Book Synopsis:

China, 1941. With Japan’s declaration of war on the Allies, Elspeth Kent’s future changes forever. When soldiers take control of the missionary school where she teaches, comfortable security is replaced by rationing, uncertainty and fear.

Ten-year-old Nancy Plummer has always felt safe at Chefoo School. Now the enemy, separated indefinitely from anxious parents, the children must turn to their teachers – to Miss Kent and her new Girl Guide patrol especially – for help. But worse is to come when the pupils and teachers are sent to a distant internment camp. Unimaginable hardship, impossible choices and danger lie ahead.

Inspired by true events, this is the unforgettable story of the life-changing bonds formed between a young girl and her teacher, in a remote corner of a terrible war.

The Bird In The Bamboo Cage is published in ebook and hardback on the 20th August 2020. You can pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

This was an absolutely beautiful, compelling and emotional read which will stay with me for a long time. In The Bird In The Bamboo Cage the author writes about a part of ww2 that I knew nothing about so I found it fascinating to learn more about it.

The story is told by two narrators, Nancy a ten year old girl who has been sent to the Chefoo school in China as her parents are missionaries and Elspeth a teacher at the school. I thought this worked well as it gave the reader two different perspectives to everything that happens, especially as they are different ages.

The school seemed like a special place and I loved the teachers methods for trying to distract the children and keep them happy. It was quite touching to see this continue to the internet camp and how the teachers continued to protect the children and shield them from some of the terrible things that were happening there. Some of the descriptions and events in the camp were hard to read but I liked the descriptions of the prisoner’s ingenuity to keep themselves alive.

I thought this was one of those rare books that just completely absorbed me into the story and captivated me. It is quite an emotional read and I often found myself tearing up as I read but it was also a story of bravery and love which was beautiful to read about. I found it a fascinating book and I’ll be recommending it to everyone.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times, USA Today, Irish Times, and international bestselling author. Her 2014 debut THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME won the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award, A MEMORY OF VIOLETS was a 2015 WHSmith Fresh Talent pick, THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY was shortlisted for the 2017 Irish Book Awards, and THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER’S DAUGHTER was shortlisted for the 2019 HWA Gold Crown Award. LAST CHRISTMAS IN PARIS (co-written with Heather Webb) won the 2018 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award. Their most recent collaboration is MEET ME IN MONACO. Hazel’s forthcoming historical novel, THE BIRD IN THE BAMBOO CAGE, set in China during WW2, will be published in the UK and Ireland in August 2020. Hazel was selected by Library Journal as one of Ten Big Breakout Authors for 2015 and her work has been translated into fourteen languages to date. She is co-founder of creative writing events The Inspiration Project, and lives in Ireland with her husband and two children. She is represented by Michelle Brower of Aevitas Creative Management, New York. For more information, visit http://www.hazelgaynor.com @HazelGaynor

Book Synopsis:

The phenomenal new thriller from the multi-million-copy bestselling author of Before I Go To Sleep.

Blackwood Bay. An ordinary place, home to ordinary people.

It used to be a buzzing seaside destination. But now, ravaged by the effects of dwindling tourism and economic downturn, it’s a ghost town – and the perfect place for film-maker Alex to shoot her new documentary.

But the community is deeply suspicious of her intentions. After all, nothing exciting ever happens in Blackwood Bay – or does it?

Blackwood Bay. An ordinary place, home to an extraordinary secret.

Final Cut is available in ebook and hardback now. The hardback is currently only £6. You can purchase your copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

The Final Cut is an intriguing and compelling read which had me gripped from the first page. It’s going to be a hard book to review as I don’t want to give anything away.

The story is told in two parts; the now one follows Alex as she attempts to make a film at a northern sea side town while trying to solve the mystery of two girls who vanished there. The Then part of the story follows a mysterious girl who is found with minor injuries but suffering from memory loss. Both storylines were very interesting and I enjoyed watching them develop especially as I didn’t have a favourite which was unusual for me. It was interesting to see how the two stories fit together and to discover more about what had been going on.

Alex was a very interesting main character, especially as I wasn’t sure if I liked or trusted her. I did feel a lot of sympathy towards all the hardships she had experienced in her life but she seemed to be keeping a lot of secrets from everyone which made me unsure of her motives. I went between feeling irritated with her and her attitude to wanting to give her the hug I felt she needed.

