Book Synopsis:

Can she save herself from a witch’s fate?

Martha is a feisty and articulate young woman, the daughter of a wheelwright, living in a Herefordshire village in Elizabethan England. With no mother Martha’s life is spent running her father’s meagre household and helping out at the local school whilst longing to escape the confines and small-mindedness of a community driven by religious bigotry and poverty.

As she is able to read and is well-versed in herbal remedies she is suspected of being a witch. When a landslip occurs – opening up a huge chasm in the centre of the village – she is blamed for it and pursued remorselessly by the villagers.

But can her own wits and the love of local stablehand Jacob save her from a witch’s persecution and death…

A brilliant and accomplished novel that perfectly captures the febrile atmosphere of Elizabethan village life in an age when suspicion and superstition were rife. Perfect for fans of Tracy Chevalier.

The Wheelwright’s Daughter is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of books about witchcraft so you can imagine how much this book appealed to me. I especially liked that this book was set in a village near to where I live as I felt I could picture the setting of this story.

The historical details in this book was superb and I felt fully transported back to the 16th Century with all the little details about village life. I particularly liked the descriptions of the seasonal celebrations as I hadn’t heard of them before.

Martha was a fantastic main character who I warmed to instantly. She’s definitely ahead of her time being headstrong and independent in a time when women weren’t expected to be. It must have been very difficult to be a single women at the time, particularly if you happened to be good at herbal medicine. The amount of superstition over magic and witchcraft was amazing and made me wonder how on earth people could believe in that stuff. The church helped fuel these superstitions to gain power and help keep people fearful, which makes the priest in this book not a very likeable character. There’s something evil about him and I found myself hoping he would meet a sticky end somehow.

Overall I thought this was a very interesting read which was an impressive debut novel. The ending was interesting as the author leaves it open for the reader to draw their own conclusions. I’m hopeful that this means there is a sequel planned.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Ellie grew up in Herefordshire and now lives near the Malvern Hills. She’s taught in Hong Kong, London and Birmingham and published poetry and short fiction. Her forthcoming novel THE WHEELWRIGHT’S DAUGHTER grew out of walks on Marcle Ridge where a 1571 landslip is still visible and marked on the map as The Wonder. The book tells the story of a world torn by division, where new beliefs jostle with tradition, where to be different can cost you your life. It introduces Martha Dynely, who refuses to be crushed, even when the horizon crumbles and buries her.
Photo: Mike Woods

Book Synopsis:

The captivating new drama of family secrets and second chances, from Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James

It’s the autumn of 1962 in the idyllic Suffolk village of Melstead St Mary. Evelyn Devereux’s husband Kit is planning their 20th wedding anniversary party. But as they prepare to celebrate, Evelyn receives an anonymous letter that threatens to unravel the secrets she’s kept hidden for many years – secrets that reach back to the war and her days at Bletchley Park.

Evelyn’s sister-in-law, Hope, has brought joy to countless children with her bestselling books, but despite having a loving husband and caring family, happiness has never come easily to her. Then in an instant her fragile world is turned upside down when she too receives an anonymous letter.

Across the village, up at Melstead Hall, Julia Devereux has married into a life beyond anything she could have dreamt of, not realising until it’s too late that it comes with a heavy price.

Meanwhile, in the sun-baked desert of Palm Springs, Romily Devereux-Temple, crime-writer and former ATA pilot, is homesick for her beloved Island House, where she’s saved the day more times than she can count. On her return home, and shocked to learn what has been going on in her absence, she finds herself reluctantly confronting a secret she’s kept hidden for a very long time. Once again Romily is challenged to save the day and hold the family together. Can she do it, and maybe seize some happiness for herself at the same time?

From the gorgeous Suffolk countryside to the glamorous resort of Palm Springs, let Erica James sweep you away…

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

My Review:

This was another wonderful, absorbing read from this talented author, which had a bit of an old fashioned feel to it as it involves letter writing- though not the type of letters you’d want to receive!

I absolutely loved the gorgeous sounding country setting for this book. The descriptions were so wonderfully vivid that I felt I could perfectly see them in my mind. I found myself wishing that I lived in such a beautiful place, especially as it had the lovely close knit community too.

The poisoned letters helped create a great starting point for the story and helped allow a lot of the other storylines to naturally develop which I thought was very clever. There are definitely a lot of secrets being hidden and I so enjoyed following the different characters and finding out about the skeletons hiding in their closet.

The mystery of who was behind the mystery was an intriguing one and I must admit one that kept me guessing throughout the book. It was great fun trying to figure out who it was and why they were doing it.

Overall I thought this was a very absorbing, hugely enjoyable read which I will be recommending to everyone. It’s actually the sequel to a previous book which I hadn’t realised but everything you need to know is explained in the story so it can be read as a standalone.

