+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, kidnapping, murder mystery, mystery, police drama, police procedural, psycopath, review, serial killer
The Night Stalker by Chris Carter (Robert Hunter #3)
An unidentified female body is brought into the Los Angeles County morgue. The cause of death is still unclear.
Her body bares no marks; except for the fact that her most intimate parts have been stitched shut. But what shocks the pathologist the most is that the killer had left something inside her. Something so monstrous Detective Robert Hunter, of the Los Angeles Homicide Special Section, has to be pulled off a different case to take over the investigation.
Within days a new body surfaces. Like the previous victim, she’s also been stitched shut and something has been left inside her. Something as ingenious as it is grotesque. And the killer isn’t done yet, not by a long shot.
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When his inquiry collides with a missing persons’ case being investigated by the attractive, razor-sharp Whitney Meyers, Hunter suspects the killer might be keeping several women hostage. Soon Robert finds himself on the hunt for a murderer who is much more monstrous than he ever could have expected; a predator whose past hides a terrible secret, and who won’t stop until each of his victims has brought forth the awful truth.
My Review
Welcome to post number three on this fab #blogathon. I will be reviewing one book per month.
This was a hard read. The idea that these women were intimately violated and stitched up sits very uncomfortably with me. Someone must really hate women, obviously the killer, but why?
Apart from the methods of killing, I really enjoyed the third book in the series. I found the personalities of Hunter and Garcia now more sympathetically portrayed, and their character development is growing with each novel. And I love Whitney Meyers.
I wouldn’t say The Night Stalker was gorier than the previous two books – in fact I’d say that apart from the obvious, it’s less so. In reality, the second murder in The Executioner is ‘probably the grisliest I’ve ever read about’ (as I said in my review of it in March). But this is creepier, insidious, and terrifying all the same.
I feel as though Carter gets better and better with each book. More depth, more insight and we are really starting to like Hunter and Garcia. They are becoming real to me. Roll on Book 4!
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
What if the key to saving your dreams—and your family—came in the form of a tiny, mystical angel?
Ben Davidson’s life is unraveling. He loses his job unexpectedly, his family is slipping away, and the dream he once shared with his father is on the verge of collapse. Just when it seems like all hope is lost, a magical encounter with a glowing little angel reveals six powerful spiritual truths. Will it be enough to help Ben turn his life around before it’s too late?
Set in the late 1980s in the Pacific Northwest, The Color of Dreams weaves an enchanting tale of perseverance, love, and the mystical forces that shape our reality. As Ben embarks on a journey of self-discovery, the angel teaches him lessons that challenge his deepest fears and awaken his long-buried faith in himself.
In this life-affirming novel, readers will be drawn into Ben’s journey as he learns:
- How dreams are born from a higher source
- Why thoughts become reality
- The power of choosing faith over fear
- How to “Imagine better than the best you know”
- How to trust the “why” of your dreams and let the “how” unfold
- And most of all, how to help others by letting your inner light shine
Will Ben be able to apply these life-changing lessons to rebuild his broken life, rekindle his family’s love, and revive the dream he thought was lost? With heartfelt moments of inspiration and a touch of metaphysical magic, The Color of Dreams is a soul-stirring story that reminds us of the power of believing in ourselves and the beauty of second chances.
Perfect for fans of metaphysical fiction, spiritual transformation, and heartwarming stories of redemption, this novel will leave you inspired to chase your own dreams and embrace the possibilities of life’s unseen magic.
About the Author
“Imagine better than the best you know…” So begins the magical teachings in my new novel, The Color Of Dreams, which releases on May 1, 2025. Imagine if a magical visitor came to you with a chance to redeem your life, a chance to make your deepest dream come true. Could you develop the faith to chase your dream one more time? The Color Of Dreams is a story I’ve had inside me for 30 years. Now my dream is finally becoming a reality! I hope it inspires you to not only let your own dream out, but that it helps you shine your light so others can follow it to live their dreams, too.
