Good morning and Happy Weekend everyone.  I’m on the blog tour for The Kindness of Strangers by Julie Newman today and I am excited to have a Q&A with the author to share with you.

The Kindness of Strangers is available to buy in ebook and paperback now, with the ebook currently only 99p. You can purchase your copy here.

Before I share my Q&A with you here is a little about the book.

Book Blurb:

‘An intricate portrayal of love and loss, redemption and revenge which will stay with you long after the final page.’ – Anne Coates, bestselling author of the Hannah Weybridge thrillers

Deception abounds in Julie Newman’s breath-taking new novel.

Widow Helen is desperate for a perfect family life, and will do everything she can to get what she wants.

A veteran of the Afghanistan conflict Martin is adrift and seemingly without hope – can he ever win back his estranged family?

Pregnant teenager Charley is striking out on her own to create a new life for her unborn child, but her mother Lizzie has other ideas.

When three seemingly disparate lives connect, the past and the present collide to reveal secrets, lies and how far people are willing to go to hide the truth.

Following the gripping and controversial Beware the Cuckoo, Julie Newman’s thrilling new novel lifts the lid on the dark past that haunts a seemingly happy household.

Q&A with Julie Newman:

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I was born in East London but now life a rural life in North Essex. I am married with two children. I have had a variety of jobs but have always wanted to be a writer.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I’m either spending time with my family or reading, cycling or running. I love music and I’m an avid theatre goer.

Do you have a day job as well?

No. Family commitments and writing keeps me busy.

When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

I first started writing as a child; I kept a diary and liked to write poems and short stories. My first published book was a children’s book in 2003. My first novel was finished in 2015.

How did you choose the genre you write in?

I haven’t actually chosen a genre that I intend to stay with. My next book is very different.

Where do you get your ideas?

From all around. Sometimes I may read something like a news item for instance that sparks an idea, sometimes it’s a conversation or observation.

Do you ever experience writers block?

Yes. Some days things do not seem to flow as well.

Do you work with an outline, or just write?

I always write a biography for each of my characters. I also do a timeline. I recall reading a book, many years ago, where one of the characters was pregnant for the duration of the story which covered a fourteen month period.

Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way, either growing up or as an adult?

The first book I ever read on my own was A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond, this kick-started my love of reading. Other authors that I love include Roald Dahl, (I love his sense of the macabre), Joanne Harris, Michael Ondaatje, Toni Morrison, John Steinbeck, Mary Shelley and George Eliot and so many more.

Can you tell us about the challenges in getting first book published?

I had many rejections before I got my publishing deal. It is a little disheartening, but I was encouraged by one of the agencies that rejected me to keep on trying. They told me of alternative routes to publication including looking at Independent Publishers. That was how I came across Urbane.

Is anything in your book based on real life experience or purely all imagination?

No, all pure fiction.

What was your hardest scene to write?

I can’t answer that as it will reveal a plot twist, sorry.

How did you come up with the title?

The phrase is used by Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire, and carries more than a hint of irony. I wanted a title that could convey more than one meaning if not viewed literally…

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

The toughest was when someone said they couldn’t finish my book. The best was when someone said they didn’t want it to end.

Is there anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Yes, if you do enjoy the book, or any book for that matter, please leave a review and tell your friends. We authors do rely on ratings and reviews and word of mouth recommendations. Thank you.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, I wish you the best of luck with your book.

About The Author:

Julie was born in East London but now lives a rural life in North Essex. She is married with two children. Her working life has seen her have a variety of jobs, including running her own publishing company. She is the author of the children’s book Poppy and the Garden Monster and the thriller Beware the Cuckoo. Julie writes endlessly and when not writing she is reading. Other interests include theatre, music and running. Besides her family, the only thing she loves more than books is Bruce Springsteen.

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I’m excited to be on the blog tour for Dead Man’s Badge by Robert E Dunn today.  This looks like a great book and I look forward to reading it soon.

You can buy a copy of this book in ebook or paperback here.

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

Book Blurb:

When you dig your own grave, it always ends up ragged and shallow.

Career criminal Longview Moody, on the run from killers, assumes his dead, twin brother’s identity as the new Chief of Police of a Texas town that’s being terrorized by a Mexican drug cartel. To pull off the deadly deception, Longview desperately works to become the kind of cop and man that his brother was. But when the two lives he’s living converge, he’s forced to embrace the violence within him to get justice…and vengeance.