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

About The Author:

Erica James is the number one international bestselling author of twenty-two novels, including the Sunday Times top ten bestsellers Summer at the Lake, The Dandelion Years and Song of the Skylark. She has sold over five million books worldwide and her work has been translated into thirteen languages. Erica won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award for her novel Gardens of Delight, set in beautiful Lake Como, Italy, which has become a second home to her. Her authentic characters are thanks to her fondness for striking up conversation with complete strangers.

Chat to Erica online:

http://www.ericajames.co.uk

[twitter logo] @TheEricaJames

@EricaJamesAuthor

[Instagram logo] @the_ericajames

Book Synopsis:

Eight guests. One killer. No escape.

A year ago today, we gathered for Lucas and Nina’s wedding at their glorious Cornish home overlooking the sea.

But no one was married that day.

Last year there were nine of us. Now there are eight. And Lucas has invited us back for a macabre anniversary.

Tonight, he’s planned a game for us: we each have a costume and a role to play. The game, he tells us, is about to begin.

What does Lucas want? What are we not being told? And how will this terrifying game end?

THE BRAND NEW THRILLER FROM THE FOUR MILLION COPY-BESTSELLING AUTHOR.

The Murder Party is available in ebook now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I so enjoyed this intriguing murder mystery story which had a unique twist to it. From the start when we are first introduced to the characters the reader becomes aware of some friction in the group, a sense that something is not quite right which I found very interesting. It was very enjoyable to follow the characters throughout the book and unwrap all their secrets. The author does this in a very clever way as she gives the reader a chance to piece everything together and work out what was happening themselves.

The characters were very interesting creations with colourful backstories which I enjoyed learning about. I didn’t particularly warm to any of them, as I didn’t feel very sympathetic towards them but I think that was part of the fun as I didn’t have anyone I was particularly routing for, so my opinion wasn’t biased.

It’s tough to review this without giving too much away but I thought it was a very clever, well plotted book which kept me guessing until the end. The multiple narrators meant that I got to know the characters personally and that I gained more understanding of everything that was going on. If you enjoyed The Guest List then I think you’ll enjoy this book as I felt like the styles were similar.

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

About The Author:

Rachel Abbott began her career as an independent author in 2011, with Only the Innocent, which became a No.1 bestseller on Kindle, topping the chart for four weeks. Since then, she has published ten further psychological thrillers, plus a novella, and sold over 4 million copies in the English language. She is one of the top-selling authors of all time in the UK Kindle store (published and self-published), and her novels have been translated into 21 languages. Her latest novel, THE MURDER GAME, published in April 2020

Book Synopsis:

Detective Josie Quinn hasn’t heard from her sister since Trinity stormed out of the house in the heat of an argument three weeks ago. So, when human remains are found at the remote hunting cabin where Trinity was last seen, Josie can only assume the worst.

Gathering her team, Josie feels a surge of relief when the dental records match a different body – that of a missing single mother from a neighboring town. But now Josie’s is not the only broken family desperate for answers.

Dusting the crime scene for prints, a name smudged into the side of a nearby car is the first in a trail of clues Trinity left for Josie. In need of a big story to save her journalism career, it seems Josie’s sister was attempting to make contact with a dangerous serial killer known for creating sculptures with his victim’s bones. And Trinity won’t stop until she’s found him, even if it means becoming his next masterpiece…

Josie is certain there’s a critical clue in the ivory hair comb delivered to Trinity just days before she went missing. But as more bones surface, each set more likely to be Trinity’s than the last, time is running out to find her alive. Can Josie’s team trust her instincts in a case that is so deeply personal? Can she find her sister without putting other innocent lives in danger?

An unputdownable crime thriller from an Amazon, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling authorthat will have you sleeping with the light on. This gripping rollercoaster ride is perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine. Prepare to be totally hooked!

Find Her Alive is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

Let me start my saying that I’m a huge fan of this series and always recommend it to everyone. Josie is definitely one of my favourite police officers and it’s been wonderful to watch her grow over the series. This case is a bit more personal as it involves her sister so if was interesting to see how she deals with working on the case and how she keeps her emotions in check. As always it was great to see how she works with her close team and to read about the banter between them which helped bring some light relief to the story.

The story is told from the point of view of Josie as she tries to find her sister and Alex a child who is having a bit of a tough upbringing. I thought this added an interesting twist to the story and helped it to stand out from other books featuring child abuse. I really felt for Alex, and found some of the scenes featuring him a little hard to read at times. I wanted to keep reading to see if he gets the happy ending I felt he deserved.

