*Please Note: This review was written by Joanna Park and posted on her blog Over The Rainbow Blog. If you see it posted elsewhere it has been stolen. 

Book Synopsis:

THEY CALL ME THE LUCKY ONE. THEY DON’T KNOW I LIED.

Nine years ago, Charlie Colbert’s life changed for ever.

On Christmas Eve, as the snow fell, her elite graduate school was the site of a chilling attack. Several of her classmates died. Charlie survived.

Years later, Charlie has the life she always wanted at her fingertips: she’s editor-in-chief of a major magazine and engaged to the golden child of the publishing industry.

But when a film adaptation of that fateful night goes into production, Charlie’s dark past threatens to crash into her shiny present.

Charlie was named a ‘witness’ in the police reports. Yet she knows she was much more than that.

The truth about that night will shatter everything she’s worked for. Just how far will she go to protect it?

My Review:

Everybody Who Could Forgive Me Is Dead is a dark, compulsive read that was surprisingly thought provoking.

Firstly I found the characters in this book very intriguing and enjoyed following them throughout the book. They were all quite unlikable characters, who all had secrets and I enjoyed slowly discovering more about them. Charlie was a particularly interesting character who I wasn’t sure how I felt about. On one hand I really felt for her as I learned more about how deeply the incident has affected her and how much it has changed her life but on the other I really didn’t know if I could trust her or her version of events. I had a very uneasy feeling about her and found I had to keep reading as I had to find out more about her.

The story is told in two timelines one following events in the current day and the other flashing back to the night in question. I thought the book started off a little slowly as the author sets the scene and we find out more about the characters but soon picks up and becomes very hard to put down. The author does a great job of cleverly withholding information from the reader until the end so I was never completely sure what was going to happen next. There were lot of surprising twists that kept me guessing and although I did guess the ending it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

This is author’s debut novel and I’d definitely be interested in reading more from her in the future. Huge Thanks to Beth from Little Brown for sending me a copy of this book. If you like thrillers that make you think then I highly recommend this one.

About The Author:

Hi! I’m Jenny, a writer and editor from London. My debut novel, EVERYONE WHO CAN FORGIVE ME IS DEAD, will be published by St. Martin’s Press (US) and Little, Brown (UK) on February 6, 2024.

My work has been featured in ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Bustle, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. I spent ten years in New York, where I worked as a senior editor for Bustle and the deputy editor at Marie Claire. Now the digital director for Marie Claire, I live in London with my husband and our rescue dog, Captain. When I’m not knee-deep in Google Analytics, an edit, or a manuscript, I’m a fierce advocate for developmental coordination disorder, known in the U.K. as dyspraxia, which I was diagnosed with when I was nine.

Good morning everyone today on Two For Tuesday I’m featuring two books by the lovely Liz Hyder.

I read The Gifts a while ago and absolutely loved it so I was very excited to learn she had a new one coming out. This was particularly so as The Illusions is about the early illusionists which have always intrigued me.

I run the bookclub for Rossiter Books in Malvern and The Illusions is our February book club read. I was very excited to learn Liz lives near Malvern and she has agreed to come talk to us as our next book club! I can’t wait to learn more about her book and about the illusionists.

Q: If you could do magic, what would you use it for?
A: I’d use it to summon things to me. The amount of times I’ve left things upstairs or forgotten my tea in the kitchen when I’ve just sat down – it would be useful 🤣

The Illusions by Liz Hyder

What if you had real magic within you . . . ?

The utterly spellbinding new novel from the celebrated author of THE GIFTS

1896. As a group of illusionists prepare for a grand spectacle, one young woman, Cecily Marsden, harbours a secret. For she possesses impossible powers – powers she little understands.

Meanwhile Eadie Carleton, a pioneering early film-maker, struggles for her talent to be taken seriously, and a talented magician, George Perris, begins to see the potential in moving pictures. But in order to achieve his dreams, George must first win over Miss Carleton . . .

As Cecily, George and Eadie’s worlds collide, Cec finds herself facing the fight of her life to save the grand performance from sabotage – and harness the real magic held deep within her . . .

The Gifts by Liz Hyder

It will take something extraordinary to show four women who they truly are . . .