PRAISE FOR “DEAD MAN’S BADGE”

“It’s terrific. It’s lean and smart and very good. I say, check it out.” Joe Lansdale

“Brutal, vivid, and unforgettable…a modern-day western morality tale in crime-novel wrapping with a blood-red bow. This one will haunt you.” Lee Goldberg, #1 NY Times bestselling author

“Robert Dunn unloads both barrels – Dead Man’s Badge is a fast, furious shootout from beginning to end. This tale of corrupt cops, cartel killers, and one bad guy just trying to make good, lingers like gun smoke. Bloody, dark, and pistol-whip smart, it’s Border noir at its best.” J. Todd Scott, author of THE FAR EMPTY

“Riveting thriller about coming back from the dead, revenge and redemption. The pages fly by even faster than the bodies pile up. DEAD MAN’S BADGE establishes Robert E. Dunn as a formidable new name in hard-boiled fiction.” R.G. Belsky. author of YESTERDAY’S NEWS

Guest Post by Robert E. Dunn

BONES

After you write a few books you begin to learn things. Your writing does not only speak to readers. It whispers to you. In truth writing novels releases an inner voice that at times is telling you all the things you already know. Other times it is a stranger that knows the secrets you hid from yourself. One of the most revealing things, the non-boring and non-weird things your writing shows are the bones of your personal style.

Writers like to talk a lot about voice in writing. It is the personal print of ourselves that we leave woven into the words. Most of us don’t know what our voice is until we are comfortable enough to get out of our own way and let it come. Often it comes but we don’t even see it until we have some books we can point to and say, there it is—that works.

I would like to tell you a little about the bones of my voice. It came by letting go of I want and embracing I am. Growing up I wanted to write science fiction and horror stories. I loved the pulpy adventures and the intriguing science and all the what if’s. I have written a few horror novels and horror with science fiction themes to some degree of success.

One thing I noticed as I was writing these books was my heavy reliance on location as character. I paid so much attention to the environment my people operated in it was hard to imagine the same story working in a different place.
There were other kinds of books I enjoyed growing up too. Actually I would read just about anything, but some kept showing up in my hands no matter what I thought I was in to at the time. These were mysteries. It started with Hardy Boys and kept growing from there. Then one day I discovered James Lee Burke. It was by chance I noticed the title, IN THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH CONFEDERATE DEAD, on a library shelf.
Now when I was growing up and reading all those books that helped shape me, I was living in the Missouri Ozarks. I had a connection to the place and the people from the hillbilly cliché to the colorful Branson show culture. The Ozarks have a compelling darkness under the branches of walnut and oak. They a wild and bloody history. And they have a shape. The eroded plateau of limestone is gouged by water and riddle with caves. How could it not seep into a young man’s bones?
I think you see where I’m going.

Discovering other authors who infuse location so vividly in their writing led me to search more of them out. It led me also to let my own world come even more strongly into my writing. I had wanted to write a particular kind of book. But I discovered that I was a particular kind of person. I that be my guide.

In 2015 I wrote a book called A Living Grave. It was a mystery featuring Katrina “Hurricane” Williams, a female sheriff’s detective in the Ozarks. She—it—worked. I worked. The bones of my voice knitted. Katrina gave me my first multi book contract and my second.
The question then became, will that voice hold up in other environments?
In my life I have been geographically blessed. I mentioned growing up in the Ozarks. The truth is that was where we ended up. I was an Army brat. We moved around. Once I was old enough to get out on my own I felt that itch in my heel and got to moving. For a long time I had a job that took me all over the world. So I had a personal library to choose from when thought about a new book. A favorite place is south Texas. I wanted to write about that. I wanted to drape the border over my personal bones.

That particular ground is littered with bones. From westerns to modern border noir, so many other authors have staked out claims on that dirt. That was certainly on my mind as I wrote DEAD MAN’S BADGE. So much as a matter of fact I named the fictional town the story is set in, Lansdale, Texas. Joe Lansdale is a writer I admire. He has a deep, literary stamp on the Texas landscape. To make matters worse for me, as I was writing, J. Todd Scott released a novel, set on the same stretch of ground as my Lansdale, TX. His book, THE FAR EMPTY was such a big hit I refused to read it until I was finished with DEAD MAN’S BADGE. I feared being intimidated by the quality and of falling into the trap of imitating. I had good cause to fear comparison by quality. Todd’s book is amazing. I have had the pleasure of talking with him on social media and told him so many times.

