+ crime fiction, dark humour, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, List, murder mystery, mystery, supernatural, superstition, thriller, Victorian Britain
My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part Three
Here are my favourite ten books of 2025 Part Three, including audiobooks, as I haven’t listened to enough to have their own post this quarter. As usual quite a disparate selection.
The Empty Cradle by Lisa Rookes
This was so good. I’m not sure how a story could be scary, creepy, and really funny at the same time. I think that’s because it’s so well written it can be serious, dark and hilarious without ever being in bad taste or offensive (though there is a bit of swearing. Get over it).
Amy and Joel have the perfect life. Or so it seems. They buy houses, do them up and flip them for a nice profit. Except Joel is desperate for a family, and Amy is struggling to get pregnant. Then all at once, Amy has lost the cottage she had put in a sealed bid for, found out her pregnancy test is negative, and discovered that Joel is having an affair with her best friend.
For my full review click here
One For Sorrow by Sarah A Denzil Isabel Fielding #1
I know some people had an issue with the plot twist, but I didn’t see it coming and I don’t care. And yes the ending went into the realms of the sublime to the ridiculously far fetched, but again I don’t care because it’s fiction and I found it highly entertaining. If I wanted mundane I’d watch a soap opera (no thanks) or read a cosy crime (which I do as well).
I think one of the things I loved the most about One For Sorrow is not knowing whether Leah is innocent. ‘… a young woman with a sweet, gentle nature, someone she could never see as a murderer.‘ according to Leah. And the reader doesn’t have a clue either. And I’m not saying, because that would spoil everything.
For my full review click here
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
I got this audiobook from Borrowbox. It’s such a great service from the library and it’s free. Plug for our libraries, but let’s get on with the book itself.
As you know Gothic mystery / horror is one of my favourite genres, particularly the ones where an often feisty governess (in this case she’s a children’s nurse) takes a job at a remote house in the countryside. It’s spooky with shadows on the walls of corridors and messages written on mirrors, and the master is dark and broody. And handsome – obviously. The mistress is often ill (or dead) or locked in the attic (think Jane Eyre). Or supposed to be dead, but lives in the attic. But I digress.
For my full review click here
The Betrayal of Thomas True by A J West
This book is undoubtedly a masterpiece, a modern classic, but it was hard to read at times. The way people were treated was unbelievable, with punishments as cruel as they could possibly be. The bull defies imagination. Who could come up with something like that?
Thomas True is the son of the reverend and his wife in Highgate. The reverend is a cruel man who regularly beats his own son and even puts him in the pillory to be stoned and ridiculed. Thomas eventually runs away to London where he meets first Jack and then Gabriel and becomes a patron of Mother Clap’s molly house, where gay men could be themselves, but risked execution if caught. As someone whose usual historical novel is Gothic mystery of the Victorian period, I was out of my comfort zone with Georgian England.
For my full review click here
An Evil Mind by Chris Carter (Robert Hunter #6)
This is definitely my favourite so far, even without Garcia at Robert’s side. In An Evil Mind, Detective Robert Hunter is called by the FBI to help with a case. There’s been an accident in the car park of a diner, and the truck that was hit has a surprise in the back. A freezer containing half a ton of oven chips? Cookie dough flavoured Häagen-Dazs? No, two severed heads. After all, this is Chris Carter, what else would we expect?
The case has immediately been handed over to the FBI. They have someone in custody, but he is asking for Robert, and him alone. Who is this man and why Robert? All is soon revealed, but can he believe that the suspect is innocent, and that he was simply delivering the truck.
For my full review click here
The Wish by Heather Morris
In 2004, when my younger son was in sixth form, 15-year-old Laura E. was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. More than 400 people turned out to give blood samples to The Anthony Nolan Trust one Thursday night in a bid to save her life, even many who didn’t know her. She needed a bone marrow transplant.
I remember sitting with my sister-in-law crying as we read of the failed transplants, and how she chose to let go. It was one of the bravest and saddest things I’ve ever read.
A lot of books make me cry, but this one had me in tears for much of it. Maybe it was because of the memory of that brave girl, or I would have done so anyway, but The Wish handles it so sensitively. It never shies away from the feelings of anger as well sorrow.
For my full review click here
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
I read The Foundling by this author with my online book club in 2020. I adored it, but not sure why I didn’t pick up another of her books until I listened to Mrs England just over a month ago. I loved that as well, so I thought I’d better listen to The Familiars. I used Borrowbox from the Library for both.
The Familiars is based on the real case of the Pendle Hill witch trials in Lancashire in 1612. ‘The trials occurred during the reign of King James I, a staunch believer in witchcraft who introduced the death penalty for it.’ The characters in the book are mostly real people of the time, but the story is pure fiction.
For my full review click here
The Howling by Michael J Malone
In the first book in the Annie Jackson series, we had flashbacks to the time when witches were strangled and their bodies thrown on a blazing pyre. In Book Three, The Howling, it’s about wolves.