October 1840. A young woman staggers alone through a forest in Shropshire as a huge pair of impossible wings rip themselves from her shoulders.

Meanwhile, when rumours of a ‘fallen angel’ cause a frenzy across London, a surgeon desperate for fame and fortune finds himself in the grips of a dangerous obsession, one that will place the women he seeks in the most terrible danger . . .

THE GIFTS is the astonishing debut adult novel from the lauded author of BEARMOUTH. A gripping and ambitious book told through five different perspectives and set against the luminous backdrop of nineteenth century London, it explores science, nature and religion, enlightenment, the role of women in society and the dark danger of ambition.

About The Author:

Liz Hyder has been making up stories for as long she can remember. Bearmouth, her debut young adult novel, won a Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Branford Boase Award, and was chosen as the Children’s Book of the Year by The Times.

The Gifts, her acclaimed debut novel for grown-ups, was published in the UK in 2022 and in April 2023 in the US. The Illusions is out in June 2023 in hardback in the UK. Liz has a degree in drama from the University of Bristol and was, once upon a time, a member of the National Youth Theatre. Originally from London, she has lived in Shropshire for over a decade.

Good afternoon everyone I hope you’re having a good day. I was lucky enough to receive a copy of The Saturday Place by Alice Peterson last week. It sounds really good and I can’t wait to read it soon.

Find out more about the book below.

Out 14th March 2024.

Book Synopsis:

Three perfect strangers who help each other to believe in love again

Holly’s husband died, and she’s lonely. She needs to do something to save herself, quickly. Next thing she knows she’s interviewing for a voluntary cooking job, surprised to be ambushed by a scruffy man who looks like he has a past.

Angus has messed up. He’s lost the respect of his family and has none for himself. If it weren’t for his brother and friend who run the café, he’d be sleeping on the streets. Angus is about ready to give up – until he meets Holly, who sparks something in him.

Then Lauren arrives from the homeless shelter. She came to London with nothing but an old train ticket, a teddy bear, and the clothes on her back. With no family, no home, no friends, she doesn’t know what love is. People scare her. She’s terrified of Angus and Holly. At first.

Each of them finds themselves in the Saturday café at a time when they need something to grab hold of. It might have to be each other…

About The Author:

I have published two non-fiction books, and ten novels, including the critically acclaimed A Song for Tomorrow, and my bestselling title, Monday to Friday Man. My latest novel, The Saturday Place, will be published by Bedford Square Publishers in March, 2024.

My writing is romantic, powerful and emotional, and my storylines always include hard-hitting and thought-provoking themes, such as addiction and disability. My next novel touches on homelessness. My protagonists often have to overcome adversity, based on my own experience of a professional tennis career cut short at the age of 18 when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I have never played tennis again, a sadness that will always be with me, but I have very much filled that void with writing. I am drawn to true stories and aim to write with deep compassion, empathy and humour about issues that resonate with my growing readership and that I believe have the potential of reaching and touching millions more.

I live in west London where I am currently training to be a psychotherapist. My most favourite thing is walking my best buddy, my handsome Lucas Terrier, Mr Darcy, in the park.

Good morning everyone and happy Sunday.  I’ve been lucky enough to receive some amazing book post this week:

❤️The Saturday Place by Alice Peterson
🧡 Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
💛The Lost Paths by Jack Cornish
💚Five Nights by Rachel Wolf
💙The Amendments by Niamh Mulvey
🩵As Young As This by Roxy Dunn
💜Eliza Mace by Sarah Burton & Jem Poster
💟The Lifeline by Libby Page
🩷In Memory Of Us by Dani Atkins
💞Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Slater by Nicci French
🤍Where They Lie by Claire Coughlan
🩶 Fourteen Days by various authors

Huge thanks to all the tagged publishers for sending these to me it’s really appreciated.

I’m working today which I always enjoy, but I’m going to visit my grannie for a bit first.  She can’t hear very well any more so communication is difficult but it’s nice to see her.  I’m then hoping to come home and read some more of The Escape Room which is very intriguing so far.  Escape Rooms never really appealed to me before anyway but after reading this I’m definitely not doing one – ever!

What are your Sunday plans?

Good afternoon everyone I was very excited to receive a copy of this fantastic sounding book yesterday. I absolutely love this author’s books so I can’t wait to read her new one soon.

