When Flick Simons returns to the small village of Heartcross she only expected to stay for a few days. The white-washed cottages of Love Heart Lane might be her home, but the place holds too many painful memories, and of one man in particular – Fergus Campbell.
When a winter storm sweeps in, the only bridge connecting the village to the main land is swept away! As the villagers pull together, Flick finds herself welcomed back by the friends she once left behind. And as the snow begins to melt, maybe there is a chance that Fergus’s heart will thaw too…
Love Heart Lane is available to buy in ebook now for £1.99 or the paperback is published on the 21 March 2019. You can purchase or pre-order your copy using the link below.
My Review:
I’ve heard lots of great things about this author so I jumped at the chance to read her latest book Love Heart Lane. I absolutely adored this fun warm hearted read which is the perfect book to curl up with this winter.
The descriptions of Heartscross village were wonderful and I found myself wishing I could live there. The residents seem a lovely bunch and so friendly and welcoming that it was a joy to read about their interactions with each other. That’s not to say it was all sweetness and light though as the author manages to interject lots of tension and mistrust into the story as well which made for very interesting reading.
The relationship between Flick and Fergus was fabulous to read about and I loved how real it seemed. The author takes the reader back to discover their history together and I felt that this meant I really got to know them both. I found myself invested in their relationship and I wanted it to succeed so they got the happy ending I felt they deserved.
This is the first book in a planned series and I’m very excited to read more, especially if they feature the same characters!
Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources for my copy of this book and to Harper Impulse for my copy of this book via Netgalley.
About The Author:
Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty’s Countryside Dream, Lizzie’s Christmas Escape, Evie’s Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Love Heart Lane. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia.
Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organisations to improve their well-being as well as Literary Editor for http://www.mamalifemagazine.co.uk bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the book world.
The police belonged to another world – the world they saw on the television or in the papers. Not theirs.’
When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing on their gap year in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft and frantic with worry.
Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth – and this time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, who she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling. This time it’s personal.
And as the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think . . .
The Suspect us available now in all formats and you can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
I’m a huge fan of Fiona Barton, having read her first two books, so I was very excited to be invited onto the blog tour for her new book The Suspect. I was definitely not disappointed as I thought The Suspect was another gritty, emotional read.
The story again features reporter Kate who is normally a very capable, together reporter. However her current investigation seems to be quite close to home and it was interesting to see a few cracks appearing in her normally calm manner. The reader gets to see her as more than just a reporter and I found myself warming to her even more as I discovered more about her family. The personal feel of the investigation also affects Kate’s long standing friendship with DI Sparkles as the stress of the investigation gets to them both. I felt very sorry for DI Sparkles throughout the book as I felt he had an awful lot on his plate and was trying his best.
The story is told from three points of view; Kate, DI Sparkles and the two missing girls. This really helped add to the tension in the book especially if the reader figures something out from one thread before it’s discovered in one if the other two. I felt this helped give the reader a more rounded view of the disappearance and I felt that I was a fly on the wall watching everything unfold. This also gives the reader a chance to get to know the characters and the world they inhabit better. The cut throat world of a reporter is vividly described and made for uncomfortable reading at times as some of the tactics used by reporters to get a story are revealed. I’d love to say I hope these aren’t used in real life but due to the author being an ex reporter I think they must be.
This was an incredibly gripping book which I tore through in a few days as I was very engrossed in the story and really wanted to see how it would work out. There are lots of twists and false leads that kept me on my toes and made the book incredible hard to put down. Just when I thought I’d figured everything out something would happen which had me questioning everything.
This is the third book in the series but it could easily be read as a standalone as anything you need to know is explained. I can’t wait to read more and hope this isn’t the last we hear from Kate and DI Sparkles.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Thomas Hill from Transworld publishers for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Fiona Barton’s debut, The Widow, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been published in 36 countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, was a Sunday Times bestseller. Born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives in Sussex and south-west France.
Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards.
While working as a journalist, Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and she developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. Fiona interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery, and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most . . .
Clara Marsh is an undertaker. She spends her solitary life among the dead and bids them farewell with a bouquet from her own garden. But Clara’s carefully structured life shifts when she discovers a neglected little girl, Trecie, playing in the funeral parlour, desperate for a friend.
It changes even more when Detective Mike Sullivan starts questioning her again about a body she prepared three years ago, an unidentified girl found murdered in a nearby strip of woods. Unclaimed by family, the community christened her Precious Doe. When Clara and Mike learn that Trecie may be involved with the same people who killed Precious Doe, Clara must choose between her solitary but steadfast existence and the perils of binding one’s life to another.