Jean and Mary are sisters who have fallen out. One lives in a great hall, while the other lives in a hovel with her son Andra and two daughters. It’s the year 1707 and Andra saves a wolf cub, which he calls Laddie. He is the last wolf left in Scotland, as all the others have been killed. As Andra and Laddie become close, their souls begin to merge as one. Andra knows that if the wolf takes over he will be lost forever. Hundreds of years later, Drew has flashbacks to Andra’s life and his relationship with Laddie.
For my full review click here
The Therapy Room by OMJ Ryan
I couldn’t stop reading this – it’s real edge of your seat stuff! I started one evening but fell asleep with an hour to go, woke up at 6 am and finished it.
Initially, we know very little about Shelly, only that Olivia believes she did something so terrible fifteen years ago that it destroyed her life and that of her family. We don’t know what to believe, but no matter what it was, Olivia’s methods of getting revenge made me cringe. I couldn’t justify what she did for any reason whatsoever.
For my full review click here
Nine Dolls by Rupa Mahadevan
I’m not sure why I am finding this so hard to review. Maybe it’s because the plot is so twisty and intense. Maybe it’s because there are a lot of characters, and I initially struggled to remember who was who. But mainly I think it’s because I gave up trying to work it out and let myself go with the flow.
Firstly, I must say that I find festivals from other cultures really fascinating and I had never heard of Navaratri, the Hindu Festival of Dolls, and as we are told in the book blurb, the dolls ‘are not toys. They’re part of a sacred tradition’. Once set up, they must not be moved till the festival is over, so when someone starts moving them, and the scenes playing out represent each of the character’s deepest, darkest secrets, it becomes very sinister.
For my full review click here
Animal welfare charity RSPCA says eight out of ten dogs experience stress when home alone, meaning 9.6 million of the nation’s 12 million dogs are affected. Many have panic attacks when their owners go out and often pet parents don’t even know that their beloved dog is suffering.
Jo was inspired to study to be a Separation Anxiety specialist after her dog Reba experienced the condition and shares her story and her hopes for the day.
But then Reba had an accident and Jo’s life changed overnight.
One Paw at a Time
How would you cope if your dog suddenly became disabled after an accident?
This is the situation Jo Sellers found herself in when her beloved dog Reba ran into a tree in her garden in the dark. She found herself in her worst nightmare, with her dog hanging onto life by a thread, with a broken neck making her body unresponsive. From that moment, her world turned upside down and she has chronicled her emotional journey from the moment of the accident, the surgical interventions, and the long process of helping her dog heal not only from the physical injuries, but the emotional ones too.
Even though Jo is an expert in canine separation anxiety, she had never had to nurse a dog back to health before. Follow Jo through the steps she took to adapt to her dog’s changing needs, how she helped to teach her dog to stand and walk again, and how you can find inspiration from any similar situation of rehabilitating a dog after spinal injury.
For my review of One Paw at a Time click here
About the Author
Jo Sellers is an award winning ABTC Accredited Trainer and a Certified Separation Anxiety Behaviourist. Pippin Pets Dog Training was established in 2015 at the same time her dog Reba joined the family. This cheeky Cocker Spaniel/Bichon Frise crossbreed led her to specialise in Separation Anxiety after helping Reba overcome her fear of being home alone.
Helping dogs overcome Separation Anxiety is now the principal part of her business and online support for other trapped at home owners, and she has helped hundreds of other dogs and owners.
In 2024, Reba’s freak accident shook her world, and a long road of recovery loomed ahead. She took on the challenge, learning about dog’s biology and motion, the various rehabilitation therapies, and alongside the many specialists, helped her dog to learn to walk again.
Jo regularly studies and learns from other amazing professionals to keep up to date and learn new skills and techniques in order to provide her clients with the best support and guidance.
Social Media Handles
Twitter/X
@hyggebooktours
@greencatbooks
Instagram
@hyggebooktours
@greencatbooks
Facebook
@hyggebooktours
@greencatbooks
@josellers
+ fiction, grief, loss, marriage, mental health, motherhood, Psychological fiction, revenge, review, thriller
The Therapy Room by OMJ Ryan
She shared her darkest secrets. Now someone is using them to destroy her.
New mother Shelly should be enjoying the happiest time of her life. She’s just given birth to a beautiful baby boy, Alfie.
But Alfie’s arrival has triggered something deep inside Shelly and now she finds herself at the mercy of crippling OCD and violent intrusive thoughts that terrify her. Desperate for help, she joins a therapy group led by renowned psychologist Dr Andrea Galanis.
#TheTherapyRoom X(Twitter) @inkubatorbooks @ZooloosBT #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour #booktwitter
Instagram @inkubatorbooks @zooloosbooktours #bookstagram
It doesn’t work. Instead of helping, somehow therapy seems to be bringing her very worst fears to life.
What Shelly doesn’t realise is that someone from her dark past has infiltrated the group. And now she is sharing her most private secrets with a person who is determined to rip her life apart, one painful piece at a time.
