Written for every child who needs a helping hand to develop agency when they face ordinary wobbly moments in early life and beyond.
Dr Marcelle Moore, a Clinical Psychologist with more than two decades of experience working with children aims to help caregivers and parents support children in their transformative journey… from fear to bravery.
When mischievous little lion Scout finds himself fearful of doing something new and unknown, he starts to tell himself, “I can’t, it’s too hard.” Scout’s body feels heavy, and his thoughts echo with self-doubt. Help comes from an unlikely friend who teaches Scout the value of togetherness, and that courage to face those shaky feelings comes from within.
“A beautiful book with an important message, infused with imagery and strategies to help young people feel braver, in the face of their ‘wobbles’.” – Karen Young, Psychologist and Neuro-development Educator
My Review
Who would have thought that a strong, proud, brave lion like Scout would ever get scared or anxious. But that’s not how real life works. Everyone gets scared from time to time when faced with the unknown, and this could even be manifested as a full blown panic attack. When you have no idea what’s happening, except you can’t eat and you feel the WOBBLES, it’s important to look to your friends and family for reassurance.
For Scout it takes a tiny firefly to explain his feelings to him, why his tummy is feeling yucky and his head is pounding, and assure him that it’s all quite normal. The ‘What Ifs’ and ‘I Can’ts’ are stealing your bravery, the firefly tells him, and that’s when you need to be with someone you trust and take deep breaths.
Through rhyme and an example of deep breathing (like in yoga), the book will help children to overcome their anxieties. With lots of colourful pictures in a high quality hard back book, this is a must for parents of young children of all ages, because at the end of the day, even lions get scared.
Many thanks to @LiterallyPR for inviting me to be part of the #EvenLionsGetScared blog tour.
About the Author
“I’m Dr Marcelle Moore! I’m a Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychologist with over two decades of experience in London and Sydney. I’ve spent my career helping children navigate life’s ups and downs, and now I’m excited to bring those insights to a new audience through my first book, Even Lions Get Scared.
“This book was born out of a desire to empower families with the tools they need to help their children build courage and resilience. During the pandemic, the number of children experiencing anxiety soared, and I wanted to create something accessible for families struggling to get support.
“With beautiful illustrations by the incredible Monika Marzek, this book blends storytelling with proven psychological strategies that I use in my practice. It’s designed to help children face their fears and develop emotional strength.”
Book Links
www.amazon.co.uk
www.goodreads.com
Handles/Tags
Literally PR
Instagram – @literallypr
Twitter/X – @literallypr
Dr Marcelle Moore
Instagram – @dr_marcelle_moore
+ childhood, Detective novel, fairy tale, female friendship, fiction, grief, kidnapping, literature, loss, love, murder, murder mystery, mystery, obsession, police drama, review, serial killer, thriller, writer
Little Red Death by A K Benedict
ONCE UPON A TIME LIKE YOU’VE NEVER READ IT BEFORE . . .
DI Lyla Rondell is on the case of a lifetime. Tasked with investigating a series of perplexing deaths, the only lead she has is that each appears to be based on a different classic fairy tale. Far from the stuff of bedtime stories, the press is having a field day with what they have named the Grimm Ripper Murders.
#LittleRedDeath X/Twitter @ak_benedict @simonschusteruk
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Instagram @a.k.benedict @simonschusteruk @randomthingstours #bookstagram #blogtour
But as the bodies stack up, Lyla’s whole world is about to flip on its head. Because the killer’s bloody trail stretches deep into her own origin story, and when she discovers the truth, nothing will ever be the same again.
Faced with the fact that everything she knows is fiction, Lyla will have to take a little creative license of her own if she’s going to turn the final page on the killings . . .
My Review
Little Red Death is like nothing I’ve ever read before. It starts off with a killer obsessed with fairy tales, a kidnapped author called Katie forced to rewrite the Brothers Grimm stories so he can re-enact them, and a threat that she will die if she doesn’t keep writing. So it becomes about her or the victims in the stories.
