I’m very excited to be on the blog tour for WhiteOut today.  This is a series I have heard a lot about and I can’t wait until I have moved so I can finally read it! WhiteOut is available now in ebook and paperback here.

Thank you to the lovely Anne Cater and Orenda Books for allowing me to do a giveaway when I realised that due to moving and no internet I wouldn’t be able to post my review on my advertised day.  I will be posting the review at a later date so do keep an eye out for it!

Before I get to the exciting giveaway, here is a little bit about the book!

Book Blurb:

Two days before Christmas, a young woman is found dead beneath the cliffs of the deserted village of Kalfshamarvik. Did she jump, or did something more sinister take place beneath the lighthouse and the abandoned old house on the remote rocky outcrop? With winter closing in and the snow falling relentlessly, Ari Thor Arason discovers that the victim’s mother and young sister also lost their lives in this same spot, twenty-five years earlier…

UK Only Giveaway!:

I’m lucky enough to have a paperback copy of WhiteOut to giveaway to one lucky person.

All you have to do to win is tell me what your favourite thing about Iceland is by commenting on this blog post or on the pinned tweet on twitter.  I will leave this competition open for a week until the 28th and then pick a winner.  Good Luck!!

About The Author:

Ragnar Jonasson is author of the international bestselling Dark Iceland series. His debut Snowblind went to number one in the kindle charts shortly after publication, and Nightblind, Blackout and Rupture soon followed suit, hitting the number one spot in five countries, and the series being sold in 20 countries and for TV. Ragnar was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he continues to work as a lawyer. He also teaches copyright law at Reykjavik University and has previously worked on radio and television, including as a TV-news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. Ragnar is a member of the UK Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) and set up its first overseas chapter in Reykjavik. He is also the co-founder of the international crime-writing festival Iceland Noir. From the age of 17, Ragnar translated 14 Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic. He has appeared on festival panels worldwide, and lives in Reykjavik with his wife and young daughters.

 

 

 

 

 

Today I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for Blood Rites and to be bringing you an exclusive guest post from the author himself! Blood Rites is available now in paperback and ebook here.

Thank you to Abby Fairbrother & Urbane Publications for being so understanding and flexible when due to the stress of moving and no internet I was unable to post my review of Blood Rites.  I will be posting my review as soon as possible one internet is installed in my new house.

Book Blurb:

Blood Rites is the latest gripping DI Paul Snow thriller from renowned crime writer David Stuart Davies. 1980s Yorkshire. DI Paul Snow has a personal demon. He is a homosexual but is desperate to keep it secret, knowing it would finish his career in the intolerant police force. As this personal drama unfolds, he is involved in investigating a series of violent murders in the town. All the victims appear to be chosen at random and appear to have no connection with each other. After the fourth murder, he is removed from the case for not finding the killer but continues investigating the matter privately. Gradually, Paul manages to determine a link between the murder victims, but this places his own life in great danger. Can Paul unmask the killer as he wrestles with his own demons?

Exclusive Extract:

Snow in Huddersfield: David Stuart Davies on his novel Blood Rites

A lady friend of mine, a glorious 98 year old, said to me recently, ‘Why does such a nice chap like you write about such nasty goings on in the world – murders and the like?’ Well, the answer is simple, I am a writer – a crime writer – and while I consider myself to be a fairly placid, cheery fellow, I do allow my imagination to create crimes, criminals, dark motives and grim scenarios.

Certainly, there is no getting away from it, there are some very dark scenes in Blood Rites, the latest DI Paul Snow novel. There is a serial killer on the loose in the Yorkshire town of Huddersfield and Snow is given the unenviable task of catching him as the body count increases. A disparate group of inhabitants are murdered and there seems to be no link between the victims – but there is. The killer has a definite, if twisted motive, for his crimes. Working out a motive that isn’t immediately obvious to the reader is one of the most difficult tasks the crime writer has to master. If members of one family, or one club or one board of directors are being bumped off, for example, the culprit would eventually become obvious: he or she is the only one left alive. It has to be more subtle than this.