With everything and everyone she cares about under threat, Shelly has a simple choice – confront the horrifying truth she’s kept hidden for almost twenty years, or face every mother’s worse nightmare – losing the child she loves.
My Review
I couldn’t stop reading this – it’s real edge of your seat stuff! I started one evening but fell asleep with an hour to go, woke up at 6 am and finished it.
Initially, we know very little about Shelly, only that Olivia believes she did something so terrible fifteen years ago that it destroyed her life and that of her family. We don’t know what to believe, but no matter what it was, Olivia’s methods of getting revenge made me cringe. I couldn’t justify what she did for any reason whatsoever.
In fact I felt really sorry for Shelly (hoping she was innocent of whatever Olivia believes she did), otherwise I would have been really conflicted. Though the one I felt the most sympathy for was poor little Alfie. Shelly has severe OCD and has intrusive thoughts about suffocating him, and also stabbing husband Nick. But she never does it, and has begun attending a group therapy session so she can talk about her feelings.
Olivia, calling herself Jess, becomes more and more unhinged, and by the end the book is racing along at a cracking pace while she carries out her final plan. It was so well written and at times I could barely keep up! I’ll certainly be looking out for more from this author.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Hailing from Yorkshire, OMJ Ryan worked in radio and entertainment for over twenty years, collaborating with household names and accumulating a host of international writing and radio awards.
In 2018 he followed his passion to become a full-time novelist, writing stories for people who devour exciting, fast-paced thrillers by the pool, on their commute – or those rare moments of downtime before bed. Owen’s mission is to entertain from the first page to the last.
This is his first psychological thriller with Inkubator Books. OMJ also writes the Jane Phillips crime thriller series.
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241790452-the-therapy-room
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/therapyroom-zbt
Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100034819912198
Twitter/X: https://x.com/OMJRYAN1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omjryan/
Website: https://www.omjryan.com/
Night pixie, Star, is on another daytime adventure at best friend Rose’s human school. Excitement levels are high until Star discovers the class keeps a rabbit…in a CAGE!
She must help the rabbit-prisoner escape, but can Star keep them both safe from the danger freedom brings?
Genre: Children’s 7-10
Pages: 90
Publisher: HB Publishing House
The second instalment of The Night Pixie series bringing the magic of Hazel Knox and Chris White back together again!
My Review
The Night Pixie to the Rescue is hilarious. Children will love the characters, the illustrations and the story.
Star, the night pixie, lives with her mum and granny in Aunt Mo’s garden. Ever since her dad disappeared, they never go outside the garden. Except Star has made friends with Rose, a human, and goes to school with her.
It’s at school that Star sees a bunny in a cage. The bunny must be a prisoner, having been captured by humans. That’s what happened to her dad. So Star decides to free Welly the bunny. But what happens when the creature you are trying to rescue doesn’t want to be freed?
Well, they have amazing adventures, that’s what. First there’s the music room with its giant piano, then there’s chocolate cake in the office. But it’s outside that the adventures really begin, not just for Welly, but for Star as well.
I adored this book. There are plenty of really funny moments, from the toilet scene – the toilets must be really special as kids go there all the time, the ‘head’ teacher who must be just a head with no body, and the photocopier (that will bring back memories of drunken office parties for some parents), but it’s Welly the bunny that I loved best.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of the #NightPixie blog tour.
About the Author
Hazel Knox is a children’s poet, writer and occupational therapist. She is a former Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awardee and has had several poems and short stories published. The Night Pixie was her debut young fiction book. The Night Pixie to the Rescue is the second book in the series. Book three is coming soon.
Buy Links
www.amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.com
Goodreads
www.goodreads.com
Handles/Tags
X (Twitter)
@KellyALacey
@lovebookstours
#Ad #LBTCrew #Booktwitter #FreeBookReview #LBTKids
Instagram
@HazelKnox_Writer
@HB_Publishing_House
@lovebookstours
#Ad #LBTCrew #Bookstagram #FreeBookReview #LBTKids
Threads
@lovebookstours
Facebook
@lovebookstours
My first holiday with my husband’s friends. A remote Scottish manor. Nine sacred dolls. One brutal murder.
We find the doll shattered on the floor, its broken pieces scattered like a warning. That’s when everything starts to fall apart.
Now the power is out. A storm has trapped us here. And someone is dead.
We’ve only been married three months. And our first holiday as man and wife is spending ten days in a secluded Scottish manor with my husband’s old friends.
#NineDolls X(Twitter) @JoffeBooks #RupaMahadevan @ZooloosBT #ZooloosBookTours #booktwitter
Instagram @joffebooks @zooloosbooktours #bookstagram #blogtour
I’ve never met them before. From the moment I arrive, I feel like an outsider. And it’s not just his friends. Things haven’t been normal since the first day, when someone moved the dolls.
I told them not to — never move the dolls before the tenth day of Navaratri, the Hindu Festival of Dolls. They’re not toys. They’re part of a sacred tradition.