What a dilemma! Does she even believe he’s serious. Well she soon finds out he is – deadly serious – literally. And the murders are pretty nasty with the bodies laid out in line with the fairy tales they represent. How can Katie escape and who is The Wolf anyway? He wears a wolf mask so she never sees his face.
In the meantime, DI Lyla Rondell has never got over the mysterious disappearance of her best friend Allison twenty-five years earlier when they were both fifteen. She is sure there is a link. Small clues lead her to believe it can’t be a coincidence. Did the current killer, who the press are calling The Grimm Ripper, kidnap Allison all those years ago?
But then the story changes and I have to admit I got a bit lost. I won’t explain as I don’t want to give anything away, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. I just went with the flow.
As an aside, I love that the author tags her own husband Guy Adams in Katie’s list of authors she likes. I wanted to add Some Kind of Fairy Tale by the late, wonderful and massively underrated Graham Joyce, and then there it was. At last! A fellow fan. The author even refers to herself at one point. Brilliant!
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
A. K. (ALEXANDRA) BENEDICT is a best-selling, award-winning writer of short stories, novels and scripts. Educated at Cambridge, Sussex and Clown School, she has been an indie-rock singer, an actor, RLF Fellow, and a composer for film and TV, as well as teaching and running the prestigious MA in Crime Thrillers at City University. She is now a full-time writer and creative coach.
As A. K. Benedict, she writes acclaimed short stories, high-concept novels and award-winning audio drama for Big Finish, Audible UK, Audible US and BBC Sounds, among others. She won the Scribe Award for her Doctor Who radio drama, The Calendar Man, and was shortlisted for the eDunnit Novel Award for The Beauty of Murder and the BBC Audio Drama Podcast Award for Children of the Stones. As Alexandra Benedict she writes puzzle-filled Christmas mysteries, of which The Christmas Murder Game and Murder on the Christmas Express were both bestsellers and The Christmas Murder Game was longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger. Her most recent festive thriller, The Christmas Jigsaw Murders, was published in 2023.
She lives on the south coast of England with writer Guy Adams, their daughter, Verity, and dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford. Follow her on X @ak_benedict and Instagram @a.k.benedict.
+ cover reveal, fiction, folklore, gothic, gothic horror, murder, mythology, review, superstition, witchcraft
Small Fires by Ronnie Turner
Poison runs through this land like blood…
When sisters Lily and Della Pedley are persecuted for the shocking murder of their parents, they flee from their home in Cornwall to a remote and unnamed island in Scotland – an island known for its strange happenings, but far away from the whispers and prying eyes of strangers.
Lily is terrified of what her sister might do next, and she soon realises that they have arrived at a place where nothing is as it seems. A bitterness runs through the land like poison, and the stories told by the islanders seem to be far more than folklore.
#SmallFires Twitter/X @Ronnie__Turner @OrendaBooks #booktwitter
Instagram @ronnieturner8702 @orendabooks #bookstagram #FolkHorror #SmallFires #Gothic #Thriller #blogtour
Della settles in too easily, the island folk drawn to her strangeness, but Lily is plagued by odd and unsettling dreams, and as an annual festival draws nigh, she discovers that she has far more to fear than she could ever have imagined. Or does she…?
Chilling, atmospheric and utterly hypnotic, Small Fires is a contemporary gothic novel that examines possession, female rage, and the perilous bonds of family – an unsettling reminder that the stories we tell can be deadly…
Midsommar meets Midnight Mass in a folk horror, modern gothic masterpiece.
My Review
I know it’s supposed to but Small Fires really freaked me out. All those horrific folk tales. It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before.
Sisters Lily and Della killed their parents (allegedly though it was never proved) and fled to a remote Scottish island, a place filled with superstition, folklore, and belief in the Devil. I was waiting for Christopher Lee to appear and start building a Wicker Man.
