+ cosy mystery, crime fiction, fiction, murder, murder mystery, police drama, police procedural, review
Murder Under the Sun by Faith Martin
Former Detective Hillary Greene and her cold case team are sweltering in their stuffy basement office on the hottest day of the year when they are handed an impossible case.
Fifteen years ago, Imelda Phelps was battered to death in the hallway of her home. The brutal crime shocked the residents of the pretty market town of Chipping Norton. The killer was never caught.
The motive for the murder remains a mystery. Could the happily married mother-of-two’s stunning good looks have played a part in her death?
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Everyone will have to take a hard look in the mirror — and not everyone will like what they see. If Hillary is to crack the case, she must keep an open mind. But one thing is crystal-clear: this crime was personal. It’s up to Hillary and her team to work out which of Imelda’s family and friends is hiding a deadly secret.
A secret lover. A humiliated husband. A vengeful ex-business partner.
A resentful daughter. The list of suspects grows . . .
Suddenly an unexpected lead throws the case wide open. And then a second body turns up.
This cold case is now red hot . . .
My Review
I do love a book that takes place in my area. I decided to read Murder Under The Sun because the murder takes place in Chipping Norton, where my niece lives. But most of it is around other parts of Oxfordshire like Kidlington, and Gloucestershire where I live. When Hillary visits Cheltenham, I tried to recognise Imelda’s mum’s road. It’s described as very posh. I wasn’t too sure though I had a couple of guesses. And I’m not sure Cheltenham is quite as genteel as the author makes out! It was once reputed in the mid-nineties that the derogatory term ‘chav’ stood for ‘Cheltenham Average’.
This is book 22 in the Hillary Greene series (I usually avoid jumping into a series part way through, but I made an exception due to the locations). Hillary was a high ranking police officer for many years, with an exemplary record and a high solve rate. She is now in civvies as a consultant. She lives on a houseboat and drives an old Volkswagen Golf she nicknames Puff the Tragic Wagon.
When her boss Superintendent Rollo Sale asks her to reopen a cold case – the murder of stunning mother-of-two Imelda Phelps, who was battered to death 15 years ago – her killer never caught – she is ready for the challenge. I loved her colleagues Claire and ex-soldier Gareth, together they are a brilliant team.
Little did they know what a can of worms they were opening. A cuckolded husband, a not-so-secret lover, an ex-business partner with a grudge and an eccentric daughter who found the body. Throw into the mix a snooty mother and a son who was away at university at the time of the murder, and you have an entertaining read with a cast of memorable characters.
And there is the heatwave. It’s sweltering and there seems to be no let up. Everyone is fed up with it, and feeling uncomfortable.
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read any of the other books in the series. I found it easy to get into without knowing the background. It’s hinted at, but not essential.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Faith Martin was born in Oxford, and has spent all her life within twenty miles of the university city, even working at Somerville College for six years before turning to writing full-time.
Faith has been writing for nearly 30 years under four different pen names and has had nearly 50 books published so far. She began writing romantic thrillers as Maxine Barry, which Joffe Books are in the process of re-releasing as brand new eBooks. Then she turned to crime, and as Joyce Cato wrote classic-style whodunits, since she’s always admired the golden-age crime novelists. But it was when she created her fictional DI Hillary Greene, and began writing under the name of Faith Martin, that she finally began to become more widely known. Her latest literary characters WPC Trudy Loveday, and city coroner, Dr Clement Ryder, take readers back to the 1960’s and the city of Oxford. Having lived within a few miles of the city of dreaming spires for all her life, both the city and the countryside/wildlife often feature in her novels. Although she has never lived on a narrow boat (unlike DI Hillary Greene!) the Oxford canal, the river Cherwell, and the flora and fauna of a farming landscape have always played a big part in her life – and often sneak their way onto the pages of her books.
Her hobbies include walking her now ageing dog, wildlife-watching, reading and (reluctantly) gardening.
Faith’s Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FaithMartinAuthor/
Twitter: https://x.com/FaithMartin_Nov
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231286050-murder-under-the-sunPurchase Link: https://mybook.to/murderundersun-zbt
In the mid-19th Century, a generation of Ottoman Greeks were caught up in radical social and political changes, including the period of reforms known as Tanzimat. The Ottoman Greek press was both product and agent of these changes, and in The Uses of Oppression, Lady Marks explores its role.