But no one listened. Even Dhruv — my husband — told me to stop being silly.
I know they’re hiding something. I can’t trust any of them — not even the man I married.
Now one of us is dead. One of us is a killer. Am I going to make it out of here alive?
My Review
I’m not sure why I am finding this so hard to review. Maybe it’s because the plot is so twisty and intense. Maybe it’s because there are a lot of characters, and I initially struggled to remember who was who. But mainly I think it’s because I gave up trying to work it out and let myself go with the flow.
Firstly, I must say that I find festivals from other cultures really fascinating and I had never heard of Navaratri, the Hindu Festival of Dolls, and as we are told in the book blurb, the dolls ‘are not toys. They’re part of a sacred tradition’. Once set up, they must not be moved till the festival is over, so when someone starts moving them, and the scenes playing out represent each of the character’s deepest, darkest secrets, it becomes very sinister.
Leela and Livi are the newcomers. Both are partnered with men who formed part of a tight group of friends from university. Except they all seem to hate each other, so why they have agreed to have a reunion at a remote Scottish manor, I have no idea. I’d rather poke out my own eyes with a stick than stay with this toxic lot for 10 days.
Moving on, Leela is married to Dhruv and has never met any of his ‘friends’ before. Livi is in a relationship with Shravan, but Nancy is still obsessed with him. This doesn’t make for a happy dynamic. Everyone thinks Nancy must be moving the dolls, but nothing is ever that simple. And when you think you’ve discovered the twist, there’s another and then another. I’m exhausted, but I loved every minute of it.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Rupa Mahadevan is a writer of psychological thriller and a passionate dancer.
She grew up on the south-eastern coast of India and has called the south-eastern coast of Scotland home for over 15 years. She currently lives in Edinburgh with her husband and two children.
When she is not grappling with Excel in her day job, she loves to read and dream up stories of her own.
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240302991-nine-dolls
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/ninedolls-zbt
Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rupa.mahadevan.2024
Twitter/X: https://x.com/chith84
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rupa_mahadevan/
Website: https://rupamahadevan.com/
In Dreaming of Unicorns, Charlie Barlow takes the reader on a journey from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran, as he battles to build the business of his dreams: online medical consultation app Health at Hand.
It’s not a smooth journey, and this is an honest account with all the bumps in the road. There are regulatory minefields, cultural barriers, legal threats, demoralising setbacks and hard-won breakthroughs.
Charlie’s wit and self-reflection are refreshing as he describes the painful lessons he had to learn and the resilience needed to survive in the high-stakes startup world. This is the ultimate handbook for any entrepreneur or anyone thinking of becoming one. The warts and all account of one man’s attempt to snag that most elusive of beasts — the unicorn.
After 12 years working as a Private and Investment Banker for leading international banks – including Morgan Stanley, HSBC and the Bank of Singapore – Charlie Barlow established his own technology venture- capital business, Rockfirst Capital, in 2012 and subsequently founded the multi-award-winning telehealth company Health at Hand.
Health at Hand became the first licensed telehealth company to ever be established in the Middle East and the first to focus on transforming healthcare access to the under-served blue-collar population of the region.
Having scaled Health at Hand to over 4 million patients and 6 countries, Charlie sold the business in 2021 to Fortune 500 company Allianz. He now works within the fintech and health sectors, advising businesses on how to scale cross-border and to reach their full exit potential.
Extract
Here is an extract from the book:
‘Charlie Barlow. How the fuck did you get into my office?!’
‘And so it began – my journey as a first-time entrepreneur, having lied my way into the office of Dr Pat Basu, founder of the world’s most successful digital healthcare company. With a growing sense of both trepidation and excitement, I’d found myself in the heart of Doctor on Demand’s San Francisco headquarters, hoping to kickstart my copycat MedTech business for the under-served, low-income populations of emerging markets … But how on earth did this meeting even happen in the first place? I knew next to nothing about technology or healthcare when I began the journey of incubating Health at Hand, the digital healthcare business I would go on to sell some five years later.
‘I was on a night flight from Singapore to Dubai in early 2016 when the idea first came to me. A brainwave. Or so I thought. Smartphones were becoming more and more prevalent, and WIFI was beginning to reach even rural communities in much of the developing world. I’ve always had an active mind for scheming and brainstorming and, having spent the last ten years living in Asia and the Middle East, I was acutely aware that in many developing markets, the quality of healthcare available to the general population often fell short of the standards found in more developed regions. What if there was a mobile-enabled technology solution that allowed patients and doctors to communicate through video – and from their smartphones? I could alleviate one of the world’s great injustices, ensuring that access to quality primary healthcare was not only available to the privileged few, but to everyone. Build an app; download it on to an iPad; throw that iPad into a shanty town or refugee camp, and I’d be a world-beater.
‘It all sounded so easy.’