I’m inspired by books, people, animals, nature…life itself, really. In my last book, The Owner’s Manual To Life, I collected 100 of my favorite quotes and wrote a two-page essay helping to reveal their wisdom. The subtitle of the book, “Simple Strategies to Worry Less and Enjoy Life More” sums up the intent of the book. Who doesn’t want to enjoy life more? Here a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
“Happiness is pretty simple—someone to love, something to do, something to look forward to.” –Rita Mae Brown
“We don’t need more to be thankful for, we need to be more thankful.”
“Formula for failure: try to please everyone.”
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” –Annie Dillard
If you’re looking for a book to help you find the joy in this remarkable world, to help you look beyond the occasional darkness, then check it out. I guarantee it will help you become kinder to yourself, and it will help you rediscover the point and purpose of life: to help others.
Lastly, I encourage you to visit my website, https://michaelzbooks.com/ and sign up for the quotes I send out each Wednesday. Also, you’ll find my email address there; I encourage you to send me some of your favorites as well. I always enjoy the wisdom other people have inside of them.
Until then, remember what Ruth Ann Schabacker said: “Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.”
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Act I I Stratford-upon-Avon, spring 1932
Six years after a fire destroyed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, a new troupe of actors is taking Stratford by storm. But offstage, Felix Richards suspects something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Read Along: 28th March – 29th April
Genre: Crime Fiction
Publisher: The Bullington Press
Morris Oxford feels he needs no introduction, he’s the greatest actor of a generation. The theatre means everything to him but his talent is tainted by the depths of his ambition.
All Our Yesterdays takes us back to where it all began. The stage is set but uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
My Review
So finally after four weeks of answering questions related to the book, here we go with the review.
All Our Yesterdays takes us back to the beginning of the Morris Oxford Players. Morris himself is a vile character. He has no moral compass. He’s only interested in furthering his career. He’s a selfish narcissist who sets out to destroy the careers of anyone who steals his limelight, the main one being so-called friend Richard. He systematically destroys his career, his marriage and finally his mental health.
Felix is the narrator. He’s not quite as bad, but he claims Richard is his best friend, yet he stands back and allows it all to happen. I never knew there was so much intrigue at the RSC.
In The Croaking Raven, we met Richard’s son Oliver (assumed to be the killer) and Felix. All Our Yesterdays explains the reasons for Oliver’s revenge spree, and at times I can’t say I blame him (though his methods are rather extreme!). This is the second book in the trilogy – the third book is coming soon.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of the #AllOurYesterdays readalong.
About the Author
Guy Hale was born in Worcestershire, England. His first job was as a Professional Golfer. He also played Rugby and raced motorcycles until his mid-twenties. When this failed to kill him he started writing plays, mostly two handers which he performed in pubs and assorted venues with his mate, Andy.
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LIVING FOREVER CAN BE LETHAL…
Ruth is a law-abiding elder, working out her national service, but she hassecrets. Her tireless research into the disease that killed her young daughter had an unexpected outcome: the discovery of a vaccine against old age. Just one jab a year reverses your biological clock, guaranteeing a long, healthy life.
But Ruth’s cure was hijacked by her colleague, Erik Grundleger, who hungers for immortality, and the SuperJuve – a premium upgrade – was created, driving human lifespan to a new high. The wealthy elite who take it are dubbed Supers, and the population begins to skyrocket.
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Then, a perilous side-effect of the SuperJuve emerges, with catastrophic consequences, and as the planet is threatened, the population rebels, and laws are passed to restore order: life ends at 120. Supers are tracked down by Omnicide investigators like Mara … and executed…
Mara has her own reasons for hunting Supers, and she forms an unlikely alliance with Ruth to find Grundleger. But Grundleger has been working on something even more radical and is one step ahead, with a deadly surprise in store for them both…
My Review
I’m so out of my comfort zone here. Firstly, I don’t usually read speculative fiction, sci-fi or dystopian future novels. And secondly, I don’t think this is entirely fiction, which is terrifying.