The Uses of Oppression follows the Ottoman Greek press from its birth in 1830 to 1862, employing the vivid reflections of its editors, correspondents, advertisers, commentators, and readers as a lens through which to view the everyday lives of this generation of Ottoman Greeks—their social aspirations, their reactions to political events, their reception of Western-style norms, and other contemporary issues.
The Uses of Oppression is the first book drawing on the Greek press in the Ottoman Empire as a primary source, and the immediacy of the material allows the reader to feel the vigorous pulse of Ottoman society. Despite oppression by the Muslim state, the book reveals there was room for advancement and the Ottoman Greeks were occasionally able to manipulate the regime to their advantage.
Lady Marks’ extensive research of articles, reports and advertisements published during the mid-19th century, when censorship was minimal compared to later years, sheds new light on the Christian subjects of the Ottoman sultan. Concise and informative, this is a fascinating study of the early years of the press in the Ottoman Empire, focusing on newspapers published in the Greek language between 1831 to 1862.
‘The invaluable research of Marina Sakali, Lady Marks, using a remarkable array of Ottoman Greek newspapers as her principle source, throws light on a period of the late Ottoman Empire when creativity, optimism, and a yearning for progress on all fronts was surging among the Ottoman Greeks, despite their inferior civic status.’
Bruce Clark, Author and Journalist
Lady Marks holds a PhD in history from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies which led to her writing The Uses of Oppression. She is the chairman of the Michael Marks Charitable Trust. She has been awarded the Order of Merit by the Sovereign Order of Malta for her philanthropic work.
The following is an extract from the book:
“What sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is our unique potential to change our future. From the moment of our birth we are all drawn toward our destinies tied behind life’s constantly moving carriage whether we wish to be or not. However, unlike Zeno’s dog, which only has two choices, we also have a third: we can jump on that carriage and drive it towards a course that is to our advantage. For those of us who decide to take this third choice and set about finding the right direction toward which to steer our lives, we have at our disposal an important asset: the knowledge and understanding of our past; the choices made by billions of people who came before us to change their lives, recorded faithfully by history.
“This book is the result of an effort, pursued over many years, to increase understanding of the social conditions in the Ottoman Empire during the middle years of the 19th century. At that time the Ottoman sultans set out to improve the plight of their Christian subjects, in an attempt to arrest the decline of the Ottoman Empire and update it in a Western European manner. Over nearly fifty years several reforms were introduced in the Ottoman state, usually referred to as the Tanzimat (“reforms”).
“My goal was to find first-hand accounts by Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire who were intended to be the chief beneficiaries of the Tanzimat, in an attempt to answer several questions that have not been adequately addressed, such as:
“What did the Christians think of the reforms, ostensibly designed to improve their life in the Empire?
“How did the Muslims react to the changes brought about by these reforms, which created such a major rupture with the established social and religious order in the Ottoman Empire?
“What were the benefits of the Tanzimat for the economy and society of the Empire and especially for its non-Muslim subjects?
“My research led me to the mass medium of newspapers published by Greeks in the Ottoman Empire. Newspapers, however, are ephemeral in nature and in this case were produced in a region that underwent violent changes over a long period of time; so the probability of their survival was scant. Nevertheless, I decided to pursue the newspaper trail, for I felt certain that the reward, should I find them, would be well worth the chase… “
Extract courtesy of Grace Pilkington Publicity
For further information, interview requests or to see a book, please contact gracepilkingtonpublicity@gmail.com
A captivating debut novel set in working-class Singapore about the relationship between two sisters over two decades.
Singapore 1996
Before Arin, Genevieve Yang was an only child. Living with her parents and grandmother in a single-room flat in Bedok, Genevieve is saddled with an unexpected sibling when Arin appears, the shameful legacy of a grandfather long believed to be dead.
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Gen and Arin grow up as sisters in Singapore: a place where insistence on achievement demands constant sacrifice in the realms of imagination and play. As the sister’s struggle toward individual redemption, their story reveals the fault lines of Singaporean society, our desperate need for acceptance, and our yearning to be loved.
Vivid and visceral, The Original Daughter is a breathtaking act of empathy by a new literary star.
