Category: review
Poppy Flowers at the Front by Jon Wilkins
1917: with her father in the British secret service and her brother Alfie in the trenches, under-age Poppy Loveday volunteers against her parents’ wishes to drive ambulances in France. We follow her adventures, racing to save wounded men driven to the Casualty Clearing Station, and back to the Base Hospital. #PoppyFlowersAtTheFront @WriterJWilkins @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours Facebook @damppebblesblogtours During one battle she finds Élodie Proux, a French nurse, … Read More Poppy Flowers at the Front by Jon Wilkins
+ crime fiction, dark humour, Detective novel, fiction, murder, murder mystery, police drama, psycopath, review, serial killer
The Coffinmaker’s Garden by Stuart MacBride
A village on the edge…As a massive storm batters the Scottish coast, Gordon Smith’s home is falling into the North Sea. But the crumbling headland has revealed what he’s got buried in his garden: human remains. A house full of secrets…With the storm still raging, it’s too dangerous to retrieve the bodies and waves are devouring the evidence. Which means no one knows how … Read More The Coffinmaker’s Garden by Stuart MacBride
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, Iceland noir, murder, murder mystery, Nordic noir, police drama, review, Scandi noir, thriller
Winterkill by by Ragnar Jónasson translated by David Warriner
Easter weekend is approaching, and snow is gently falling in Siglufjörður, the northernmost town in Iceland, as crowds of tourists arrive to visit the majestic ski slopes. @ragnarjo #Winterkill #DarkIceland @OrendaBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours Ari Thór Arason is now a police inspector, but he’s separated from his girlfriend, who lives in Sweden with their three-year-old son. A family reunion is planned for the holiday, but a … Read More Winterkill by by Ragnar Jónasson translated by David Warriner
+ abuse, child abuse, childhood, family, fiction, humour fiction, List, literature, love, review, sisters, sixties, supernatural
My 3 favourite books of 2020
It was far easier to choose my over all Top 3 than it was to choose my favourite eight from each half of the year. Why? Because once you open the floodgates it’s impossible to stop. So here goes. They are all totally different from each other, but they each hold a special place in my heart. Image thanks to Leafy Bean Co The … Read More My 3 favourite books of 2020
+ abuse, childhood, coming-of-age, crime fiction, dark humour, family, fiction, friendship, Historical fiction, humour fiction, Iceland noir, List, literature, murder, murder mystery, mystery, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, Scottish Highlands, short stories, sisters, sixties, split personality, supernatural, superstition, thriller
2020 – A Year in Books
Here is a round-up of my favourite books of 2020. Being furloughed during the first lock-down, I got used to reading far more books than in previous years and it also saw the beginning of my new ‘career’ taking part in blog tours. The following are not just from those blog tours, but also NetGalley and Pigeonhole reads. I hope 2021 has as many … Read More 2020 – A Year in Books
+ abuse, brothers, child abuse, childhood, family, family drama, fiction, literature, religion, review, sisters
Girl A by Abigail Dean
‘Girl A,’ she said. ‘The girl who escaped. If anyone was going to make it, it was going to be you.’ Lex Gracie doesn’t want to think about her family. She doesn’t want to think about growing up in her parents’ House of Horrors. And she doesn’t want to think about her identity as Girl A: the girl who escaped. When her mother dies … Read More Girl A by Abigail Dean
+ dark humour, fantasy, fiction, folklore, humour fiction, lycanthropy, magic, review, supernatural, superstition, werewolf
The Stranger Times by by CK McDonnell
There are Dark Forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular) and so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them. A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but more often the weird) of modern life, it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable . . . At least that’s their pitch. The reality is … Read More The Stranger Times by by CK McDonnell
The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse
Carcassonne 1562: Nineteen-year-old Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father’s bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIVE. But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon, changes her destiny forever. For Piet has a dangerous mission of his own, and he will need … Read More The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse
+ abuse, anthology, crime fiction, dark humour, fiction, humour fiction, Iceland noir, List, literature, murder, mystery, politics, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, Scandi noir, thriller
My 8 favourite books of 2020 second half
Earlier this year I published my Top 8 books of the first half of 2020. These are my Top 8 books of the second half of the year. There are so many more, but I have tried to cut it down. Her Last Words by Kim Kelly There is something very personal about Her Last Words. It feels as though the author has lived it … Read More My 8 favourite books of 2020 second half
+ abuse, fiction, folklore, haunting, horror, jealousy, murder, review, secrets, supernatural, superstition, tradition
The Burning Girls by C J Tudor
An unconventional vicar moves to a remote corner of the English countryside, only to discover a community haunted by death and disappearances both past and present–and intent on keeping its dark secrets–in this explosive, unsettling thriller from acclaimed author C. J. Tudor. Welcome to Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake here. Thirty years ago, two teenage … Read More The Burning Girls by C J Tudor
Old Hobb’s Christmas Adventure by Cat on a Piano Productions / Theatrephonic
No pantomime this Christmas? No live show to go to? Well never mind. Cat on a Piano Productions have recorded this gem just for you. Emily is a spoilt, greedy child. Her mother is a right snobby cow. Poor old Styles – their ‘man’ – gets no love or respect, even at Christmas, He just gets to carry the shopping. Totally overloaded with things … Read More Old Hobb’s Christmas Adventure by Cat on a Piano Productions / Theatrephonic
+ crime fiction, family, fiction, friendship, murder, Psychological fiction, review, secrets, thriller
The Other Mrs Miller by Allison M Dickson
Two women are watching each other Phoebe Miller isn’t sure when the rusty car started showing up in the cul-de-sac she calls home, or why its driver would be spying on her. What could be interesting about an unhappy housewife who drowns her sorrows in ice cream and wine and barely leaves her house? Only one knows why When a new family moves in … Read More The Other Mrs Miller by Allison M Dickson
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