I thought this story was quite fast paced with lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. There was an fantastic feeling of menace and unease hanging over the story which was very intriguing and made me want to keep reading as I really wanted to know what was going to happen. The ending was absolutely brilliant as it was completely unexpected, shocking and totally original.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Transworld for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

S. J. Watson’s first novel, Before I Go To Sleep, became a phenomenal international success and has now sold over 6,000,000 copies worldwide. It won the Crime Writers’ Association Award for Best Debut Novel and the Galaxy National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year. The film of the book, starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong, and directed by Rowan Joffe, was released in September 2014. S. J. Watson’s second novel, Second Life, a psychological thriller, was published to acclaim in 2015.

S. J. Watson lives in London.

Book Synopsis:

When Becky walks in on her boss with a woman who isn’t his wife, she’s horrified, but says nothing. She owes Matthew too much.

But when the same woman accuses him of rape, Becky is trapped in a nightmare. Was what she saw rape – or is Matthew, her trusted mentor, telling the truth? Becky must try to ignore her own traumatic past and its terrible hold on her.

As Becky attempts to untangle these blurred lines, she risks everything, even her home and family, to find the truth…

Blurred Lines is published on the 20th August 2020. You can pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I thought Blurred Lines was a fascinating and thought provoking read which will stay with me for a long time. It is also quite a current book with the “me too” movement gaining momentum.

Firstly I thought that the author took a very sensitive subject and managed to write about it with lots of compassion. I really felt for Becky and the difficult situation she finds herself in. The author gives the reader access to all of her thoughts so we can see the reasoning behind her decisions andIand found it really interesting to follow the moral dilemma as it unfolded and to ask myself how I would have acted in a similar situation.

The story is very fast paced and had me gripped from the first page. The many twists kept me turning the pages faster and faster as I kept changing my opinion on what had happened which I always find very enjoyable. I think this would be a great read for book clubs as there would be lots to discuss.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Hannah Begbie studied Art History at Cambridge University. She went on to become a talent agent, representing BAFTA and Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning writers and comedians for fifteen years.

Her debut novel, Mother, won the RNA Joan Hessayon Award for new writing and has been optioned by the BAFTA-winning Clerkenwell Films for adaptation into a television drama.

She lives in north London with her husband and their two sons.

Book Synopsis:

A riveting mystery, beautifully unwound. The Silence excavates dark, decades-old secrets buried in human hearts, in families and in nations. I read it in one weekend’ ERIN KELLY

It is 1997, and in a basement flat in Hackney Isla Green is awakened by a call in the middle of the night: her father, Joe, phoning from Sydney.  

30 years ago, in the suffocating heat of summer 1967, the Greens’ next-door neighbour Mandy disappeared. Joe claims he thought she had gone to start a new life; but now Mandy’s family is trying to reconnect, and there is no trace of her. Isla’s father was allegedly the last person to see her alive, and he’s under suspicion of murder. 

Back home in Sydney, Isla’s search for the truth takes her back to 1967, when two couples lived side by side on a quiet street by the sea. Could her father be capable of doing something terrible? How much does her mother know? And is there another secret in this community, one which goes deeper into Australia’s colonial past, which has held them in a conspiracy of silence?

Deftly exploring the deterioration of relationships and the devastating truths we keep from those we love, The Silence is a stunning debut from a rising literary star.

The Silence is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

The Silence is a beautifully written, deeply moving and gripping book about a shocking piece of Australian/ British history which I knew nothing about.

Told in two timelines separated by thirty years the author definitely doesn’t shy away from educating the reader or the painful and quite horrifying treatment of aboriginal children in the sixties. The story was quite uncomfortable to read about at some points and I felt quite sick as I learned about everything they experienced.

The characters were all very interesting creations although there weren’t many that I actually liked. All of them seemed very realistic as they all had flaws due to keeping everything buried and this helped me care even more about the story as I could see the affect everything had had on people.

I thought this story was very atmospheric with the Australian heat helping to describe the tensions that were simmering beneath the surface. The extra storyline of what had happened to Maddie added an intriguing second storyline to run alongside the main one and I found myself wondering how everything would fit together. I can’t believe this is the author’s debut novel and I really look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Borough Press for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Susan Allott is a fiction writer whose debut novel THE SILENCE was published in e-book and audio formats on 30th April 2020 by Borough Press (Harper Collins, UK) with the hardback edition published in August 2020. The UK paperback will follow in April 2021.

THE SILENCE was published in North America on 19th May 2020 by William Morrow (Harper Collins, US) with the paperback to follow in May 2021.

In Australia and New Zealand THE SILENCE was published by Harper Collins on 1st May 2020.

Harper Collins will publish THE SILENCE in the rest of its English language territories in August 2020.