Clara’s search for the girl pulls her into a spiralling series of events that threaten to endanger the few people Clara has grown to love – and finally brings her own tragic and long-buried past to the surface.
The Unforgotten is available now in ebook for the bargain price of 99p. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
The Unforgotten is an unique and emotional crime story that i will definitely be thinking about for a while.
The setting of the book in an undertakers is an unusual one and it was fascinating to learn more about what they do. The preparation of a body for burial is not one I’ve thought much about before and I enjoyed learning more about the process that they go through. Some of these details are a bit graphic and stomach churning though so its probably best to avoid if you are squeamish!
I wasn’t sure about the main character Clara at first as she came across as being quite emotionless and standoffish, especially towards Trecie. As we discover more about her past though it becomes obvious that her experience have shaped how she acts now. I found myself warming to her as the book goes on, especially with her attempts to befriend the little girl which i though were quite heartwarming.
The book starts off slow but soon gathers pace with lots of twists and turns that keep the readers attention. I felt that the book focused more on the human element on the story rather than the investigation which made me feel more invested in the story as i got to know the characters very well. The story of the little girls is an emotional one and my heart broke for all that they had experienced. As a mother of three I can’t understand how anyone could do that to their children and I often found myself tearing up whilst reading.
I must admit that I did guess elements of where the story was going but this didn’t put me off as I was so enjoying the story that it was interesting to watch it all unravel. The final twist did take me by surprise though and I thought it was quite shocking which i always love when a book manages to take me by surprise.
The Unforgotten is a fantastic debut and I look forward to reading more from this author. If you like emotional, gripping crime fiction then you’ll love this book.
Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Orion for my copy of this book via Netgalley.
About The Author:
Amy MacKinnon, a former congressional aide, is a freelance writer whose commentaries have appeared in theSeattle Times, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Patriot Ledger and on National Public Radio and This American Life. She lives in Marshfield, Massachusetts with her husband and thHuge thaneir three young children.
Blood & Sugar is the thrilling debut historical crime novel from Laura Shepherd-Robinson.
June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock – horribly tortured and branded with a slaver’s mark.
Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham – a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career – is visited by the sister of an old friend. Her brother, passionate abolitionist Tad Archer, had been about to expose a secret that he believed could cause irreparable damage to the British slaving industry. He’d said people were trying to kill him, and now he is missing . . .
To discover what happened to Tad, Harry is forced to pick up the threads of his friend’s investigation, delving into the heart of the conspiracy Tad had unearthed. His investigation will threaten his political prospects, his family’s happiness, and force a reckoning with his past, risking the revelation of secrets that have the power to destroy him.
And that is only if he can survive the mortal dangers awaiting him in Deptford . . .
Blood & Sugar is available in all formats now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
Blood & Sugar is an absolutely stunning piece of historical fiction. I knew from the first few pages that I would enjoy this book and I was not disappointed.
The historical setting of 18th Century London and Deptford was brought vividly to life with the reader feeling they are actually there experiencing everything first hand alongside Captain Corsham. The dark period of the slave trade is obviously a very sad part of British history and the author doesn’t hold back any of the heart breaking details which made me cry at times. How anyone thought that it was ok to treat people like that is beyond me. The seedy underbelly of Deptford life was also brilliantly described and helps add to some of the tension in the book as the dark, narrow streets makes the reader wonder what they will encounter next. It is a world that I am grateful that I don’t inhabit!
I loved the main character Captain Corsham who comes across as a very considerate, loyal person who just wants justice for his friend and goes above and beyond to get it. He’s a very brave man as his investigation takes him to some very dodgy areas and it was touching to see how much he obvious cared for his friend that he’s willing to put himself in such danger. He is deeply affected by the horror of the slave trade that he undercovers and I thought it showed him to be a lovely guy that he wouldn’t even entertain the idea of getting involved himself.
This book is incredibly gripping and I was instantly absorbed into the story. There is always something happening or a discovery being made which makes the story hard to put down. The investigation into what happened to Tad soon gets very murky and incredibly intriguing. I didn’t have much of an idea about what was happening but loved going along for the ride and watching the story unfold. The story of the slaves was quite an emotional one and the descriptions of their horrific treatment made me anxious that the people involved would get their just deserts. I wanted to keep reading to see how everything would tie together.