My Review
About three quarters of the way through this brilliant book, I was going to give it 4 stars. As a character-led story, it was starting to get overlong, and Genevieve was really getting on my nerves. I needed the story to move forward, and quickly. I wanted to tell her that not everything in the world revolves around her. She seems to think that Arin’s behaviour is all about being more successful than her. That her mother Su prefers Arin (I did), that she is not the centre of the universe.
But in the last part it all changed. We return to where we started in 2015, when we discovered that Su is terminally ill. Gen and Arin are still estranged, but Su wants to see Arin before she dies. At this point I could not believe Gen’s behaviour. I was angry. I cried. I pleaded.
But let’s get back to 1996. When Arin arrives as a six-year-old, abandoned by her family and dumped on the Yangs, Gen is jealous (even though she wouldn’t admit it at that point and why should she – she’s only seven or eight herself). Eventually they become ‘sisters’ and best friends, even having a ‘contract’ sealed in blood. They would always be together. In actual fact, the contract just holds them both back. Until Arin starts to break away.
Gen’s academic success at school was initially based on her ability to memorise whole chunks of facts and regurgitate them on paper. But as she moves up to A levels, she discovers that it’s now about disseminating that information and analysing it (remember compare and contrast). I know this, because I was the same. When I started my OU degree I struggled in the beginning.
Unfortunately for Gen, she resents anyone who is now doing better than her. Though she has made it into a prestigious Junior College, she is struggling to keep up. Eventually, having failed her A levels (by her standards), she drops out. In Singaporean society in the 1990s, academic achievement is so competitive, and only good exam results and a top degree get you a career. Otherwise you end up working in a photocopy shop like her mother, or an ice cream parlour.
But even now, Gen doesn’t understand the trauma Arin must have gone through, being abandoned by her family. My dog has more empathy. I accept that Arin did some pretty nasty things, but Gen, it was about HER, not about you. One day I hope you understand.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Jemimah Wei was born and raised in Singapore and is currently a 2022-2024 Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. She is the recipient of fellowships, scholarships and awards from Columbia University, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Singapore’s National Arts Council, and more.
Her fiction has won the William Van Dyke Short Story Prize, has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and has been published in Guernica, Narrative, and Nimrod, among other publications. She was recently named one of Narrative’s ’30 below 30′ writers, was recognized by the Best of the Net Anthologies, and is a Francine Ringold Award for New Writers honoree.
For close to a decade, prior to moving to the US, she worked as a host for various broadcast and digital channels and has written and produced short films and travel guides for brands such as Laneige, Airbnb, and Nikon.
+ 1920s, audio book, audio drama, fiction, Historical fiction, London, review, siblings, sisters, WW1
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Summer 1924: On the eve of a glittering society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life.
The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again.
Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet’s suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace’s mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge; something history has forgotten but Grace never could.
Set as the war-shattered Edwardian summer surrenders to the decadent 20s, The House at Riverton is a thrilling mystery and a compelling love story.
My Review
This is my third Kate Morton novel and I enjoyed it as much as the other two. I listened on Borrowbox. I will say though that it is very long, especially as an audio book and I had to renew it twice.
I did like Grace, though I preferred the parts of the book set before, during and after WW1. She did frustrate me at times, never saying what she thought to anyone, particularly to Hannah, when she was her lady’s maid. Hannah sought a response, but all Grace would ever say was yes and no. I understand that she felt it wasn’t her place, but still….
Grace first starts at Riverton House as a housemaid when she is only fourteen or fifteen, following in the footsteps of her mother who was in service there a number of years before, but now takes in sewing. We meet the family – too many to mention all of them – but the most important are the visiting son Frederick and his children David, Hannah and Emmeline. Grace is fascinated by them. Hannah and Emmeline will become the focus of the novel which is told mainly from Grace’s point of view.
The war takes many of them and the young, rich aristocrats in the family’s circle soon realise that it’s not something to be joked about. Grace’s ‘friend’ Alfred, also in service at Riverton, is given a white feather and is coerced into joining up. He comes back totally changed.
As 98-year-old Grace reflects on everything that happened to her, she makes tapes for her grandson Marcus, who she is desperate to see one last time.