So did my bones hold up under the weight of Texas? I won’t presume to tell you. That’s for you to decide after reading the book. I will tell you that both Joe Lansdale and J. Todd Scott read my book and commented for the back cover. Now that’s a proud moment for me.

I hope you do read DEAD MAN’S BADGE. I hope also, that this peak at the bones of my voice help you understand and enjoy the book a tiny bit more. Look for me on social media and tell me how I did. Careful though, I might tell you another long story about how I write.

Thank you very much Robert for writing this fascinating guest post.  I wish you lots of luck with your book.

About The Author:

Robert E. Dunn was born an Army brat and grew up in the Missouri Ozarks. He wrote his first book at age eleven turning a series of Jack Kirby comic books into a hand written novel. Over many years in the, mostly, honest work of video and film production he produced everything from documentaries, to training films and his favorite, travelogues. He returned to writing mystery, horror, and fantasy fiction for publication after the turn of the century. It seemed like a good time for change even if the changes were not always his choice.

In addition to DEAD MAN’S BADGE, Mr. Dunn is the author of the horror novels, THE RED HIGHWAY, MOTORMAN, and THE HARROWING, as well as the Katrina Williams mystery/thriller series, A LIVING GRAVE, A PARTICULAR DARKNESS, and the upcoming A MOMENTARY LIFE.

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I’m excited to be on the blog tour today for Escape And Evasion by Christopher Wakling and to be able to share a Q&A with the author.

Escape and Evasion will be published on the 3rd May 2018 and you can pre-order your copy here.

Before I share the Q&A with you here is a little about the book.

Book Blurb:

Escape and Evasion reads like a Network for the Bitcoin era.’ Tony Parsons

City banker Joseph Ashcroft has stolen £1.34 billion from his own bank.

He has given it – untraceably – to impoverished strangers worldwide, and has fled.

Why has he done this? And will he get away with it?

Joseph knows that if he leaves the country, he will easily be tracked down. So he opts for hiding close by – first in the city, then in the woods near the home of his estranged family. An ex-soldier, he’s adept at the art of camouflage.

On Joseph’s trail is Ben Lancaster, the bank’s head of security and, as it happens, a former army friend with whom he shares a violent, guilt-ridden past.

The hunt is on.

Escape and Evasion is a tragicomic tale of buried secrets, the lengths a man will go to win back those he loves, and the fallout from a monumental change of heart.

Q&A with Christopher Wakling:

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

ESCAPE AND EVASION is my seventh novel. I used to work in the City, where the book begins. I was a lawyer; men like the book’s banker ‘hero’, Joseph Ashcroft, were my clients. I left that job to write my first novel, in Australia, where I also learned to surf (badly) and fly a plane (better, but still). I started out writing travel journalism in Australia, too.

2. What do you do when you are not writing?

I like mountain biking. There are lots of good trails where I live – Bristol – and I head out on them to clear my head. I also like being with my children, who are lovely the whole time, except when they’re not, and that takes up time, too. I spend a fair bit of time reading, as well.

3. Do you have a day job as well?

No. Since I stopped working as a lawyer I’ve either written fiction full time or combined it with other writing-related work. At the moment I’m running a six month novel writing course for Curtis Brown Creative. I’ve taught elsewhere, and, as I say, I write travel journalism from time to time as well.

4. When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

I first started writing as a child. Mostly I wrote diaries detailing exactly what I ate and when I went to bed. They’re fascinating documents. In adolescence I graduated to mawkish poetry. I started writing fiction and travel articles at university, where I studied English. The further I got into my career as a lawyer the more badly I wanted to spend my time writing. I finished my first novel in 2002.

5. How did you choose the genre you write in?

I didn’t. I was surprised when that first novel was described back to me as a ‘literary thriller’. I just tried to write a story about something that mattered to me, careful to make sure the themes it explored were wrapped up in a story that would keep the reader turning the pages. I’ve written historical fiction, comic fiction, and thrillers (apparently). There’s a bit of all of that in ESCAPE AND EVASION.

