, strange events start to take place: several people turn up claiming they have a right to the elusive goblet, and a dead body is found on the beach.

An unfortunate accident, or does this death relate to the struggle for ownership of the goblet? Is there even a goblet?

Guinevere and Dolly dig in and discover plenty of motives to lie, steal and yes, maybe even kill. Can they prove what really happened to the victim and what became of the precious rubies that are at the heart of the mystery?

Exclusive Extract:

Grinning to herself, Guinevere walked to the door, still holding the book about treasures in her hand. She could hear Bolingbrooke’s careful footfalls across the creaking floorboards to the head of the stairs. There he seemed to wait, peeking down into the hallway to discern who was calling on him. Soon he’d come galloping back to her and hide in his library, throwing the door shut and claiming he wasn’t at home. There were many people Bolingbrooke didn’t care to see when they came to ask about the castle’s future, about unpaid bills or about donations for charitable projects.

But now she heard a delighted cry, ‘Gregory! Old man.’ And Bolingbrooke’s heavy footfalls beat down the stairs.

Dolly beside Guinevere made a surprised sound. Guinevere said to her, ‘Yes, girl, apparently it’s someone Lord B. does want to see. Let’s have a look for ourselves who it is then.’ She snapped her fingers to tell Dolly to walk by her side instead of rushing ahead, and then she tiptoed to the stairs to look down into the hallway below. If it was an old friend of Bolingbrooke’s, she didn’t want to disturb their reunion.

A short rotund man stood in the middle of the hallway. He had apparently dropped two suitcases to the floor as they stood on either side of him. Bolingbrooke smacked his large hand down on the visitor’s shoulder hard enough to send the short man tottering on his feet.

But despite this rough welcome the visitor’s face was all smiles. ‘Is this a surprise or what?’ ‘Indeed.’ Bolingbrooke grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. ‘How long has it been? Twenty years? Man, I wasn’t even sure you were still alive. No, that’s not true, I knew you were, because you wrote up those amusing articles.’ ‘Amusing?’ his visitor repeated, his smiling features freezing. Even where Guinevere stood, she could sense indignation quivering through his posture. ‘Yes,’ Bolingbrooke continued unperturbed, laughing deep from his belly, ‘all those ideas about priceless artefacts that are hidden in old abbey ruins or remains of ancient keeps. You do know how to tell a tale.’ ‘They’re not tales,’ his visitor said in a cold voice. ‘Those artefacts really exist.’ Guinevere cringed at how Bolingbrooke was antagonizing his guest within minutes of reuniting with him.

But Bolingbrooke didn’t seem to sense the hostile atmosphere and continued seriously, ‘How many have you uncovered?’ He leaned over to his guest as if he wanted to exchange confidentialities with him. ‘How many? Not one, hmmm?’

His guest stood awkwardly, knotting his hands in front of him. Bolingbrooke said, ‘Look. I understand what you’re trying to do. People love stories about treasures and the mysterious circumstances under which they were buried or got lost. Some knight who won loot in an epic battle and then hid it where his enemies couldn’t find it and who devised a map with clues for his successors to recover it. Only nobody could make sense of his clues again. Until you came along of course.’

His visitor’s round jovial face was tight with tension now. He spoke slowly and meticulously as if he was teaching a class. ‘My line of research is a very serious undertaking. The total value of artefacts that have gone missing through time runs in the billions of pounds. If only a few could be recovered, we would be looking at items that any museum in the world would be desperate to own.’

Follow The Blog Tour:

If the above extract sounded interesting then do follow the blog tour and see what other reviewers thought of the book!

About The Author:

Vivian Conroy discovered Agatha Christie at 13 and quickly devoured all Poirot and Miss Marple stories. Over time Lord Peter Wimsey and Brother Cadfael joined her favorite sleuths. Even more fun than reading was thinking up her own fog-filled alleys, missing heirs and priceless artifacts. So Vivian created feisty Lady Alkmene and enigmatic reporter Jake Dubois sleuthing in 1920s London and the countryside, first appearing in A PROPOSAL TO DIE FOR (published by Carina UK/Harper Collins).

