Book Synopsis:

Stoke Newington, 1863: Little Margaret Lovejoy is found brutally murdered in the outhouse at her family’s estate.

A few days later, a man is cut down in a similar manner on the doorstep of courtesan and professional detective Heloise Chancey’s prestigious address. At the same time, Heloise’s maid, Amah Li Leen, must confront events from her past that appear to have erupted into the present day.

Once again Heloise is caught up in a maelstrom of murder and deceit that threatens to reach into the very heart of her existence.

In this second instalment of the Heloise Chancey Mysteries, M.J Tjia brings us another enthralling historical crime where the twists and turns are as numerous and dark as the London streets which serve as their setting.

A Necessary Murder is available in ebook and paperback now.  You can purchase your copy of bothhere.

My Review:

It’s always great to find a fantastic new crime series to get stuck into and I really enjoyed this fast paced, intriguing book.

The story is based mainly in London but there is a touch of India in Amah’s flashbacks to her childhood which I loved reading about.  The contrast between the two countries is very vivid with London seeming very dull and grey whereas India seems full of colours and passion.  It was interesting to learn more about India’s history and culture at that time.  Britain’s history is also shown in the male character’s attitude to Heloise.  Despite knowing she works as a detective they never ask her opinion instead asking her boss for advice which I found very frustrating.

Heloise is a character that I wasn’t sure I liked.  On one hand she’s a fantastically capable sleuth who isn’t afraid to get herself in danger but on the other seems far too concerned about her image and what others think of her.  The fact that she doesn’t publicly acknowledge Amah as her mother for fear of people knowing she has Indian heritage was shocking to me and meant I couldn’t warm to her as a character.

This was quite a fast paced book that gripped and shocked me straight away.  The mystery unravels at a very satisfying pace and all the interesting historical detail the author includes helped further keep my interest in the book.  Some of the murder scene descriptions were surprisingly gory and made me feel a little queasy at times, though that might just be me as I’ve got a weird thing about necks!

This is the author’s second book but the first I’ve read and I look forward to reading more of this series.  This book does work well as a standalone book as anything you need to know is explained.

Thanks so much to Imogen and Lucy from Legend Press for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.  If you like well described, fast paced historical mysteries then you’ll love this book.

About The Author:

M.J’s father is Chinese-Indonesian and her mother has English-Irish heritage. Being Eurasian herself means that she has always been interested in portraying racially hybridised characters.

Although M.J. grew up in Australia, she has always favoured British fiction, especially in the crime genre. Her inspirations include Agatha Christie, Allingham and Sayers, Val McDermid, Peter Robinson, R.D. Wingfield and Reginald Hill.

Follow The Blog Tour:

If you liked the sound of this book from my review please follow the blog tour and find out what these other fabulous bloggers are saying.

I’m thrilled to be on the cover reveal for the fantastic Samantha Tonge’s new book today!

Forgive Me Not will be published on the 23rd July! I am also on the blog tour for this book around that date so do look out for my review.

Before I show you the beautiful new cover here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

Forgiveness can be hard to come by… An unputdownable new novel from bestseller Samantha Tonge
How far would you go to make amends?
When Emma fled her home at Foxglove Farm, she’d let down and hurt those who cared for her most. But now, two years later, she’s ready to face up to her past; she’s ready to go back.
But Emma’s unannounced return causes more problems than she could have foreseen. The people she knew and loved aren’t ready to forget, let alone forgive. And the one person she wants to reconnect with the most, her mother, can’t remember who she is.
Just as Emma starts to rebuild trust, an uncovered family secret and a shocking past crime threaten her newly forged future…
Sometimes simply saying sorry isn’t enough.
Perfect for readers of Ruth Hogan or Amanda Prowse, this is an extraordinary and unforgettable novel about running away from yourself – and finding a way back.

Cover Reveal:

So without further ado here is the fabulous new cover for Samantha’s new book.

Isn’t it stunning? Such a lovely, girlie cover and I love the colours! Eek so excited!

About The Author:

Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK and her passion, second to spending time with her husband and children, is writing. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely.
When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.
In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category.

Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor
Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/

Book Synopsis:

Estelle is the headstrong daughter of Fleur, a Resistance legend who disappeared during the Great War, supposedly killed while helping Allied soldiers to escape.

Christa, an only child, longs to break free from the constraints of London suburbia, and fantasises about the ethereal Belgian heroine who saved her father.

When Estelle comes looking for the truth about the mother she believes deserted her, an intense friendship grows between the two young women. Estelle invites Christa to De Eikenhoeve, her family’s idyllic country estate. There, Christa encounters Estelle’s two brothers – brooding, tempestuous Robbe and dependable, golden-haired Pieter – and during that long hot summer, passions run high. When war breaks out Christa is forced to return home, but not before she has done something she will regret for the rest of her life.

Christa arrives back in England a changed woman, while Estelle decides to follow in her mother’s footsteps and join the Resistance. Little do they dream that Fleur was betrayed by someone close to them, and that the legacy of this betrayal will have heartbreaking consequences for them all.

The Hour Of Separation is available in ebook and hardback now.  You can purchase a copy of both here.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of Katharine McMahon and have read pretty much all her books so you can imagine my excitement when I was offered a copy of her latest book, The Hour Of Separation.  I might have mentioned it once if twice but I love historical fiction especially when it’s set in or around world war two so this book was a win win for me!

Katharine has a great way of fully immersing the reader into her story so you feel transported to 1939 in Belgium.  I could really imagine the beautiful countryside and feel the fear and unease set in as the German occupiers start to make themselves known.

The story is told from the point of view of both Christa and Estelle which gives the reader a more intimate view of the story as we are privy to the girls individual thoughts and feelings.  The two storylines are written quite differently which reflects their different personalities very well.  I started to feel like I knew them both personally so felt more invested in the story and more concerned with what would happen next.

This was quite a fast read for me and I felt gripped from the start with the need to unravel the girls and their families secrets.  I’ve always had a special interest in the resistance work in world war two and all the brave men and women who worked together to try to sabotage the Germans.  I enjoyed learning more about their activities in Belgium under German occupation and the important work they did to help the allies.

Huge thanks to Rebecca Grey and W&N publishers for my copy of this book.  If you like gripping WW2 fiction based on real events you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

Born in north-west London, Katharine studied English and Drama at Bristol University because she wanted either to act or to write.  She wrote her first novel in a gap year following university and spent a couple of years teaching in a Hertfordshire comprehensive school. Thus began a career in which her writing has been fed by a hugely diverse range of other activities, which have in turn been fuelled by her writing. Katharine has had a job taking breakdown calls at the RAC, run a volunteer bureau, tutored writing skills with the Royal Literary Fund in the universities of Hertfordshire and Warwick, trained as a magistrate, and in turn written training courses for magistrates and has served on the Sentencing Council of England and Wales, and the Judicial Appointments Commission.   She has run the Guardian Masterclass on Historical Fiction and written an e-book to complement that work.  She has just been appointed as Education Projects Manager by the Royal Literary Fund, where her role will be to help develop a wide range of projects in which writers can use their unique skills in all kinds of different communities.

This diversity is reflected in the lives and adventures of her characters.  Evelyn Gifford, the heroine of The Crimson Rooms and its sequel, The Woman in the Picture, though born at the end of the nineteenth century, is a thoroughly modern woman in the way that her career and her domestic life collide – sometimes to the detriment, usually to the advantage of both.  In writing these books, Katharine found herself immersed in a world in which Evelyn is deeply engaged both with personal relationships and professional crises.  This, Katharine believes, is typical of the richness of experience enjoyed and bemoaned by many modern women.

Book Synopsis:

When a body is found floating in London’s Royal Albert Dock, successful public relations expert Kay Christie is sent to quiet the media, but things get complicated when it emerges that she knew the victim.

As events spiral out of control, Kay discovers that those close to her may be harbouring another secret – the story of a missing girl. Can Kay discover the truth before her life unravels and she risks losing everything?

In the Wake questions whether we can ever truly leave our pasts behind and explores the lengths that we will go to protect the people that we love.