In Italy THE SILENCE will be published by Harper Italia and in France by Editions Belfond.

Book Synopsis:

Something old…

When Marcie met Jason Maddox, she couldn’t believe her luck. Becoming Jason’s second wife catapulted her into the elite world of high society. But underneath the polite, old money manners, she knows she’ll always be an outsider, and her hard-won life hangs by a thread.
 

Something new…

Then Jason’s widowed boss brings back a new wife from his trip to London. Young, beautiful, reckless – nobody can take their eyes off Keisha. Including Jason.
 

Something you can never, ever undo…

Marcie refuses to be replaced so easily. People would kill for her life of luxury. What will Marcie do to keep it?

Dead To Her is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review

Dead To Her is another deliciously dark, entertaining and addictive read from this talented author. It’s a fast paced story of revenge and murder which was very hard to put down.

Firstly the characters were very interesting creations who I really wasn’t sure I liked at the beginning. As the story goes on and we learn more about their past I started to warm to them and even feel a little bit of sympathy towards them. Both woman come from poor backgrounds and had interesting childhoods especially Keisha who was raised by her witch doctor uncle and an aunt that practices dark voodoo which was quite eye opening to read about.

The Georgia setting was perfect for the story with the heat and racial tensions there helping to add to the atmosphere in the book. I’m quite glad I’m unlikely to ever set foot in such a social group as I’m not sure I could cope with the woman’s attitudes towards each other as they were quite toxic at times.

The book starts off slow but soon picks up pace to become a thrilling and highly entertaining read. There are lots of twists which made me turn the pages faster and helped keep me guessing until the rather shocking ending. Overall I think this would be a great book to enjoy in the sun this summer!

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Sarah Pinborough is the number one Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the psychological thriller Behind Her Eyes, and more than twenty other novels and novellas, including The Death House and a young adult thriller, 13 Minutes. She has also written for the BBC. She lives in England. sarahpinborough.com

Book Synopsis:

What does it mean to be on the wrong side of history?

Svenja’s beautiful and aloof grandmother, Inge, had never spoken about growing up in Nazi Germany. But when Svenja impulsively visits the windswept Baltic city of her Grandmother’s birth, something unlocks in Inge and finally she begins to tell her story.

Inge’s War listens to the voices often missing from our historical narrative – those of ordinary women who find themselves on the wrong side of history. And it poses the question – as chaos descends just what must they do to survive?

Inge’s War is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

Inge’s War is an absorbing and thought provoking read which will stay with me. I’ve not read many books that focuses on the ordinary German Citizens and how they were affected by the war so I found it extremely interesting to read a book from that perspective.

I found myself quickly drawn into the stories and into the characters lives. The places and people are vividly described so I often felt like I was actually there experiencing everything alongside the characters. This story is based on the author’s grandmother’s war experience making it a harrowing read at times and made me feel more involved in the book and all the characters go through.

The thing I most liked about this book was the author’s ability to make the reader really think about the situation that a lot of ordinary people found themselves in. I found myself really questioning what I’ve had done and if I would have acted differently.

Overall I really enjoyed this hard hitting, emotional book which I will be recommending to all historical fiction fans. Some of the events in the book could be compared with stuff that has been happening recently which made me feel quite uneasy that history could repeat itself again.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Ebury publishers for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Svenja O’Donnell is an award-winning political correspondent and commentator whose work regularly features on TV and radio. Before covering Brexit for Bloomberg, she worked as a correspondent in Russia. Half-Irish and half-German, she was born and brought up in Paris, and lives in London. Inge’s War is her first book.

Book Synopsis:

Sophie Angel is the night lawyer.

Once a week, she’s the one who decides what the papers can and can’t say. During the day, she’s a barrister. She struggles for justice in a system that’s close to collapse, where she confronts the most dangerous aspects of humanity. Her life changes when a wealthy Russian offers her the biggest case of her career, a rape trial with a seemingly innocent client.

But is someone manipulating Sophie from the shadows? And is it someone from her childhood in Soviet Russia or is the danger much closer to home?

With her marriage under strain and haunted by nightmares from the past, Sophie must find the answer to these questions before it’s too late. This is a story about betrayal, trust, guilt and innocence, played out from the courtrooms of London to the darkest corners of Soviet era Moscow.

The Night Lawyer is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

The Night Lawyer is a fast paced legal thriller which was hard to put down. The story line is frighteningly realistic and I often felt that I was watching a real case with real people unfold. This made me feel more invested in the case and I therefore cared more about what was going on.

This book gave an interesting insight into the British legal system which I found really fascinating. The reader is taken both behind the scenes into the working chambers and into the court room to experience the trial which gives the reader an holistic view of everything that’s going on.