Everyone who lives there appears to be mad, but in reality it is fear. Some of the stories – many based on Celtic/Cornish folklore – are horrifying, as children’s folk tales often are. The Boy at the Bottom of the Sea, Aine’s Well, The Poor Maidens etc have all been written by the author to enhance the back stories. Others you may recognise, like the stories of Gaia, Charon the Ferryman, the Dryads, the Pleiades. They are often told to children as a warning, like the story of Baba Yaga from my Polish heritage (I wrote the poem below some years ago – we are all influenced by the myths of our forefathers).
But it’s the story of Brid in particular, who killed her children, and lives in the Pale Bones, that is one of the most horrific. Some of these tales will infect my dreams (like the terrifying Struwwelpeter by Heinrich Hoffmann that my mother owned when I was a child) and live in my consciousness for many years to come.
But back to the story. Della is the older sister. She’s big and tall and frightening. Lily is tiny and pretty. Children flock to her. On the island, Silas is different. He doesn’t believe any of the myths. But nothing is ever what it seems and people have many faces.
I loved this book, though I found it scarier than any serial killer thriller or slasher movie. The darkness is insidious. It creeps and slides, like the blood that seeps into the ground on the island.
Many thanks to Orenda Books for inviting me to be on the #blogtour
About the Author
Ronnie Turner grew up in Cornwall, the youngest in a large family. At an early age, she discovered a love of literature and dreamed of being a published author. Ronnie now lives in the South West with her family and three dogs. In her spare time, she reviews books on her blog and enjoys long walks on the coast. Ronnie is a Waterstones Senior Bookseller and a barista, and her youth belies her exceptional, highly unusual talent.
The Curse of Baba Yaga
Where are the servants? Don’t ask or
She’ll kill you, Baba Jaga, of the forest
Who kidnaps babies in the night.
The cat… The dog… The tree… The gate…
Her invisible servants, silent like the riders,
I am Day, says one, all dressed in white,
Who comes in red? I am the Sun,
Then dressed in black, I am the Night.
She’s coming now, look out, look out,
Sweeping their hoof-tracks with her broom.
The wailing wind begins to blow
While trees around her moan and groan
And shrieking spirits follow in her wake,
Leading you flailing to your doom.
Veronika Jordan
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.
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, kidnapping, murder mystery, mystery, police drama, police procedural, psycopath, revenge, review
The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter (Robert Hunter #1)
When the body of a young woman is discovered in a derelict cottage in the middle of Los Angeles National Forest, Homicide Detective Robert Hunter finds himself entering a horrific and recurring nightmare. Naked, strung from two parallel wooden posts, the victim was sadistically tortured before meeting an excruciatingly painful death.
All the skin has been ripped from her face – while she was still alive. On the nape of her neck has been carved a strange double-cross: the signature of a psychopath known as the Crucifix Killer. But that’s impossible. Because two years ago, the Crucifix Killer was caught and executed. Could this therefore be a copycat killer? Or could the unthinkable be true?
#TheCrucifixKiller X/Twitter #ChrisCarter @simonschusteruk @Tr4cyF3nt0n #booktwitter
Instagram @chriscarterbooksofficial @simonschusteruk @thebookdealer #CompulsiveReaders
#blogathon #blogtour #bookstagram
Is the real killer still out there, ready to embark once again on a vicious and violent killing spree, selecting his victims seemingly at random, taunting Robert Hunter with his inability to catch him? Hunter and his rookie partner are about to enter a nightmare beyond imagining.
My Review
Welcome to my first post on this fab #blogathon. There will be one review per month.
First of all, let me just say that in my humble opinion the series has improved massively over time. The Crucifix Killer is the first in the series and the books get more sophisticated with each passing year. In this one I guessed the killer quite quickly and I wasn’t convinced they would be physically capable of doing what they did. And while everyone raves about the ending, it wasn’t what I expected.
