Book Blurb:

From the master of British Crime Writing comes Frank Elder’s last case.

‘This is wonderfully atmospheric crime writing – a tribute to Harvey’s exceptional talent’ Daily Mail

‘The heavy manacles around the girl’s wrists, perhaps not surprisingly, looked very much like the ones that had been found on the studio floor. For a moment, she had a vision of the chain to which they were attached being swung through the air, taking on force and speed before striking home.Then swung again.’

When his estranged daughter Katherine appears on his doorstep, ex-Detective Frank Elder knows that something is wrong.

Katherine has long been troubled, and Elder has always felt powerless to help her.

But now Katherine has begun to self-destruct.

The breakdown of her affair with a controversial artist has sent her into a tailspin which culminates in murder.

And as Elder struggles to protect his daughter and prove her innocence, the terrors of the past threaten them both once more …

Body & Soul was published on the 19th April 2018 in ebook and hardback.  You can buy a copy of both here.

My Review:

John Harvey is an author I have heard a lot about but never had the chance to read.  So I was very excited to be invited onto the blog tour for his latest book, Body & Soul the last book in the Elder series.

Elder was my favourite character in this book.  His love for his daughter was touching to read about and I really felt for him when Kate rebuffed his attempts to rebuild their troubled relationship.  The amount he is willing mount to do to stand up for and protect his daughter is very poignant and really brought a tear to my eye. I didn’t initially like Kate.  I thought she was unnecessarily prickly and rude to her dad when he was obviously trying. However as the story goes on and I discovered more about her and her back story I did begin to feel a lot of sympathy towards her.

The art storyline was very intriguing and added an interesting element to the story.  I’d never really considered what nude modelling entails and the impact the finished result could have on the model.  This did have me feeling very frustrated towards Anthony in this regard for not realising, or maybe not caring what impact his art could have on others, particularly one he was meant to care about.

This was a bit of a slow burner for me as I thought it took a little while to get going.  The author takes time to set the scene and to let the reader know and understand the characters more.  I was a little confused at times whether the action being described was in the present or the past which meant that sometimes I had to flick back and start the chapter again.  I think this was just my problem though as I haven’t read any other reviews saying this.

Body and Soul is the final book in the Elder series but it is the first one I have read.  While the book would work fine as a stand alone I think it would be beneficial to read the rest of the series first as I feel you would understand the plot a lot more.

Thank you to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours and William Heinemann for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

John Harvey was born in London, where he now lives, while considering Nottingham his spiritual home. Initially a teacher of English & Drama, he has been a full-time writer for more than forty years. The first of his 12 volume Charlie Resnick series, Lonely Hearts was selected by The Times as one of the ‘100 Best Crime Novels of the Century’ and the first Frank Elder novel, Flesh and Blood, won the CWA Silver Dagger in 2004. He was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in the crime genre in 2007, and his story, ‘Fedora’ won the CWA Short Story Dagger in 2014.

In addition to writing fiction, he has written and published poetry, running Slow Dancer Press for over twenty years; his Out of Silence: New & Selected Poems was published in 2014. He has adapted the work of Arnold Bennett, A. S. Byatt, Graham Greene and others for radio and television, and in 2017, his dramatisation of the final Resnick novel, Darkness, was produced at Nottingham Playhouse. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the universities of Hertfordshire and Nottingham.

Follow @John_BHarvey @WHeinemann
Visit mellotone.co.uk

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Book Blurb:

A young woman trapped by her fear.
A serial killer on the prowl.
An ex-con hiding from a vengeful gang.

As clubbers in Cardiff are targeted by a brutal murderer, the police turn to unconventional means to catch the killer. Amy Lane, a desperately agoraphobic grey-hat hacker, only at peace with her fingers on a keyboard and her eyes on a screen, can peek into virtual corners in ways DI Bryn Hesketh would rather not know about. But he needs her skills, and turns to her for help. Jason, an ex-con looking to go straight, starts as Amy’s cleaner, but soon becomes much more.

An entirely new edition of the first thrilling story in Rosie Claverton’s stunning Amy Lane mystery series, available for the first time in paperback.

Binary witness was republished in ebook and paperback on the 20th April 2018 along with Code Runner, the second book in the series.  You can by a copy of both here.