I remember reading some time ago (may have been Sir David Attenborough) that seven billion was the tipping point for our population. We’ve already passed that and those of us with half a brain know the earth is in trouble. But then we have another issue. We want to eradicate the diseases that mostly come with ageing, like cancer, heart disease and dementia. That would enable people to live to a ripe old age, and not merely ‘exist’. Because no-one wants to die, much less in pain and confusion. Much of this has to do with the demise of religion in the west, as we no longer believe we are going to a better place up there (hopefully up not down).
Sixty years ago, Ruth’s daughter Lettie suffered from a rare, progressive genetic disorder called Progeria syndrome. It starts when the sufferers are toddlers and they are unlikely to live past their teens. They visibly age rapidly and there is no cure. When Lettie dies age ten, Ruth is trying to develop a vaccine that can stop the ageing process.
Too late for Lettie, but eventually she succeeds. Only it has an unexpected outcome – it can reverse the ageing process in adults. Now everyone can be healthy and happy into their 80s, 90s, even 100s. Well whoopy do! Who wouldn’t want that? We’d all want it. One simple injection a year and we’d never get sick and look thirty-five at 90. But the population would explode, and the old would outstrip the young. We’d need more housing, there would be no green spaces, no wildlife, just concrete.
Look to now, (or in the future in this case), and that’s exactly what has happened. Ruth’s ex-colleague Erik Grundleger wants to live forever. He’s hi-jacked her research and created a SuperJuve vaccine which keeps you young for decades. It’s very expensive – of course – so only available to the super rich who become known as Supers.
Twenty-five-year-old Mara is an investigator for Omnicide. She is sharp and as hard as nails, and seeks out Supers for extermination. Those of us old enough will remember the film Logan’s Run. Everyone has to die at a set age – in this case 30 (in The Cure it’s 120!) – by going to ‘Carousel’ to be exterminated. Logan is a ‘Sandman’, who hunts down escapees in order to execute them (but he’s nearly 30 and we can guess the rest).
Mara is determined to find Grundleger and his mates including Jeff Busk (I love the name – think about it) and others. In order to do so she finds herself thrown together with Ruth – now 115 and close to her ‘transcendence’ where you peacefully end your own life, your way, at your own funeral (not good for Pure Cremation). And it’s compulsory.
I’m waffling on now – you must be getting bored of me – so read the book. It’s absolutely brilliant and horrifying. But the answer – well I really don’t know.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Eve Smith writes speculative thrillers, mainly about the things that scare her. Longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize and described by Waterstones as ‘an exciting new voice in crime fiction’, Eve’s debut novel, The Waiting Rooms, set in the aftermath of an antibiotic resistance crisis, was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award and was a Book of the Month in the Guardian, who compared her writing to Michael Crichton’s. It was followed by Off-Target, about a world where genetic engineering of children is routine, and ONE, about survival in a world ravaged by climate change. Eve’s previous job at an environmental charity took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places. She lives in Oxfordshire with her family.
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.
+ female friendship, fiction, Ireland, jealousy, marriage, motherhood, music, obsession, piano, review
The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden
If a therapist promised they could fix your selfish husband, but only if you followed their dangerously unorthodox methods, would you do it?
Eliza’s playwright husband Richard Sheridan has accepted the career opportunity of a lifetime: running a prestigious theatre in Dublin. Eliza plays the role of the supportive wife – uprooting their daughter Mara, relocating from England to Dublin, running the household and managing Richard’s paperwork – but inside, she’s burning with resentment.
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Eliza was once a globe-trotting classical pianist; now, her time is consumed by the dramas of the judgmental ‘momfluencers’ at the café across from Mara’s school, where she spends hours anxiously watching her lonely daughter during playtimes.