This unbelievably is the author’s debut novel and I’m very excited to see what she comes up with next. If you like gripping, atmospheric historical fiction then you’ll love this book.
Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton and Rosie Wilson for my copy of this fabulous book!
About The Author:
Laura Shepherd-Robinson was born in Bristol in 1976. She has a BSc in Politics from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics. Laura worked in politics for nearly twenty years before re-entering normal life to complete an MA in Creative Writing at City University. She lives in London with her husband, Adrian.
Bent Met police detective DI Frederick Street rules as the ‘Sheriff of Shoreditch’ who loves shaking down the street goons he arrests.
Elvis Street is the son who cannot stand his father for being the balls-out crook he caught in bed with his girl.
Elvis wants to take Frederick down and end him forever.
Neither father or son realises how much the other understands what controls them.
Neither father or son will ever back down.
Night Time Cool is the story of why?
Night Time Cool is available now in kindle and paperback. You can purchase a copy of either using the link below.
My Review:
Night Time Cool is an intriguing, unusual read that reminded me in part of the club’s I used to visit in my teenage years.
The setting of this book is vividly described so that the reader feels they are really there in the night club experiencing everything first hand. I felt that I could feel the throb of the crowd, the energy they would have given off and the beat of the loud music. There is quite a dark, seedy undertone to the book that revolves around this scene with a lot of the characters seeming to be involved in drug taking or prostitution. Most of the characters are hugely unlikeable but seemed quite realistic and in keeping with other similar stories I have read.
The plot is quite fast paced and fairly hectic with the characters bouncing continuously from one situation to the next which definetly kept me entertained. Some of the scenes were quite uncomfortable to read about but I was so absorbed with the story by that point I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to.
The style of the book is quite unusual and it took a little time for me to get used to. It reads a bit like a stream of consciousness and is littered with street lingo which was a tad confusing to begin with as I have no experience of it. However I soon got used to it and I felt it further helped add to the seedy, night time world the author has created.
Night Time Cool is the author’s debut novel and the first book in a planned trilogy. It will be very interesting to see where the author takes this story.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Jamie Paradise writes all his stuff in a darkened mansion filled with the cadavers of ancestors
The Observer says of Night Time Cool: “Paradise conveys the sheer thrill of partying beautifully; he writes of a piece of music that: ‘It wailed, it reprised, it was a choral hymn a kaleidoscopic, sensate burst of everything right now…'”
Simon Mayo’s Books of the Year podcast: “Like John Niven, Jake Arnott – I really enjoyed it – very much worth your time.”
Mail on Sunday: “A punchy streetwise caper, packed with memorable characters.”
The uplifting new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of THIS COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING. The perfect read for fans of Lucy Diamond and Katie Fforde.
Mimi isn’t looking for love when she spends a weekend in Goosebrook, the Cotswolds village her dad has moved to. And her first encounter with Cal, who lives there too, is nothing like a scene in a romantic movie – although she can’t help noticing how charismatic he is. But Cal’s in no position to be any more than a friend, and Mimi heads back to her busy London life.
When they meet again four years later, it’s still not to be. Cal is focusing on his family, and Mimi on her career. Then Cal dives into a potentially perfect new romance whilst Mimi’s busy fixing other people’s relationships.
It seems as if something, or someone else, always gets in their way. Will it ever be the right time for both of them?
Maybe This Time is published on the 24th January in ebook and hardback. You can pre-order your copy of either using the link below.
My Review:
Maybe This Time is another wonderful, heart warming gem from one of my favourite writers!
The setting of GooseBrook was fantastically described and I found myself wishing that I lived there myself. There were a great variety of characters and the village seemed so friendly that I could not help but be drawn into the story. My favourite characters were Mimi’s dad and boyfriend who were just wonderful and made me smile. I didn’t initially like the main character Mimi as she grated on me a bit with her ditsyness. However I soon found myself warming to her and I did enjoy reading about her story, wanting her to have the happy ending I felt she deserved.
For most of the book this is quite a light hearted read and a classic tale of boy meets girl which was interesting to read about. However there is a twist that gives the book a serious edge and which the author handles with great skill. Without trying to give to much away the author had clearly done her research on the subject and the scenario seemed very realistic.
I’ve read most of Jill’s book and I think she just keeps getting better and better. I’m so excited to read more from her in the future.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Headline for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
The queen of witty, heart-warming, feel-good love stories’ Red
Jill Mansell’s books are full of love, life and friendship and have been bringing joy to readers for twenty-five years. She started writing fiction while working in the NHS, after joining a local creative writing class. She has since written over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers, including THIS COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING, THE ONE YOU REALLY WANT and YOU AND ME, ALWAYS, and her books have sold over 11 million copies around the world.