However, the motive for the murders must not dominate the narrative. There must be exciting scenes, tension and vivid dramatic moments. And above all, engaging characters. Personally, I find my detective to be a fascinating character. I think this is important, for if the writer is not intrigued by his main protagonist, how can he expect the readers to be. While I created Paul Snow, he seems to have developed very much without my help. I thought that a gay copper operating in the 1980s police force with its strong homophobic culture, would add an extra dimension to the drama. While he has to cope with the demanding task of trapping the killer, he is also dealing with his own sexuality – having to keep it under wraps and to contain his

natural desires. So much pressure for one man. While Snow is a decent, professional and dedicated officer he is not a wholly good man: he has flaws and weaknesses, which I hope not only adds to the realism of the character but also racks up the tension. Snow seems to have struck a chord with readers. Interestingly, an advance copy of the book was sent to a gay officer in the West Yorkshire Police (happily in 2017 there in no need to hide in the closet) and this was his response to reading it:

The book was thoroughly engrossing. The way it was written was on par with the most famous authors and allowed me to imagine every scene just as if I were reading a Stephen Leather thriller. My thoughts whilst reading it were ‘why is this book not for sale across the country in WH Smith? It should be in the book charts!’ It was most definitely a page turner.

The ending of the novel is meant to shock. One reviewer stated that as he reached the final pages he let out an expletive, which shocked the other passengers on the train! While I do not encourage swearing, that response pleased me no end. I hope after reading this post you will be intrigued enough to enter Paul Snow’s world and be entertained, enthralled and a little bit disturbed.

About The Author:

David Stuart Davies is an author, playwright and editor. His fiction includes six novels featuring his wartime detective Johnny Hawke, Victorian puzzle solver artist Luther Darke, and seven Sherlock Holmes novels – the latest being Sherlock Holmes and the Ripper Legacy (2016). His non-fiction work includes Starring Sherlock Holmes, detailing the film career of the Baker Street sleuth. David is regarded as an authority on Sherlock Holmes and is the author of two Holmes plays, Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act and Sherlock Holmes: The Death and Life, which are available on audio CD. He has written the Afterwords for all the Collector’s Library Holmes volumes, as well as those for many of their other titles. David has also penned three dark, gritty crime novels set in Yorkshire in the 1980s: Brothers in Blood, Innocent Blood and Blood Rites. He is a committee member of the Crime Writers’ Association and edits their monthly publication Red Herrings. His collection of ghost and horror stories appeared in 2015, championed by Mark Gatiss who said they were ‘pleasingly nasty.’ David is General Editor of Wordsworth’s Mystery & Supernatural series and a past Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. He has appeared at many literary festivals and the Edinburgh Fringe performing his one man presentation The Game’s Afoot – an evening with Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle. He was recently made a member of The Detection Club.

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If this brilliant extract made you want to read Blood Rites do follow the blog tour and find out what these other fantastic bloggers are saying.

I’m very excited to bring you my review of The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland.  Thank you to Kim Nash and Bookouture for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.  Special thanks to Kim for understanding when i was unable to post yesterday on my scheduled day due to internet issues.

The Secret Mother is available to buy now in ebook and paperback now in the UK & the US.

Book Blurb:

Are you my mummy?’

Tessa Markham returns home to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children.

Not anymore.

She doesn’t know who the little boy is or how he got there.

After contacting the police, Tessa is suspected of taking the mystery child. Her whole life is turned upside down. And then her husband reveals a secret of his own…

Tessa isn’t sure what to believe or who to trust. Because someone is lying. To find out who, she must confront her painful past. But is the truth more dangerous than Tessa realises?

An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller with a twist that will make you wonder if you can ever trust anyone again. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Sister this book will have you hooked.

My Review:

Before reading The Secret Mother i felt in a bit of a reading slump.  I just couldn’t motivate myself to do much reading.  Whether this was because of moving and a lot of other things happening I could’t say but The Secret Mother helped me break this slump as I couldn’t stop reading it.  I have to be honest, it wasn’t one that grabbed me right from the start but the more I read the more intrigued I became as more and more odd things came to light.  I soon found that I was racing through the pages eager to find out more and discover the secrets behind the little boys sudden appearance in Tessa’s kitchen.

The author does a brilliant job in slowly increasing the tension int he book, which was so intense at times I had to skip ahead to find out what was going to happen.  This made it hard to put down and I often found myself trying to sneak a few more pages in.