My Review:

Binary witness is the start of a great new crime series that I’m excited to read more of.

Firstly I loved the partnership that develops between Amy and Jason.  They are a great team, each feeding off one another and complimenting each other.  It was great that both of them were able to help each other navigate through the new world they find themselves in, Jason who is finding his feet after being in prison and Amy who hasn’t been outside for years following a traumatic event.  It wasn’t a normal, stereotypical crime detective pairing which made the book more interesting to read about.  Their personality and quirks helped add a human element to the story which made you care more about them and what the outcome was.  I really wanted them to succeed and prove to others that they could do it.

Amy’s technical ability was very interesting to read about and has made me think twice about my passwords and the stuff I post on line.  The amount of information she was able to glean from the internet was shocking and made me realise how vulnerable we are to criminals stealing our information.

This was a fairly easy read in that the pace was quite fast, with lots of action and reveals which helped keep me interested.  The chapters are short which means it is an easy book to pick up and put down when you haven’t got long to read- great when you’re trying to grab five minutes peace from the kids! The reader is a witness to each victim’s last moments which is allows the reader to get to know each character so that they feel more empathy for them and what happens to them.

Binary Witness was the first book Rosie Claverton wrote and the first that I have read.  She has since written three more in the Amy Lane Mystery series and I really look forward to reading them.

Thanks to Anne Cater and Crime Scene books for my copy of this book the invitation to join the blog tour.

About The Author:

Rosie Claverton is a novelist, screenwriter, and junior psychiatrist. She grew up in Devon, daughter to a Sri Lankan father and a Norfolk mother, surrounded by folk mythology and surly sheep. She moved to Cardiff to study Medicine and adopted Wales as her home. She then moved to London to specialise in psychiatry.

Her first short film Dragon Chasers aired on BBC Wales in Autumn 2012. She co-wrote the ground-breaking series of short films The Underwater Realm. Her Cardiff-based crime series The Amy Lane Mysteries is published by Crime Scene Books.

Between writing and medicine, she blogs about psychiatry and psychology for writers in her Freudian Script series, advocating for accurate and sensitive portrayals of people with mental health problems in fiction.

Recently returned to Cardiff, she lives with her journalist husband and their nearly new daughter.

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I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for The Dark Web by Christopher Lowery, the final installment of the African Diamonds trilogy.

The Dark Web is available to buy now in paperback and ebook now.  The ebook is currently only 99p, you can purchase a copy of both here.

Before I share my character spotlight with you, here is a little bit about the book.

Book Blurb:

The latest thrilling instalment in the gripping African Diamonds trilogy!

The tentacles of the Dark Web are tightening their grip around the world. From Moscow to Shanghai, Washington, UK, the Middle East and Europe, nowhere is beyond their reach.

When a computer scientist dies mysteriously in Dubai, Jenny Bishop’s nephew, Leo Stewart, is hired to replace him. Leo’s life is soon in danger, but he is the only person who can find the key to prevent an impending global cyber-attack. With the help of Jenny and old and new friends, he must neutralise the threat before the world’s vital services are brought to a halt in a flagrant attempt to once again redraw the borders of Europe and Asia. Can the deadly conspiracy be exposed before the world is thrust into a new Cold War?

Christopher Lowery delivers a gripping final chapter in the bestselling African Diamonds trilogy, with a thriller that is powerfully resonant of today’s global dangers, hidden behind the ever-changing technological landscape.

The perfect read for fans of Gerald Seymour, Wilbur Smith and Frederick Forsyth.

Character Spotlight: 

Who is your character?

Four Star General William R. ‘Billy’ Chillicott

The Inspiration for your character?

Every influential public personality, from any walk of life, who has cared more about his country and people than self-advancement, private agenda or scoring points to undermine democratic process. (There are many present-day examples of the latter.)

The creation of your character?

I needed a senior military personage for the latter portion of the story, where his position allows him to influence key events. By introducing him early via a personal relationship with Leo Stewart, the reader can more easily accept his involvement with the subsequent crisis.

About your character?

He’s a man who sees the world as it is, not as he’d like it to be. He has spent his life in the service of his country and has no illusions about friends and enemies. He speaks and acts from knowledge and experience, not pseudo-intellectual theories.