For the latest #LadyAlkmene, with a dash of dogs and chocolate, follow Vivian on Twitter via @VivWrites.

 

A day later than planned due to a busy week with my son starting school (I’m fine *sniff*) I am delighted to be able to share my review for the amazing Nine Lessons by Nicola Upson.  Nine Lessons is due to be published on the 11th November 2017 but i have special permission to share my review with you all earlier.

Book Description:

Called to the peaceful wooded churchyard of St-John’s-at-Hampstead, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose faces one of the most audacious and unusual murders of his career. The body of the church’s organist is found in an opened grave, together with a photograph of a manor house and a cryptic note. The image leads Archie to Cambridge, where the crisp autumn air has brought with it bustling life to the ancient university and town.

Mystery author Josephine Tey and Archie’s lover Bridget Foley have each recently settled in Cambridge, though both women are not equally happy to see him. One has concealed an important secret from Archie which now threatens to come to light. Meanwhile, the change of seasons has also brought with it a series of vicious attacks against women in town, spreading fear and suspicion through the community.

Soon, another body is revealed, and in the shadow of King’s College Chapel, Archie uncovers a connection twenty-five years old which haunted both victims–as well as some of their living companions. As Archie and Josephine each grapple with savage malefactors intent on making their victims pay, they must race to stop another attack in this beautifully written, intricately plotted mystery.

My Review:

There is nothing quite like finding a juicy mystery series that you can really get stuck into and Nine lessons is truly a brilliant crime mystery! It gripped me from the start with an unusual beginning and kept me intrigued with a very interesting storyline and with the gradual revealing of facts and information.  It was very satisfying to see the story dome together and the truth being revealed the way it was in the book.

In a lot of ways Nine Lessons is an old fashioned  style of crime mystery as it reminded me a lot of Ruth Rendall’s Inspector Wexford mysteries.   It is set in a time before computers the police have no technology to fall back on so they have to rely purely on the facts they are presented with and their own intelligence.  There are no fancy computer databases, DNA or even phones to help them solve the crime.  I thought this made the book really fascinating to read as you got to see how the police work and how they get to their conclusions.

Detective Chief Inspector Penrose was a fantastic main character.  He wasn’t the normally stereotypical police office that was either trying to prove himself of had something to hide.  Instead he seemed very able and confident in himself and his abilities.  I like the way he solved cases very methodically, looking for evidence and doing research rather than jumping to conclusions, even when he had a dislike for one of the main suspects.  He was very good at extracting information from people and didn’t seemed fazed when he hit a dead end, and instead just went back to the beginning and looked over that facts.  I also like Josephine who is a very strong, determined and fiercely feminist character.  She stood up for what she believed in, even though her opinions could upset or annoy another person.  She did sometimes go a little over the top in this regard gut overall i admired her drive and attitude, especially in a time when women were still trying to get equal rights.

The book does cover some very serious issues as part of the story does involve a rapist that is attacking single girls in Cambridge.  It was sad to see that, in some case, people’s attitude towards a rape having been committed is still largely the same with many people wondering if women are making it up or exaggerating it.  I have to admit that some of the descriptions regarding this were a little upsetting at times, particularly when the descriptions of the aftermath of the rape and how the women coped going on.

The books setting of Cambridge was brilliantly brought to life throughout the book.  I felt like i could really envision all the sights and natural beauty of the city in my mind.  The feeling of a big city is created throughout the book, through the rapist story line as it’s apparent throughout the investigation that no-one knows their neighbors and what they are really like.

Nine Lessons is 7th book in the Josephine Tey Mystery books but can easily be read as a stand alone which is what i have done.  I am now very excited to go back and read some more of the early books in the series as i really enjoyed this one.  As mentioned above i think this book would suit readers that enjoy classic crime novel’s like the Inspector Wexford mysteries or Agatha Christie.

Thank you to Sophia Portas and Faber & Faber publishers for my copy of this book.

About the Author:

Nicola Upson was born in Suffolk and read English at Downing College, Cambridge. She has worked in theatre and as a freelance journalist, and is the author of two non-fiction works and the recipient of an Escalator Award from the Arts Council England. Her debut novel, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series of crime novels to feature Josephine Tey – one of the leading authors of Britain’s age of crime-writing. The book was dramatised by BBC Scotland for Woman’s Hour, and praised by PD James as marking ‘the arrival of a new and assured talent’.

Nicola lives with her partner in Cambridge and Cornwall, which was the setting for her second novel, Angel With Two Faces. The third book in the series, Two for Sorrow, was followed by Fear in the Sunlight and, most recently, The Death of Lucy Kyte. Taken together, they paint an atmospheric picture of England between the wars, contrasting the stark reality of life in the 1930s and 40s with the glamorous world of theatre and film and featuring a variety of real characters, from the Edwardian murderers, Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, to the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Her research for the books has included many conversations with people who lived through the period and who knew Josephine Tey well, most notably Sir John Gielgud.

After a fantastic holiday to the beautiful Mumbles, I am delighted to be back and sharing my review for this fantastic book.  This was definitely a 5 star read for me and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The Vanishing Of Audrey Wilde is out in Hardback and eBook now.  Please note that this book is called The Wilding Sisters in the US!

Book Description:

From the present day . . . 

Applecote Manor captivates Jessie with it promise of hazy summers in the Cotswolds. She believes it’s the perfect escape for her troubled family. But the house has an unsettling history, and strange rumours surround the estate.

to the fifties . . .

When teenage Margot and her three sisters arrive at Applecote during the heatwave of ’59, they find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their daughter, Audrey, five years before.

The sisters are drawn into the mystery of Audrey’s vanishing – until the stifling summer takes a shocking, deadly turn. Will one unthinkable choice bind them together, or tear them apart?

Step back in time for a richly evocative mystery, where the beauty of a Cotswolds summer is vividly contrasted with the violence which shatters it.

My Review:

There are so many books described as being, ‘perfect for Kate Morton fans’ that I was a little sceptical when I started this book.  However I needn’t have worried as I thought this book was fantastic and well deserved the comparison.

Firstly I loved the setting of Applecote Manor.  The description of those seemingly endless summer days of childhood, discovering new friends and creating mysteries everywhere was brilliant.  It definitely had me feeling nostalgic for my own childhood and the adventures I had with my sister in the woods behind our house.  The house almost seemed alive at times as it seemed to change depending on the moods of the occupants and seemed to help them discover clues to solve the mystery.  This helped contribute to the spooky atmosphere that is present throughout the book.

The characters were all very well imagined and developed throughout the book,  seeming very realistic and true to life.  I especially liked Margot who reminded me of me from my childhood slightly geeky (OK I was very geeky!), misunderstood and suffering from eczema.  She was definitely was a character I felt I could get behind and I found myself hoping she would have the happy ending I felt she deserved.  I also felt sorry for Jessie as I felt she was a women trying her best against a very angry and obstructive step daughter.  Her attempts to make a better, happier life for her new family was very poignant at times.  I never really warmed to Ben though.  I wanted to shake him for his casual attitude towards His daughters obvious grief for her late mother and for letting her drive a wedge between him and Jessie.  I don’t think I would have been as patient and understanding as Jessie was.

The mystery of what happened to Audrey was well played out with the truth of what happened being gradually revealed.  This helps keep the reader very intrigued and I kept reading as I wanted to find out what happened.  The twist at the end took me by surprise as I thought the mystery had been solved.  I also liked that the author included information about what happened to the characters after the summer and how things turned out for them.

This is Eve Chase’s second novel and the second of hers that I have read.   I really look forward to reading any future work from her and highly recommend her to anyone who hasn’t read anything by her yet.

Huge thank you to Gaby Young and Michael St Joseph publisher for copy if this book.

About The Author:

I write from a shed/studio in my garden in Oxford, accompanied by bits of wildlife that creep over the threshold to investigate my biscuit crumbs. A small space, it’s perfect for cooking up bigger ones: sprawling, richly dysfunctional families, stories that seed into the cracked mortar of old houses. I love to read about such things, and write about them. I also love a cracking narrative pace. Words that dance on the tongue. Characters you want to scoop up and put in your pocket for safe keeping.

I’m married with three children.

I dream of Black Rabbit Hall’s boot room.

(Bio from Author’s web site)