I felt a lot of empathy towards Tessa and her predicament.  Regular readers of my blog and my blogger friends will know that I also lost a child and therefore understood exactly how Tessa was feeling.  The author does a great job in describing the emotions and behaviour of a recently bereaved mother, so much so that I think I would recommend this book to others just so they could understand more about how it feels to lose a child.  I felt that she was very misunderstood and that no-one in her life, at the start of the book anyway, listened to her and let her get her point of view across.  I did find myself almost screaming at the book because of some of the things she does trying to discover the truth.  She seems quite a together lady sometimes but when it comes to discovering more about the child she doesn’t always think straight.  I think this is quite true to life as I remember being quite capable in some areas but going to pieces over very small things.

I’m not sure if it is pregnancy hormones but I seem to be reading about a lot of characters I’d happily hit at the moment.  Ellie and Scott are another two that are so well describe that they made my blood boil.  I hate people who act like that and couldn’t believe they weren’t more sympathetic towards her.  They were also very real characters as I have, unfortunately, met similar people in real life.

The ending was brilliant and very unexpected.  I had a lot of theories in my head about what would happen and how it would end but none of them proved correct.  I love it when this happens and an author is able to keep me guessing until the end.  I also liked that the author included a chapter on what everyone’s life was like a few months down the line as it was very interesting to see how it all turned out for each of the characters.

This is the first book by Shalini Boland that I have read but it definitely won’t be my last and I will look forward to reading more from her in the future.  If you like perfectly plotted thrillers that make you think then you will love this book.

Thank you to Kim Nash and Bookouture for giving me a copy of this book and for inviting me on the blog tour.

About The Author:

Shalini Boland lives in Dorset, England with her husband, two children and their cheeky terrier cross. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer/songwriter, but now she spends her days writing psychological thrillers (in between school runs and hanging out endless baskets of laundry).

Shalini’s debut psychological thriller THE GIRL FROM THE SEA reached No 1 in the US Audible charts and No 7 in the UK Kindle charts. Her second thriller THE BEST FRIEND reached no 2 in the US Audible charts and No 10 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts. It also achieved number 1 in all its categories and was a Kindle All Star title for several months in a row. Shalini’s recent release THE MILLIONAIRE’S WIFE reached No 9 in the Kindle UK charts.

Be the first to hear about her new releases here: http://eepurl.com/b4vb45

Shalini is also the author of two bestselling Young Adult series as well as an atmospheric WWII novel with a time-travel twist.

http://www.facebook.com/ShaliniBolandAuthor
http://www.shaliniboland.co.uk
https://twitter.com/ShaliniBoland

 

 

I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for The CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery tour and to be hosting my very first Giveaway.

Firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to the lovely Anne Cater for allowing me to host the Giveaway when I discovered I would be moving house tommorrow and wouldn’t have time to read the book.

Before we get to the brilliant giveaway, here is a little bit about the book….

Book Blurb:

Highlights of the trip include a treacherous cruise to French Polynesia, a horrifying trek in South Africa, a murderous train-ride across Ukraine and a vengeful killing in Mumbai. But back home in the UK, life isn’t so easy either. Dead bodies turn up on the backstreets of Glasgow, crime writers turn words into deeds at literary events, and Lady Luck seems to guide the fate of a Twickenham hood. Showcasing the range, breadth and vitality of the contemporary crime-fiction genre, these twenty-eight chilling and unputdownable stories will take you on a trip you’ll never forget.

Contributions from:

Ann Cleeves C.L. Taylor Susi Holliday

Martin Edwards Anna Mazzola Carol Anne Davis

Cath Staincliffe Chris Simms Christine Poulson

Ed James Gordon Brown J.M. Hewitt Judith Cutler

Julia Crouch Kate Ellis Kate Rhodes Martine Bailey

Michael Stanley Maxim Jakubowski Paul Charles

Paul Gitsham Peter Lovesey Ragnar Jónasson

Sarah Rayne Shawn Reilly Simmons Vaseem Khan

William Ryan and William Burton McCormick

UK only GIVEAWAY!!!

Eek I’m so excited about this.  I have a signed hardback copy of this fantastic book to give away to one lucky person.  All you have to do to win is either comment on this blog post or on the pinned tweet on my twitter profile with an answer to this question-

If I was to commit murder I would hide the body ____________________________________.

I will leave the giveaway open for a week until 21 November and pick a winner, probably with the help of one of my kids to make it fair.

Good luck everyone!

About The Authors:

Twenty-eight of the finest international crime writers in an exciting new anthology edited by Martin Edwards, award-winning crime writer and critic, and author of the bestselling and multi-award-winning The Golden Age of Crime. He is also vice chair of The CWA.