Extract courtesy of Grace Pilkington Publicity
For further information, interview requests or to see a book, please contact gracepilkingtonpublicity@gmail.com
About the Author
Charlie Barlow was founder and CEO of Health at Hand, an app-based doctor
video consultation platform launched in Dubai in 2017.
“What a remarkable story and one of great resilience and kindness, building a business to serve the low-income populations of the emerging markets”
Liz Earle MBE
+ fiction, review, siblings, superstition, twins, witchcraft, witches
The Howling by Michael J Malone (Annie Jackson Mysteries #3)
Scotland’s oldest legends are just waking up… Vowing once more to remove herself from society, Annie is living alone in her little cottage by the shores of a loch.
But when an old enemy – now locked up in a high-security hospital – comes calling, begging her to find the son that she was forced to give up at the age of seventeen, Annie is tempted out of seclusion.
The missing boy holds the key to ending Annie’s curse, and he may be the only chance that both she and Lewis have of real happiness.
#TheHowling Twitter/X @michaelJmalone1 @OrendaBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours
Instagram @malonemichaelj @randomthingstours #bookstagram #blogtour #Gothic #Scotland #supernatural #AnnieJacksonMysteries
Annie and Lewis begin an investigation that takes them back to the past, a time etched in Scottish folklore, a period of history that may just be repeating itself. And what they uncover could destroy not just some of the most powerful people in the country, who will stop at nothing to protect their wealth and their secrets, but also Annie’s life, and everything she holds dear…
My Review
In the first book in the Annie Jackson series, we had flashbacks to the time when witches were strangled and their bodies thrown on a blazing pyre. In Book Three, The Howling, it’s about wolves.
Jean and Mary are sisters who have fallen out. One lives in a great hall, while the other lives in a hovel with her son Andra and two daughters. It’s the year 1707 and Andra saves a wolf cub, which he calls Laddie. He is the last wolf left in Scotland, as all the others have been killed. As Andra and Laddie become close, their souls begin to merge as one. Andra knows that if the wolf takes over he will be lost forever. Hundreds of years later, Drew has flashbacks to Andra’s life and his relationship with Laddie.
So how does this relate to Annie and Lewis? Sylvia Lowry-Law, who we met in the last book, tried to kill Annie as part of a ritual to raise a demon. Naturally it failed, Annie was rescued, and Sylvia ended up in a secure psychiatric hospital. But now Sylvia wants Annie to find her son, who was taken from her when she was seventeen.
Bernard Peters works for his grandfather, also called Bernard Peters. When ‘gramps’ is on his deathbed, he makes a dying confession, telling the younger Bernard that his life was not what he thought and there are secrets that people will kill for to prevent them getting out. And so the two searches and the seemingly unrelated characters begin to merge, like the wolves in the lives of Andra and Drew.
It’s a brilliantly written thriller, which combines fast paced chases, power hungry megalomaniacs, and a group known as The Order, with mysticism and superstition. The wolf scenes are terrifying and each time we went back to Andra, I was almost too scared to turn the page because I knew the outcome, but not the journey.
It’s different from the other two books in the series, but just as good. I have a feeling there will be another book soon as too many questions were left unanswered. Bring it on I say!
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers.
His dark psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and is currently in production for the screen, and five powerful standalone thrillers followed suit. The Murmurs and The Torments, first in the Annie Jackson Mysteries series, were published to critical acclaim in 2023. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr, where he also works as a hypnotherapist.
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.
+ adventure, family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, holiday, loss, love, marriage, relationships, review, romance, siblings, twins
Atticus Arnott’s Great Adventure by Caroline James
Escape to sunny Spain with the #1 bestselling author of The Cruise in this heartwarming rom com full of romance, self-discovery and the magic of saying yes to adventure.
The best chapters of life are still waiting to be written…
When seventy-year-old Atticus Arnott trades the rainy hills of Cumbria for the golden coast of Spain in his beloved vintage campervan, his quiet village is left reeling from the shock. With only his faithful collie, Ness, for company, Atticus sets off in search of sunshine, serenity, and perhaps a glass or two of sangria. But his solo adventure quickly turns into something far more unexpected…
Back in Ireland, Atticus’s daughter Mary is facing a crisis of her own. As her picture-perfect life starts to crumble, she must find the courage to put herself first for once and rediscover the dreams she set aside long ago.
As father and daughter navigate new paths, they learn that starting over isn’t about running from the past—but embracing the unknown with open arms…
Full of laughter, love and second chances, Atticus Arnott’s Great Adventure is a feel-good escape that proves it’s never too late for a new beginning—no matter where life might take you.
My Review
I’ve come to the conclusion that I am probably quite antisocial. I’m not saying that if I found myself in Atticus’s situation I would turn into a lonely old grump, but the idea of living with a load of partying old pats in sunny Spain is probably my worst nightmare. When I retired in 2023, my husband and I decided to spend two months at a time in Gran Canaria but we settled for a quiet life – mostly. If I pop my clogs before him, he’d better not go back there with someone else. Unlike his late wife Clara approving of his new found ‘second chance’, I would be more like Lazar Wolf’s dead wife in Fiddler On The Roof and come back to haunt him.