When she’s sent a suggestive photo of Richard with another woman, it’s the last straw. She turns to mysterious marriage therapist Ellen Early for help. But Eliza has no idea just how far Ms. Early is willing to go to get results …
My Review
I started this one evening and then read the rest of the book in one day. It’s such a fast read, and you just want to keep going.
Eliza hates confrontation. I know the feeling. She makes jokes rather than come back with a sharp retort. She’s basically a doormat.
She was a successful classical pianist, but when Richard Sheridan helped her escape her tyrannical father, she became his doormat instead. She gave up her career to focus entirely on her daughter Mara, and support Richard’s flourishing career. But in reality, she resents his success while her life is unfulfilled.
Mara is lonely and withdrawn, and Eliza doesn’t know how to fix it. She struggles to make friends herself as she doesn’t identify with the stay at home mums or the working mums. Then she finds a business card on her table in the Honey Cafe and decides to contact the therapist Ellen Early for help. But who is this woman? Her methods are very strange and Eliza really should have done her research.
I found Ms Early the most fascinating of all the characters in the story. Eliza needs to wake up and smell the coffee, she really does, but if she’d done the aforementioned research, she might have been more suspicious.
I just loved this book. It’s not only witty and at times laugh out loud funny, it’s a fascinating insight into marriage, relationships, jealousy and obsession. I just hope Mara comes out OK.
Many thanks to @Tr4cyF3nt0n for inviting me to be part of the #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour and to NetGalley for an ARC.
About the Author
Having grown up in a small town in the middle of Ireland, Caroline got notions and moved to Dublin where she swanned around Trinity College for a few years. She got a degree in something called management science and still isn’t sure what exactly that is. After trying to make it as a corporate stooge, Caroline found herself in the world of journalism where she was able to secretly work on her novels while she was supposed to be writing stock market reports.
Much as she wishes otherwise, she is not the LA-based infidelity recovery expert of the same name.
+ fiction, gothic, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, history, Italy, murder, revenge, review, Venice
Dangerous by Essie Fox
Fiction can be fatal…
Living in exile in Venice, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city. But when he is associated with the deaths of local women, found with wounds to their throats, and then a novel called The Vampyre is published under his name, rumours begin to spread that Byron may be the murderer…
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As events escalate and tensions rise – and his own life is endangered, as well as those he holds most dear – Byron is forced to play detective, to discover who is really behind these heinous crimes. Meanwhile, the scandals of his own infamous past come back to haunt him…
Rich in Gothic atmosphere and drawing on real events and characters from Byron’s life, Dangerous is a riveting, dazzling historical thriller, as decadent, dark and seductive as the poet himself…
My Review
Once I’d finished the book and read the historical context at the end about the real characters and the fictional ones, I went online and did my own research. I never realised Byron was the father of Ada Lovelace or that Polidori’s sister was the mother of Christina and Dante Gabriele Rosetti (the latter of which I was a bit obsessed with after watching the TV programme Desperate Romantics in 2009). Polidori is also an interesting character, I’ve researched him as well. Polidori’s father worked as a secretary for the ‘tragic’ Italian playwright Count Vittorio Alfieri.
Dangerous is a very entertaining read, though Lord Byron is hard to like. He is ultimately a selfish, self-absorbed, narcissistic philanderer. He spreads it about without consequence, but the one that upset me the most was his poor little daughter Allegra (her fate is well documented though I won’t print a ‘spoiler’ – you can look it up). And I did worry about the menagerie, especially Mutz the dog (again real and well documented).
When a prostitute is murdered in the street and then another is found dead in Byron’s bed at a brothel, the fingers point at him as he was there on both occasions. But is he a murderer or is he being framed? And why would anyone wish to discredit him? I could probably give a few reasons, his treatment of his ‘women’ being one, or being named as the author of Polidori’s The Vampyre. But nothing is ever that simple and we have a long way to go before the web is untangled.
I think it’s the mix of fact and fiction that makes this book so interesting. I hope Netflix (other production companies are available) will take it up as it would make a fantastic series. And who wouldn’t want to play Lord Byron?