Follow The Blog Tour:

If you liked the sound of this book, do follow the blog tour and see what these other fabulous bloggers thought.

I’m very excited to be on the blog tour for Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.  Her debut novel Everything I Never Told You rates as one of my favourite books ever so I was very excited to be able to get a copy of her new book.

Little Fires Everywhere is now available to buy in ebook and Hardback here.

Book Blurb:

Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principal is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother- who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the alluring mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When the Richardsons’ friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town and puts Mia and Mrs. Richardson on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Mrs. Richardson becomes determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs to her own family – and Mia’s.

Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of long-held secrets and the ferocious pull of motherhood-and the danger of believing that planning and following the rules can avert disaster, or heartbreak.

My Review:

Little Fires Everywhere is a book that I think will stay with me for a long time as i thought it described some very interesting, thought provoking subjects.

The description of the relationship throughout the book was startling and I enjoyed reading about their history and or formation.  What struck me the most was the different things people can take out of a relationship compared to the other people that are involved.  I found this fascinating that something could be construed in such a different way.  It has definitely made me think more about my own relationships.

The Little Fires the title refers to are all the flash points that occur throughout the book.  The author describes these beautifully, introducing the reader to them slowly and then gradually revealing the cracks in the relationships or the jealousies that some relationships can cause.  It was very interesting seeing how such jealousies were formed and how the various characters acted on them.

The biggest question asked in the book is also the most intriguing and i can see it causing a few heated discussions in book groups is what makes a good mother.  This is hinted at throughout the book, not only during the adoption case but also by the different mother styles of Mrs Richardson and Mia. It was very interesting to see the affect this could have on the children and how the children reacted to the different styles.

My favourite character was Isabelle.  I loved her attitude towards things that she felt were wrong and her determination to right wrongs and her willingness to stand up for other people.  I did feel that she was misunderstood and that rather than being naughty she was actually trying in her own, misguided, way to help.  I felt sorry for her as I felt that no-one really listened to her points of view and that her thoughts and opinions were largely dismissed. As adults I think it is too easy for us to do this to children and that maybe we should try and listen to them more and talk through their opinions rather than dismissing them.  My least favourite was Mrs Richardson who annoyed me with  her constant strive for perfection in both herself and her children.  She seemed to be a bit of a busy body trying to get people to conform to her way of thinking and getting involved in things that weren’t really her business.  I thought she would be a hard person to have as a mother, especially if you were a free spirit like Isabelle.

The setting of Shaker Heights was perfect and really helped add something to the story.  It was almost a character in itself lurking in the background, having an unsettling influence on all the characters.  I didn’t like the amount of control or rules that the place had on its residents, which at times seemed almost like a dictatorship at times.

This is Celeste Ng’s second novel and the second novel that I have read.  I really enjoy her books and will definitely be looking forward to any future books she writes.  As mentioned previously I think this will be a great book for a book club or other group as I think there is a lot of interesting things to discuss.  It also might be a good book for schools as it addresses the subjects of race, politics and class which could be a good way for the children to learn about such things.

Huge thanks to Grace Vincent and Little Brown for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

Author Information:

Celeste Ng grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker heights, Ohio.  She attended Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan.  Her debut novel, everything I Never Told You, won the Hopwood Award, the Massachusetts Book Award, the Asian/ Pacific American Award for Literature and the American Library Association’s Alex Award.  She is a 2016 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow and she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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 blogger are saying!

 

 

I’m so excited to be asked to be part of the cover reveal for the new book from one of my favourite authors.  This is a very special book for Harriet Evans, A Sunday Times Best Selling author, as it is the 10th novel that she has written and had published.  A special book needs a special cover to go with it and I think you will agree that this one is beautiful! I love all the colours and how they are contrasted perfectly with that gorgeous blue sky- so stunning.

The Wildflowers is being described as perfect for fans of Kate Morton or Santa Montefiore.  It will be available to buy in ebook on the 22nd February 2018 & in paperback on the 3rd May 2018 but it is available to pre-order here.

Here is a little bit about what the book is about.

Book Blurb:

Tony and Althea Wilde. Glamorous, argumentative … adulterous to the core.

They were my parents, actors known by everyone. They gave our lives love and colour in a house by the sea – the house that sheltered my orphaned father when he was a boy.

But the summer Mads arrived changed everything. She too had been abandoned and my father understood why. We Wildflowers took her in.