Huge thanks to the lovely Chloe from Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book.

Out 25th April 2024

Book Synopsis:

A thrilling page-turner about sisterhood, secrets, love and murder by Sally Hepworth, the New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate and The Mother-in-Law

It’s not just secrets buried at Wild Meadows.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. Rescued from their own family tragedies, they were raised by a loving foster mother on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance for a happy family life.

But the girls’ childhood wasn’t quite the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. And when a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the three foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses.

It’s time for them to return home as adults. The only question is are they innocent victims or the prime suspects for murder?

With darkly comic timing and insidiously twisting plots, Sally Hepworth’s novels are guaranteed to keep you turning the pages . . .

About The Author:

Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including The Good Sister and The Soulmate. Her latest novel, Darling Girls, was released in Australia in September 2023, and will be released in North America in April 2024.

Drawing on the good, the bad and the downright odd of human behaviour, Sally writes incisively about family, relationships and identity. Her domestic thriller novels are laced with quirky humour, sass and a darkly charming tone. They are available worldwide in English and have been translated into twenty languages.

Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her three children and one adorable dog. She has recently taken up ocean swimming (or to put it more accurately, ocean dipping)

Good morning everyone and happy weekend. Spring is one of my favourite months, especially when all the beautiful spring flowers start coming out.

I treated myself to a couple of bunches of daffodils this week and I thought I’d do a yellow book stack to match, as I seem to have quite a few yellow books ATM.

💛 Sandwich by Catherine Newman
🧡Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
💛 Divorced Not Dead by Harper Ford
🧡The Psychology Of Secrets by Andrew Gold
💛The Book Of Beginnings by Sally Page
🧡The Night In Question by Susan Fletcher
💛Token by Beverly Kendall
🧡 Butter by Asako Yuzuki
💛Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Slater by Nicci French

All of these are tbr but I’ll be reading Token soon as I’m on the blog tour later this month and I want to fit in The Night In Question as it sounds really good.

Today the two youngest kids have clubs and my eldest is having a friend over to play Xbox. I’m planning on sneaking upstairs and starting my new book. I’ve been distracted again and I’m thinking of starting The Escape Room by L. D Smithson as I fancy a thriller next.

I’ve tagged a few people on Instagram who might want to share a match your flowers post but, as always, no pressure.

Q: What’s your favourite flowers?
A: Daffodils, tulips and gerbera’s

Good afternoon everyone I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this fantastic sounding book this week along with a lovely candle and some rather delicious sweets. I love books set in the Victorian period, especially if they involve a lady detective so this book instantly appealed.

Huge thanks to Duckworth books fory copy of this book.

Out 7th March 2024.

Book Synopsis:

A twisty Victorian mystery featuring quick-witted detective Eliza Mace

In the first of a thrilling new Victorian detective series, Eliza Mace, on the cusp of adulthood, is battling for her independence. Stuck in a crumbling manor house in the Welsh borders in the 1870s, she is thwarted by powers that conspire to protect, control and deceive her. But when her father goes missing in mysterious circumstances, Eliza’s determination to uncover the truth is unstoppable.

Joining forces with the charismatic new police constable, Dafydd Pritchard, she sets out to solve the case, but that’s no easy task. Her father has run up debts in town and beyond, and there are many who bear him a grudge. As she searches for evidence, Eliza exposes dark secrets that threaten to tear her world apart…

About The Authors:

Sarah Burton

Dr. Sarah Burton is the author of three works of non-fiction and two books for children. She was founder-director of Cambridge University’s MSt in Creative Writing and has taught at Royal Holloway College, Goldsmiths’ College and the University of Oxford. She currently teaches regularly for the Guardian Masterclass series, as well as for Cambridge University’s Centre for Creative Writing. She has written extensively for BBC History Magazine and has reviewed for the Times, Spectator, Guardian and Independent. THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF H is her debut novel for adults.

Jem Poster

Jem Poster has taught creative writing for the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Aberystwyth. He is the author of two acclaimed historical novels, Courting Shadows and Rifling Paradise, and co-author, with Sarah Burton, of a handbook for fiction writers, The Book You Need to Read to Write the Book You Want to Write.

