Book Synopsis:

With just one look, she knows how and when you will die . . . 

Nothing surprises Adam Brandt anymore. As a forensic psychologist, he’s seen and heard everything.

That is, until he meets Kassie.

Because she claims to have a terrible gift – with one look into your eyes, she can see when and how you will die.

Adam doesn’t believe her, obviously.

But then a serial killer starts wreaking havoc across the city, and only Kassie seems to know where he’ll strike next.

Against all his intuition, Adam starts to believe her. 

He just doesn’t realise how dangerous this trust might be . . .

To order your copy, please click on the link below!

My Review:

Wow this was a gripping, nerve shredding thriller that I’ll be recommending to everyone! It’s quite an intense read and I found myself thoroughly involved in the action that was unfolding. I thought I could feel Kassie’s fear and desperation as events unfolded and was on the edge of my seat whilst reading!

Maisie was a very interesting main character and it was quite poignant to see how much her gift confused and terrified her. On one hand she seemed like a vulnerable little girl who just needed someone to tell her what was happening and that everything would be ok. However on the other she seemed a very brave, together person who wanted to try and discover the truth about what was happening. She was definitely a character that you could get behind and I felt that I was willing her to be successful.

Some of the action in the book is rather graphic and gruesome so it won’t be to everyone’s taste. It does add something to the story however as it ensures that the reader’s loyalty lies with Kassie. The tension builds until it is almost too tense to bear which made it very hard to put the book down. I found I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens but at the same time wanting to stop as I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out!

The ending and final twist was superbly done! Just when I thought I had figured out what was going on, the story suddenly went off in a completely different direction which had me reading faster and faster as I scrambled to catch up which is always a sign of a great book.

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

About The Author:

M. J. Arlidge has worked in television for the last twenty years, specializing in high-end drama production, including prime-time crime serials Silent Witness, Torn, The Little House and, most recently, the hit ITV show Innocent. In 2015 his audiobook exclusive Six Degrees of Assassination was a number-one bestseller. His debut thriller, Eeny Meeny, was the UK’s bestselling crime debut of 2014. It was followed by the bestselling Pop Goes the Weasel, The Doll’s House, Liar Liar, Little Boy Blue, Hide and Seek and Love Me Not. Down to the Woods is the eighth DI Helen Grace thriller.

Book Synopsis:

When Catherine Saxon, an American correspondent reporting on the war in Europe, is found murdered in her London digs, news of her death is concealed by British authorities. Serving as a linchpin between Scotland Yard and the Secret Service, Robert MacFarlane pays a visit to Maisie Dobbs, seeking her help. Accompanied by an agent from the US Department of Justice—Mark Scott, the American who helped Maisie escape Hitler’s Munich in 1938—he asks Maisie to work with Scott to uncover the truth about Saxon’s death.

As the Germans unleash the full terror of their blitzkrieg upon the citizens of London, raining death and destruction from the skies, Maisie must balance the demands of solving this dangerous case with her need to protect the young evacuee she has grown to love. Entangled in an investigation linked to the power of wartime propaganda and American political intrigue being played out in Britain, Maisie will face losing her dearest friend—and the possibility that she might be falling in love again.

The American Agent is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of historical fiction especially if it’s set in world war two so I was extremely excited to find a whole new series of fantastic books to read! If you like thrilling historical crime fiction with some fantastic historical detail then you’ll love this book!

The historical detail in this book is brilliant and made me feel that I was actually there experiencing things alongside Maisie. This was especially true of the descriptions of Maisie’s experience in the blitz which was so vividly described I felt I could feel her fear and smell the smoke of the bombs which made for a wonderful reading experience.

Maisie was a wonderful main character that I absolutely loved. She’s a very skilled detective whose precision and attention to detail made the unravelling of the mystery side of this novel very intriguing. It was great to see how her mind worked and watch as she discovered what was going on. It was nice to get to know Maisie on a more personal level too through her trips home where the reader gets to learn a little bit more about what’s going on in her life.

Overall I thought this was a very intriguing historical mystery that I so enjoyed reading . I hadn’t heard of this series before so was surprised to discover this was number 15 in the series, though thrilled as it meant I had a fabulous new series to discover. Despite this I felt that this book could easily be read as a standalone as anything you need to know is explained.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Alison & Busby for my copy of this book that I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Timesbestselling Maisie Dobbs series, which includes In This Grave Hour, Journey to Munich, A Dangerous Place, Leaving Everything Most Loved, Elegy for Eddie, and eight other novels. Her standalone novel, The Care and Management of Lies, was also a New York Timesbestseller and a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Originally from the United Kingdom, she now lives in California.