My Review:

In The Wake was a very intriguing, twisty and multi layered book that was a very enjoyable read.

This wasn’t a particularly fast read for me as I felt it was quite character driven.  The reader gets to know the characters well, which helps to understand them more and what makes them tick.  All of the characters are very real as all of them have flaws or things that make them a little unlikeable.  They all have secrets which helped add to the tension in the book and things definitely get very murky before the reader starts to get a clear picture of what was going on.

The book approaches the murder investigation from an unusual angle.  The main focus is Kay who works in PR and her attempts to solve the murder case and try to protect her dad.  The PR people aren’t shown in the best light as all seem to be either overwhelmed by the murder or eager to be in the spotlight.  It was interesting to read about an investigation being investigated by someone other than the police, though i’m not sure whether Kay would be allowed so near to an investigation in real life as she could have compromised the investigation.

This is Helen Trevorrow ‘s debut book and I’d definitely be interested in reading more from her in the future.

Huge thanks to Kelly from Love Book Groups Tours and Urbane books for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Helen Trevorrow is a graduate of the 2016 Faber Academy creative writing programme. She studied at Leeds University and has worked in marketing and public relations in London. She is a specialist food and drink PR. Helen’s debut novel IN THE WAKE is a feminist crime thriller about family, unrealised trauma and alcoholism. Helen has ghost-written many articles for newspapers, magazines and websites. She lives in Brighton, Sussex.

Follow The Blog Tour:

If you liked the sound of this book from my review please follow the blog tour and find out what these other fabulous bloggers are saying.

Book Synopsis:

A series of bizarre suicides leads Detective Inspector Silas Quinn to revisit his own troubled past … 

June, 1914. A young man is mauled to death by a polar bear at London Zoo. Shortly afterwards, another young man leaps to his death from a notorious Suicide Bridge. Two seemingly unconnected deaths – and yet there are similarities.

Following a third attempted suicide, DI Silas Quinn knows he must uncover the link between the three men if he is to discover what caused them to take their own lives. The one tangible piece of evidence is a card found in each of the victims’ possession, depicting a crudely-drawn red hand. What does it signify? To find the answers, Quinn must revisit his own dark past. But can he keep his sanity in the process?

My Review:

I really enjoyed this fantastic, intriguing historical mystery.  I’ve had a few people recommend this author to me but have never managed to pick up one of his books until now.

This book is rich with historical detail about life and society in 1914.  The author has clearly done his research and manages  to make the reader feel emersed in the time.  It was especially interesting to learn more about life and treatment in an assylum for people needing psychiatric care.  The methods they used and the casual cruelty of some of the staff sent a shiver down my spine at times.  It’s a relief to realise how far we have come in this area.

The mystery of the supposed suicides was fascinating and kept me guessing as to how it would all work out.  The two cases seemed so different to each other that I was unable to guess what was going on.  The author has written a very cleverly plotted book where the clues and answers are revealed gradually at a rate that keeps the reader’s interest and ensured that I continued turning the pages.

I liked the main character Silas Quinn, though he seemed to have two parts to him.  On one side he seemed to be very intelligent and a great detective but on the other he seemed very vulnerable when his mental health problems arose which made me feel very sorry for him.  I absolutely hated Stanley the incredibly cruel member of staff at the assylum.  His attitude and treatment of the patients made my blood boil and lead to some very hard to read passages.  His behaviour is made worse by the attitude of the other staff who are aware of his cruelty but still allow him to work there! I really wanted him to come to a sticky end and get his comeuppance.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and the publisher for my copy of this book via Netgalley.  If you like well plotted, unusual historical thrillers then you’ll love this book.

About The Author:

Follow The Blog Tour:

If you liked the sound of this book from my review please follow the blog tour and find out what these other fabulous bloggers are saying.

Book Synopsis:

What do you do when someone takes advantage of your greatest weakness?

When Laura wakes up after her office Christmas party and sees a man’s shirt on the floor, she is horrified. But this is no ordinary one-night-stand regret.