There is quite a bit of ‘info-dump’ about the way things work in California, which was useful, but a bit odd in the telling. Finally, all the women are blonde and beautiful, the men muscular and toned, but I guess it’s California and that is what we expect, but I hope we have moved on a bit.
But to the positives, and there are loads. I like Robert Hunter and his new partner ‘rookie’ Garcia. Robert lives alone, doesn’t have a girlfriend, or even a cat (thank goodness), as I would spend the whole book worrying about it. The killer has no boundaries after all. The murders are very gory (yes that’s a positive), there are other secondary stories to give more depth and interest, and it moves at a cracking pace. Without sounding sexist, I feel it would be more suited to a male audience, but then it was written 15 years ago. It didn’t really ‘speak’ to me. Hence 4 stars, but I gave the only other book I have read so far – Written in Blood – 5 stars.
As an aside, if anyone says they like a cosy crime, but anything more extreme is not for them, what do I recommend? I resist the temptation to say ‘have you ever read Chris Carter?’ as that would just be wicked!
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
+ audio book, childhood, dark humour, family, fiction, ghosts, grief, Ireland, loss, Magical realism, mystery, psychic, review, supernatural, superstition
Himself by Jess Kidd
Blending strange kindnesses, casual violence and buried secrets: an unforgettable debut from a dark new voice in Irish fiction.
When Mahony returns to Mulderrig, a speck of a place on Ireland’s west coast, he brings only a photograph of his long-lost mother and a determination to do battle with the village’s lies.
His arrival causes cheeks to flush and arms to fold in disapproval. No one in the village – living or dead – will tell what happened to the teenage mother who abandoned him as a baby, despite Mahony’s certainty that more than one of them has answers.
Between Mulderrig’s sly priest, its pitiless nurse and the caustic elderly actress throwing herself into her final village play, this beautiful and darkly comic debut novel creates an unforgettable world of mystery, bloody violence and buried secrets.
My Review
Back to Audible and I’m reading Jess Kidd’s first novel, Himself. The story takes place in 1976 when Mahony returns to the place of his birth, Mulderrig on Ireland’s West Coast, to try and find out what happened to his promiscuous, teenage mother Orla Sweeney. Everyone says she left town, dumping her ‘illegitimate brat’ at the orphanage. Mahony – that very same ‘illegitimate brat’ – is not convinced.
He enlists (actually I think she enlisted him) the help of aging actress Mrs Cauley, who believes Orla was murdered, but then she loves a drama. There are those in the town who want to run him out, those with something to hide. They hated Orla for shamelessly flaunting her bastard for the whole town to see. The vile Father Quinn in particular, and nurse Annie Farrelly amongst others.
And did I mention that Mahony *…’sees dead people… walking around like regular people’ (*quote from The Sixth Sense). In my review of The Hoarder I said I hoped someone sees ghosts, and I certainly got a lot, particularly six-year-old Ida and Mrs Cauley’s last ‘partner’ creepy Johnny.
Three books in and I’ve come to the conclusion that the author’s favourite word is ‘arse’. I’ll have to leave this off my Amazon review in case they are offended and refuse my musings. When said with a soft Irish lilt it never fails to bring a giggle – how childish of me, I know.
I absolutely adored this book, so on to The Night Ship, and once again I hope for plenty of superstition and the supernatural.
About the Author
Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has been praised for her unique fictional voice. Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016. She won the Costa Short Story Award the same year. Her second novel, The Hoarder, published as Mr. Flood’s Last Resort in the U.S. and Canada was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club Picks. Her latest book, the Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, has been released to critical acclaim. Jess’s work has been described as ‘Gabriel García Márquez meets The Pogues.’
I get a call from the school. My husband hasn’t picked up our 7-year-old daughter.
This is the day my life changes for ever.
Earlier, I was scrolling through Facebook when something caught my eye. A photograph. The caption beneath: PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP ME? HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?