Book Synopsis:

Welcome to the Heady Heights …

It’s the year punk rock was born, Concorde entered commercial service and a tiny Romanian gymnast changed the sport forever.

Archie Blunt is a man with big ideas. He just needs a break for them to be realised. In a bizarre brush with the light-entertainment business, Archie unwittingly saves the life of the UK’s top showbiz star, Hank ‘Heady’ Hendricks’, and now dreams of hitting the big-time as a Popular Music Impresario. Seizing the initiative, he creates a new singing group with five unruly working-class kids from Glasgow’s East End. Together, they make the finals of a televised Saturday-night talent show, and before they know it, fame and fortune beckon for Archie and The High Five. But there’s a complication; a trail of irate Glaswegian bookies, corrupt politicians and a determined Scottish WPC known as The Tank are all on his tail…

A hilarious and poignant nod to the elusivity of stardom, in an age when making it’ was ‘having it all’, Welcome to the Heady Heights is also a dark, laugh-out-loud comedy, a heart-warming tribute to a bygone age and a delicious drama about desperate men, connected by secrets and lies, by accidents of time and, most of all, the city they live in.

Welcome To The Heady Heights is available in ebook and paperback now. You can see your copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

Welcome To The Heady Heights is a hugely enjoyable, wild and funny journey through the late 70s with some wonderful characters.

The 70s has always been on of my favourite era’s with the music being a constant present in my childhood. I therefore loved the references to the culture back then and the music which I often found myself humming under my breath. There were also some tunes that I hadn’t heard of before and I spent an enjoyable evening looking them all up on YouTube. The author should so do a Spotify playlist to go with this book!

Archie and his friends are fantastic characters that were hilarious to read about. I so enjoyed following them on their exploits and reading some of the banter between them which often had me laughing out loud. My husband is Scottish so found the humour in this book particularly funny! I also liked that Archie was older than most of the other characters I’ve read from this era and it was very interesting to see it from the other side of things.

This novel does have a dark side mainly involving the less glamorous side of show business with all the corruption that can exist there. It was quite an eye opener to see what could perhaps exist in the industry and sad to see how it all plays out for some of the characters

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’d definitely be interested in reading more from him in the future. I think this book would particularly appeal to male readers as I think they’d enjoy the humour in it

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Karen from Orenda books for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

David F. Ross is a graduate of the Mackintosh School of Architecture at Glasgow School of Art, an architect by day, and a hilarious social media commentator, author, and enabler by night. His debut novel, The Last Days of Disco, was shortlisted for the Authors Club Best First Novel Award, and received exceptional critical acclaim, as did the other two books in the Disco Days Trilogy: The Rise & Fall of the Miraculous Vespas and The Man Who Loved Islands.

Book Synopsis:

All Anna wants is to be able to sleep. But crushing insomnia, terrifying night terrors and memories of that terrible night are making it impossible. If only she didn’t feel so guilty…

To escape her past, Anna takes a job at a hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum, but when seven guests join her, what started as a retreat from the world turns into a deadly nightmare.

Each of the guests have a secret, but one of them is lying – about who they are and why they’re on the island. There’s a murderer staying in the Bay View hotel. And they’ve set their sights on Anna.

Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One deadly lie.

Someone’s going to sleep and never wake up…

Sleep will be published in hard and ebook on the 4th April 2019. You can pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of this author so I was incredibly excited to be included on the blog tour for her latest book. I was definitely not disappointed as in my opinion this is her best book yet!

The book follows Anna as she tries to put her life back together after a tragic car accident she was involved in. I found Anna to be a very sympathetic character who, despite being at fault for the car accident I felt very sorry for as I didn’t feel she deserved what happens. I thought it was interesting that she was a slightly older character as most of the books I read in this genre tend to be younger.

The author cleverly uses the remote hotel setting to create a dark, creepy atmosphere that helps to add a lot of tension to the book as there is a feeling of anything could happen next. Due to Anna’s sleep deprivation the reader is never sure whether to trust her version of events and this helped keep me guessing as to what was going on. It also ensured that the book was very hard to put down as I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens next and who was the murderer.