That’s not to say that I didn’t love the book – I even stayed up till midnight (told you I wasn’t a party animal) to finish it. My favourite character though was definitely the daughter Mary. Even though I am Atticus’s age, I found her story the one I could most empathise with. She left her family in Cumbria to marry estate agent Conor and move to Ireland. They set up the business together, then had four children and what a right so-and-so he turned out to be. But never let it be said that Mary is a doormat. We shall have to wait and see.
Mungo is Mary’s twin and more of a grump than Atticus. He’s changed the ailing sheep farm into a trendy camp site with a shop and cafe, but Atticus is upset that he sold off the sheep that had been his father’s life. However, Mungo’s son Jake is going to help change all that. Jake is my second favourite character. At sixteen, he can turn his hand to anything and everything from online dating apps in Spain to doing up an old camper van. I need a Jake in my life. And a camper van.
Anyway, no more Gran Canaria – we have a dog now – just need a suitable mode of transport so we can all take that trip. We just need to find somewhere quiet and rehome the gnomes…
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of #AtticusArnott blog tour.
About the Author
Caroline James is the celebrated author of later-life fiction, including The Cruise, the #1 best-seller that has captivated cruise ship passengers worldwide, earning its reputation as Girl Power for the Over-Sixties! Her eagerly anticipated follow-up novel, The Cruise Club, is set to make waves too. Caroline’s vibrant storytelling stems from her colourful career. Before becoming a full-time writer, she carved out a fascinating path in the hospitality industry, owning a charming country house hotel and a lively pub. As a media agent, she worked closely with celebrity chefs, giving her an insider’s perspective on the glitz, glamour, and grit of the culinary world. When she finally turned her focus to writing, she discovered her true calling, penning best-selling novels that have garnered her legions of fans.
Buy Links
www.amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.com
Goodreads
www.goodreads.com
Handles/Tags
X (Twitter)
@KellyALacey
@lovebookstours
#Ad #LBTCrew #BookTwitter #Romance
Instagram
@CarolineJamesAuthor
@lovebookstours
#Ad #LBTCrew #Bookstagram #RomanticComedy #Romance
Threads
@lovebookstours
Facebook
@lovebookstours
TikTok
@lovebookstours
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, murder, murder mystery, mystery, police drama, police procedural, review, secrets, thriller
Open to Death by Sophie Mattis a DI Rena Hunt Mystery Book #1
In the picturesque town of Rucklesby, peace is shattered when a young woman is found brutally murdered in her home.
Detective Inspector Serena “Rena” Hunt is called to the scene, still haunted by her last case and questioning her instincts.
The victim, Sicily Avery—a wife and mother—has been stabbed through the heart with chilling precision. When another woman is killed in the same way, Rena realises a calculated murderer is on the loose, leaving cryptic notes on the victims as part of a twisted agenda.
Genre: Mystery / Crime fiction / police procedural
With the body count rising, Rena and her team race to stop the killer before they strike again. Tensions mount with the arrival of new forensic pathologist Dr. Lucas Mann—bringing both friction and unexpected chemistry—as they work together to outwit a murderer who always seems one step ahead.
Open to Death intricately combines themes of murder, betrayal, and the unyielding quest for justice, all while subtly developing a slow-burn romance.
My Review
I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, but with plenty of information and initial back story about the characters, particularly DI Rena Hunt, who is going to be our strong female lead going forwards. This is book one in a new series.
Rena is a great protagonist, and I also really like her sidekick Jack Orly, I even like his name. Unlike our first victim Sicily Avery – is anyone really called Sicily? What were her parents thinking? Then a second woman is killed in the same way, but I can’t say who as that would give it away.
The story becomes more and more complicated as new characters and suspects are introduced, and they all seem to be left-handed (statistically unlikely), which is what our attractive pathologist Lucas Mann believes about the killer, looking at the angle of the knife wounds. The stabbings are particularly gruesome, though I’m not sure why, having read far worse, but there is something so visceral and direct about them, delivered at such close quarters. This just didn’t seem like random killings.
I used to belong to an online book club, which was like a buddy read, but we all read the same section of a book at the same time, and crime fiction was our favourite, as we could all play amateur detective and try and work out who dunnit. We often got it hopelessly wrong. Open To Death would have been perfect. Not just who the killer is, but finding a link between the victims and a motive.
My only reservation is the made up county and towns, as usually it’s a fictional town or village, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across a fictional county in a book before, at least not in a crime novel.
However, as this is the first in the series, I think it will get better and better and hopefully a romance will blossom between Rena and Lucas.
Many thanks to Hygge Book Tours for inviting me to be part of the #blogtour
About the Author
Sophie Mattis is a British mystery novelist who enjoys crafting suspenseful tales set in the English countryside. Blending intricate plot twists and vividly drawn characters, she delves into the hidden facets of modern life, often focusing on the intersections between family, relationships, and the human psyche. When she’s not writing, she enjoys travelling, cycling in the woods, and exploring England’s hidden treasures.