Laura suffers from severe face-blindness, a condition that means she is completely unable to identify and remember faces. So the man she spent all night dancing with and kissing – the man she thought she’d brought home – was ‘Pink Shirt’.

But the shirt on her floor is blue.

And now Laura must go to work every day, and face the man who took advantage of her condition. The man she has no way of recognising.

She doesn’t know who he is . . . but she’ll make him pay.

My Review:

I was a huge fan of Emma Curtis’s first book, One Little Mistake, so was very excited and a little nervous to read her second offering.  I needn’t have worried as When I find you is just as good, if not better than her first book!

The story is told from the point of view of Laura and Rebecca her boss.  When it first switched to Rebecca I did find it very intriguing and immediately wondered why? Rebecca isn’t a particularly likeable character, being quite mean to Laura at times so I was very curious as to why her story was being told.  Laura is a very likeable, but niave character that I felt a lot of empathy for.  Face blindness must be a very difficult thing to live with.  I am very short sighted and struggle to see distinguishing features without my glasses so I can only imagine how it must be to have that all the time.  Her coping strategies were very poignant to read about and I found it very interesting to learn about the little differences in people that Laura uses to identify people.  There was something about Laura that I wasn’t completely sure of as some parts of her narrative didn’t ring true.  Why for example did she refused to let her work colleagues know about her condition when surely that would have helped her?

When I find you is quite a fast paced, intriguing novel that I raced through in a couple of days.  The story is perfectly paced with little snippets of the truth coming out at intervals, leaving the reader with plenty of time to piece together the clues themselves.  There were lots of twists and turns which kept me guessing and reading as I wanted to work out what was happening!

This is Emma Curtis’s second book and I very much look forward to reading more from her in the future.  Huge thanks to the Cater and Transworld publishers for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

Emma Curtis was born in Brighton and now lives in London with her husband. After raising two children and working various jobs, her fascination with the darker side of domestic life inspired her to write her acclaimed debut novel, One Little Mistake. When I Find You is her second thriller.
Find her on Twitter: @emmacurtisbooks

Follow The Blog Tour:

If you like the sound of this book from my review please follow the blog tour and find out what these other fabulous bloggers are saying.

I’m on the blog tour for Eyes Turned Skywards by Ken Lussey today and have a great extract to share.

Eyes Turned Skywards is available in ebook and paperback now, you can purchase a copy of both here.

Before I share my guest post with you here is a little about the book.

Book Synopsis:

This novel reflects on the rumours and theories surrounding a number of real-life events, including the death of the Duke of Kent and the aircraft crashes of Short Sunderland W4032 and Avro Anson DJ106.

Wing Commander Robert Sutherland has left his days as a pre-war detective far behind him. Or so he thinks. On 25 August 1942 the Duke of Kent, brother of King George VI, is killed in northern Scotland in an unexplained air crash; a second crash soon after suggests a shared, possibly sinister, cause. Bob Sutherland is tasked with visiting the aircraft’s base in Oban and the first crash site in Caithness to gather clues as to who might have had reason to sabotage one, or both, of the aircraft.

Set against the background of a country that is far from united behind Winston Churchill, and the ever-present threat from the enemy, we follow Bob as he unravels layers of deceit and intrigue far beyond anything he expects.

Guest Post:

Eyes Turned Skywards: Background and Research

It’s sometimes easy to forget exactly where an idea began. The idea for Eyes Turned Skywards came, indirectly, from a book I was reading about the Banff Strike Wing. This was a powerful force of anti-shipping aircraft based at RAF Banff in northern Aberdeenshire during World War II whose job was to disrupt enemy shipping along the coast of Norway. A couple of the real-world incidents that occurred were in the “truth is stranger than fiction” category. Why not write a novel that took these as its starting point?

There was a problem, however. The Banff Strike Wing was at its most active in the final nine months of the war. What I had in mind felt like the first in a series of books. If I began the series in September 1944, then there was only limited scope for further books before the war came to an end. Much better, I thought, to put the idea on one side for the moment, and look for something equally intriguing to begin the series, rather earlier in the war.