The story is quite fast paced and there are lots of twists that took me by surprise. Just when I thought I had figured everything out something would happen this made the story go off in a completely new direction. I found I couldn’t put the book down, hiding in the toilet from the kids and thinking about it constantly when I wasn’t able to read it which is always the sign of a great book.

Huge thanks to Sabah from Avon for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review. If you like dark, twisty gripping reads then you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

C.L. Taylor is the Sunday Times bestselling author of six gripping psychological thrillers. They are not a series and can be read in any order:

2014 – THE ACCIDENT
2015 – THE LIE
2016 – THE MISSING
2017 – THE ESCAPE
2018 – THE FEAR
2019 – SLEEP

She has also written a Young Adult thriller, THE TREATMENT, which was published by HarperCollins HQ and is currently writing her second, which will be published in June 2020.

C.L. Taylor’s books have sold in excess of a million copies, been number one on Amazon Kindle, Kobo, iBooks and Google Play and have been translated into over 25 languages and optioned for TV. THE ESCAPE won the Dead Good Books ‘Hidden Depths’ award for the Most Unreliable Narrator. THE FEAR was shortlisted in the Hearst Big Book Awards in the ‘Pageturner’ category.

Cally Taylor was born in Worcester and spent her early years living in various army camps in the UK and Germany. She studied Psychology at the University of Northumbria and went on forge a career in instructional design and e-Learning before leaving to write full time in 2014. She lives in Bristol with her partner and young son.

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Book Synopsis:

Can she unlock the mysteries of the past?

A country at war

It’s the summer of 1919 and Ellen O’Brien has her whole life ahead of her. Young, in love and leaving home for her first job, the future seems full of shining possibility. But war is brewing and before long, Ellen and everyone around her are swept up by it. As Ireland is torn apart by the turmoil, Ellen finds herself facing the ultimate test of love and loyalty.
 
A long-buried secret

A hundred years later and Clare Farrell has inherited a dilapidated old farmhouse in County Meath. Seizing the chance to escape her unhappy marriage she strikes out on her own for the first time, hoping the old building might also provide clues to her family’s shadowy history. As she sets out to put the place – and herself – back to rights, she stumbles across a long-forgotten hiding place, with a clue to a secret that has lain buried for decades.
 
For fans of Kate Morton and Gill Paul comes an unforgettable novel about two women fighting for independence.

The Forgotten Secret is available in ebook now for the fantastic price of £2.99. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

The Forgotten Secret is the first book I’ve read by this author, although I have heard lots of great things! So I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for this, her latest book.

Firstly the author has clearly done her research into what was a turbulent time in Irish history as the period is vividly described so the reader feels like they are actually there experiencing everything alongside the characters. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t know much about The Irish War of Independence before reading this book so I was truly fascinated to learn more about it.

The dual timeline mystery was very well done and I enjoyed watching it all unfold. I did prefer Ellen’s story due to the historical detail but I found myself intrigued by Charlotte’s story too and trying to guess how the two stories would merge together. I liked that there weren’t any huge jumps or coincidences in how the two fit together which helped to make the story seem quite realistic.

The last part of the book is quite emotional, as you might expect due to its subject matter, and I found myself totally caught up in the story. By this time I felt that I had really got to know the characters well and I’d gone on a huge journey with them so the ending had a huge impact on me. I rarely cry in books but found myself sobbing as the end played out which I always think shows a lot of skill from the author that they’ve made you feel this way.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and to HQ Digital for my copy of this book via Netgalley. If you like absorbing, emotional dual timeline stories then you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

Kathleen McGurl lives near the sea in Bournemouth, UK, with her husband and elderly tabby cat. She has two sons who are now grown-up and have left home. She began her writing career creating short stories, and sold dozens to women’s magazines in the UK and Australia. Then she got side-tracked onto family history research – which led eventually to writing novels with genealogy themes. She has always been fascinated by the past, and the ways in which the past can influence the present, and enjoys exploring these links in her novels.
When not writing or working at her full-time job in IT, she likes to go out running. She also adores mountains and is never happier than when striding across the Lake District fells, following a route from a Wainwright guidebook.
You can find out more at her website: http://kathleenmcgurl.com/, or follow her on Twitter: @KathMcGurl.

