Category: loss
+ 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
+ child abduction, childhood, community, fiction, forgiveness, loneliness, loss, love, motherhood, review
Safe With You by RM Ward
It used to be more of a community round here. I was going to say something like this wouldn’t have happened then, but it would, wouldn’t it? Maybe a lot of it was kept quiet. But was it really any safer? Is anywhere safe? Kath has lived on the same London estate for decades. Lately she’s become friendly with the little girl next door, … Read More Safe With You by RM Ward
+ 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
+ abuse, child abduction, childhood, eighties, family, fiction, Ireland, kidnapping, lies, loss, motherhood, mystery, relationships, review, secrets, thriller
Hide and Seek by Andrea Mara
The game of hide and seek is over, everyone has gone home, but little Lily Murphy hasn’t been found. Her parents search the woods and tell themselves that the worst hasn’t happened – but deep down they know this peaceful Dublin suburb will never be the same again. #HideAndSeek @AndreaMaraBooks @TransworldBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour COUNT TO TEN Years later, Joanna moves into a new house. It … Read More Hide and Seek by Andrea Mara
+ 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
+ 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
+ childhood, depression, Devon, diary, family, family drama, fiction, literature, loss, mental illness, motherhood, postpartum psychosis, Psychosis, review, Scottish Highlands, secrets
Still Water by Rebecca Pert
When Jane Douglas returns to the Shetland Islands, she thinks she has escaped the dark shadows of her childhood. She carves out a simple life on the bleak, windswept island, working at the salmon fishery and spending quiet evenings at home. And for the first time in her life, she’s happy. #StillWater Twitter @Rebecca_Pert Instagram @rebecca_pert_author @BoroughPress #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Then the body of Jane’s long-missing … Read More Still Water by Rebecca Pert
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