It didn’t take long to realise that the death of the Duke of Kent on 25 August 1942 provided exactly the sort of intrigue I was seeking. Prince George, Duke of Kent, was the younger brother of King George VI. The air crash that killed him and thirteen other men on a remote hillside in Caithness, in a place where his aircraft should never have been, has been a mystery whose cause has, over the years, prompted many theories, some more credible than others.

This gave me a time, a place, an event, and a mystery. I had also by now unearthed some fascinating real-world characters who again fell into the “truth is stranger than fiction” category, and it was possible to build compelling fictional characters on the foundations of their real counterparts.

For locations I used a number of real places, exploring some fascinating parts of Caithness in the process. An exceedingly boggy February walk to the two memorials at the site of the crash at the heart of the mystery simply reinforced my wish to come up with a credible explanation for what happened on that day, and to weave a story around it.

Where the geography wasn’t right I helped it along a little. Sarclet Castle in the book is a rather altered Castle of Mey, relocated from the north coast of Caithness to its east coast. Dunrobin Castle, Fort George and Dunollie Castle near Oban could serve without being moved.

The process of researching the book was utterly fascinating, but there was one moment that sent chills up and down my spine. The official account of the cause of the crash that killed the Duke of Kent was given in a written answer to a parliamentary question on 7 October 1942. I’d realised early in the research that the online version of Hansard showed that the answer gave the date of the crash as 15 August 1942 instead of 25August 1942, but I’d put this down to an error that arose when the records were digitised. It was only when I visited the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh that I realised that the wrong date was given in the original written record, which is truly remarkable given it was about what would have been at the time a very recent and very high-profile event.

Ken Lussey
lussey@arachnid.co.uk

About The Author:

Ken Lussey spent his first 17 years following his family – his father was a Royal Air Force navigator – around the world, a process that involved seven schools and a dozen different postal addresses. He went to Hull University in 1975, spending his time there meeting his wife Maureen, hitch-hiking around Great Britain, and doing just enough actual work to gain a reasonable degree in that most useful of subjects, philosophy. The next step seemed obvious. He researched and wrote A Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to Great Britain, which was published by Penguin Books in 1983.

An inexplicable regression into conformity saw him become a civil servant for the next couple of decades, during which time he fulfilled the long-held ambition of moving to Scotland.

In more recent times he has helped Maureen establish the website Undiscovered Scotland as the ultimate online guide to Scotland. Eyes Turned Skywards is his first novel.

I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for And Then It Happened by Linda Green today.  Firstly huge apologies to Milly Reid, Linda Green and Quercus for this being late, I’ve unfortunately been locked out of my blog for most of the day.

And Then It Happened is available now in ebook, hardback and paperback.  The ebook is currently the bargain price of 99p.  You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Book Synopsis:

How would you feel if the only man you’d ever loved was taken away from you? And imagine how he’d feel if he hadn’t really been taken away at all – but couldn’t find a way to let you know…

Mel Taylor was thirteen years old when she found Adam. Twenty years on, they are still blissfully in love. She has everything she ever wished for. But Mel’s happiness is spoilt by a secret from their past and a niggling fear that her good fortune can’t last forever. Despite her husband Adam’s efforts to reassure her that nothing bad is going to happen, Mel can’t shake the feeling that good things can’t last forever. But what she isn’t expecting, is something so terrible that their lives will be changed forever . . .

My Review:

Linda Green is one of my favourite authors so you can imagine my excitement when I was asked to be on the blog tour for her latest book.  I definitely wasn’t disappointed as I loved this emotional, gripping and thought provoking read.

This story is told alternately from Mel and Adam’s point of view.  I thought this was really affective as it gave the reader a much deeper understanding of the characters and the couple’s relationship.  The reader was able to experience events both as the victim and the observer which was very interesting and made for a fascinating, gripping read.  There were times when one half of the story revealed something that the other person had no knowledge of which meant I was soon turning the pages faster and faster as I hoped that the other side would figure it out.