#EightYearsOfLies X(Twitter) @LisaHallAuthor @JoffeBooks @ZooloosBT #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour #booktwitter
Instagram @lisahallauthor @zooloosbooktours @joffebooks #bookstagram
It’s my husband and our daughter.
The man I married eight years ago isn’t who I thought he was at all. My husband has been lying to me . . .about everything.
My Review
What a great story! I hate to say it though that Claire really got on my nerves. Whatever did she think she was doing? Her daughter is devastated when dad Tom fails to pick her up from school, but instead of being there for her, she swans off playing amateur detective, leaving the poor child with her sister Gwen. Abandonment issues in later life no doubt.
To make it worse, when she goes to the police station, the officer in charge is her ex, Adam, who she ditched for Tom, breaking his heart. The consensus of course is that Tom has probably upped and left her (I have some sympathy there). But as he’s an adult he’s not technically a missing person. Instead of telling her to sling her hook, Adam decides to put his career on the line to help her ‘unofficially’. But rather than leaving it to his many years’ experience in solving crimes, she does the exact opposite, putting herself and others in danger. I’m not including the cruise competition, because I’d have done exactly the same thing.
There are quite a few threads going on here. It starts with a Facebook post that simply says: PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP ME? HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN? Except that the person posting is called Lydia French and the picture is of Tom and their daughter. But ‘Lydia’ claims they are HER husband and child. And so the mystery begins. I’m not giving anything away, but Claire has got it all so wrong.
However… it was brilliant and I really couldn’t wait to read on to the end. It’s really well plotted and exciting with believable characters and a storyline that promises to spiral out of control. Thank goodness for Adam and Gwen, who keep everything in perspective.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Lisa Hall is the bestselling author of six psychological thrillers and the Hotel Hollywood time-slip murder mystery series. Her debut novel Between You and Me was a Kindle UK number one bestseller, sitting in the top spot for over four weeks. Lisa has a First Class Honours degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. She lives in Kent with her husband and their three children.
Lisa’s Social Media
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lisahallauthor/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/lisahallauthor
Twitter : https://twitter.com/lisahallauthor
Website : https://www.lisahallauthor.co.uk
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222440949-eight-years-of-lies
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/eightyears-zbt
+ childhood, children's books, childrens fiction, fantasy, fiction, magic, review, secrets, siblings, sisters, time travel, whimsical
Haworth’s Enchanted Chronicles by Charlotte Waters
In the heart of Haworth lies a secret—one that spans centuries and bridges worlds.
When a group of time-travelling children stumble upon an ancient, shimmering key, they are thrust into an enchanting adventure that takes them far beyond the moors and into magical lands filled with wonder, danger, and creatures beyond imagination.
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Guided by mysterious forces and shadowy guardians, the children must unlock the truth hidden in the past and navigate a future that holds the fate of both realms. With each discovery, they find that magic is not just in the world around them—but within themselves.
Step into the enchanted, where history and magic collide, and nothing is as it seems.
My Review
In this book, the author envisages the Brontë siblings as children. They live in a world of magic, where they can time travel, and they embark on a quest. They find a key that will reveal the secrets of the past and they become the guardians of those secrets. Oh, and they talk to mice.
It’s exactly the kind of book I would have loved as a child (I was a huge fan of Alan Garner’s Weirdstone of Brisingamen in which two children realise that they hold the key to the magic that binds them). It’s set in Alderley Edge, which is a real place like Haworth in Enchanted Chronicles. And yes I’ve been to visit the setting of Weirdstone – I haven’t been to Haworth – yet.
The children are of course the four Brontës – Anne, Emily, Charlotte and Branwell. (There were actually six but Maria and Elizabeth died in childhood.) Charlotte and Emily are the best known, having written Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights respectively. I love Wuthering Heights best of all – I became a bit disillusioned with Jane Eyre after studying Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys for my OU degree which looks at Bertha before she was locked in a room by Mr Rochester. But that’s another story!