6. Where do you get your ideas?

There’s this great shop round the corner…

7. Do you ever experience writer’s block?

Sometimes writing is hard and sometimes its less hard, but it never, in my experience, just arrives on the page. The term ‘writer’s block’ annoys me. It suggests it’s okay to give up. ‘I’ll be back when the muse strikes,’ it says. You can waste a lot of time waiting for the muse. The best way of overcoming ‘writer’s block’ is to say, ‘It’s hard today, and maybe what I’m writing won’t be very good, but I’m a writer, so I should keep at it. Even if I produce nonsense, it’s all good practice.’

8. Do you work with an outline, or just write?

A bit of both. Having worked with lots of aspiring writers over the year I’ve seen many people sink without a plan. But outlining things in too much detail risks making the writing boring. I tend to know roughly where I’m going.

9. Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

I remember being blown away by Anthony Burgess’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE when I was about fourteen. It was the voice that got to me. Horroshow.

10. Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

I was in a writing group for five years while I was working as a lawyer. It was tough to meet the deadlines we imposed on ourselves while holding down a deadline-packed job. Of the four of us three ended up as published novelists (I’m the least famous) and the fourth has had an illustrious career in publishing. She was just starting out as an agent back then, hungry for good work to sell. I was lucky to have her as a first point of contact with the industry, but then again we worked hard in that group.

11. Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?

Again, abit of both. I’ve used my own experience of working in the City and building dens in bomb holes, pimped them with the experiences of friends, and lied outright about other stuff to make a truthful whole.

12. What was your hardest scene to write?

The scene where Joseph, during his time in the army in Bosnia, discovers two small children dead in an oven.

13. How did you come up with the title?

The phrase ESCAPE AND EVASION is a nod to Joseph’s military past. I like the sound of the words, their shape. On the surface they say what the story is about, a man on the run. But they also raise questions: who is he escaping from, and what is he really trying to evade?

14. What project are you working on now?

I’m deep into a new novel, and I’m helping fifteen writers at Curtis Brown Creative improve their own books. There’s a story on every ridge.

15. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

I once didn’t speak to a good friend for six months or so after he said scenes in my draft novel were wooden. Trouble was, he was right. I rewrote them! And the best praise? Any praise, from anyone who has enjoyed one of my novels, is always encouraging. Specifically, a reviewer in a national newspaper said my last novel, WHAT I DID, ‘should have won the Booker prize’. That was nice.

16. Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Thank you for reading my book.

Thank you very much for answering my questions today, I wish you the best of luck with your book!

About The Author:

Christopher Wakling is a novelist and travel writer whose previous books include On Cape Three Points, The Undertow and Towards the Sun.

Born in 1970, he was educated at Oxford, and has worked as a teacher and lawyer. He lives in Bristol with his wife and children.

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I’m very excited to be hosting a giveaway for Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic in celebration of it being released in paperback today!

Sympathy is available in ebook and paperback now and you can purchase your copy here.

Before I tell you how you to win a copy of this fabulous book, here is a little bit about the book.

Book Blurb:

THE DEBUT OF 2017 THAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT FROM ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS

‘Reads likeThe Talented Mr Ripley for the 21st century’ — Vice UK

At twenty-three, Alice Hare arrives in New York looking for a place to call home. Instead she finds Mizuko Himura, an intriguing Japanese writer, who she begins to follow online, fixated from afar and increasingly convinced this stranger’s life holds a mirror to her own. But as Alice closes in on her ‘internet twin’, fictional and real lives begin to blur, leaving a tangle of lies, blood ties and sexual encounters that cannot be erased.

UK Only Giveaway:

To be in with a chance of winning a paperback copy of Sympathy please RT the pinned tweet on my profile and tag some friends you think might also be interested.

On Facebook simply like this post and comment to enter.

As the annoying meerkats say simples!

I’ll get my lovely son to choose a winner tonight.  Good Luck everyone!

About The Author:

Olivia Sudjic was born in London in 1988. She studied English Literature at Cambridge University where she was awarded the E.G. Harwood English Prize and made a Bateman Scholar. She started writing her first novel, Sympathy, in 2014.