Sophie is an interesting main character who the reader gets to know in both a professional and personal way throughout the book. Despite being a confident lawyer in court she has to deal with an arrogant husband at home and has a fear of being stalked which shows her vulnerable side and made me warm to her more.

The book moves along at a great pace and I liked seeing how the different threads came together, especially when it wasn’t immediately obvious how they would. I found it interesting that the storyline mentioned how toxic social media can be and how people can be found guilty before a trial even happens nowadays which is sadly very true.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Red Door Press for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Alex Churchill was a barrister, specialising in serious crime for over three decades, and a writer. 

Book Synopsis:

Running private investigator and funeral home businesses means trouble is never far away, and the Skelf women take on their most perplexing, chilling cases yet in book two of this darkly funny, devastatingly tense and addictive new series!

Haunted by their past, the Skelf women are hoping for a quieter life. But running both a funeral directors’ and a private investigation business means trouble is never far away, and when a car crashes into the open grave at a funeral that matriarch Dorothy is conducting, she can’t help looking into the dead driver’s shadowy life. 
While Dorothy uncovers a dark truth at the heart of Edinburgh society, her daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah have their own struggles. Jenny’s ex-husband Craig is making plans that could shatter the Skelf women’s lives, and the increasingly obsessive Hannah has formed a friendship with an elderly professor that is fast turning deadly. 
But something even more sinister emerges when a drumming student of Dorothy’s disappears and suspicion falls on her parents. The Skelf women find themselves sucked into an unbearable darkness – but could the real threat be to themselves?

Following three women as they deal with the dead, help the living and find out who they are in the process, The Big Chill follows A Dark Matter, book one in the Skelfs series, which reboots the classic PI novel while asking the big existential questions, all with a big dose of pitch-black humour.

The Big Chill is available in ebook now and in paperback on the 20th if August 2020. You can purchase or pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

The Big Chill is another fantastic book from this talented author whose books are always highly entertaining, unique and quirky.

It was great to be back with the wonderful Skelf Woman and to be able to follow them on another investigation. They were unsurprisingly a bit subdued after everything that happened last time which was sad to see but I liked that they seemed to grow into their normal, strong selves during the book. Each woman narrates a chapter once again which gives the reader a chance to be get to know them better and have access to their innermost thoughts which I loved!

The author explores some quite thought provoking subjects in this book which I found interesting to explore and I’ve continued to think about long after reading. The narrative is peppered with some quite dark humour at times which helped bring some light relief to the story. The author does a great job in setting the scene in this book with his vivid descriptions enabling the reader to fully imagine where the characters are which really added to my enjoyment of this book.

Overall I really enjoyed this entertaining, gripping and quirky free read. I can’t wait to read more in this fabulous series!

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Orenda for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Doug Johnstone is a writer, musician and journalist based in Edinburgh. His tenth novel, Breakers, was published by Orenda Books in May 2019, and was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. His previous books include The Jump, shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize, Gone Again, an Amazon bestseller, and Hit & Run, which was an Amazon #1 as well as being selected as a prestigious Fiction Uncovered winner. His work has received praise from the likes of Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, William McIlvanney, Megan Abbott and Christopher Brookmyre. Doug has been Writer in Residence with William Purves Funeral Directors. He is also a Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellow, and was RLF Fellow at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh 2014-2016. Doug was also Writer in Residence at the University of Strathclyde 2010-2012 and before that worked as a lecturer in creative writing there. He’s had short stories appear in various publications and anthologies, and since 1999 he has worked as a freelance arts journalist, primarily covering music and literature. He is also a manuscript assessor for The Literary Consultancy and Emergents in the Scottish Highlands. He has taught creative writing at festivals and conferences and regularly at Moniack Mhor, and he has mentored aspiring writers for New Writing North and Scottish Book Trust. Doug is one of the co-founders of the Scotland Writers Football Club, for whom he also puts in a shift in midfield as player-manager. He is also a singer, musician and songwriter in several bands, including Northern Alliance, who have released four albums to critical acclaim, as well as recording an album as a fictional band called The Ossians. Doug has also released three solo EPs. He plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a crime writing supergroup featuring Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, Stuart Neville and Luca Veste. Doug has a degree in physics, a PhD in nuclear physics and a diploma in journalism, and worked for four years designing radars. He grew up in Arbroath and lives in Portobello, Edinburgh with his wife and two children.