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Essie Fox was born and raised in rural Herefordshire, which inspires much of her writing. After studying English Literature at Sheffield University, she moved to London where she worked for the Telegraph Sunday Magazine, and then book publishers George Allen & Unwin, before becoming self-employed in the world of art and design. Essie now spends her time writing historical Gothic novels. Her debut, The Somnambulist, was shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and featured on Channel 4’s TV Book Club. The Last Days of Leda Grey, set in the early years of silent film, was selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month. Essie’s Victorian Gothic novel, The Fascination, debuted at number 10 on the Sunday Times bestseller list, and was widely acclaimed. Essie is also the creator of the popular blog: The Virtual Victorian. She has lectured on this era at the V&A, and the National Gallery in London. She lives in Windsor.
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.
In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself.
But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the rest of the circus, Cecily finally feels she’s found the family she craves. But as the years go by, the cracks in her little world begin to show. And when teenage Cecily meets and falls in love with a young roustabout named Lucky, she finds her life thrown onto an entirely unexpected—and dangerous—course.
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In 2015, Cecily is now 94 and living a quiet life in Minnesota, with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandson. But when her family decides to surprise her with an at-home DNA test, the unexpected results not only bring to light the tragic love story that Cecily has kept hidden for decades but also throw into question everything about the family she’s raised and claimed as her own for nearly seventy years. Cecily and everyone in her life must now decide who they really are and what family—and forgiveness—really mean.
Sweeping through a long period of contemporary history, The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is an immersive, compelling, and entertaining family drama centered around one remarkable woman and her determination to survive.
My Review
If I said this book was epic, I would mean that literally. It takes place over two timelines, following Cecily as a child and teenager, and then in 2015, when she is 94 and we meet her family. Her daughter Liz is a potter. She is widowed and has two children, Molly and Eric (who is away all the time), and a grandson Caden. Now I struggled to warm to Liz. She’s quite prickly and judgemental, but I did love Molly, divorced from husband Evan, but obviously still in love with him. Caden plays hockey at almost Olympic level and is studying genetics at school. It took me some time to get my head around all these people.
I loved the story of Cecily as a child. Having been abandoned at an orphanage by her mother, who promises to return within a year but never does, she is sold into the circus where she performs as a bareback rider, the ‘“little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde.’ She performs with the circus until at 15 she meets a roustabout named Lucky, and they fall in love. But Lucky is Black and not only was that frowned upon, it was actually a criminal offence to have a relationship with a person of colour and could result in imprisonment or worse. The level of racism and prejudice is astonishing, even though I shouldn’t be remotely surprised.
So was the treatment of women who became pregnant out of wedlock. They were sent to a house of correction and considered “…feebleminded, cause they say only feebleminded girls do it.” Therefore ‘Cecily was incorrigible, a transient, a sex delinquent …a complete psychopath …a certain prostitute and potential murderess.’ Not much different to the UK and Ireland at this time.
Then about half way through we meet Kate, her younger sister Lana and their mother Clarissa and I wondered who they were and what was the connection to Cecily? This was a bit confusing until little clues started to evolve.
A tiny bit slow to start while we get to know all the characters, but it’s a fantastic book and highly recommended as a holiday read, though you may find yourself angry at the attitudes of the time, and sad (in a good way) when it all comes together.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Ellen Baker is the author of Keeping the House and I Gave My Heart to Know This. She has worked as a bookseller and event coordinator at an independent bookstore. Originally from the Upper Midwest, she currently lives in Maine.
The Ballochbrae Book Club is a heartwarming tale set in the charming Scottish village of Ballochbrae.
On Balmoral Castle’s doorstep, Flora, Heather, Chatty and Morag – women of a certain age – form a book group. There’s just one problem: nobody wants to read the books.
Then a body is dragged from the River Dee. Was foul play involved? Led by Flora, the four set out to pursue their own enquiries, uncovering secrets and lies in Ballochbrae, their sleepy Highland village.