It was strange reading about ‘real’ children in this book – I’m not sure that poet and artist Branwell was very nice as an adult – but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I love to think that Emily would have loved this book – only a child with such a vivid imagination would have grown up to write Wuthering Heights.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Charlotte has always found joy in storytelling, a passion that began in school and blossomed further as her nephews and niece grew up. Storytime became an exciting ritual, filled with imagination and wonder, sparking her drive to create magical worlds of her own.
Growing up near Haworth, Charlotte spent countless hours immersed in the history and atmosphere of the Brontë sisters’ legacy. Her deep love for the Brontës and the literary magic of Haworth inspired much of her writing. In fact, she was named after Charlotte Brontë, who has always felt like a guiding force in her creative journey.
Her debut series Haworth’s Enchanted Chronicles seamlessly blends her love for history and fantasy, bringing together time travel, magical creatures, and the rich backdrop of the Brontë era. The series showcases her ability to craft stories that enchant readers of all ages.
Charlotte is now continuing her literary journey, drawing on her experiences and love for storytelling to create captivating adventures that capture the hearts of her audience.
Charlotte’s Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569536789442
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlottewatersauthor
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222664489-haworth-s-enchanted-chronicles
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/haworthsenchanted-zbt
Don’t Make Me Laugh balances anger and humour with the deftest of touches.
It is a story about power and control and manipulation, about gendered roles in both the workplace and our personal lives, and about how women are set up in competition with each other.
And ultimately – satisfyingly – it’s a story about fighting back.
Praise and Reviews
‘This is fantastic – a sharp, funny, sometimes painful story about terrible egos and narcissism in the world of stand-up. I devoured it furiously. It’s fiction, if that’s not clear… #notallcomedians’ *Jenny Landreth *
‘Set in the stand up comedy world, it is a powerful portrayal of how the projection of who you might be on stage can lead to manipulating those who might fall for who you seem to, how this potency can be used to manipulate and, through self interest and ego, destroy others. Having spent much of my working life in the stand up world, it was often an uncomfortable read. It is also a good
education in the techniques and tricks that surround our worlds and so often poison them. This is a disconcerting and wise book.’ Robin Ince
‘This book is by turns gut-wrenching and heart breaking, but at its heart it’s a timely, furious call for change. I loved it.’ Will Maclean (author of The Apparition Phase)
‘A great book, an important book that will start a discussion that needs to be had…my heart was in my mouth’ Marian Keyes
‘Exhilarating, viscerally thrilling and SO timely – an ambitious dark comedy that really delivers. Hugely smart, with so much emotional depth and resonance’ Daisy Buchanan
‘Sharp, dark and outrageously funny’ Marianne Levy
‘This is an honest, funny, devastating and timely book’ Jenny Colgan
About the Author
Julia Raeside is a journalist and broadcaster who has written for the Guardian, Times, Observer and The Big Issue among others. She makes regular contributions to BBC Radio, including review spots on Radio 4’s Front Row and Lauren Laverne’s 6 Music show. She lives in London with her husband, kid and cat.
Handles/Tags
X (Twitter)
@bedsqpublishers
@Tr4cyF3nt0n
Instagram
@juliaraesidewriter
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@thebookdealer
+ alcoholism, brothers, crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, kidnapping, mystery, obsession, police drama, police procedural, review, thriller
Hollow Ground by Freya Wallace
In the rugged wilderness of Dartmoor, school teacher Sophie Parsons vanishes without a trace during a weekend trek.
For Detective Inspector Jacob Knox, Sophie’s disappearance stirs unsettling echoes of a previous case involving another woman who vanished in the same desolate moorland six months earlier.
As Knox delves deeper, he uncovers the complexities of Sophie’s personal life, including a secret affair with a charismatic colleague and a tense relationship with her long-term boyfriend, Peter.
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But Sophie’s tangled love life is just the beginning of Knox’s troubles. A local legend about a beast stalking the moors resurfaces, fueling public fear and media speculation.
