Category: grief
+ childhood, crime fiction, fiction, Gothic mystery, grief, lies, loss, love, mental health, mental illness, murder, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, secrets, superstition, thriller
The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone
From the author of the “dark and devious…beautifully written” (Stephen King) Mirrorland comes a richly atmospheric thriller set on an isolated Scottish island where nothing is as it seems and shocking twists lie around every corner. A remote village. A deadly secret. An outsider who knows the truth. Robert Reid moved his family to Scotland’s Outer Hebrides in the 1990s, driven by hope, craving safety and … Read More The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone
+ childhood, family, fantasy, female friendship, feminism, fiction, forgiveness, friendship, grief, haunting, loss, love, magic, review, sisterhood, supernatural, witchcraft, witches
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais
The House in the Cerulean Sea meets The Golden Girls in this funny, tender, and uplifting feminist tale of sisterhood featuring a coven of aging witches who must unite their powers to fight the men determined to drive them out of their home and town. A coven of modern-day witches. A magical heist-gone-wrong. A looming threat. Summoned by an alarm, five octogenarian witches gather … Read More The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais
The Other Side Of Night by Adam Hamdy
The Other Side of Night begins with a man named David Asha writing about his biggest regret: his sudden separation from his son, Elliot. In his grief, David tells a story. Next, we step into the life of Harriet Kealty, a police officer trying to clear her name after a lapse of judgment. She discovers a curious inscription in a secondhand book—a plea: Help me, he’s … Read More The Other Side Of Night by Adam Hamdy
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, grief, lies, loss, murder, private investigator, revenge, review, trafficking
The Tin Man by Brian W Caves
Almost eight years after ex Detective Sergeant Simeon Cain fell into the deepest, darkest hell when his wife committed suicide, he has managed to rebuild his life and is now running a private investigation agency. He is hired to investigate a nine month old murder that the police have all but given up on, the killer has never been caught; the murder classed as … Read More The Tin Man by Brian W Caves
+ child abduction, family, fiction, grief, kidnapping, lies, loss, love, marriage, motherhood, obsession, Psychological fiction, review, secrets, twins
Into The Woods by Lorraine Murphy
A lost child. A broken marriage. A ticking time bomb. Karen will do anything for her eight-year-old daughter, Scarlett. Even holding together a marriage that is way past broken. So when Scarlett disappears from their rural home, Karen is one hundred percent focused on a single goal – finding her little girl as soon as possible. #IntoTheWoods @MurphyLorr @inkubatorbooks @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour And time is of … Read More Into The Woods by Lorraine Murphy
+ fiction, Ghost story, grief, haunting, loss, love, mental illness, motherhood, Northumberland, review, schizophrenia, supernatural
Don’t Leave by Pru Heathcote
JANE is a young woman grieving for her child, who is taken to a remote holiday cottage on the Northumberland coast. From the moment she arrives at the cottage with her much older and over-protective husband, Peter, Jane keeps catching glimpses of a little girl and hearing a child crying. #DontLeave #PruHeathcote @RedDragonbooks @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour Peter is convinced these are hallucinations, as Jane … Read More Don’t Leave by Pru Heathcote
+ adventure, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, grief, jealousy, lies, murder, police drama, relationships, revenge, review, secrets, serial killer, sisters, sixties, superstition, thriller
The Retreat by Sarah Pearse
Most are here to recharge and refresh. But someone’s here for revenge. . . An eco-wellness retreat has opened on an island off the English coast, promising rest and relaxation—but the island itself, known locally as Reaper’s Rock, has a dark past. Once the playground of a serial killer, it’s rumoured to be cursed. #TheRetreat @SarahVPearse #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Detective Elin Warner is called to the retreat when a young woman’s body is found on the rocks below the yoga pavilion in what seems to be a tragic fall. … Read More The Retreat by Sarah Pearse
+ brothers, childhood, coming-of-age, family, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, mid-life crisis, motherhood, relationships, review, sisters
The Wilderness by Sarah Duguid
Once it was a family home. Now they are all at sea . . . When Anna and David receive a phone call late one evening, their lives are upturned. Within minutes, they are travelling to the west coast of Scotland, preparing to care for two young sisters, tragically and suddenly orphaned. #TheWilderness @SarahDuguid4 @TinderPress #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour It’s a beautiful place, the heather is in … Read More The Wilderness by Sarah Duguid
+ agoraphobia, alcoholism, fiction, friendship, grief, literature, loneliness, loss, love, mental illness, metafiction, relationships, religion, review, schizophrenia, split personality, terrorism
The Daves Next Door by Will Carver
A disillusioned nurse suddenly learns how to care. An injured young sportsman wakes up find that he can see only in black and white. A desperate old widower takes too many pills and believes that two angels have arrived to usher him through purgatory. Two agoraphobic men called Dave share the symptoms of a brain tumour, and frequently waken their neighbour with their ongoing … Read More The Daves Next Door by Will Carver
+ brothers, family, fiction, grief, lies, obsession, Psychological fiction, revenge, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, thriller
The Lost Boy by Jane Renshaw
One island. Two women. A journey to hell. The Clarke family, Penny, Rod and their two young boys, are delighted when they are offered a holiday in a high-end guest house on a remote and beautiful island. Their hostess Anna seems like a lovely woman. But what the Clarkes don’t realise is that this is no random invitation, that Anna has carefully selected the family … Read More The Lost Boy by Jane Renshaw
+ abuse, child abuse, childhood, coming-of-age, community, cult, family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, friendship, germany, grief, Historical fiction, holocaust, jewish history, jews, lies, List, literature, loss, love, motherhood, murder, music, nazi germany, piano, rape, relationships, religion, review, secrets, sisterhood, suffragette movement, whimsical
My Top 8 Books of 2022 – Part Two
Here are my favourite eight books of the second quarter of 2022. You will notice that it doesn’t include any crime dramas, detective novels or serial killer thrillers. While I love those genres, they rarely bring something totally new to the table and my favourites tend to be feel-good, whimsical or magical realism. Or totally original or make me cry. There are a couple of … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2022 – Part Two
+ abuse, childhood, domestic noir, family, fiction, grief, literature, loss, love, music, piano, review, secrets, sisters
Nothing Else by Louise Beech
Heather Harris is a piano teacher and professional musician, whose quiet life revolves around music, whose memories centre on a single song that haunts her. A song she longs to perform again. A song she wrote as a child, to drown out the violence in their home. A song she played with her little sister, Harriet. But Harriet is gone … she disappeared when … Read More Nothing Else by Louise Beech
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