A lovely book with some really interesting twists at the end.
About the Author
KATE MORTON is an award-winning, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author. Her novels – The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden, The Distant Hours, The Secret Keeper, The Lake House, The Clockmaker’s Daughter, and Homecoming – are published in over 45 countries, in 38 languages, and have all been number one bestsellers around the world.
Kate Morton was born in South Australia, grew up in the mountains of south-east Queensland, and now lives with her family in London and Australia. She has degrees in dramatic art and English literature, and harboured dreams of joining the Royal Shakespeare Company until she realised that it was words she loved more than performing. Kate still feels a pang of longing each time she goes to the theatre and the house lights dim.
“I fell deeply in love with books as a child and believe that reading is freedom; that to read is to live a thousand lives in one; that fiction is a magical conversation between two people – you and me – in which our minds meet across time and space. I love books that conjure a world around me, bringing their characters and settings to life, so that the real world disappears and all that matters, from beginning to end, is turning one more page.”
You can find more information about Kate Morton and her books at https://www.katemorton.com or connect on http://www.facebook.com/KateMortonAuthor or instagram.com/katemortonauthor/
To stay up-to-date on Kate’s books and events, join her mailing list here: https://www.katemorton.com/mailing-list/
When a young librarian discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.
Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses.
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After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, hidden history, but also a future for herself—and an astonishing familial revelation.
Spanning the course of a century, The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a warm, bright, and captivating story of secrets and love that embraces the importance of illuminating overlooked women.
My Review
I wasn’t too sure when I started this, but by the end I knew it would become one of my favourite books of the year.
It’s set over two timelines – Head Curator Tildy Barrows at the beautiful, archival Belva Curtis LeFarge Library (known as the ‘Bel’) in San Francisco, in 2024, and artist Cora Hale from her arrival in Paris before the Great War until her death in the 1970s. Seventeen-year-old Cora fled the United States to escape a possible scandal and criminal investigation. She knows she can never go back. But instead of painting portraits under commission as she intended, she finds herself creating a dollhouse for Belva LeFarge, as a testimonial to her life.
In the meantime, Tildy makes an exciting discovery – two huge dollhouses in a locked secret room. It’s a mystery that needs solving – it could save the Bel from closure – and Tildy is determined to put on an exhibition to draw in the crowds. But who created these masterpieces? She only has the initials CH on the dollhouses to go by, until things take an unexpected turn.
There is so much here to unravel, and how does Tildy’s mother fit into the picture?And why is there a miniature of her in one of the dollhouses? Because everything in the dollhouses reflects real life and carries the secrets of its patrons.
I absolutely adored this book. I’ve seen reviews saying there wasn’t enough historical background – I think the author assumes we know enough about the two world wars not to need it – and others that say there is too much description. I feel that nowadays many readers want action to move the story forward like a film, but if that’s the case, then this wonderful book won’t be for you. It needs to be savoured and read with love. As for the comments about not having ‘warnings’ about the ‘sapphic’ relationships, please, it’s 2025, get over it.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
A native New Englander, Elise Hooper spent several years writing for television and online news outlets before getting an MA and teaching high-school literature and history. Her debut novel, The Other Alcott, was a nominee for the 2017 Washington Book Award.
More novels—Learning to See, Fast Girls, and Angels of the Pacific—followed, all centered on the lives of extraordinary but overlooked historical women.
Hooper now lives in Seattle with her husband and two teenage daughters.
Olsten Ryder is a successful, affluent and ambitious businessman, his collectable doll manufacturing company being amongst the most niche in the world.
But when he is accused of the murder of Celeste Harrington, a young and beautiful member of his own social circle, his friends and colleagues are left astounded when he disappears from police custody, leaving no trace that he’d ever existed.
Over the years that pass after Olsten’s disappearance, his former colleagues and friends remain in contact and they are all invited to the twenty-first birthday party of Amitola, the adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Defoe, successful architects and friends of James Lambert, who just happens to be Olsten Ryder’s solicitor.
Genre: Speculative Fiction/Crime/Thriller with touch of fantasy
Publisher: Provoco Publishing
Everyone is delighted to meet together again, and even more so when Amitola’s engagement is announced at her party. What could possibly happen to threaten such a happy occasion and does Olsten Ryder’s mysterious disappearance have anything to do with the events that come to pass?