Book Synopsis:

The summer is the hottest yet in the Brittany coastal town of Morranez, but when a new case lands on the desk of the Toussaints detective agency, there can be no time to relax. As wild fires bear down on the town, the alert goes out for a missing girl.

Nineteen-year-old Briony Moorcroft has seemingly been taken from her sleepy Welsh village and brought to France. Her parents are baffled and scared – Briony needs her life-saving medicine or this case will become even more sinister, and with the police dragging their heels, the Moorcrofts are relying on Mila Shephard and Carter Jackson’s sleuthing skills.

Meanwhile there are mysteries troubling Mila’s life too. Two years after the accident that swept her sister Sophie and brother-in-law Charlie away and left their daughter Ani in Mila’s care, new evidence resurfaces that makes Mila doubt everything.

Can Carter and Mila find Briony before it’s too late? And is the truth about Sophie and Charlie finally about to be revealed…

My Review:

The Summer Of Lies is another very enjoyable, intriguing mystery from one of my favourite authors.

Firstly I absolutely loved the setting of this book which made me feel fully transported to the (sadly) fictional town of Morranez and the beautiful Brittany coast. It’s definitely made me want to visit France soon and it has made me excited to visit the beach again. The constant threat of wild fires were also well described and I sometimes felt that I could actually feel the heat from the fire or hear it crackling.

I thought that all the character’s were wonderful creations and I enjoyed following them throughout the book. It was interesting seeing the dynamic between them and see how much they cared for each other. I really liked following the multiple story lines and I thought it was very clever how the author gradually merges them all together. The reader is given a chance to really get to know the characters and to find out what makes them tick which I think made the story more even more intriguing. It was fun trying to guess what was happening and their motivations for it.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more from this author soon. This was actually a sequel to The Lost Notebook which I hadn’t realised so it was fun to catch up with the characters again. The book has a great pace to it and I soon found that I couldn’t put the book down. The threat of the forest fire helps add a lot of tension and a sense of danger to the book so I had to keep reading to find out what happens to everyone.  I did guess fairly early on what was going to happen but I had to keep reading to check that I was right. There were lots of twists that kept me guessing, including a huge one at the end which I hadn’t predicted. I believe there is going to be a sequel to this book and I’m very excited to find out how it all ends.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Boldwood for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Hello! I’m Louise, author of 12 novels mostly set in the Somerset countryside close to where I live and Sicily. I’m thrilled to have won the RNA Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller award 2021 for The House by the Sea which has sold more than a quarter of a million copies.

I’m currently writing the third of the Brittany collection of novels set in Finistère and all involving missing people. The Lost Notebook was a UK number one best-seller & its sequel, The Summer of Lies was published in February 2024.

When I’m not writing, I love to spend time with my family, friends and animals. I’m passionate about nature, being outside, drawing, wildlife, walking and books. Right now, all my spare time is being taken up by our new Border Collie puppy, Luna.

I really hope you enjoy my books. If you’d like to connect, find me on Facebook Louise Amy Douglas or LouiseDouglas3 on Twitter. Thank you x

Book Synopsis:

Vox meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this feminist reimagining of 1984
 
In Oceania, whoever you are, Big Brother is always watching you and trust is a luxury that no one has. Julia is the seemingly perfect example of what women in Oceania should be: dutiful, useful, subservient, meek. But Julia hides a secret. A secret that would lead to her death if it is discovered. For Julia is part of the underground movement called The Sisterhood, whose main goal is to find members of The Brotherhood, the anti-Party vigilante group, and help them to overthrow Big Brother. Only then can everyone be truly free.
 
When Julia thinks she’s found a potential member of The Brotherhood, it seems like their goal might finally be in their grasp. But as she gets closer to Winston Smith, Julia’s past starts to catch up with her and we soon realise that she has many more secrets than we’d first imagined – and that overthrowing Big Brother might cost her everything – but if you have nothing left to lose then you don’t mind playing the game . . .
 
This is a story about love, about family, about being a woman, a mother, a sister, a friend and ultimately about what you would sacrifice for the greater good.

My Review:

The Sisterhood is an absorbing, thought provoking read that will definitely stay with me.