Author’s Website:
www.sophiemattisbooks.com
Social Media Handles
Twitter/X:
@hyggebooktours
Instagram:
@sophiemattisbooks
@hyggebooktours
Facebook:
@hyggebooktours
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, murder, police drama, police procedural, review, satanism, thriller
The Midnight Killer by Jez Pinfold
Detective Bec Pope is waiting in Heathrow departures when the call comes in: a body has been found in a quiet Bloomsbury cemetery. Her long-overdue holiday is over before it begins.
It’s no ordinary crime scene. The smartly-dressed young man hasn’t just been murdered. The killer has left a message – a pentagram, brutally carved into the dead man’s chest.
Then a second victim is discovered on a patch of scrubland in Bermondsey. Another young man, killed at midnight, just like the first.
#TheMidnightKiller X(Twitter) @JoffeBooks #JezPenfold @ZooloosBT #ZooloosBookTours #booktwitter
Instagram @joffebooks @zooloosbooktours #bookstagram #blogtour
The same five-pointed symbol etched into his flesh.
Bec is on the hunt for a ruthless killer unlike any she’s faced before. If she is to crack the case, she must discover what the symbols mean. And why these victims were targeted.
With the press circling and the entire city on edge, Bec’s running out of time in a case that grows darker by the hour. She needs to stop the killer before midnight strikes – and another life is taken.
My Review
First of all let me say that if I was at the airport about to board a plane to New York with my family, and work rang, I would have ignored the call till I got to my destination. But Detective Bec Pope takes the call and cancels her holiday. Then her partner and his children do the same. I want to know whether they are covered by insurance, or whether the police are paying for the missed trip.
If Bec really was the only officer at the station capable of solving this case, then bring someone senior in from another force. Anyway, rant over, because this was a really good story.
In my youth I was fascinated by all things occult – weren’t we all in the 70s – seances, scary films, Dennis Wheatley books. I even studied it during my OU degree in the 2000s. Let me just say that I know a fair bit about pentagrams, Satanism and such – don’t ask – so I was surprised that no-one seemed to, apart from Kevin aka Acheron. And where’s the dark web when you need it? That surely would be the way to go. Or they could have consulted me! But I digress.
The Midnight Killer is a fast-paced, exciting read and personally I did not work out who the killer was until near the end. It’s very twisty, if a little far-fetched at times, but Bec is a great female lead with a good team around her. I would not have realised that this was part of a series if I didn’t know, as the book stands up well on its own. The main thing we discover is that her previous colleague Detective Miller was killed in the line of duty, and Bec initially struggles to accept his replacement.
If you like procedural crime thrillers, then The Midnight Killer is definitely for you. It would make a good TV series with someone like Vicky McClure in the lead. And what a cliffhanger! We’ll hopefully discover the outcome in the next book.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Jez Pinfold taught English and Film Studies in London for twenty years, including eight years as Head of English. Before landing in secondary teaching he had various jobs, including roadie, sound engineer, guitar tutor and teacher of English as a foreign language. After writing, his other passion is music. He plays guitar in a rowdy covers band currently called The Maverick Detectives, although they frequently change their name to avoid becoming too recognised and succumbing to the trappings of fame.
Book Links
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/midnightkiller-zbt
+ audio book, audio drama, fiction, Historical fiction, marriage, motherhood, review, witchcraft, witches
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir.
Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.
Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.
Rich and compelling, set against the frenzy of the real Pendle Hill Witch Trials, this novel explores the rights of 17th-century women and raises the question: Was witch-hunting really women-hunting? Fleetwood Shuttleworth, Alice Grey and the other characters are actual historical figures. King James I was obsessed with asserting power over the lawless countryside (even woodland creatures, or “familiars,” were suspected of dark magic) by capturing “witches”—in reality mostly poor and illiterate women.
My Review
I read The Foundling by this author with my online book club in 2020. I adored it, but not sure why I didn’t pick up another of her books until I listened to Mrs England just over a month ago. I loved that as well, so I thought I’d better listen to The Familiars. I used Borrowbox from the Library for both.
The Familiars is based on the real case of the Pendle Hill witch trials in Lancashire in 1612. ‘The trials occurred during the reign of King James I, a staunch believer in witchcraft who introduced the death penalty for it.’ The characters in the book are mostly real people of the time, but the story is pure fiction.
It’s crazy that at the time anything unexplained could be ‘explained’ by witchcraft. For instance when Jon Law is taken ill, his face having collapsed on one side, his arm having lost its use and he is unable to speak, it’s obvious that he has had a stroke. But Alizon Demdike, who was seen nearby with a black dog, confessed to having putting a curse on him. And God help you if a frog or toad was found in your house.