Book Blurb:

The first rule of Sunday Lunch Club is … don’t make any afternoon plans.

Every few Sundays, Anna and her extended family and friends get together for lunch. They talk, they laugh, they bicker, they eat too much. Sometimes the important stuff is left unsaid, other times it’s said in the wrong way.

Sitting between her ex-husband and her new lover, Anna is coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy at the age of forty. Also at the table are her ageing grandmother, her promiscuous sister, her flamboyantly gay brother and a memory too terrible to contemplate.

Until, that is, a letter arrives from the person Anna scarred all those years ago. Can Anna reconcile her painful past with her uncertain future?

Juliet Ashton weaves a story of love, friendship and community that will move you to laughter and to tears. Think Cold Feet meets David Nicholls, with a dash of the joy of Jill Mansell added for good measure.

The Sunday Lunch Club was published on the 19th of April 2018 in ebook and paperback.  You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Book Review:

I so enjoyed this entertaining, heartwarming and uplifting book.  The idea of a Sunday Lunch Club is a fantastic one that I’d love to put into practice in the future as it’s a great way of keeping a family together and to make some memories that could last a lifetime.

The fly on the wall view the reader has of the family lunches ensures that the reader feels connected to the family and involved in all that happens.  It made me feel that I knew all the characters personally and I therefore cared more about them.

There is plenty of action throughout the book that kept me intrigued and turning the pages to find out how everything resolves.  The author uses great skill in interweaving dramatic and sad events with funny and sweet moments that were lovely to read about.  This made the book seem more real as if this could happen to anyone.

My favourite character was Anna.  I admired her courage and how she faced her fears and got on with it when it would have been very easy for her to crumble.  Her love for her family was almost palpable and it was lovely to read about how much she obviously cared for her family.

This is Juliet’s third novel and I can’t wait to read more from her.  I so enjoyed reading about this family and spending time in their company that I was sad to finish the book.

Huge thanks to Simon & Schuster for my copy of this book via netgalley.  I will be recommending this beautiful book to everyone!

About The Author:

Juliet Ashton was born in Fulham and still lives in London. She writes under a variety of names, including her real name, Bernadette Strachan, and as Claire Sandy. She is married and has one daughter. Find out more at http://www.berniestrachan.com

Book Blurb:

The Oslo Detectives are back in another slice of gripping, dark Nordic Noir, and their new colleague has more at stake than she’s prepared to reveal…

When a dead man is lifted from the freezing waters of Oslo Harbour just before Christmas, Detective Lena Stigersand’s stressful life suddenly becomes even more complicated. Not only is she dealing with a cancer scare, a stalker and an untrustworthy boyfriend, but it seems both a politician and Norway’s security services might be involved in the murder.

With her trusted colleagues, Gunnarstranda and Frølich, at her side, Lena digs deep into the case and finds that it not only goes to the heart of the Norwegian establishment, but it might be rather to close to her personal life for comfort. Dark, complex and nail-bitingly tense, The Ice Swimmer is the latest and most unforgettable instalment in the critically acclaimed Oslo Detective series, by the godfather of Nordic Noir.

The Ice Swimmer is available in ebook now and paperback on the 30th April.  You can purchase or pre-order your copy here.

My Review:

The Ice Swimmer is a fantastic, intriguing book that I thoroughly enjoyed! I’ve long been a fan of Nordic Noir, especially the fabulous authors published by Orenda Books, and this was no exception. The story gripped me from the start with two cases for the Oslo Detectives to solve, of two suspected suicides.  I was immediately intrigued, especially when it soon becomes apparent that everything is not as it first seems.

The author’s style of writing and pace is very easy to read.  I enjoyed how the author tells the story from various points of view.  This really helped add to the tension, particularly when something was discovered in one story that could impact on another character’s investigation.  The facts of the case are gradually revealed with lots of twists and turns that helped increase my enjoyment and kept me turning the pages.  I particularly loved the setting of the Oslo underground and the descriptions of what it’s like underground.  I’ve never read much about how an underground railway works so I enjoyed that part of the story.

Gunnarstranda and Lena were my favourite characters in this book.  I though their relationship was brilliant, particularly the banter and easy conversations that they have with one another.  They seem to care about the investigation and want to find out the truth regardless of pressure from the top to do otherwise.  The author cleverly adds in details of their personal lives away from the investigation which makes the reader believe you know them intimately and hope that they will have a good result.