Overall I thought this was another fabulous read from this amazing author. I’m always impressed by how she manages to think of new storylines all the time and keep the stories so different from each other. I thought this was a very fast paced book which captivated me from the start. The suspense is gradually built up until it becomes incredibly addictive. I can’t wait to read more from this series.

Huge thanks to Noelle from Bookouture for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley. If you are crime fiction fan looking for a new series then I strongly believe this one!

About The Author:

Lisa Regan is the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series as well as several other crime fiction titles. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master of Education degree from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, daughter, and Boston Terrier named Mr. Phillip. Find out more at her website: http://www.lisaregan.com

Join Lisa’s mailing list to get news about new releases –> https://tinyurl.com/skzufbs Facebook –> https://www.facebook.com/LisaReganCrimeAuthor/ Website –> https://lisaregan.com/ Instagram –> https://www.instagram.com/lisareganauthor/ Twitter –> https://twitter.com/Lisalregan

Book Synopsis:

A photograph is hung on a gallery wall for the very first time since it was taken two decades before. It shows a slaughter house in rural Ireland, a painting of the Virgin Mary on the wall, a meat hook suspended from the ceiling – and, from its sharp point, the lifeless body of a man hanging by his feet.

The story of who he is and how he got there casts back into Irish folklore, of widows cursing the land and of the men who slaughter its cattle by hand. But modern Ireland is distrustful of ancient traditions, and as the BSE crisis in England presents get-rich opportunities in Ireland, few care about The Butchers, the eight men who roam the country, slaughtering the cows of those who still have faith in the old ways. Few care, that is, except for Fionn, the husband of a dying woman who still believes; their son Davey, who has fallen in love with the youngest of the Butchers; Gra, the lonely wife of one of the eight; and her 12-year-old daughter, Una, a girl who will grow up to carry a knife like her father, and who will be the one finally to avenge the man in the photograph.

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

My Review:

The Butchers is a very clever, gripping read which I think would make a great book club read as there would be lots to discuss.

I think I can safely say that I have never read another book about butchery so I found it very interesting to learn more about it, particularly all the old myths and traditions surrounding it. I’d also never heard of The Irish Mafia before so that was a bit of an eye opener! I’m actually old enough to have lived through the BSE crisis and I remember well the panic over it, especially as everyone went vegetarian for a few months. I knew that it had a huge impact on farmers but had never had the opportunity to hear about the crisis from their point of view before. It was actually quite poignant to see how much it affected them and not just from a monetary point of view.

The author does a great job of setting the scene in this book so that the reader feels transported back to 1996. It was a bit of a trip down memory lane for me at times with all the great pop references and news events that I remember happening. Ireland was going through quite a transitional period at that time and I found it interesting to see the struggle between the traditional views, involving religion and gender, with their attempts of modernisation.

Overall I thought this was a well plotted, atmospheric read which I found very hard to put down. I loved the slow revealing of all the secrets and the twists which took me completely by surprise. The change in point of view helped keep the story fresh and kept my interest as it always revealed something new. My only slight quibble with this book is in not sure I’d class it as historical fiction as I think its too recent. I’ve been wracking my brain to think what I’d call it and I agree with a few other reviewers that I think it’s more of a coming of age story. Either way it’s still an incredibly good read!

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

About The Author:

Ruth Gilligan is an Irish novelist and journalist, and lectures at the University of Birmingham. She has written four novels, including the Irish bestsellers Forget and Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, and she writes and reviews for the Irish Times, the Irish Independent, the TLS and the Guardian.

Book Synopsis:

A haunted theatre
A murdered actress
Three cursed teenagers
A secret that devastates them all…

The Dean Wilson Theatre is believed to be haunted by a long-dead actress, singing her last song, waiting for her final cue, looking for her killer…

Now Dust, the iconic musical, is returning after twenty years. But who will be brave enough to take on the role of ghostly goddess Esme Black, last played by Morgan Miller, who was murdered in her dressing room?

Theatre usher Chloe Dee is caught up in the spectacle. As the new actors arrive, including an unexpected face from her past, everything changes. Are the eerie sounds and sightings backstage real or just her imagination? Is someone playing games?

Is the role of Esme Black cursed? Could witchcraft be at the heart of the tragedy? And are dark deeds from Chloe’s past about to catch up with her?
Not all the drama takes place onstage. Sometimes murder, magic, obsession and the biggest of betrayals are real life. When you’re in the theatre shadows, you see everything.

And Chloe has been watching…

I Am Dust is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

Firstly let me start by saying that Louise Beech is one of my all time favourite authors and I have thoroughly enjoyed every book she’s written. I just love her fantastic storytelling, the way she can just draw you into a story so that you feel you are living it alongside the characters. She’s an incredibly versatile writer too, which ensures all of her books are uniquely different reads.