Book Synopsis:

‘I THOUGHT SHE WAS OUR FRIEND. I THOUGHT SHE WAS TRYING TO HELP US.’

After the sudden death of her husband, Tess is drowning in grief. All she has left is her son, Jamie, and she’ll do anything to protect him – but she’s struggling to cope.

When grief counsellor Shelley knocks on their door, everything changes. Shelley is beautiful, confident and takes control when Tess can’t bear to face the outside world.

But when questions arise over her husband’s death and strange things start to happen, Tess begins to suspect that Shelley may have an ulterior motive. Tess knows she must do everything she can to keep Jamie safe – but who can she trust?

The Perfect Betrayal is available now in ebook and in paperback on the 27th June 2019. You can purchase or pre-order this item using the link below.

My Review:

The Perfect Betrayal is a fantastic psychological suspense novel which manages to explore a serious subject in its pages.

The story starts off slow as the reader learns more about Tess, her situation and how she is coping with her husband’s death. However it soon builds up as strange, unexplained things start happening and the reader becomes increasingly aware that not everything is as it seems. The tension increases until it’s very difficult to put the book down. I found myself holding my breath at times as certain parts of the book play out.

Tessa is a very sympathetic character that I warmed to instantly and wanted to keep reading to check she was ok. The author’s descriptions of her grief and the love for her son are vividly described ensuring the reader is completely on her side. She’s a very relatable character as I can well imagine other mother’s acting in a similar way.

The twist was utterly brilliant and I definitely didn’t see it coming. It was one of those twists that made me gasp and flip back through the pages to see if I could have figured it out sooner!

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Hayley from Transworld for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

Lauren North writes psychological suspense novels that delve into the darker side of relationships and families. She has a lifelong passion for writing, reading, and all things books. Lauren’s love of psychological suspense has grown since childhood and from her dark imagination of always wondering what’s the worst thing that could happen in every situation. 

Lauren studied psychology before moving to London where she lived and worked for many years. She now lives with her family in the Suffolk countryside. Readers can follow Lauren on Twitter @Lauren_C_North and Facebook @LaurenNorthAuthor

Book Synopsis:

Will she find the truth?

England, 1940

After a sudden unexplained disappearance, Thomas Charles comes back into Cat Carlisle’s life with the suggestion she leave London – and the threat of bombs – to move to back her childhood village in Cumberland.

Back in her hometown Cat discovers her childhood friend, Beth Hargreaves, is suspected of murder. As Cat tries to prove Beth’s innocence, she discovers a scheme of deception that affects the whole village. Can she uncover the family truths behind the murder and expose the enemy hiding in plain sight?

Get ready for another gripping read from USA Todaybestselling author of THE SILENT WOMAN!

The Family Secret is available in ebook now and in paperback on the 16th May 2019. You can purchase or pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

The Family Secret is a fantastic cosy mystery with some wonderful historical detail. I’ve always been a huge fan of books set in WW2 and the author does a great job of evoking the atmosphere of that period. I felt transported back to that time with the vivid descriptions helping the reader to picture the era in their mind.

The main characters are all strong females which is always a hit with me and I enjoyed reading about them. They were very clever, together woman who fought against the sexism that existed at that time in order to break out of the more traditional roles woman usually took. They were all extremely likeable characters that I felt completely supportive of and wanted to keep reading to find out what happens to them.

The story is very gripping and well plotted with the story unfolding at a great pace . It read a bit like a classic murder story and I liked that it managed to keep me guessing until the end. This is the second book in the series and while it could be read as a standalone it is probably best to read them in order as I think you will understand more about the characters.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and to HQ Digital for my copy of this book via Netgalley which I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

Terry Lynn Thomas grew up the San Francisco Bay Area, which explains her love of foggy beaches, windy dunes, and gothic mysteries. When her husband promised to buy Terry a horse and the time to write if she moved to Mississippi with him, she jumped at the chance. Although she had written several novels and screenplays prior to 2006, after she relocated to the South she set out to write in earnest and has never looked back. Now Terry Lynn writes the Sarah Bennett Mysteries, set on the California coast during the 1940s, which feature a misunderstood medium in love with a spy. When she’s not writing, you can find Terry Lynn riding her horse, walking in the woods with her dogs, or visiting old cemeteries in search of story ideas.