This is the first book by Kjell Ola Dahl I have read and I so look forward to reading more from him.  If you are a fan of Nordic Noir or like intriguing crime mysteries then you will love this book.

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

About The Author:

One of the godfathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjovik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eleven novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frolich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. His work has been published in 14 countries, and he lives in Oslo.

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Book Blurb:

From the master of British Crime Writing comes Frank Elder’s last case.

‘This is wonderfully atmospheric crime writing – a tribute to Harvey’s exceptional talent’ Daily Mail

‘The heavy manacles around the girl’s wrists, perhaps not surprisingly, looked very much like the ones that had been found on the studio floor. For a moment, she had a vision of the chain to which they were attached being swung through the air, taking on force and speed before striking home.Then swung again.’

When his estranged daughter Katherine appears on his doorstep, ex-Detective Frank Elder knows that something is wrong.

Katherine has long been troubled, and Elder has always felt powerless to help her.

But now Katherine has begun to self-destruct.

The breakdown of her affair with a controversial artist has sent her into a tailspin which culminates in murder.

And as Elder struggles to protect his daughter and prove her innocence, the terrors of the past threaten them both once more …

Body & Soul was published on the 19th April 2018 in ebook and hardback.  You can buy a copy of both here.

My Review:

John Harvey is an author I have heard a lot about but never had the chance to read.  So I was very excited to be invited onto the blog tour for his latest book, Body & Soul the last book in the Elder series.

Elder was my favourite character in this book.  His love for his daughter was touching to read about and I really felt for him when Kate rebuffed his attempts to rebuild their troubled relationship.  The amount he is willing mount to do to stand up for and protect his daughter is very poignant and really brought a tear to my eye. I didn’t initially like Kate.  I thought she was unnecessarily prickly and rude to her dad when he was obviously trying. However as the story goes on and I discovered more about her and her back story I did begin to feel a lot of sympathy towards her.

The art storyline was very intriguing and added an interesting element to the story.  I’d never really considered what nude modelling entails and the impact the finished result could have on the model.  This did have me feeling very frustrated towards Anthony in this regard for not realising, or maybe not caring what impact his art could have on others, particularly one he was meant to care about.

This was a bit of a slow burner for me as I thought it took a little while to get going.  The author takes time to set the scene and to let the reader know and understand the characters more.  I was a little confused at times whether the action being described was in the present or the past which meant that sometimes I had to flick back and start the chapter again.  I think this was just my problem though as I haven’t read any other reviews saying this.

Body and Soul is the final book in the Elder series but it is the first one I have read.  While the book would work fine as a stand alone I think it would be beneficial to read the rest of the series first as I feel you would understand the plot a lot more.

Thank you to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours and William Heinemann for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

John Harvey was born in London, where he now lives, while considering Nottingham his spiritual home. Initially a teacher of English & Drama, he has been a full-time writer for more than forty years. The first of his 12 volume Charlie Resnick series, Lonely Hearts was selected by The Times as one of the ‘100 Best Crime Novels of the Century’ and the first Frank Elder novel, Flesh and Blood, won the CWA Silver Dagger in 2004. He was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in the crime genre in 2007, and his story, ‘Fedora’ won the CWA Short Story Dagger in 2014.

In addition to writing fiction, he has written and published poetry, running Slow Dancer Press for over twenty years; his Out of Silence: New & Selected Poems was published in 2014. He has adapted the work of Arnold Bennett, A. S. Byatt, Graham Greene and others for radio and television, and in 2017, his dramatisation of the final Resnick novel, Darkness, was produced at Nottingham Playhouse. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the universities of Hertfordshire and Nottingham.

Follow @John_BHarvey @WHeinemann
Visit mellotone.co.uk

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Book Blurb:

A young woman trapped by her fear.
A serial killer on the prowl.
An ex-con hiding from a vengeful gang.

As clubbers in Cardiff are targeted by a brutal murderer, the police turn to unconventional means to catch the killer. Amy Lane, a desperately agoraphobic grey-hat hacker, only at peace with her fingers on a keyboard and her eyes on a screen, can peek into virtual corners in ways DI Bryn Hesketh would rather not know about. But he needs her skills, and turns to her for help. Jason, an ex-con looking to go straight, starts as Amy’s cleaner, but soon becomes much more.