I actually liked both Mel and Adam equally which is quite unusual for me.  They were both very real characters as neither was perfect and both had flaws.  I did think Mel was a little silly with her paranoia that something was going to happen to destroy her perfect life.  I wish she’d just relax and enjoy it more.  The author really makes you care about both characters and the writing seems quite intimate at times as the reader knows their inner most thoughts and feelings.  They start to seem like old friends and I found that I really cared about what happened to them both.

The book does slow down a little in the middle but by then I was so involved in the story and the characters lives that I wanted to keep reading as I was desperate for the story to have a happy ending.  The fact it slows down is quite true to life as patients like this wouldn’t miraculously be healed in a few days.  It would have been very easy for the author to include more drama into the book but I was pleased she didn’t as I think it would have taken away from the story.

I’ve read quite a few of Linda Green’s books and I can’t wait to read her next one! Luckily I haven’t got long to wait as her next book is out the end of next month.

Huge thanks to Milly Reid and Quercus for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

Linda Green is the bestselling author of eight novels. Her latest psychological thriller, After I’ve Gone, published by Quercus, is a top five Amazon kindle bestseller. Her previous psychological thriller, While My Eyes Were Closed, was the sixth bestselling novel on Amazon kindle in 2016, selling more than 450,000 copies across all editions.

Linda was born in North London in 1970 and brought up in Hertfordshire. She wrote her first novella, the Time Machine, aged nine, but unfortunately the pony-based time travel thriller genre never took off.

Linda joined her local newspaper, the Enfield Gazette, as a trainee reporter at eighteen. During a ten year career in regional journalism she worked as a reporter on the Birmingham Daily News, news editor on the Birmingham Metro News and Chief Feature Writer on the Coventry Evening Telegraph, winning Highly Commended in the Feature Writer of the Year category of the 1997 Press Gazette Regional Press Awards.

By 1998 she left her staff job to write her first novel and work as a freelance journalist. She has written for The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday, The Times Educational Supplement, The Big Issue, Wanderlust and Community Care Magazine.

After more than a hundred rejections from agents (and more rewrites than she cares to remember) she finally obtained a two-book deal with Headline Review in 2006.

Her first novel I Did a Bad Thing was published in paperback in October 2007 and made the top thirty official fiction bestsellers list. 10 Reasons Not to Fall in Love was published in paperback in March 2009 and reached no 22 in the official fiction bestseller charts. Both novels were also long-listed for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award. They were followed by Things I Wish I’d Known, which was a top thirty paperback bestseller and And Then It Happened, which was a top forty bestseller.

After five years with Headline she left to join Quercus in 2011. Her fifth novel The Mummyfesto, published in 2013, told the story of three women who set up a new political party and stand in the general election and was featured on Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour. Her sixth novel The Marriage Mender was published in August 2014.

Linda’s first psychological thriller, While My Eyes Were Closed was published in ebook in January 2016 and paperback in May 2016 and has gone on to sell more than 450,000 copies across all editions. Her latest novel, After I’ve Gone, has already made the top five on Amazon kindle.

Linda lives in West Yorkshire with her husband and son.

She enjoys travelling and has trekked after wild orang-utans in Borneo, been to the edge of the Arctic Circle to see polar bears and as far south as Tierra del Fuego to photograph penguins. She also enjoyed taking former PM David Cameron to task on Leadership Question Time in 2015.

For more info, please go to Linda’s website at http://www.linda-green.com, like @lindagreenauthor on Facebook and follow @LindaGreenisms on Twitter.

I’m on the blog tour for Love And Death In Shanghai by Elizabeth J Hall today.  Firstly huge apologies to Anne Cater, the author and publisher for how late this is I’ve been locked out of my blog for most of today.

Love And Death in Shanghai is available in ebook and paperback now, you can purchase a copy of both here.

Book Synopsis:

Shanghai 1924. Sam Shuttleworth joins the Municipal Police to escape his working class roots in Lancashire. He is looking for good pay, adventure and beautiful women.

Shanghai is torn by gang warfare, political instability and violence. After erotic affairs, and seeking stability, he marries his glamorous Russian lover. The relationship is tumultuous, with infidelities on both sides. In the 1930s, Japan invades China and moves into Shanghai with consequent pillage, rape and cruelty. Sam has to negotiate between warring sides, and wonders if he will ever find peace amidst the chaos of his relationships and the bloody events of his career.