Passing Through is Jacqueline Dixon’s debut novel, a dark and thought-provoking murder mystery with more than a touch of speculative fiction and a bit of fantasy thrown into the mix for good measure. An absorbing and enthralling read.
About the Author
Passing Through is Jacqueline Dixon’s debut novel for Provoco Publishing. Signed in 2024, Jacqueline grew up in Gravesend, Kent. After leaving school she ventured into London to work at IPC Magazines as a letter writer for Woman’s Own Magazine, and she later moved to another department where she began training for a short period as a proofreader. For a number of years thereafter she worked as a legal secretary both in London and Gravesend before she relocated overseas to work in Saudi Arabia until she retired back to the UK.
Jacqueline had a lifelong dream of becoming a writer and always had a great interest in writing and feelingexcited about creating characters and deciding their fate.She developed a deep love of books at a very young ageand one of her first very favourite books that she couldnot put down was the The Herries Chronicles by Hugh Walpole. Jacqueline also has a great admiration for the many stories written by Daphne du Maurier and Agatha Christie. She relishes reading novels and feels that getting tucked into a good book is like enjoying a delicious meal.
She has written numerous manuscripts that currently lay dormant, filed away, never having been published, although this may now be about to change. Currently living in Sandwich, a charming small town in Kent, Jacqueline is looking forward to seeing Passing Through on the bookshelves and is looking to delve into that pile of ‘never been published’ manuscripts for her next novel.
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My review will follow on 23rd June as part of the #PassingThrough #blogtour.
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+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, kidnapping, murder mystery, mystery, police drama, police procedural, psycopath, review, serial killer
The Death Sculptor by Chris Carter (Robert Hunter #4)
‘Good job you didn’t turn on the lights …’ A student nurse has the shock of her life when she discovers her patient, prosecutor Derek Nicholson, brutally murdered in his bed.
The act seems senseless – Nicholson was terminally ill with only weeks to live. But what most shocks Detective Robert Hunter of the Los Angeles Robbery Homicide Division is the calling card the killer left behind. For Hunter, there is no doubt that the killer is trying to communicate with the police, but the method is unlike anything he’s ever seen before. And what could the hidden message be? Just as Hunter and his partner Garcia reckon they’ve found a lead, a new body is found – and a new calling card.
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But with no apparent link between the first and second victims, all the progress they’ve made so far goes out of the window. Pushed into an uncomfortable alliance with the confident Alice Beaumont, Hunter must race to put together the pieces of the investigation …before the Death Sculptor puts the final touches to his masterpiece.
My Review
Welcome to post number four on this fab #blogathon. I will be reviewing one book per month.
This is definitely my favourite of the series so far. We learn a lot more about Robert Hunter’s childhood – turns out he was a child prodigy – though we always knew he was highly intelligent. He went to a school for those with an exceptionally high IQ, which is where he met one of the other characters, but I’m saying nothing!
In this book, The Death Sculptor, we have a rather vicious murderer (that’s putting it mildly), with an unusual calling card. Let’s just say, the killer is very creative, and also likes to make the victims suffer. Unfortunately, I can’t say much more without giving the plot away.
The more I read of Carter’s novels, the more I find the stories so intriguing that I could almost say that I love them in spite of the blood and gore, not because of it. You could water it down (the goriness not the blood) and they would still be brilliant. The characters are well rounded, and the writing moves the story forward at a cracking pace.
As I said in my last review, Hunter and Garcia are becoming more real and likeable with each book, but I want to see some romance for Hunter now. And no pets please – in case they get killed.
Many thanks to @Tr4cyF3nt0n for inviting me to be part of the #CompulsiveReaders #blogathon.
About the Author
Born in Brazil of Italian origin, Chris Carter studied psychology and criminal behaviour at the University of Michigan. As a member of the Michigan State District Attorney’s Criminal Psychology team, he interviewed and studied many criminals, including serial and multiple homicide offenders with life imprisonment convictions. He now lives in London. Visit his website www.chriscarterbooks.com
Boy With Wings follows the extraordinary journey of Johnny Cruel, a boy born with mysterious appendages on his back.