I remember really enjoying 1984 when I read it at school so I was very intrigued, if a bit nervous, to read The Sisterhood. This book is being classed as a retelling but I think it’s actually more of a companion book as it tells the story from a different perspective and often helped to give more meaning to certain parts of the books which had confused me before. This book shows Julia’s side of the story which I found very intriguing. She is a bit of a secondary character in 1984 so I enjoyed finding out more about her life and how the new world had affected her. She’s a very interesting character and I quickly warmed to her, thinking she’s very clever and brave for being willing to fight.

The author does a great job of describing the frightening new world that the character’s find themselves in and I enjoyed exploring it more alongside the characters. It’s a world that seems frighteningly realistic and plausible which made me shudder at times. I liked that we find out more about how this world was created which I think was skipped in the original book. 

Overall I really liked this book and will definitely be recommending it to others. The book had a nice pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep me reading. I thought it was very clever how the author has written this book as it manages to be a companion book to 1984 but also a book which I think would stand on it’s own. The ending was brilliant and I really enjoyed seeing Julia come into her own as a character.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book. If you like clever, dystopian books than I highly recommend this one.

About The Author:

Katherine Bradley enjoyed a twenty-year career managing services for homeless people in Brighton, before retraining as a teacher. She now teaches English in a secondary school academy, finding time to also teach creative writing to adults. She holds a first-class degree in English Literature, in addition to qualifications in teaching, creative writing and coaching. As Kate Bradley, she has published two suspense thrillers – To Keep You Safe (2020) and What I Did (2021). Her work has been described as ‘addictive, original and brilliantly twisty’ by T. M. Logan and ‘heart-stopping’ by David Nicholls. Katherine lives near Brighton with her family. Follow her on Twitter @kate_bradley

Good morning everyone and happy Thursday.
I was lucky enough to receive these two fantastic looking thrillers recently.

Nicci French is one of my favourite authors and I keep hearing lots of great things about Where They Lie. I’m therefore incredibly excited to read these soon.

Huge thanks to Rhys from @simonschusteruk for sending me these books.

Find out more about these books below.

Have you read either of these? What’s the best thriller you’ve read recently?

Where They Lie by Claire Coughlan

Some stories demand to be told. They keep coming back, echoing down through the decades, until they find a teller . . .

Dublin, 1943
Actress Julia Bridges disappears.
The last sighting of her is entering the house of Gloria Fitzpatrick, who is later put on trial for the murder of another woman whose abortion she facilitated.
But it’s never proved that Gloria had a hand in Julia’s death – and Julia’s body has never been found.
Gloria, however, is sentenced to life in an institution for the criminally insane, until her apparent suicide a few years later, and the truth of what happened to Julia Bridges dies with her.
 
Dublin, 1968
Nicoletta Sarto is an ambitious junior reporter for the Irish Sentinel when the bones of Julia Bridges are discovered in the garden of a house on the outskirts of Dublin.
Drawn into investigating the 25-year-old mystery of Julia’s disappearance and her link to the notorious Gloria Fitzpatrick, the story takes Nicoletta into the tangled underworld of the illegal abortion industry, stirring up long-buried secrets from her own past.

As much a murder mystery story as a look at a young woman’s struggle to succeed in a man’s world, Where They Lie is a beautifully atmospheric debut that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Slater by Nicci French

She’s loved by all who meet her. But someone wants her gone . . .
Then 

When beautiful and vivacious Charlotte Salter fails to turn up to her husband Alec’s 50th birthday party, her kids are worried, but Alec is not. As the days pass and there’s still no word from Charlie, her daughter, Etty, and her sons, Niall, Paul and Ollie, all struggle to come to terms with her disappearance.
How can anyone just vanish without a trace?
Left with no answers and in limbo, the Salter children try and go on with their lives, all the while thinking that their mother’s killer is potentially very close to home.

Now

After years away, Etty returns home to the small East Anglian village where she grew up to help move her father into a care home. Now in his eighties, Alec has dementia and often mistakes his daughter for her mother. 
Etty is a changed woman from the trouble-free girl she was when Charlie was still around – all the Salter children have spent decades running and hiding from their mother’s disappearance.
But when their childhood friends, Greg and Morgen Ackerley, decide to do a podcast about Charlotte’s disappearance, it seems like the town’s buried secrets – and the Salters’ – might finally come to light.

After all this time, will they finally find out what really happened to Charlotte Salter?