Seventeen-year-old Fleetwood Shuttleworth has already lost three babies and is now pregnant again. In the woods, she meets a strange girl called Alice Grey, who is carrying a bag of dead rabbits. Alice is technically trespassing on Shuttleworth land, but Fleetwood is intrigued by her. They meet up again and Alice tells Fleetwood that she is a midwife. And that is the beginning of their friendship.
In the meantime, lifelong friend of her husband Richard, Roger Nowell (he was a real person) is determined to make a name for himself in his twilight years by seeking out witches and sending them for trial and certain death.
We have to remember that this was the 17th century when women had no voice and were subservient to their husbands. It’s maddening at times!
I loved this book so much, and it’s perfect as an audiobook.
About the Author
Stacey Halls was born in Lancashire and worked as a journalist before her debut The Familiars was published in 2019. The Familiars was the bestselling debut hardback novel of that year, won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards’ Debut Book of the Year. The Foundling, her second novel, was also a Sunday Times top ten bestseller. Mrs England is her third novel.
+ female friendship, fiction, friendship, Historical fiction, murder, murder mystery, revenge, review, secrets, spiritualism, supernatural, Victorian Britain
The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder by Stephen Cox
London 1881. Can two crooked women stop a murder?
Extravagant medium Mrs Ashton and her lover, blunt working-class Mrs Bradshaw, run a spiritualist scam. Mrs Ashton secretly reads minds.
Believing that Mrs Ashton is genuine, grieving Lady Violet craves the truth behind her mother’s untimely death.
#TheCrookedMediumsGuidetoMurder X/Twitter @stephenwhq @RandomTTours #bookX #booktwitter
Instagram @stephencoxauthor @randomthingstours #bookstagram #blogtour
#Victorianmurdermystery #historicalmurdermystery #spooky #paranormal #sapphic #LGBTQ #womensleuths #BritishDetectives
But Lady Violet’s powerful husband Sir Charles hates spiritualists. Has he killed before? Uncovering this MP’s wicked crimes will put all three women in terrible danger…
To solve a shocking murder, look both sides of the grave.
My Review
This was an interesting read set in one of my favourite periods of history, the Victorian era, the pinnacle of hypocrisy. I say interesting because the style of writing used by the author is very different, often as if written at the time. I sometimes struggled with Braddie’s way of speaking, but maybe that’s because it put me outside of my comfort zone. The story however, is great fun, though there is a serious undertone.
Mrs Honoria Ashton is a medium. Except she’s a fraud, of course she is, as we all know it’s not possible to contact the dead. Her seances are full of tricks and ruses, but many who are grieving are taken in. But in spite of all this fakery, she can read minds, and get people to ‘open’ so she can see what they are really thinking.
As I said, Braddie grated on me, but I did love Maisie. Only fourteen years old, she’s street-wise beyond her years. She helps Mrs Ashton with various jobs, while looking after her younger siblings and drunken ‘pa’ since her mother died. But what she really wants to be is an amateur detective and be paid for it out of the profits.
The main story revolves around the beautiful Lady Violet and her husband Sir Charles, a rising star of the government, but in reality, a coercive bully. But is that all there is to him, or is he actually far worse, a murderer even? He hates spiritualists, but Lady Violet has asked Mrs Ashton to contact her late mother as she is still grieving and can’t move on.
This was a very entertaining read, if a little overlong (as so many books are these days), and I really enjoyed it. Recommended for anyone with an interest in spiritualism and the Victorian period of history.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Stephen Cox is a writer living in London. He’d read every Holmes, Christie, and Sayers before he was 21 and did Holmes fanfic in school. He has also read the Moonstone six times. With a science degree he has always been a fan of history and the imagination.
The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder contains the strong characterisation, women protagonists, authentic period setting, and wide roaming imagination of his other works. He says ‘It’s a rip-roaring twisty story, with relationships under stress and surprising readers at every turn.”
His first two novels, Our Child of the Stars and Our Child of Two Worlds were called “heartfelt, imaginative and gripping”, with wide praise in the national press.
Stephen says ‘I wanted female rogues as my leads – women with mixed relationship with law and the truth, yet capable of great kindness. This is a rigorous detective story with a client in trouble and old crimes to be solved. It has everything – a brutal man, a Lady in danger, and the past and present feeding the action. Can these outsiders possibly win through?
Queer women certainly existed and made lives together in Victorian England, as those with eyes to see can see,’
Buying links
The books are available through Amazon (eBook and print) and you can buy non-Amazon print books directly from Stephen’s website, including a signed option.
To purchase on Amazon click here
More Information
Website https://stephencox.co.uk
Stephen’s socials
Instagram @stephencoxauthor
Twitter/X @stephenwhq (very inactive)
Facebook stephencoxauthor
BlueSky @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social
Self-Published
The book is self-published to a high standard with professional editing, copy-editing, proofing, formatting, and a professional cover. It will be available from Amazon and other retailers. Committed to professionalism, Stephen is applying to join the Crime Writers Association, which can only be considered when the book is out.