Jill’s hobbies include buying stationery, particularly magical new colours of ink for the fountain pen she uses to write all her books – Jill is one of the few authors who still write their books by hand. Jill also loves people-watching and finding new characters to put in her novels. So when you’re out, make sure to always be on your best behaviour. And beware of beady-eyed authors carrying notebooks . . .
Jill keeps in touch with her readers on Twitter – @JillMansell – and Facebook – /OfficialJillMansell.
A great queen loses a ring. Hundreds of years later a ring slips onto the paw of a young mole. The mole grows to be a wise and trusted leader of Gilly Wood and all the animals that live there. But a great threat is coming. Can one small mole save a whole valley? Mole sets out to do just that with friends he makes along the way and the strange thing on his paw…
The Ring Of Gilly Wood is available now in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy of either using the link below.
My Review:
The Ring Of Gilly Wood is an enchanting and magical read that manages to be both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
The author does a great job of making her characters and setting come to life. I loved the descriptions of the forest and wished I could visit it to meet everyone. My son felt the same and keeps asking to visit the woods opposite us to see if they are there.
There are a lot of subtle messages included into the text regarding how people should treat their friends, nature and how it’s nice to be kind to each other. I felt this would make it a wonderful book to have in schools as it could help to lead to lots of discussions.
The story is surprisingly fast and I found that I was quickly involved in the story. There are a few scenes which are quite poignant and I think some young readers might struggle with. My son is six and got upset at some parts asking me to stop reading at one point as he didn’t like it. I’m not sure what age the story is aimed at but it’s probably meant to be for slightly older children then my son anyway.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and hope that it becomes a firm hit with children. One of the other reviews I’ve read has compared it to Watership Down which I think is accurate especially for the friendships that exist between the animals. It isn’t nearly as brutal though!
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’ll definitely like to read more from her in the future, though I might wait a bit to share them with my son again!
Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.
About The Author:
Ruth was born on a hot August day on a farm in Sussex. Her English teacher once made her write a story about wasps after one landed on her during a lesson. She still hates wasps but she loves writing. Ruth now lives in Kent with her family and their strange dog.
One suicide. One cold-blooded murder. Are they connected? And who’s really pulling the strings in the small Swedish town of Gavrik?
TWO COINS
Black Grimberg liquorice coins cover the murdered man’s eyes. The hashtag #Ferryman starts to trend as local people stock up on ammunition.
TWO WEEKS
Tuva Moodyson, deaf reporter at the local paper, has a fortnight to investigate the deaths before she starts her new job in the south. A blizzard moves in. Residents, already terrified, feel increasingly cut-off. Tuva must go deep inside the Grimberg factory to stop the killer before she leaves town for good. But who’s to say the Ferryman will let her go?
Red Snow is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy of both using the link below.
My Review:
I heard lots of great things about Will’s debut novel Dark Pines so I was thrilled to be invited to be on the blog tour for his second book Red Snow. I was definitely not disappointed as I really enjoyed this fast paced, intriguing mystery.
The main character, Tuva, was a fascinating one whose deafness helps add an usual twist to the story. From the first pages it is evident that she is a very strong, capable women who is obviously very good at her job. I enjoyed reading about her quick mind and her even quicker wit which made me smile at times. She doesn’t let things lie or accept what other people tell her which I admired, though there were a few times I wanted to shout at her to stop!
The author cleverly uses the cold environment to help create tension throughout the book. The knowledge that snow can help cover tracks and muffle sound is mentioned at the beginning and adds an edge to the story as I felt that anything could happen at any time. There were a few points where I was certain something was going to happen so when it did I actually jumped.
The family at the centre of the story were fascinating and very mysterious. From the first mention of them with their strange hobbies and collections I was intrigued, wanting to know more about them. They also help add a chilling element to the story as they are a bit of an unknown and I wasn’t sure what to make of them to be honest, or sure what they were capable of.
The story starts of a bit slow but soon gathers pace and becomes almost impossible to put down. The author weaves fascinating information about Swedish culture into the story which I felt helped add to the story as it gave you more of a feeling of the setting for the book.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’ve already ordered his debut novel. If you like clever, fast paced Swedish noir you’ll love this book!
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it’s from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.