What does it mean to be different? When Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he’s a devil. Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thus begins Johnny’s years-long struggle to find a place he belongs.
From a turpentine camp of former slaves to a freak show run by a dwarf who calls herself Tiny Tot and on to the Florida capitol building, Johnny finds himself working alongside other outcasts, struggling to answer the question of his existence. Is he a horror, a wonder, or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life? Following Johnny’s journey through love, betrayal, heartbreak, and several murders, Boy With Wings is a story of the sacrifices and freedom inherent in making one’s own special way-and of love and the miracles that give our lives meaning.
My Review
According to an article I just read, it is physically impossible for a human to be born with wings. “Humans have arms and legs, not the skeletal framework and bone structure necessary for wings.” And that doesn’t include the mutations necessary to allow flight.
But Johnny Cruel can’t fly. But he does have wings which he has to bind to his body so they can’t be seen. As a small child, his mother hid him in a tiny box, and pretended he had died, all to protect him. People thought he was a devil and that tragedies in their community were caused by his presence.
His wings are really irrelevant, because the book is about being different, the wings allegorical. Different like being a dwarf like Tiny Tot, the dog-faced man Kenneth, pin-head Otto, or the reality of simply being Black in 1930s (or 1960s) America. Watch the film Mississippi Burning or The Green Book if you want to see prejudice against people of colour.
I loved this book though it was very depressing at times. Johnny is happy living at the turpentine camp with the former slaves and his friend Elias, but it’s not allowed and he is forcibly removed. The next few years are terrible though we don’t find out that much about this time. But then his ‘luck’ changes and he finds himself the star of a freak show run by Tiny Tot. There is so much he doesn’t understand about racism and prejudice.
But then tragedy strikes and he is on his own again. In spite of all the terrible things that happen to Johnny, there is still love and hope and freedom in acceptance.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of the #BoyWithWings readalong.
About the Author
Mark Mustian is the author of the novels The Return and The Gendarme, the latter a finalist for the Dayton International Literary Peace Prize and shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing. It won the Florida Gold Book Award for Fiction and has been published in ten languages. The founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida, his new novel, Boy With Wings, is out in 2025
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To the outside world, Amy has it all—her own home, a thriving career, and a seemingly perfect life.
But behind the façade, she’s running from a past she doesn’t remember… a past that’s been locked away for years.
Medication has kept the memories buried, numbing the pain with a side effect she’s come to embrace. But when her father’s death triggers a series of unsettling events, the cracks in her carefully built reality begin to show.
Readalong: 1st – 31st May
Genre: Psychological Thriller | Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 338
The memories creep in, slowly at first—whispers from the shadows of a life she once lived. But as her mind unravels, the past refuses to stay buried, and Amy is forced to face the truth she’s long suppressed.
Who was she before? Who is she now? And what happens when the two collide?
Because some memories aren’t just painful… they’re dangerous.
My Review
In the words of the UK’s Eurovision entry: ‘What the hell just happened?’ Long gone by the time you read this review, but current when writing it. This was a very unusual story to say the least.
Amy is not a very likeable character, but she’s tolerable I suppose. She’s been muddling along quite nicely, taking some form of medication, which has kept the past buried, and suppressed her feelings. She’s also rather dowdy and unattractive.
Until she attends her father’s funeral, where she argues with the mother she hasn’t seen for years. She hadn’t actually seen her father since she was seventeen. She also falls out with the adopted brother Andy, who is appalled at her behaviour. The problem is that she can’t remember why she fell out with them.
But when she takes a job (she’s a psychotherapist) working with mentally ill criminals, her life begins to unravel. She changes her appearance and becomes obsessed with one of the ‘patients’, even though she knows he’s a dreadful person. She is suspicious of her co-workers to the point of paranoia (though we know what they say – ‘just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you’).
At times I didn’t know what the hell was going on – I’m still not sure if I do – but it was an engaging, mind-boggling, exciting and often uncomfortable read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as I was on the readalong, where we answered questions relevant to the book. It certainly makes you think, but I’m afraid to say that if I met Amy I would run a mile, and I definitely wouldn’t employ her! Especially as a therapist.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of #TheEmpathist readalong.
About the Author
“Amy is based on an idea I had when working in mental health. There was a trainee that was there who said, ‘I don’t need personal therapy to be a psychologist,’ always a red flag to me and the story came from that in my mind.