My Review:

Love and Death in Shanghai is a fascinating and in-depth look at life in Shanghai between the first and second world war. I didn’t know much about the history of the country before reading this book and it was quite an eye opener as to what was happening in the city at that time.

Shanghai is definitely a city of two halves. In one side we have the filthy rich and the ex pat’s who are living a glamorous and fun life splashing their cash in some of the upper class clubs available. However on the other side we see the incredible poverty of the place, with the locals struggling to get by and doing anything just to get by. The huge contrast between the two is quite poignant to read about and I definitely felt for the poorer side and how desperately hopeless things seemed.

Sam was an interesting character who has done really well for himself by getting a prize job in the police. He is rightly quite proud of this but comes across as quite arrogant at times especially in the way he deals with people. He is very keen to learn and works hard at his job hoping to improve things in his new town which was lovely to see.

As you can tell by the title there is quite a few love affairs in this book which are quite errotic and graphic at times which might not be to everyone’s taste. Sam’s love affairs with his various women helps to give the reader further insight into the general feeling of the city at that time. It was definitely a fun, free and loose city where everyone is determined to let their hair down. It’s through his affairs with women that we get to know more about Sam, his past and what makes him tick. He shows his softer side here too, showing he can be caring as he wants to try and help some of the poorer ones.

This is the first book by this author I have read and I look forward to reading more from them in the future. If you like thrilling historical fiction about an interesting period of history you’ll enjoy this book.

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

About The Author:

Elizabeth J.Hall works in politics in the UK. Love and Death in Shanghai, her debut novel was inspired by the life and death of her uncle who worked in the Shanghai Municipal Police in the 1920s and 30s. Elizabeth’s first memory is of her mother crying when she received a telegram reporting his assassination.
Elizabeth lives in East Sussex with her husband. After a degree in French, she trained as a teacher with a particular interest in social and health education. She worked in the USA, West Africa and London before becoming a consultant, developing programmes of health education abroad, including Central Asia and Russia.
Elizabeth’s website is http://www.elizabethjhall.com/

Follow The Blog Tour:

If you liked the sound of this book from my review please follow the blog tour and find out what these other fabulous bloggers are saying.

I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for The Death Of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware today and have a signed hardback book and tarot cards to giveaway!

The Death Of Mrs Westaway is published today in ebook and hardback.  You can purchase your copy of both here.

Before I share details on how you can win my giveaway here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

When Harriet Westaway receives an unexpected letter telling her she’s inherited a substantial bequest from her Cornish grandmother, it seems like the answer to her prayers. She owes money to a loan shark and the threats are getting increasingly aggressive: she needs to get her hands on some cash fast.

There’s just one problem – Hal’s real grandparents died more than twenty years ago. The letter has been sent to the wrong person. But Hal knows that the cold-reading techniques she’s honed as a seaside fortune teller could help her con her way to getting the money. If anyone has the skills to turn up at a stranger’s funeral and claim a bequest they’re not entitled to, it’s her.

Hal makes a choice that will change her life for ever. But once she embarks on her deception, there is no going back. She must keep going or risk losing everything, even her life…

The brand new psychological thriller from the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10.

Giveaway:

I have a signed hardback and some tarot cards to giveaway today to one lucky winner!

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is RT my pinned tweet and tag some friends you think might also be interested.  In Facebook simply like, share and comment on my post on my Facebook page via the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/Over-The-Rainbow-Book-Blog-1699785863378672/

As always I will keep the giveaway open until Friday and get my lovely son to choose the winner!

Good luck everyone!

About The Author:

Ruth Ware’s first two thrillers, In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10, were international smash-hits, and appeared on bestseller list around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times. The film rights to her debut were snapped up by New Line Cinema, and her books are published in more than 40 languages.

Ruth lives near Brighton with her family. Visit http://www.ruthware.com to find out more.

Follow The Blog Tour:

If you would like to find out more about this book please follow the blog tour and find out what these other fabulous bloggers are saying.