An entirely new edition of the first thrilling story in Rosie Claverton’s stunning Amy Lane mystery series, available for the first time in paperback.

Binary witness was republished in ebook and paperback on the 20th April 2018 along with Code Runner, the second book in the series.  You can by a copy of both here.

My Review:

Binary witness is the start of a great new crime series that I’m excited to read more of.

Firstly I loved the partnership that develops between Amy and Jason.  They are a great team, each feeding off one another and complimenting each other.  It was great that both of them were able to help each other navigate through the new world they find themselves in, Jason who is finding his feet after being in prison and Amy who hasn’t been outside for years following a traumatic event.  It wasn’t a normal, stereotypical crime detective pairing which made the book more interesting to read about.  Their personality and quirks helped add a human element to the story which made you care more about them and what the outcome was.  I really wanted them to succeed and prove to others that they could do it.

Amy’s technical ability was very interesting to read about and has made me think twice about my passwords and the stuff I post on line.  The amount of information she was able to glean from the internet was shocking and made me realise how vulnerable we are to criminals stealing our information.

This was a fairly easy read in that the pace was quite fast, with lots of action and reveals which helped keep me interested.  The chapters are short which means it is an easy book to pick up and put down when you haven’t got long to read- great when you’re trying to grab five minutes peace from the kids! The reader is a witness to each victim’s last moments which is allows the reader to get to know each character so that they feel more empathy for them and what happens to them.

Binary Witness was the first book Rosie Claverton wrote and the first that I have read.  She has since written three more in the Amy Lane Mystery series and I really look forward to reading them.

Thanks to Anne Cater and Crime Scene books for my copy of this book the invitation to join the blog tour.

About The Author:

Rosie Claverton is a novelist, screenwriter, and junior psychiatrist. She grew up in Devon, daughter to a Sri Lankan father and a Norfolk mother, surrounded by folk mythology and surly sheep. She moved to Cardiff to study Medicine and adopted Wales as her home. She then moved to London to specialise in psychiatry.

Her first short film Dragon Chasers aired on BBC Wales in Autumn 2012. She co-wrote the ground-breaking series of short films The Underwater Realm. Her Cardiff-based crime series The Amy Lane Mysteries is published by Crime Scene Books.

Between writing and medicine, she blogs about psychiatry and psychology for writers in her Freudian Script series, advocating for accurate and sensitive portrayals of people with mental health problems in fiction.

Recently returned to Cardiff, she lives with her journalist husband and their nearly new daughter.

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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 Dark Web by Christopher Lowery, the final installment of the African Diamonds trilogy.

The Dark Web is available to buy now in paperback and ebook now.  The ebook is currently only 99p, you can purchase a copy of both here.

Before I share my character spotlight with you, here is a little bit about the book.

Book Blurb:

The latest thrilling instalment in the gripping African Diamonds trilogy!

The tentacles of the Dark Web are tightening their grip around the world. From Moscow to Shanghai, Washington, UK, the Middle East and Europe, nowhere is beyond their reach.

When a computer scientist dies mysteriously in Dubai, Jenny Bishop’s nephew, Leo Stewart, is hired to replace him. Leo’s life is soon in danger, but he is the only person who can find the key to prevent an impending global cyber-attack. With the help of Jenny and old and new friends, he must neutralise the threat before the world’s vital services are brought to a halt in a flagrant attempt to once again redraw the borders of Europe and Asia. Can the deadly conspiracy be exposed before the world is thrust into a new Cold War?

Christopher Lowery delivers a gripping final chapter in the bestselling African Diamonds trilogy, with a thriller that is powerfully resonant of today’s global dangers, hidden behind the ever-changing technological landscape.

The perfect read for fans of Gerald Seymour, Wilbur Smith and Frederick Forsyth.

Character Spotlight: 

Who is your character?

Four Star General William R. ‘Billy’ Chillicott

The Inspiration for your character?

Every influential public personality, from any walk of life, who has cared more about his country and people than self-advancement, private agenda or scoring points to undermine democratic process. (There are many present-day examples of the latter.)

The creation of your character?