Book Synopsis:

Germany, 1946
A reluctant spy is born…

‘A perfect summer read; gripping, original, well-drawn and compassionate’ Joanne Harris

‘Celia Rees is a superb writer, and this novel has one of the most irresistible and unique story hooks I’ve ever come across. This book deserves to be huge!’ Sophie Hannah

An ordinary woman. A book of recipes. The perfect cover for spying…

Sent to Germany in the chaotic aftermath of World War II, Edith Graham is finally getting the chance to do her bit. Having taught at a girls’ school during the conflict, she leaps at the opportunity to escape an ordinary life – but Edith is not everything she seems to be.

Under the guise of her innocent cover story, Edith has been recruited to root out Nazis who are trying to escape prosecution. Secretly, she is sending coding messages back to the UK, hidden inside innocuous recipes sent to a friend – after all, who would expect notes on sauerkraut to contain the clues that would crack a criminal underground network?

But the closer she gets to the truth, the muddier the line becomes between good and evil. In a dangerous world of shifting loyalties, when the enemy wears the face of a friend, who do you trust?

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook is available in ebook and hardback now. The ebook is currently only £2.99. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

This was an completely enthralling and gripping read which is far from the cosy read I was expecting.

Firstly I enjoyed learning more about post war Germany which is a setting seldom used in a book. It was quite sobering to see the hardships suffered by many, particularly the children and see how many people had been displaced during the war years. The author has clearly done her research as she perfectly blends fact with fiction throughout the book which helps bring the era to life.

Edith was a fantastic main character who I warmed to instantly. She was an incredibly strong, intelligent woman and it was really interesting to follow her on her spy missions. My heart was in my mouth at some of the events in the book which had me worrying about her safety and hoping that she would be alright.

This is far from the cosy read I’d been expecting from the title and it’s actually quite gut wrenchingly sad in places. I often found myself having to stop to think for a little before continuing as it was so emotional but I wanted to find out what would happen. The tension in the book is slowly increased until it becomes almost unbearable and absolutely impossible to put the book down. There is always something going on and lots of shifting loyalties which made me unable to trust anyone properly. It’s a story that will stay with me for a long time and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Celia Rees was born in Solihull, West Midlands, UK. She studied History and Politics at Warwick University and has a Master’s Degree from Birmingham University. She taught English in city comprehensive schools for seventeen years before beginning her writing career. She is the author of over twenty acclaimed books for young adults, and has won various prizes both in Britain and abroad. Her work has been translated into twenty-eight languages.

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook is her first adult novel.

Celia lives in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, with her husband.

Book Synopsis:

How do you pick up the pieces when the person that held them together is gone?

When forty-year-old Rabbit Hayes dies, she leaves behind a family broken by grief. Her mother Molly is distraught and in danger of losing her faith. Her father Jack spends hour upon hour in the family attic, poring over his old diaries, losing himself in the past.

Rabbit’s brother Davey finds himself suddenly guardian to her twelve-year-old daughter Juliet. Juliet might be able to fill a hole in Davey’s heart – but how can he help Juliet through her grief when he can barely cope with his own?

But even though the Hayes family are all fighting their own battles, they are drawn together by their love for Rabbit, and their love for each other. In the years that follow her death they find new ways to celebrate and remember her, to find humour and hope in the face of tragedy, and to live life to its fullest, as Rabbit would have wanted.

From the bestselling author of The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes comes a huge-hearted novel about death, family and finding laughter in the most unexpected of places.Below a Big Blue Sky will make you laugh, cry and shout with joy.

Below A Big Blue Sky is available in hardback and ebook now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I absolutely loved the prequel to this book and count it as one of my favourite books of all times. I was therefore very excited to read Below The Big Blue Sky and to spend some more time with the Hayes family.

This book follows on straight from the previous book with a highly emotional scene which helped emerse me straight back into the story. I have always loved spending time with the Hayes family and it was like being back with old friends again. Their big, crazy family made me feel like I was part of their world and helped provide some much needed comic relief at times.

The author handles a difficult and sensitive subject beautifully throughout this book. I liked how they were the impact grief can have was explored and how the reader could gain an understanding of what it could do to a person. I could fully emphasise with the characters who lost their faith due to it as I lost mine when my son died.

Overall I absolutely loved this book which manages to be heartbreaking and funny at the same time. I found myself crying one moment and then laughing the next. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Zaffre for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Anna McPartlin is a novelist and scriptwriter from Dublin, who has written for TV serial dramas featured on BBC UK, RTE Ireland and A&E America. She has been writing adult fiction for over ten years, and also writes for children under the name Bannie McPartlin. She lives with her husband Donal and their four dogs.