Genre: Cosy mystery
Publishing soon and here is the fab cover:
But when their investigation gains pace, a series of setbacks causes tensions to escalate. After police warn them off, the would-be detectives give themselves forty-eight hours to solve the mystery.
As the clock runs down, it emerges their suspects aren’t the only ones with guilty secrets. Flora is forced to confront her worst fears and Chatty’s past comes back to haunt her.
The pre-order link is https://amzn.to/42u4PXE
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Congratulations to Guy Hale on the cover reveal of Act III! And here is the blurb:
Act III
Stratford-upon-Avon, spring 1972. On the streets of Stratford, four murders remain unsolved. For DC Toby Marlowe, there is only one potential killer: Oliver Lawrence. But nobody has seen Oliver for over fifteen years. They don’t even know what he looks like; they are chasing a shadow.
Genre: Crime Fiction
Publisher: The Bullington Press
Oliver’s first act is complete. As spring turns to summer, Act I, III is about to begin. Like Othello, he is poisoned by lies from the past. Revenge has consumed him … Now is the time to put out more lights!
About the Author
Guy Hale was born in Worcestershire, England. His first job was as a Professional Golfer. He also played Rugby and raced motorcycles until his mid-twenties. When this failed to kill him he started writing plays, mostly two handers which he performed in pubs and assorted venues with his mate, Andy.
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Jillian thought she knew her husband. They’ve been married for twenty years. But she doesn’t know him at all.
Jillian Harper thought moving to the quiet little town in Montana would be the fresh start her family needed. A charming farmhouse, friendly neighbors, and endless open fields — it was supposed to be perfect.
Until the bodies are found.
Buried deep on their land. Hidden for years.
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The police are everywhere. The town is whispering. And Tucker — her devoted husband — is acting . . . strange. He won’t tell her where he was all day. He won’t explain why his phone was off. And worst of all — he won’t meet her eyes.
Jillian knows Tucker is lying. She just doesn’t know why.
But the truth is far worse than she imagined. Because someone left those bodies there. Maybe the real monster isn’t lurking out there in the fields . . . Maybe he’s sleeping in her bed.
My Review
Meet Jillian Harper, who takes the prize for the most naive wife of all time. No matter how many times her husband Tucker disappears and she can’t get hold of him, how many times he lets her and baseball-mad son Ethan down, or she hears him having shady discussions on the phone, she still believes he is innocent of any wrongdoing. Even after decomposing bodies are found in trailers on the land they bought for a pittance, having left protective custody and fled again, she still trusts him. But she can’t ignore the evidence forever.
Agent Meri Amber is a police officer, now working with the FBI. She is investigating the bodies in the trailers who they believe to be the victims of a sex trafficking ring. Meri has a vested interest – her sister disappeared twenty years ago and she is always searching for her. Could her sister be one of the bodies? And how many more bodies have still not been found?
The ‘Red House’ is the stuff of myth and nightmares, but we know it exists, because it’s where Lola lives with ‘Mother’, who hands the girls over to the ‘Lady’ to sell them to the highest bidder. Mother has always protected Lola, who she treats differently from the other girls. Lola has a scar on her face which they both hope will keep her safe as no-one will want her with her disfigurement.
How can Tucker be involved in something so heinous. Something that makes you sick to the stomach. He won’t explain, he just tells Jillian he is keeping her and Ethan ‘safe’, but can she go on believing him? And then there is Becky from her childhood, also missing for twenty years. And who is Old Man Cummins?
This is the kind of book you can’t put down, even though Jillian annoyed me a lot of the time. Poor Ethan is all I can say. I really liked Meri, and Lola’s story was probably my favourite, I so wanted her to get away.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author. With 2 million copies of her titles sold world wide, Steena Holmes was named in the Top 20 Women Author to read in 2015 by Good Housekeeping. She continues to write books that deal with issues that touch parents heart, whether it is through her contemporary fiction or psychological suspense novels.