My father was my hero, he gave us a golden childhood, but the past was always going to catch up with him … it comes for us all, sooner or later.

This is my story. I am Cordelia Wilde. A singer without a voice. A daughter without a father. Let me take you inside.

Praise for Harriet Evans:

The Butterfly Summer is an amazing achievement; heart-stopping and wonderful. It’s an epic, sweeping, romantic story told brilliantly… I could practically feel the butterflies brushing against my cheeks as I read (Sophie Kinsella)

Loved it (Gill Hornby)

[A] delightfully engrossing read. . . Romance, danger and an intriguing legacy – an ideal holiday read (The Lady)

A delightfully engrossing read (Sarra Manning Red magazine)

Moving, gripping, heartbreaking (Kate Williams)

Great characters, gorge house, intriguing mystery, what’s not to love?! (Lucy Diamond)

Multi-layered, heartbreaking and as beautiful as a butterfly wing (Veronica Henry)

A crumbling house in Cornwall and a family with lots of secrets are brought to life by the evocative writing in Harriet Evans’ novel The Butterfly Summer (Good Housekeeping)

Gorgeous (Cathy Rentzenbrink Stylist)

Harriet Evans’ writing is just perfect (Linda’s Book Bag)

About The Author:

Harriet Evans is a Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of seven previous novels, including A Hopeless Romantic, The Love of Her Life, Happily Ever After and Not Without You. She spent a number of years working in the publishing industry before becoming an author fulltime. She lives in London with her family.

I’ve long been a fan of Elizabeth Buchan’s brilliant books.  As a huge reader of historical fiction, particular those set in the first and second world war, I love her ability to find a different angle to write about then others have done.  I always learn something from her books and find her work intriguing and thought provoking.

Before I go to ‘fan girl’ on you with my review, let me tell you a little about the book.

Book Blurb:

‘Wrapped in the roots of the sycamore was a skeleton; the remains of a woman, between twenty-five and thirty. She had carried a child . . .’

At the close of the Second World War, Intelligence Officer Gus Clifton returns to London. On his arm is Krista, the German wife he married secretly in Berlin. For his sisters, this broken woman is nothing more than the enemy. For Nella, Gus’s loyal fiancée, it is a terrible betrayal. These three friends wonder what hold Krista has over decent, honourable Gus. And, they ask themselves, how far will they have to go to permanently get her out of their home, their future, their England?

My Review:

Regular readers of my blog will know that i’m a huge fan of historical fiction but I haven’t read many books describing what happened after the second world war had ended.  This was why I found The New Mrs Clifton so utterly fascinating and intriguing.

This is just one of those books that it is easy to immerse yourself in and lose hours at a time to.  The writing style just draws you in and the gradual unveiling of information along with the mystery of why Krista and Gus are together keeps you interested and wanting to read more.  The author is very skilled at taking the reader to a different time and place and I loved reading all the little details about every day life that were included.  From the daily drudge of going shopping on the ration and the vastly different experience it is from today to the lessons on how to run a house hold that women in that era had to undertake I lapped up every little detail.

It was very interesting to find out what was happening in Britain and Germany once the war had ended.  The author perfectly describes the lingering bad feeling towards the Germans in Britain and the fight for everyone to start rebuilding their often shattered lives.  The descriptions of the soldiers that had been injured were particularly poignant as you realised their lives and their families would never be the same again.

For me this was the first account I had read that described Britain being involved in war crimes or atrocities towards others.  I’d never read anything about the allies conduct during the war that doesn’t describe them as being heroic so it was an eye opener to find out that we were guilty of similar crimes to our enemies.

My favourite character was Krista.  I thought she was quite brave coming to Britain and trying to start a new life despite facing huge discrimination.  I felt very sorry for her in this regard as I didn’t feel that it was justified and the accounts of her dealing with it brought a lump to my throat.  I admired her resolved to try and keep going and make the best of things.  At times her fear and confusion regarding her new life and the attitude of Londoners towards her was almost tangible.  I just wanted to put my arm around her at times and give her a cuddle.  It must have been so hard for women in similar situations.

I have read all of Elizabeth Buchan’s books and I really look forward to reading more from her in the future.  If you like well research, intriguing historical fiction you will love her books.

Thank you to Jenny Platt from Michael St Joseph publishers for kindly providing me with a copy of this fantastic book.