Does he have any similarities with anyone ‘real’?
If so … tell us more!

This is a man of a dying breed, there are less and less of his type in today’s self-obsessed vanity world. Examples that come to mind are Reagan, Thatcher, Gorbachev, Churchill, Rees-Mogg.

What do you like most about your character?

Chillicott is a man who worries for all our sakes, not just his own. He would prefer to watch his grandson’s Sunday softball game, but his duty is to work to protect us, so that’s also his choice.

What do you dislike about your protagonist’s character?

He is in a minority nowadays.

Would you and your protagonist be friends ‘in real life’?

Most certainly, if he could put up with me.

What’s Next?

The Mosul Legacy is almost finished, due for publication in September. It is not part of the African Diamonds series, but a stand-alone story of the diverse consequences of terrorism. The book is set in 2016, when ISIL began to lose their strongholds in Iraq to the coalition forces, causing desperate families of refugees to flee from certain death. While they are faced with unsurmountable obstacles in their search for a peaceful, safe home, murderous jihadists are travelling easily through the Schengen zone, intent on committing an atrocity in a European city.

About The Author:

Christopher Lowery is a Geordie, born in the northeast of England, who graduated in finance and economics after reluctantly giving up career choices in professional golf and rock & roll. He is a real estate and telecoms entrepreneur and inventor and has created several successful companies around the world. Chris also writes technical patents, poetry and children’s books and has recently produced an album of his songs. He and his wife Marjorie live between London and Marbella.

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Book Blurb:

Four-year-old Danny lives with his mother, Natalie, in a small Sussex town. Life is a struggle and when they are threatened with a benefits sanction, salvation appears in the form of a Job Centre employee called Karen. But Karen’s impact is to reach far beyond this one generous gesture, as she and Natalie embark on an intense relationship.

Told in the voice of an intelligent, passionate and unusual child, Tale of a Tooth is an immersive and compelling look at the impact of domestic abuse on a vulnerable family unit.

Tale Of A Tooth was published on the 19th April 2018 in paperback and ebook.  You can purchase a copy of both here.

My Review:

Wow what a compelling, thought provoking and heart breaking story Allie Rogers has written.  This is a story that will stay with me for a long time.

I absolutely fell in love with the main character and narrator, Danny a highly intelligent but unusual child.  I enjoyed seeing the world through Danny’s eyes where there is fun to be had anywhere.  A very observant and sensitive child who describes situations through noises and colours.  He is especially in tune with his mum’s changing moods, describing how she feels through colours.  He loves dinosaurs and can repeat a lot of facts he has learnt from books borrowed from the library, something that made me love him all the more.

Danny’s close relationship with his mother was beautiful and touching to read about.  They have cute little rituals and catch phrases known only to them.  His mother, or meemaw as he calls her, is the only person who can calm him down when he feels overwhelmed which was fantastic to read about.  His hurt and confusion when his mother starts a relationship with Kerry was palpable, especially when everything turns a little sour.  I really felt for him in those moments and wished I could give him a hug.

Domestic abuse is still a little bit of a taboo subject, one that some people want to pretend doesn’t happen and sweep under the carpet.  This is especially true when it is a woman who is the abuser as society don’t want to believe they are capable of something like that.  The descriptions of abuse aren’t sugar coated and they are quite hard and poignant to read about.  They develop a harder edge when it is seen through Danny’s young eyes as I wasn’t sure he was always aware of what he was seeing.  I felt very frustrated towards Natalie at these moments as I wished she would stand up for herself and remove Danny from the situation.

This is the author’s second book but the first one that I have read.  I can’t wait to read Little Gold and any future books from Allie Rogers.  Tales of A Tooth would make a great book club book as there would be lots to discuss!

Huge thanks to Imogen Harris and Legend Press for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

I’m excited to be on the blog tour for The Fear by C. L Taylor and to have an extract to share.

The fear is available to buy in paperback and ebook now both for the bargain price of £2.99.  You can buy a copy of both here.

Before I share my extract with you, here is a little about the book.

Book Blurb:

Sometimes your first love won’t let you go…

When Lou Wandsworth ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes, she thought he was the love of her life. But Mike wasn’t what he seemed and he left her life in pieces.