Berkshire, 1944 When Will Bates offers to take ATA pilot Lilian Miles to the dance, he sends her heart into a flutter. But as their relationship progresses, Lilian can’t help but get cold feet. Deep down she’s always known that the secrets locked in her past would weigh heavily on her future happiness…
London, 2018 Helena Miles loves nothing more than digging into the back stories of celebrity families, making her perfectly suited for her job as a researcher on the hit show Where Did You Come From?. But when handsome superstar Jack Jones sweeps into her life, she unexpectedly finds herself trawling through her own family history.
As she explores her family’s past, she discovers that there are far more secrets hidden there than she ever expected… What really happened to her aunt Lilian during the war, and why can’t she open up about it now?
An inspirational tale of sisterhood and strength, perfect for fans of Tracy Rees and Kathryn Hughes.
The Hidden Women is available in ebook now and paperback on the 7th February. You can purchase or pre-order your copy using the link below.
My Review:
The Hidden Women is a fabulous dual timeline mystery telling the story of some truly courageous women which I thoroughly enjoyed!
The two timelines are both very interesting and well developed which is quite unusual for me as I normally find I favour one or the other. They both feature strong, independent women which I always enjoy and I found that I warmed to both Lilian and Helen as their story develops. I was perhaps slightly more drawn to Lilian as I felt that the time period her story was set in meant she had to go against society more. I also loved the secret service she carries out whilst working with the ATA as she helps women in need which society otherwise judged and forced them into horrendous situations.
The story is told in alternate chapters between Helen and Lilian with each character’s name clearly labelled on each chapter so the reader can’t get confused over whose story they are following. I felt it was quite an easy, absorbing read that drew me in from the first pages. The mystery surrounding what happens to Lilian is hinted at early on and was very intriguing so ensured that I kept reading as I needed to find out!
This is the first book I have read by this author and I’m very excited to read more from her in the future. If you like dual timeline stories set in WW2 with an intriguing mystery about an emotional subject then you’ll love this book.
Huge thanks to Izzy from HQ Stories for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley.
About The Author:
Kerry Barrett is the author of eight novels, including the Strictly Come Dancing-themed A Step in Time, and The Girl in the Picture, about a crime novelist who solves a 160-year-old mystery.
Born in Edinburgh, Kerry moved to London as a child, where she now lives with her husband and two sons. A massive bookworm growing up, she used to save up her pocket money for weeks to buy the latest Sweet Valley High book, then read the whole story on the bus home and have to wait two months for the next one. Eventually she realised it would be easier to write her own stories…
Kerry’s years as a television journalist, reporting on EastEnders and Corrie, have inspired her novels where popular culture collides with a historical mystery. But there is no truth in the rumours that she only wrote a novel based on Strictly Come Dancing so she would be invited on to It Takes Two.
When she’s not practising her foxtrot (because you never know…), Kerry is watching Gilmore Girls, reading Jilly Cooper, researching her latest historical story, and hiding her massive collection of sparkly nail varnishes from her husband.
Good evening everyone I’m excited to be on the blog tour for The Liars Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard today and to have a great guest post to share. Apologies for the late post I e caught the kids sickness bug so I’ve been a little poorly today
The Liars Girl is available in all formats now and you can purchase your copy using the link below.
Before I share my guest post with you here is a little bit about the book.
Book Synopsis:
Her first love confessed to five murders. But the truth was so much worse.
Dublin’s notorious Canal Killer, Will Hurley, is ten years into his life sentence when the body of a young woman is fished out of the Grand Canal. Though detectives suspect they are dealing with a copycat, they turn to Will for help. He claims he has the information the police need, but will only give it to one person – the girl he was dating when he committed his horrific crimes.
Alison Smith has spent the last decade abroad, putting her shattered life in Ireland far behind her. But when she gets a request from Dublin imploring her to help prevent another senseless murder, she is pulled back to face the past – and the man – she’s worked so hard to forget.
Guest Post:
Use What You Know
‘Write what you know’ is a piece of writing advice that’s been around forever. I’d like to amend it slightly, if I may, to ‘use what you know’. When it came to writing my second thriller, The Liar’s Girl, I took as much as I could from my real life and repurposed it on the pages. I started, in the prologue, with the trauma that was my Search For Somewhere To Live in Dublin: Summer 2014.
At the start of that year, I had applied to study English as a mature student in Trinity College Dublin and, one day in May, I found out I’d got in. The balloon of my joy was quickly and unceremoniously popped by the task that I now realised was facing me: finding somewhere to live in Dublin, the ninth most expensive city in which to rent an apartment in the world (as of May 2018, the internet tells me).