To find out more about her books and her love for traveling, you can visit her website at http://www.steenaholmes.com
2012 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE BOOK Award for her bestselling novel Finding Emma
2015 USA BOOK NEWS Award for The Word Game,
2015 USA BOOK NEWS finalist for The Memory Child.
For softer, sweeter stories with a hint of chocolate, a lot of coffee and communities you want to live in, look for her stories under the name STEENA MARIE.
Steena’s Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorsteenaholmes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/steenaholmes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorsteenaholmes/
Website: http://www.steenaholmes.com
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228870583-the-girls-in-the-basement
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/girlsbasement-zbt
+ 1940s, audio book, diary, fiction, ghosts, love, Magical realism, Paris, review, secrets, stories, WW2
The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris by Evie Woods
This is the magical tale of Edith Lane, who sets off to find her fortune in the beautiful city of Paris.
Fortune, however, is a fickle thing and Edith ends up working in a vintage bakery in the positively antique town of Compiègne.
Escaping heartache and singledom in Ireland, Edith discovers that the bakery on Rue De Paris is not exactly what it seems and that some ghosts from the past are harder to escape than others. A heart-warming story that is sure to appeal to all of the senses, The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris is a mouth-watering journey of love, liberty and la vie en rose.
My Review
I did French for O level (and almost A level but we won’t go there) and I found that I understood almost all the French in the book. Useful and surprising, but not essential. Mostly it’s translated or hinted at in the text.
I’m a huge fan of the author and this book was gorgeous, with a lot of love, a bit of ghostly haunting and old secrets. I adored the characters of Edith, Hugo, Madame Moreau, Nicole and all the others from Compiègne. Even the customers of the bakery are fascinating.
But this is not just a tale about an old bakery with a love element thrown in. It’s also a dual-timeline story about war and injustice, prejudice and hope.
Edith Lane has left her single life in Ireland to take up a job as assistant manager at a bakery on the Rue de Paris. Believing it to be situated in Paris itself, she is confused to discover that it’s actually in a small town named Compiègne, north of the city. It’s a town with a history and links to the atrocities of Word War Two. And that is where the book became more layered and interesting. The bakery is struggling to survive, but can Edith help Madame Moreau and her grandson save it?
I listened once again on Audible (because I love the Irish narrators) and look forward to more from this author.
About the Author
Evie Woods is the pseudonym of Evie Gaughan, bestselling author of The Story Collector, The Heirloom and The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris. Living on the West Coast of Ireland, Evie escapes the inclement weather by writing her stories in a converted attic, where she dreams of underfloor heating. Her books tread the intriguing line between the everyday and the otherworldly, revealing the magic that exists in our ordinary lives.
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About the Author
Educated at the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics, Pushkar Anand was in the early stages of his traditional banking career when a profound moment of insight in 2008 led him to re-evaluate his life’s expectations and priorities. This moment of insight set Pushkar on his quest as a seeker – an extraordinary quest of endless research and self-discovery that covered more than 500 books, thirty seminars, and an intense four-year, one-on-one program of study with his spiritual and philosophical guide, Blaine Bartlett. Bartlett is a leading global authority on the intersection of spirituality, business, and leadership, and is fondly addressed by Pushkar as Grandmaster B2. Pushkar’s fifteen-year journey resulted in his founding the Centre for Infinite Riches® and writing this book. The Centre for Infinite Riches® is a social enterprise with a presence in every continent. Its purpose is to Uplift Humanity by enabling everyone it touches to become the person they were always meant to be.
Pushkar’s Socials
– Pushkar Anand: Founder, Centre for Infinite Riches (@pushkaranandsworld) • Instagram photos and videos
– (3) Facebook
– Pushkar Anand: Founder, Centre for Infinite Riches – YouTube
– Pushkar Anand: Founder, Centre for Infinite Riches (@pushkarsworld) / X
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