Now 32, Lou discovers that he is involved with teenager Chloe Meadows. Determined to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself, she returns home to confront him for the damage he’s caused.

But Mike is a predator of the worst kind, and as Lou tries to bring him to justice, it’s clear that she could once again become his prey…

The million copy Sunday Times bestseller returns with a gripping psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Extract:

Chloe scoots up next to Kirsteen on the bed, dips her hand into the bag her friend is holding and shoves a handful of crisps into her mouth. At the far end of the tastefully decorated black and white bedroom is a huge 40″ TV showing a romantic comedy Chloe has never seen before.

‘I heard your mum on the phone,’ Chloe says. ‘As I was coming out of the loo. You don’t think she was ringing my dad, do you?’

‘Why would she? She believes me.’

‘But she seemed a bit suspicious when I turned up at the door on my own.’

‘No she didn’t.’ Kirsteen gives her a dismissive look then shoves her hand into the crisp packet. ‘You’re just being paranoid.’

‘I dunno. She definitely gave me a funny look.’

Kirsteen laughs. ‘Para … para … paranoid,’ she sings the words in time with the chorus of Coldplay’s ‘Paradise’ as she whirls her forefinger in circles near her temple.

‘Para … para … paranoid.’ Chloe joins in, initially because she doesn’t want her friend to think she’s a headcase, but then the rhythm of the song seeps into her bones and she bounces up and down on the bed as she shouts the words. It’s great being at Kirsteen’s house. Her mum’s really cool and laid-back. Her dad too. She’s never heard Kirsteen complain about her parents, other than when they wouldn’t let her stay at a party until midnight. She even gets on well with her little sister Sophie. But it’s more than that, there’s a nice atmosphere at Kirsteen’s house. It feels relaxed, just like the people in it. An idea pricks at the edge of Chloe’s brain as she reaches for her can of Diet Coke on the bedside table and takes a sip. Maybe she could ask Kirsteen’s mum if she could live with them? Kirsteen’s room is big enough to fit a second bed in. She’d sleep on a blow-up mattress on the floor if she had to. They could do their homework together and hang out watching films and stuff at the weekend. She can’t imagine her own family objecting to the idea. They’d probably be glad to see the back of her.

About The Author:

C.L. Taylor is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her psychological thrillers have sold over a million copies in the UK alone, been translated into over twenty languages, and optioned for television. C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and son.

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I’m thrilled to be able to share an extract of The Tapestry Of War by Jane Mackenzie today.  Apologies to Ailsa for being late posting this, life is a little hectic with three children sometimes.

Tapestry Of War is published today in ebook and paperback on the 20th September 2018 and you can purchase or pre-order a copyhere.

Before I share the extract with you here is a little about the book.

Book Blurb:

From the deserts of North Africa, to the waters of Scotland, the Second World War touches the lives of two women from two very different worlds. In Alexandria, Fran finds her world turned upside down as Rommel’s forces advance on the idyllic shores of Egypt. The life of luxury and stability that she is used to is taken away as she finds herself having to deal with loss, heartache and political uncertainty. Meanwhile, in the Firth of Clyde, Catriona struggles between her quiet rural life and her dreams of nursing injured servicemen on the front lines. As the war rages on, the two women’s lives become intertwined – bringing love and friendship to both.

Extract:

This extract is from Chapter Two, Chapter One is currently available on the publisher’s website http://www.allisonandbusby.com/booksample/tapestry-of-war-chapter-sample.pdf

About The Author:

Jane MacKenzie has spent much of her adult life travelling the world, teaching English and French everywhere from the Gambia to Papua New Guinea to Bahrain, and recently working for two years at CERN in Geneva. She now splits her time between her self-built house in Collioure, France and the Highlands of Scotland, where she has made her family home.

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Book Blurb:

Poppy never thought she wanted to be a mother – and then her husband got her best friend pregnant.

Now everywhere she goes, mothers are reminding her of his betrayal . . .

So Poppy creates an innocent Facebook group to vent just a little about ‘smug mummies’.

Except those ‘other women’ are already heartily sick of being judged by non-mums and stay-at-home mums alike. Two can play at Poppy’s game.

Which is when the anger spills into the real world.