About The Author:

Elizabeth Buchan began her career as a blurb writer at Penguin Books after graduating from the University of Kent with a double degree in English and History. She moved on to become a fiction editor at Random House before leaving to write full time. Her novels include the prizewinning Consider the Lily – reviewed in the Independent as ‘a gorgeously well written tale: funny, sad and sophisticated’. A subsequent novel, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman became an international bestseller and was made into a CBS Primetime Drama. She received letters from all over the world after it was published and people still come up at book events to say how much the novel affected them. Later novels included The Second Wife, Separate Beds, Daughters. After talking to some amazing women who had been employed by SOE, she wrote the Danish wartime resistance story, I Can’t Begin to Tell You, which was reviewed as ‘nerve-jinglingly engrossing’ by the Sunday Times. The New Mrs Clifton, to be published in August 2016, is based on a situation that happened in her own family after the war – only in reverse.
Elizabeth Buchan’s short stories are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in magazines. She reviews for the Sunday Times and the Daily Mail, and has chaired the Betty Trask and Desmond Elliot literary prizes. She was a judge for the Whitbread First Novel Award and for the 2014 Costa Novel Award . She is a patron of the Guildford Book Festival and of The National Academy of Writing, and sits on the author committee for The Reading Agency.

I’m very excited to be on the blog tour today for the fantastic Killing State by Judith O’Reilly.  I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone who loves fast paced, cleverly plotted thrillers.

Killing State is available in Kindle format now here, and will be available in paperback in March but is available to pre-order.

Book Blurb:

The bullet in his brain isn’t the problem. She is.
Michael North is a hero, with a bullet in the brain to prove it. A bullet which has rewired his neural pathways and heightened his sense of intuition. A bullet which is driving him mad. Working for an extra-governmental agency called The Board, North knows one thing for sure. He is very good at killing very bad guys. But what happens when a hero is ordered to kill a good woman rather than a bad man? Because it turns out that rising political star, Honor Jones, MP, can’t stop asking the right questions about the wrong people.
He should follow orders.
Shouldn’t he?

My Review:

From the fantastic opening line this book drew me in with it’s intriguing story line and fast paced action.  I loved the description of the secret agency with a slightly murky mission run by a gentleman who reminded me or a character from a James Bond movie to our hero North, the Killer with nothing to lose.  I found it fascinating and kept reading hoping to discover more about it.  My enjoyment was heightened by the added mystery of what had happened to Peggy and what she had got her self involved in.  I had a variety of theories about this, none of which proved to be correct which is always great when an author has the ability to keep you on your toes, and keep you guessing!

My favourite character was Honor.  I thought she was very brave to put herself in danger for her friends sake and to try and discover what had happened to her, particularly after her own near miss with the mysterious agency.  I’m sure many people would have been put off by less and I admired the fact that she chose to carry on.  There are some descriptions throughout the book describing Honor and peggy’s relationship and it was very touching to see how close the pair of them where and how much they meant to each other.  It was brilliant that the author provides the reader with some background information throughout the book as it helps you to understand the character more and explains why they are behaving the way they are.  I also quite liked North, the killer with a heart.  I felt that he had had quite a hard life and I wanted him to have the happy ending i felt he deserved.  Some of the plans and methods for escape he had were ingenious and at times I felt like actually cheering when they went his way and he managed to get away.  I was never quite sure if he had a hidden agenda which made me quite weary of him and helped increase the tension in the book as I wasn’t sure how he would react.

I thought the book was very well written and paced with the right amount of action and slow moments to keep the reader guessing and on their toes.  The quieter moments were necessary I felt as they often involved giving the reader a bit of background information about the characters or the case which helped the reader get a more holistic view about what was going on.  I did find the back and forth a little tricky to get used to at first, but I soon got into it and found that I quite enjoyed the flashbacks at the end as they often gave me some fascinating insights into events.

This is the Judith O’Reilly’s third book, but her first thriller and the first book by her I have read though it won’t be my last, particularly as I believe there are future plans for further Michael North thrillers.  If you like fast paced and well plotted thrillers that keep you on your toes then you will love this book.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater and  Loughman Press for my copy of this book and for inviting me on the blog tour.