“I want to cover every genre, so far I’ve done The Empathist, a psychological thriller and Cleaners Wanted, a gangster comedy (like the type of movie you’d see Guy Richie do). My third currently written and in editing is called Arte-Culture, a Sci-fi Conspiracy story, and my fourth being written now is a compendium of short horror stories. The short horrors are each dedicated to different people who for no reason other than their kindness have supported me with my books, so a small thank you. I’ve worked in every single aspect of social care you can think of. Also part of health care. I also do acting as our recent movie Ireke premiered at Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, 14th May! I have a cat who I love dearly, but I also love dogs, but my day job won’t allow for one.”
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In 1971, the Sanders family suffer a loss so great that they abandon their Gothic mansion house forever.
Twenty-four years later, Lily Sanders reluctantly returns to her hometown for the reading of a mysterious will. Lily must face the secrets that lie within the crumbling estate in the wilds of Cornwall… and uncover the mystery hidden within.
My Review
Another great holiday read, and it’s set in Cornwall where we used to holiday when I was a child. We also took our children there when they were young. Luckily our visits were a lot less dramatic – no attempted murders, tragic memories or haunted houses.
Lily left Lostmor with her mother 24 years ago to live in Bristol, following a tragic event at their family home, Penryth. The house and estate have a Gothic feel (my favourite genre), especially as it has remained empty since they left. But when her mother dies, Lily goes to Lostmor for the reading of the will. She is stunned when she discovers that she has inherited the old house and estate as she believed it to have been sold when they moved.
The house is in a state of disrepair having been empty for so long, but going inside brings back memories of that terrible, stormy night when she was nine and her sister Alice was six. And bit by bit, the events of that night reveal themselves. For Lily the outcome could be devastating, but it’s not all she discovers in the process.
Meanwhile, Marcus, the landlord of the local pub, has his own agenda. Two years ago, his daughter Rose was killed in a motorcycle accident. She was riding pillion and the motorcyclist rode off leaving her dead in the road. Marcus blames himself for spending all his time away from home with the forces, hardly ever spending time with his family. The rider was never found, but Marcus is determined to find out who it was.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s a great story with lots of intertwining threads and fascinating characters. And there’s a Jack Russell called Flynn – of course there is – and a Labrador called Horace. What more could I ask.
Many thanks to www.cranthorpemillner.com for an ARC.
About the Author
Ann Smythe is a Bristolian who, in her younger years, worked a variety of jobs, including a stint as a ‘runner’ delivering medical files to hospital wards, a trainee nurse, and a plug-and-lamp switchboard operator for a famous hotel chain. While working at the hotel, she discovered a revolving book rack in the lobby kiosk, leading to a fascination with dark, suspenseful thrillers and a lifelong interest in Stephen King’s work.
Finally honing her skills as a copy editor, she began her journey as a writer in 2020, and Secrets of Lostmor is her debut novel. Now living in North Somerset, she spends her days writing, drinking tea, and pandering to her elderly Jack Russell’s eccentric needs!
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Facebook Page: @AnnSmythe
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+ brothers, crime fiction, fairy tale, family, fiction, gothic, review, siblings
Dead as Gold by Bonnie Burke-Patel
Adam Conlan has made a new life for himself in Morrow-on-Sea. After a wild youth, the goldsmith had settled down, determined to be around for his young son.
But now Ophelia Richards appears at his studio door, asking if he will buy her gold. The writer entices and unsettles him; he sees she is adrift in the same cold pain and loneliness as he is.
At the same time, faces begin appearing at the studio window, an unwelcome gift arrives in the post, gold goes missing.
Then comes death, then comes Detective Inspector William Kent.
Woven through with Morrow’s fairy tales, Dead as Gold is a modern Gothic crime novel veined with love, violence, family, and desire. Humans still use fairy tales to explore their deepest truths. So who is a wolf, and who is a sparrow?
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My Review
I can’t begin to express how much I loved this book. It’s not just the characters, especially Adam, it’s the exquisite writing, the main story and the way in which it’s interspersed with fairy tales that reflect what’s happening. I loved the fairy tales though they are crueller than the real life.