After a few weeks fruitless searching from my desk in Cork, I decided to spend a day in Dublin, searching in person. Pickings were slim. The first place we looked at felt like where dreams go to die, and the shower was so tiny that you’d have had to do one limb at a time. It was the same price as my Cork apartment had been – and that had been about four times the size, and brand new. Reality was hitting me. Still, I held onto my optimism and headed to the only other viable option for a viewing that day. A studio apartment that was €50 under budget in Rathmines, close to the city centre and so perfect from getting to and from college. The tiny – suspiciously tiny, in hindsight – photo on the listing showed a bright, spacious living room/kitchen with a bed(room) on a mezzanine level.
I thought, how cute and quirky.
I should’ve been thinking, Gardaí discover more skeletal remains at ‘House of Horrors’.
My mother was with me. We spoke on the phone to the landlord, who was in another part of the country. He said his caretaker, who we’ll call Joe, would show us around the apartment.
At the address stood a red-brick, Victorian terrace house on a street of same. The little garden in front was a bit shabby-looking but besides that, it was quite the impressive pile. A man was working outside, sweating profusely through the pale grey material of his shirt. The shirt had stains on it that suggested he had sweated through it many times before. When he turned to us, I saw that his lips were so dry and cracked, they were bleeding. When he spoke he mumbled, mostly incoherently; I could barely understand what he was saying.
This was Joe.
He took us into the house and walked us up and down the stairs a bit, eventually showing us into one of the units inside. It was immediately clear that the ‘unit’ was actually a bedroom originally, that an en-suite and a kitchenette had been squeezed into. It was tiny, narrow and filled with furniture. You could reach the buttons on the microwave while you were lying in the bed.
‘Handy,’ my mother commented.
I threw her a look. I could not fit my whole world into one room even if it meant I could reheat pizza without getting out of bed. But… Maybe this was as good as it got for the budget I could afford. At least it was clean, and in good condition, and in a good location…
‘Oh,’ Joe said. ‘Sorry! This is the wrong one.’
He led us back down the stairs… and out the door, down the garden path, across the road and into a crime scene—I mean, a different house.
The first word that came to mind when we stepped through the door was dirty. Everything was. The carpet wasn’t laid but, instead, ragged sections of it had simply been placed on the floor. Around the edges, the bare floorboards were stained and dusty and both they and the carpet (bits) were in desperate need of a good hoovering.
My mother and I exchanged a glance.
Joe led us upstairs. It was a similar set-up to the first house, but more, ahem, units had been packed in here. Their doors weren’t proper doors, but thin, unpainted MDF. You wouldn’t need keys to get in here, a good shove of an elbow would do the job. Moreover, the units were packed in so tightly that the door Joe was opening for us now was only a foot, at most a foot and a half, away from the ‘unit’ opposite. My neighbour and I would not be able to enter or leave our homes at the same time – they’re just wasn’t room.
Once inside, I recognised the space from the picture online. But it was dim, grim and looked like an episode of Hoarders. The very beginning of the episode. There was stuff everywhere. And then, as we advanced into it, we realised there was someone here too – a groaning someone, just now waking up in his mezzanine bed and saying, ‘Who’s there?’
Joe hurried us back out into the hall – one at a time, because of the aforementioned proportions.
After a tour of the back garden, where various appliances had been left to rust, and the accidental inhaling of several pungent and/or suspicious smells, we reconvened in the hallway. My mother was horrified that instead of post-boxes, there were just open cubbyholes, but soon that was the least it. As we said our goodbyes, the resident of Apartment no. 1 emerged – half-dressed and sporting a frankly heinous case of pink eye.
‘Someday,’ I whispered to my mother, ‘we’ll see this place again – on the news.’
You can see it, and the other gems I viewed on my traumatic property search, in the pages of The Liar’s Girl. Which I wrote here at this desk, in my lovely apartment in Dublin which I’ve happily lived in for the past four years. I found it in the end. The rest, it turns out, was research.
CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1982. Her debut thriller, DISTRESS SIGNALS, was an Irish Times and USA Today bestseller, and was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey/New Blood Dagger 2017. Before writing full-time, she was a campsite courier in France, a travel administrator in the Netherlands and a front desk agent at a hotel in Walt Disney World, Florida. She is currently studying English at Trinity College Dublin and wants to be a NASA astronaut when she grows up. Her second thriller, THE LIAR’S GIRL, will be published in March 2018.
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