Cafés become battlegrounds, playgrounds become warzones and offices have never been so divided between the have children and have lives . . .

A rivalry that was once harmless fun is suddenly spiralling out of Poppy’s control.

She started this – but can she end it?

From the author of the eBook sensation The Fifth Letter comes another darkly comic, controversial and compulsive read that you’re going to want to talk about with everyone you know.

Those Other Women is available in ebook now for the bargain price of 99p and will be published in paperback on the 3rd May 2018.  You can purchase or pre-order a copy of both here.

My Review:

I loved Nicola’s first book, The Fifth Letter, so I was very excited to be offered the chance to read an early copy of the book.

Nicola is fantastic at writing stories about realistic situations that could actually happen.  As a mother myself I have heard mainly the mother’s side of the story so it was fascinating to go behind the scenes and hear the other side of the argument.  I think I now understand a little more about the frustrations women without children must feel and the prejudices they face on a daily basis.  I do hope however that things in my home town don’t errupt quite the way they do in the book.

Some of the situations described in the book are so spot on and are things that I have experienced in my time as a mum too.  For example I often try to hide from my kids in the toilet just to get a few minutes peace!  I found myself laughing out loud at some of the descriptions and situations in the book. Nicola has definitely observed or experienced some of these things as they are just too realistic!

I didn’t really warm to any of the woman in the book as the story meant it was quite hard to.  Out of all the characters I did have a bit of a soft spot for Poppy as I did feel sorry for her when everything starts going wrong and the safety net she has built for herself suddenly unravels.  She did seem quite bitchy and full of herself at times though which made it hard for me to like her completely.

For me this was a slow moving book but that was half of the fun of it as it allows the reader time to get to understand the situation and the women more so you are more involved in the story and more shocked about the events that happen.  The pace gradually picks up towards the end of the book and I was definitely intrigued until the last page.

This is Nicola Moriarty’s second book and the second one I have read.  I can’t wait to read more from her as her stories are always original and relatable ones.

Huge thanks to Sam Deacon from Michael St Joseph publishers for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

Eek I’m so excited to have an extract from Angela Marsons new book to share with you today.  If you haven’t read any of her fabulous books yet, do go check them out as they are brilliant.

Dying Truth is published on the 18th May 2018 but you can order it, for the bargain price of £1.99, here.

Before I share the extract with you here is a bit about the book.

Book Blurb:

How far would you go to protect your darkest secrets?

When teenager Sadie Winter jumps from the roof of her school, her death is ruled as suicide – a final devastating act from a troubled girl. But then the broken body of a young boy is discovered at the same school and it’s clear to Detective Kim Stone that these deaths are not tragic accidents.

As Kim and her team begin to unravel a dark web of secrets, one of the teachers could hold the key to the truth. Yet just as she is about to break her silence, she is found dead.

With more children’s lives at risk, Kim has to consider the unthinkable – whether a fellow pupil could be responsible for the murders. Investigating the psychology of children that kill brings the detective into contact with her former adversary, Dr Alex Thorne– the sociopath who has made it her life’s work to destroy Kim.

Desperate to catch the killer, Kim finds a link between the recent murders and an initiation prank that happened at the school decades earlier. But saving these innocent lives comes at a cost – and one of Kim’s own might pay the ultimate price.

The utterly addictive new crime thriller from the Number One bestselling author – you will be gripped until the final shocking twist.

Prologue Extract:

Saturday 7.52 p.m.

Kim knew that her left leg was broken.

She pulled herself along the path on her hands as the stone bit into her palms, shards of gravel embedding beneath her fingernails.

A cry escaped her lips as her ankle turned and pain shot around her body.

Sweat beads were forming on her forehead as the agony intensified.

Finally, she saw the light from the building as three familiar shapes hurtled out of the doorway.

All three of them headed towards the bell tower.

‘Nooo…’ she cried, as loudly as she could.

No one turned.

Don’t go up there, she willed silently, trying to pull herself towards them.

‘Stop,’ she shouted out as they entered the metal doorway at the base of the tower.

Kim tried to still the panic as they disappeared from view.

‘Damn it,’ she screamed with frustration, unable to reach them in time.