Then there’s the setting – I love anything to do with the seaside, and the way in which the sea becomes a character of its own, with its power and majesty.
While I loved Bonnie’s previous novel I Died At Fallow Hall (I was on the blog tour), it didn’t speak to my heart and soul in the same way as Dead As Gold. Sorry that sounds so pretentious.
Adam Conlan and Ophelia Richards are the two main protagonists, who fate has driven together. First meeting briefly on the beach, Olivia turns up at Adam’s shop and workshop and asks him to buy three items of valuable jewellery given to her by her beautiful mother Marina. Though we don’t actually ‘see’ much of Marina, she is central to Olivia’s story. Adam’s brother Luke is also important, he was a stabilising factor in his and Adam’s troubled childhood, having lost their mother when they were young and been raised by their cold, seemingly uncaring father.
Eight years ago, Adam fathered a child, Felix, on a one-night stand. Though he and the mother never had a relationship, they share the parenting and Adam has now become a responsible father. But then Adam receives a warning in the post, a mysterious face keeps appearing at the window, his shop is broken into, thousands of pounds worth of gold is stolen, and the unthinkable happens. And so the drama begins. A wonderful read, which will no doubt become one of my favourite books of the year.
Many thanks to the author for an advanced paperback proof of #DeadAsGold
About the Author
Born and raised in South Gloucestershire, Bonnie Burke-Patel studied History at Oxford. After working for half a decade in politics and policy, she changed careers and became a preschool teacher, before beginning to write full time. She lives with her husband, son, and needy cat in south east London, and is working on her next crime novel about fairy tales, desire, and the seaside.
+ crime fiction, fiction, murder, police corruption, police drama, police procedural, review, thriller, USA
Shatter Creek by Rod Reynolds
Hampstead County Police Department is embroiled in scandal after corruption at the top of the force was exposed.
Cleared of involvement and returned to active duty, Detective Sergeant Casey Wray nonetheless finds herself at a crossroads when it becomes clear that not everyone believes she’s innocent.
Partnered with rookie Billy Drocker, Casey works a shocking daytime double homicide in downtown Rockport with the two victims seemingly unknown to one another. And when a third victim is gunned down on her doorstep shortly after, it appears an abusive ex-boyfriend holds the key to the killings.
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With powerful figures demanding answers, Casey and Billy search for the suspect, fearing he’s on a murderous rampage.
But when a key witness goes missing, and new evidence just won’t fit, the case begins to unravel. With her career in jeopardy, Casey makes a shattering discovery that threatens to expose the true darkness at the heart of the murders … with a killer still on the loose…
My Review
This is the second book I have read in the series (the third of Rod’s books), so I’m pretty up to speed on Detective Sergeant Casey Wray and her chums. The first book took down the top people in her department and she was investigated in the process. She still feels that some of her colleagues view her with suspicion because she was close to her boss, bent copper Ray Carletti, who she thought of as a father. How could she not have guessed he was behind it all?
Still a Sergeant, Casey applied for promotion, but Lieutenant Helen Dunmore was brought in over her head from NYPD. Casey isn’t that bothered, but Dunmore is. She still thinks Casey knew what was going on all the time, which means she doesn’t trust her, or is it more that that?
I really detested Dunmore. She’s vile. She’s everyone’s worst nightmare of a boss. What happened to women supporting other women? With three homicides to investigate, the top brass seem more concerned with internal politics than actually solving the murders.
Shatter Creek is one of those unputdownable books and I read it in two days. It’s so well written, the narrative just flows beautifully. There’s no ‘padding’ or unnecessary trivia, the story just keeps moving forward. I’m looking forward to more about Casey in the next book in the series.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Rod Reynolds is the author of five novels, including the Charlie Yates series. His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger, and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018); the Guardian has called the books ‘Pitch-perfect American noir.’ A lifelong Londoner, in 2020 Orenda Books published his first novel set in his hometown, Blood Red City. The first in the Casey Wray series, Black Reed Bay, published in 2021, was shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger, with its long-awaited sequel, Shatter Creek, out in 2025. Rod previously worked in advertising as a media buyer, and holds an MA in novel writing from City University London. Rod lives with his wife and family and spends most of his time trying to keep up with his two daughters.
About Orenda Books
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.
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