Is it just a myth, or could something more sinister be at play?
With time running out and the possibility that two women have been claimed by the moor, Knox faces his toughest case yet—one that will test him professionally and personally.
As the case unfolds, Knox realizes the dark truths buried beneath the surface of Sophie’s life may be the key to unlocking the mystery.
Introducing DI Jacob Knox, Hollow Ground is a gripping crime thriller set in the eerie beauty of Devon’s Dartmoor, blending elements of mystery, suspense, and psychological depth to explore the blurred lines between human vulnerability and the unknown.
My Review
So where’s The Beast of Dartmoor or The Hound Of The Baskervilles I hear you ask? That was all a bit of a red herring, as it’s only the media that love to print that sort of thing. Sophie Parsons and Rachel Simmons may be missing, but it’s definitely down to a human connection and not a giant dog or panther.
I absolutely loved this book. It was so enjoyable, I started reading the last few chapters as soon as I woke up – I have a small puppy and having taken her out to ‘potty’ at 6 am, I intended to go back to sleep when she did, but ended up reading until the alarm went off. I needed to get to the end.
It’s not so much a whodunnit – it’s more of a why, and that’s what makes it so interesting. I’m not saying we know all along who is responsible because we don’t, but the reasons are very unusual to say the least.
Our intrepid hero detective DI Jacob Knox is going to be a great ‘leading man’, I can tell already. He’s a complex character and a dog lover (enough said), who gets really involved in the crimes he’s investigating, while trying to reconcile his career with his personal life. It already cost him his marriage. He’s tall, dark and handsome, hair flecked with silver… (no that’s not how the author describes him, I’m simply using my imagination…) and has a German Shepherd called Dylan.
I found the whole concept really engaging and believable, and couldn’t wait to find out the connections between the missing women, and what relationships they might have had in common. Knox has a great team to help him with all the research, sidekick and partner Ava, and the usual IT wizards and forensic experts. Then there’s Lucy, his dog minder, and his alcoholic brother Caleb.
I’m really looking forward to Knox’s next case.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Freya Wallace is a crime writer based in Devon. Her debut novel, Hollow Ground, introduces DI Knox in the first book of an atmospheric new series set against the backdrop of her local area. A lifelong reader, she always wanted to see a gripping crime series unfold in the place she knows best.
When she’s not writing or reading, Freya can be found walking her two German Shepherds along the local beaches.
Freya’s Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571745819033
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freyawallaceauthor/
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221437258-hollow-ground
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/hollowground-zbt
Demons of the past aren’t easily left behind…
At Sunnyside, women serve in silence. Mae—an outspoken, rebellious outcast—has a penchant for getting in trouble. Her only ally is Lily, the perfect follower. When their husband dies and the cult’s new leader claims Lily as his bride, the facade of peace crumbles. Mysterious deaths haunt the commune, and Mae’s attempts to protect Lily only get her banished to the woods, leaving Lily vulnerable without her protection.
Faced with a heartbreaking choice, Mae makes a desperate decision the night before Lily’s wedding and escapes the cult. But the past clings to her like a shadow. Heartbroken and alone, Mae meets Charlotte, a true-crime podcaster obsessed with uncovering the dark secrets of Sunnyside. Charlotte offers Mae a chance to start over, but only if she’s willing to talk.
As Mae begins to reveal the cult’s sinister secrets, she comes dangerously close to admitting the truth about what happened the night she fled—something far more twisted than anyone can possibly imagine. And it’s only a matter of time before the past catches up to her and she’s forced to confront the nightmare she thought she’d left behind…
My review will be posted on 9th March as part of the #KillingLily #blogtour.
Buy Links
www.amazon.co.uk
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Goodreads
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About the Author
Author of the psychological thriller Killing Lily to be published by Bloodhound Books on 20 February 2025
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+ family, feel-good, fiction, grief, loss, love, review, short stories, short story, sisters
The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories #3
The Gibson sisters weren’t expecting to speak to each other ever again after Isabel ran off to New York and left Sophie alone.