She gathered all her strength and pushed herself up to a standing position, trying to drag her broken leg behind her as though it didn’t exist.

Two steps forward and the pain radiated through her body like a tidal wave and brought her back down to the ground. She gagged as the nausea rose from her stomach and her head began to swim.

She shouted again but the figures had disappeared from view and were now in the belly of the tower, behind solid brick, mounting the stone steps to the top.

‘Please, someone help,’ she screamed, but there was no one to hear. She was a good eighty metres away from the school, and she had never felt so helpless in her life.

She glanced at her wrist and saw that it was three minutes to eight.

The bell was due to be rung bang on the hour.

The fear started in the pit of her stomach and grew like a cloud to fill her entire body.

She struggled forward another agonising step, dragging her useless leg behind her.

Torchlight illuminated the top of the tower.

Damn it, they were already there.

‘Stop,’ she cried again, praying that one of them would hear her even though she knew her voice wouldn’t carry that distance.

The shafts of light moved furtively around the tower balcony ninety feet up in the air.

She saw a fourth figure amongst the three that were familiar to her.

The watch on her wrist vibrated the top of the hour. The bell didn’t ring.

Please God, let them get down.

Her prayer was cut off as she heard a loud scream.

Two people were hanging from the bell rope, swinging back and forth, in and out of the torchlight that darted around the small space.

Kim squinted, trying to identify the two silhouettes, but they were too far away.

She tried to regulate her breathing in order to shout again, even though she knew no kind of warning would help them now.

Her worst fears had been realised.

‘Please, please…’ Kim whispered as she saw the bell rope swing back and forth once more.

One figure was snatched from the bell rope as the second continued to swing.

‘No,’ Kim screamed, trying to carry herself forward towards them.

The fear inside had turned ice cold, freezing her solid.

For a few seconds time stood still. The saliva in her mouth had gone leaving her unable to speak or shout.

Kim felt the ache that started in her heart when the remaining figure and the swinging bell rope disappeared from view.

Her ears suddenly filled with a blood-curdling, tortured scream.

But no one else was around.

The scream came from her.

About The Author:

Book Blurb:

A university student is found strangled to death in her bedroom, but when the embattled DI Simon Fenchurch is called in to investigate, the case strikes dangerously close to home.

On the surface, the victim was a popular, high-performing student. But as secret grudges against her emerge, so too does evidence that she was living a double life, working on explicit webcam sites for a seedy London ganglord. Everyone Fenchurch talks to knows a lot more than they’re willing to tell, and before long he’s making new enemies of his own—threatening to push him and his family past breaking point.

With too many suspects and not enough facts, Fenchurch knows his new superiors are just waiting for him to fail—they want him off the case, and off the force for good. His family is in more danger than ever before. So how deep is he willing to dig in order to unearth the truth?

In For The Kill is published on the 19th April 2018 in ebook and hardback.  You can pre-order your copy here.

My Review:

I’m on a roll for reading some fantastic books, and In For The Kill was no exception.  It literally gripped me from the start with the unusual and shocking subject.  As a parent it is the stuff of my worse nightmares and it made me turn the pages a little quicker as I was desperate to find out what was going to happen.  Even when the story moves on to another story line it was always in the back of my mind as I hoped to find out more and wondering how it was going to link into the main story.

My favourite character was DI  Fenchurch.  Although he comes across as being a rather grizzled and grumpy guy, he definitely has a softer side which was touching to see.  The respect and concern that his colleagues show him adds to the good guy persona.  As mentioned above I really felt for him in regards to the story line regarding his daughter.  For me this bit was really well written as I felt I went on a real journey with him and could feel all of his fears and frustrations as if it was happening to me.  I think it shows amazing writing to make a reader feel this way.

The pace in the book is very fast and the story moves quite quickly making the book incredibly hard to put down.  This was a book that had me reading long into the night or sitting up after a feed longer than I needed trying to fit a few more pages in.  The thing that helps add to the addictiveness of this book is that the author interweaves the murder story with the characters personal stories which makes the reader more interested in the story and means you care more what happens to the people.

This is the fourth book in the series but the first I have read and I will definitely be going back and reading the books I have missed.  I didn’t feel like I missed much coming into the series so late, though it might have been good to learn more about their backstory.