About The Author:

Judith O’Reilly is the author of Wife in the North and A Year of Doing Good (both published by Viking Penguin, 2008 and 2013 respectively). Wife in the North reached number three in the UK bestsellers’ chart and was in the top ten for five weeks. It was also a top ten bestseller in Germany. It sold into ten countries, was serialised by The Sunday Times and the Daily Telegraph, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and was based on Judith’s eponymous blog which was named as one of the top 100 blogs in the world by The Sunday Times. Judith’s blog is credited with kicking off the popularity of domestic blogging in the UK. Wife in the North and A Year of Doing Good were both non-fiction. Killing State is a commercial political thriller and Judith’s first novel. At least the first one she’s allowed to leave the house without her. Judith is a former political producer with BBC 2’s Newsnight and ITN’s Channel 4 News, and a former education correspondent with The Sunday Times where she also covered politics, undercover reporting and general news. She still writes for The Sunday Times, and has acted as a strategic communications adviser for both government and business.

Follow The Blog Tour:

If you liked the sound of Killing State from my review, do follow the blog tour and see what these other fabulous bloggers are saying.

I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for The Winter’s Child by Cassandra Parkin.  I had heard a lot of good reviews from my fellow bloggers for this book so I was thrilled to be able to get a copy of it and to be invited onto the blog tour.  The winter’s child is available to buy now here.

Book Blurb:

Five years ago, Susannah Harper’s son Joel went missing without trace. Bereft of her son and then of her husband, Susannah tries to accept that she may never know for certain what has happened to her lost loved ones. She has rebuilt her life around a simple selfless mission: to help others who, like her, must learn to live without hope.

But then, on the last night of Hull Fair, a fortune-teller makes an eerie prediction. She tells her that this Christmas Eve, Joel will finally come back to her.

As her carefully-constructed life begins to unravel, Susannah is drawn into a world of psychics and charlatans, half-truths and hauntings, friendships and betrayals, forcing her to confront the buried truths of her family’s past, where nothing and no one are quite as they seem.

A ghostly winter read with a modern gothic flavour. A tale of twisted love, family secrets and hauntings.

My Review:

The Winter’s Child is a crime story but not necessarily one told as you would expect. It is told mainly from the point of  view of the victims, the parent’s of two missing children with the police being largely background characters.  I thought this was a fascinating approach to take as it was very interesting to see the investigation from the otherside and realise how such an event and a crime investigation can affect the victims.  It made the story much more emotional then it otherwise would have been as you can see how each twist, turn or revelation effects the victims and how they can go on a huge rollercoaster ride of different emotions throughout the investigation.

I had mixed feelings about the main character Susannah.  On one hand i really felt for her as her emotions about her lost son were still very evident in her daily life and actions. It was heartbreaking to see how much she tried to fight against them and lead a normal life but was set back by little things.  The description of the daily rituals that she follows in her son’s memory were very poignant to read about as were the ways that she tried to rationalise every hopeful thought she has about her son to try and protect herself from further hurt.  I loved the relationship she had developed with her neighbour and the description of how they were able to support each other without talking was beautiful and brought a tear to my eye.

However I did find her a little selfish and unfeeling at times, especially towards others who had also suffered the loss of the child.  She seemed to believe that her opinion or way of thinking was the only correct way to be and didn’t seem to care a lot about the way others in her situation might feel.  As someone who has lost a child, albeit it a slightly different way, I actually agreed with Jackie’s observation that it doesn’t matter what people believe in as long as is it giving them comfort that is all that matters.  When I lost Christopher the hope that I would get to see him again in heaven and hopefully get to spend time with him was very comforting to me, as was the hope that he was watching over us all and keeping us safe.  I know others wouldn’t agree with this opinion but if it provides comfort to a grieving mother I don’t see what the harm in it is.  I felt Susannah was wrong to be so outspoken against things and it did make me dislike her a bit.

My favourite character was Jackie, I loved her attitude and the fact that she tried to help Susannah despite suffering herself.  She seemed a very strong lady, determined to find her son but not to let his disappearance affect her daughter. She seemed to also be the only one to stand up to Susannah and the only person willing to tell her she was wrong.  I found I quite admired her and hoped that in a similar situation I might be like her.

The information about how psychics work was very interesting as its a subject I’ve never really given much thought to before.  Their ability to work out a suitable fortune for someone based on the similar things everyone at an event might have experience is obvious when you think about it but not something that I had ever realised before.  I do hope that not all of them prey on vulnerable people though and that there is some sort of legal action that can be taken if they are found to have done.