But here they are, years later, running the family bookstore together on Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Isabel also thought she’d left Johnny Lenox behind, but whether or not she knew it, Johnny was always going to be there for her.
Five years into their happily ever after, Isabel and Johnny are making the most of their second chance at love. Then one night, Johnny awakens from an extraordinary dream…and their world is irrevocably altered. Isabel does her best to give Johnny space as he struggles to accept the new chapter life has opened for them. But Johnny can’t do it alone—no one can. As the whole family is soon to discover, seasons change, but love never does.
My Review
A mixture of sad and happy in the third book in the Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories. Sisters Isabel and Sophie are still running the family bookstore, which is now so successful that book lovers come for miles to visit. They are both married and living contentedly nearby.
But one day Isabel’s husband Johnny faces a sad event and Isabel must let him work through his grief. In the meantime Sophie’s daughter Violet is coming home having graduated from university and has something to tell her mother. She can’t face it and confides in Isabel instead.
It’s another beautiful short story from one of my favourite authors, that examines love, grief and family. I read it in one sitting with my puppy on my lap (yes I finally gave in after three dog-free years) and enjoyed every minute.
About the Author
Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew, The Rules of Magic, The Marriage of Opposites, Practical Magic, The Red Garden, the Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, and The Dovekeepers and Magic Lessons. She lives near Boston.
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, murder, police procedural, revenge, review, secrets
The Only Child by S Englefield
How well do you really know the people you love?
After her parents are killed in a tragic accident, Amelia Simpson retreats from her old life and moves to the sleepy Isle of Wight to be near her grandmother, her last remaining family.
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But as the people closest to her start to die and secrets from her parent’s past are uncovered, Amelia is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her childhood and the people that she loved the most.
In order to find the killer, Detective Inspector Jennifer Stone will have to delve into Amelia’s past where she learns that there’s no such thing as a perfect family and that stopping them may end up costing her everything that she holds dear.
My Review
Three years ago we went as a family to the Isle of Wight to celebrate my granddaughter’s sixth birthday (she’s about to turn nine). We stayed in Ryde and spent her birthday on the seafront. I hadn’t been there since Bob Dylan played the Isle of Wight Festival in 1969 and I was still at school.
So I was very excited to read a book that takes place on the island as it’s pretty rare. It’s not exactly the crime centre of the universe, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Something a bit Midsomer Murders probably.
Amelia Simpson’s parents both died in a car accident when she was young, and a number of years later she decides to move to the island to be near her grandmother, her only living relative. She owns a flower shop, has a lazy boyfriend of six years called Sam, a cat named James (who Sam is jealous of – yes really), and a ghastly best friend Megan, who has anger issues – sorry but I thought she was dreadful.
Initially, the most exciting thing to happen is when the owner of a rival flower shop puts a brick through Amelia’s shop window. But when people close to her start to die, Amelia realises something far more sinister is going on, but she has no idea who would want to target her. Quite a few people have a minor motive it would appear, but not enough to carry out a revenge vendetta on this scale.
The Only Child is an interesting concept and for much of the book I was convinced I knew who the killer would turn out to be. How wrong I was, but then it wouldn’t be half as much fun if it was that easy to work out.
This is the first in a series featuring Detective Inspector Jennifer Stone and her team, so we are also setting the scene for more to come.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Scott Englefield grew up on the Isle of Wight. Despite being surrounded by idyllic beaches and woodland walks, he was often to be found with his head buried in a book. His love of reading endured into adulthood and now he spends his free time writing crime and psychological thrillers, often having to stop to fend off his cat James who believes his keyboard is the perfect place to sleep.
He is in his mid-forties (and feels it) and lives with his wife, son and cat in the East of England. He grew a beard once – his wife hated it.
Scott’s Social Media
Website: https://senglefield.com/
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222108619-the-only-child
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/onlychild-zbt