Huge thank you to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Emma Finnigan and Thomas & Mercer for my copy of this fabulous book!

About The Author:

Ed James writes crime-fiction novels. In for the Kill is the fourth novel in his latest series, set on the gritty streets of East London and featuring DI Simon Fenchurch. His Scott Cullen series features a young Edinburgh detective constable investigating crimes from the bottom rung of the career ladder he’s desperate to climb. Set four hundred miles south on the streets of East London, his DI Simon Fenchurch series features a detective with little to lose. Formerly an IT manager, Ed began writing on planes, trains and automobiles to fill his weekly commute to London. He now writes full-time and lives in the Scottish Borders, with his girlfriend and a menagerie of rescued animals.

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I’m hugely excited to introduce my lovely friend Kirsty as a guest reviewer on my blog.  Kirsty and I met at toddler group and became friends through a mutual love of books.  Our kids are friends so we regularly meet up and natter about books over a cuppa and between breaking up squabbles. She is a brilliant addition to Over The Rainbow Book Blog as she reads different books to myself so between us we can help spread more book love.

Her favourite genres are fantasy and  mystery and thrillers.  She’s very happy to do blog tours so do feel free to approach her! Follow Kirsty on Twitter @purplekizz

Before I share Kirsty’s first review for Over The Rainbow Book Blog, here is a little bit about the book.

Book Blurb:

From the daring and critically acclaimed master of historical fiction Conn Iggulden, DARIEN is the first book of Empire of Salt, an epic new fantasy series of spellbinding imagination . . .

TWELVE FAMILIES. ONE THRONE.

The city of Darien stands at the weary end of a golden age. Twelve families keep order with soldiers and artefacts, spies and memories, clinging to a peace that shifts and crumbles. The people of the city endure what they cannot change.

Here, amongst old feuds, a plot is hatched to kill a king. It will summon strangers to the city – Elias Post, a hunter, Tellius, an old swordsman banished from his home, Arthur, a boy who cannot speak, Daw Threefold, a chancer and gambler, Vic Deeds, who feels no guilt – and Nancy, a girl whose talent might be the undoing of them all.

As the sun sets, their arrival inside the walls will spark a series of explosive events. Before the sun returns, six destinies will have been made – and lost – in Darien.

Welcome to the Empire of Salt, where sword and sorcery are at their finest . . . 

Darien is available to buy in ebook and hardback now.  It will be published in paperback on the 12th July 2018.  You can buy or pre-order your copy here.

Kirsty’s Review:

Darien is the center of the crumbling Empire of Salt. Ruled by a King who is the puppet of the twelve families, the people of Darien are restless and forces are converging against the twelve. The first in what promises to be an epic fantasy series. I have never read any of Conn Iggulden’s previous books, I don’t tend to pick up historical novels so I was intrigued to see how this book would unfold.

I initially found it quite hard to get into – the first part of the book introduces us to several main players, the narrative switches between them, occasional during a chapter so I did struggle to remember where I was and what was going on. However, Iggulden’s writing style is so engaging that I kept with it and I am so glad that I did.

I found all the characters of the book incredibly engaging, each having their own reasons for wanting a change within the walls of the city. Each has a gift or a knack which makes them a little bit more than ‘ordinary’. Most characters had something likeable about them, which made you want them to succeed. I was particularly drawn to Nancy, a young woman trying to find her way in a city of thousands.

The main section of the book all takes place within the walls of Darien itself, I found these scenes very engaging and by the end of the book I found myself fully immersed in the sights, sounds and even smells of the city. I would have liked a little more world building as I ended the book feeling I knew very little about the empire itself, but perhaps this will come in later books. I am certainly looking forward to getting my hands on the next one.

About The Author:

Born in London, Conn Iggulden read English at London University and worked as a teacher for seven years before becoming a full-time writer. Married with three children, he lives in Hertfordshire. Since publication of ‘The Gates of Rome’, Conn has written a further thirteen books including the wildly successful ‘The Dangerous Book for Boys’.

In 2017, Conn Iggulden released the first book in his first fiction fantasy series, Darien: Empire of Salt.^[10] This series is being published under the pen name C.F. Iggulden^[11] to avoid confusion with Iggulden’s historical fiction novels.