I Am Dust is another wonderful read which is darker than anything she’s written before. It has a bit of a gothic feel to it which slowly builds as the book continues and becomes very creepy. I could feel my hair standing on end and jumped a mile when my husband walked through the door. This book definitely gets in your head!

Chloe is a very interesting main character who I wasn’t sure if I liked or not. She’s obviously a bit of a troubled lady with a lot of broken dreams. I wasn’t entirely sure I trusted her which, as the story is told from her point of view, made me unsure whether to believe what was unfolding. This ensured that I kept reading however as I tried to work out what was going on.

The inclusion of the ouija board was an interesting one which brought back a few memories from trying it at boarding school. This further added to the atmosphere of the book but also my disbelief as in my experience nothing real ever happened. It was definitely interesting following Chloe and her friends through their experiences with it.

Overall I absolutely loved this delicious creepy, thoroughly enjoyable read which kept me guessing until the end. If you are a fan of anything Phantom Of The Opera related or just like atmospheric books then you’ll love this book.

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

About The Author:

Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To Be Brave was a Guardian Reader’s Choice in 2015. The sequel, The Mountain in My Shoe was shortlisted for the Not the Booker Prize. Her third book, Maria in the Moon was widely reviewed and critically acclaimed. Her short fiction has won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative competition, as well as shortlisting for the Bridport Prize twice. Louise is currently writing her next book. She lives with her husband and children on the outskirts of Hull – the UK’s 2017 City of Culture – and loves her job as Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012.
Follow Louise on Twitter @LouiseWriter and visit her website: louisebeech.co.uk.

Book Synopsis:

British popular culture would probably be very different had Larry Stephens not been born. We could now be living in a world without the Carry On films or Monty Python, and we may never have heard of Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers or Spike Milligan.

Stephens’ promising career as a jazz pianist was interrupted by the war, and after serving as an officer with the commandos he moved to London and struck up a friendship with Tony Hancock, becoming the sole writer of his stage material. Hancock introduced him to Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Spike Milligan and Michael Bentine and together they created The Goon Show, arguably the world’s most influential comedy programme. As one of the main writers throughout its nine-year run, Stephens’ experiences and acquaintances became themes and characters within the show.

For the first time, the life and work of this unsung hero of British comedy has been thoroughly explored. Using unrivalled access to Larry Stephens’ personal archive of letters, photographs and artwork, plus interviews with Stephens’ many notable friends, family members, comrades and colleagues, It’s All In The Mind tells the story of a boy from the Black Country whose short life had an enduring impact.

It’s All In The Mind is published in ebook and hardback on the 23rd April 2020. You can pre-order your copy using the link below.

Extract:

Larry had expected his medical examination to be a formality but he came away with devastating news. He later told his friends at Associated London Scripts what the doctor had said to him:
“You have the highest blood pressure I’ve ever seen. If you give up drink and cigarettes you might live for a year.”
It is impossible to imagine what a shock it must have been. Larry knew he had problems with high blood pressure but to be given just a year to live seemed ludicrous. He was writing The Army Game with Maurice and he had recently started writing another series of the Goon Show – the eighth – with Spike; everything else in his life was stable and normal. He thought back to his commando days and how he had learned that you could overcome any obstacle or physical discomfort if you really put your mind to it and believed you could. He remembered the first time he had heard the instructors bellowing, “it’s all in the mind,” at him and how he had yelled the same thing at the recruits when he became an instructor himself. That was the answer: as long as he truly believed it, he could prove the doctor wrong.
On the 28th of October 1957, the phrase, ‘it’s all in the mind, you know,’ appeared at the end of a Goon Show broadcast for the first time. It was as if Larry was sending himself a reminder to keep believing and to stay positive. The phrase was only ever included in the show when Larry was involved in writing the script; following this initial mention it is not used in any of the eight episodes from series eight that Spike wrote alone or in collaboration with John Antrobus, only in those that Larry wrote single-handedly or jointly with Spike or Maurice Wiltshire.
Larry wasn’t alone in suffering health problems as Spike was showing signs of nervous strain again. His wife, June, sent another Doctor’s note to the BBC on the 5th of November which certified that Spike was unable to work and explained in an accompanying letter that Larry would be writing that week’s show.
A mistrust of doctors and matters of life and death became significant themes in Larry’s art. He drew a doctor with medicine jars labelled ‘eeny’, ‘meeny’ and ‘miny’ on a shelf behind him; he drew another writing out a prescription and seemingly unaware that his patient had hanged himself from the ceiling. He drew Dickensian-looking undertakers with top hats and mourning veils.

About The Author:

Julie Warren is a virtual assistant specialising in research. She currently lives in Essex and pretends to channel Larry Stephens on Twitter. @lsggbg