The style and flow of the book drew me in from the first page and I soon found myself really immersed in the story.  The author has a brilliant ability to help the reader understand a character quite quickly and I soon felt that I understood Susannah well and knew what made her tick.  I think this is because the author describes what the character is thinking so the reader gets a much more holistic view of them.  She also doesn’t hold back from telling the reader everything, whether good or bad, about the character leaving the reader to make up their mind about them.

This the first book by Cassandra Parkin that I have read but it definitely won’t be my last and I look forward to reading more by her in the future.

Thank you to Legend Press for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

Cassandra Parkin grew up in Hull, and now lives in East Yorkshire. Her short story collection, New World Fairy Tales (Salt Publishing, 2011), won the 2011 Scott Prize for Short Stories. Her work has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies.
The Summer We All Ran Away (Legend Press, 2013) was Cassandra’s debut novel and nominated for the Amazon Rising Stars 2014.

Legend Press have also published The Beach Hut (2015), Lily’s House (2016) and The Winter’s Child (2017. Cassandra’s fifth novel is due to be published in 2018.

Visit Cassandra at cassandraparkin.wordpress.com or on Twitter @cassandrajaneuk

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I’m so excited to be kicking off the blog tour for the brilliant The Future Can’t wait by fellow Malvern resident Angelena Boden.  The Future Can’t Wait is out today in paperback and ebook here. The ebook is currently the amazing price of 99p, an absolute bargain!

For anyone local reading this Angelena Boden will be discussing her book and signing copies at The Malvern Co-operative Bookshop in Malvern on the 22nd November!

Book Blurb:

The Future Can’t Wait is the emotive and compelling second novel from Angelena Boden, author of the gripping The Cruelty of Lambs.

Kendra Blackmore is trying to be a good mother and a good wife, as well as pursuing her pressurised teaching career. Then Kendra’s half-Iranian daughter Ariana (Rani) undergoes an identity crisis which results in her running away from home and cutting off all contact with her family.

Sick with worry and desperate to understand why her home-loving daughter would do this, Kendra becomes increasingly desperate for answers – and to find any way possible to discover the truth and bring her estranged daughter home…

The Future Can’t Wait is a gripping story of a mother’s love, and the lengths we would all go to in order to know our children are safe.

My Review:

The Future Can’t wait is a truely modern, thought provoking book that I think everyone should read!  I really enjoyed the journey it took me into preset day, multicultural Birmingham.  It is a very modern book,tackling a very relevant subject regarding the rise of terrorism and the recruitment of young men and women to their cause.  It’s a subject that I think many authors would shy away from but Angelena Boden manages to tackle it in a sensitive and indiscriminate way that really draws the reader in and helps to increase their understanding of the subject.  I liked that she never fell back on stereotypes and instead chose to keep the reader on their toes with characters that you wouldn’t expect to be caught up in something like that.

I felt very sorry for Kendra as I felt that she had a hard life with her daughter and her husband both being so difficult.  I’m dreading the kids  getting to the teenage/ early twenties years so some of the passages describing Ravi’s tantrums made my blood run cold as they seemed so realistic.  I’ve no idea what i would do in a similar situation either, so Kendra’s plight really touched me.  I often had to go hug my kids whilst reading this just for reassurance.  Kendra’s fear and frustration was tangible at times and I felt that I went an really emotional journey with her as she tried to find out what happened to her daughter.

There are little bits of psychology mentioned throughout the book, the main characters Kendra being a psychology teacher, which I found very fascinating.  It was great to be able to discover why people act the way they do and how, normal people, can be coerced into joining a terrorist movement.  Sometimes Kendra could seem a little smug when dispensing her psychology wisdom which did make me want to punch her at times as I have met other mums like that and i know how annoying it can be to be on the receiving end of it!

The author used to live in Birmingham and her love for the city certainly shows throughout the novel as she tries the opinions the reader may have of the city.  Instead of deprivation and grime that some may associate with the city, she tries to show the reader the beauty and the improvements that have been made to the city.  It certainly made me want to visit Birmingham again and visit some of the places she describes.

The ending of this book is amazing, it is so unexpected and really took me by surprise! I so wish that it continued on further then it did as I would love to have discovered what would happen next and furtively wish there had been an epilogue or that there is a sequel planned.

This is Angelena Boden’s second novel, the second book that I have read by her and I really look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Huge thank you to Matthew Smith from Urbane Publishers and Abby Fairbrother for inviting me onto this tour and giving me a copy of this book.

Author Information:

 

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