I needed a senior military personage for the latter portion of the story, where his position allows him to influence key events. By introducing him early via a personal relationship with Leo Stewart, the reader can more easily accept his involvement with the subsequent crisis.

About your character?

He’s a man who sees the world as it is, not as he’d like it to be. He has spent his life in the service of his country and has no illusions about friends and enemies. He speaks and acts from knowledge and experience, not pseudo-intellectual theories.

Does he have any similarities with anyone ‘real’?
If so … tell us more!

This is a man of a dying breed, there are less and less of his type in today’s self-obsessed vanity world. Examples that come to mind are Reagan, Thatcher, Gorbachev, Churchill, Rees-Mogg.

What do you like most about your character?

Chillicott is a man who worries for all our sakes, not just his own. He would prefer to watch his grandson’s Sunday softball game, but his duty is to work to protect us, so that’s also his choice.

What do you dislike about your protagonist’s character?

He is in a minority nowadays.

Would you and your protagonist be friends ‘in real life’?

Most certainly, if he could put up with me.

What’s Next?

The Mosul Legacy is almost finished, due for publication in September. It is not part of the African Diamonds series, but a stand-alone story of the diverse consequences of terrorism. The book is set in 2016, when ISIL began to lose their strongholds in Iraq to the coalition forces, causing desperate families of refugees to flee from certain death. While they are faced with unsurmountable obstacles in their search for a peaceful, safe home, murderous jihadists are travelling easily through the Schengen zone, intent on committing an atrocity in a European city.

About The Author:

Christopher Lowery is a Geordie, born in the northeast of England, who graduated in finance and economics after reluctantly giving up career choices in professional golf and rock & roll. He is a real estate and telecoms entrepreneur and inventor and has created several successful companies around the world. Chris also writes technical patents, poetry and children’s books and has recently produced an album of his songs. He and his wife Marjorie live between London and Marbella.

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If you liked the sound of this book from the character spotlight do follow the blog tour and find out what these other fabulous bloggers are saying.

Book Blurb:

Four-year-old Danny lives with his mother, Natalie, in a small Sussex town. Life is a struggle and when they are threatened with a benefits sanction, salvation appears in the form of a Job Centre employee called Karen. But Karen’s impact is to reach far beyond this one generous gesture, as she and Natalie embark on an intense relationship.

Told in the voice of an intelligent, passionate and unusual child, Tale of a Tooth is an immersive and compelling look at the impact of domestic abuse on a vulnerable family unit.

Tale Of A Tooth was published on the 19th April 2018 in paperback and ebook.  You can purchase a copy of both here.

My Review:

Wow what a compelling, thought provoking and heart breaking story Allie Rogers has written.  This is a story that will stay with me for a long time.

I absolutely fell in love with the main character and narrator, Danny a highly intelligent but unusual child.  I enjoyed seeing the world through Danny’s eyes where there is fun to be had anywhere.  A very observant and sensitive child who describes situations through noises and colours.  He is especially in tune with his mum’s changing moods, describing how she feels through colours.  He loves dinosaurs and can repeat a lot of facts he has learnt from books borrowed from the library, something that made me love him all the more.

Danny’s close relationship with his mother was beautiful and touching to read about.  They have cute little rituals and catch phrases known only to them.  His mother, or meemaw as he calls her, is the only person who can calm him down when he feels overwhelmed which was fantastic to read about.  His hurt and confusion when his mother starts a relationship with Kerry was palpable, especially when everything turns a little sour.  I really felt for him in those moments and wished I could give him a hug.

Domestic abuse is still a little bit of a taboo subject, one that some people want to pretend doesn’t happen and sweep under the carpet.  This is especially true when it is a woman who is the abuser as society don’t want to believe they are capable of something like that.  The descriptions of abuse aren’t sugar coated and they are quite hard and poignant to read about.  They develop a harder edge when it is seen through Danny’s young eyes as I wasn’t sure he was always aware of what he was seeing.  I felt very frustrated towards Natalie at these moments as I wished she would stand up for herself and remove Danny from the situation.

This is the author’s second book but the first one that I have read.  I can’t wait to read Little Gold and any future books from Allie Rogers.  Tales of A Tooth would make a great book club book as there would be lots to discuss!

Huge thanks to Imogen Harris and Legend Press for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author: