+ child abuse, childhood, family, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, motherhood, murder, photographs, review, secrets, thriller
The Foster Daughter by Sonya Bateman
My daughter was murdered by my husband. Now I have a new little girl to look after. I have no idea who she is.
It’s been five years since my daughter was killed. It still hurts every day. I’ll never be over it but I am finally moving on with my life.
It’s pitch black when I wake up. I hear a child screaming outside. There’s a little girl in my back yard. She can’t be older than five. She has terrified blue eyes.
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Somebody has left her here. When nobody claims her, I take her in. After all, I’m a professional foster parent. I will look after her like she’s my own child. But she won’t even tell me her name.
I have no idea who I’ve brought into my house.
My Review
This was such a fast paced, exciting read. I literally couldn’t put it down. There were so many twists, so many characters, plus all the foster children then and now, that I had to keep taking a deep breath to keep up for fear of hyperventilating!
It’s been five years since Kat’s daughter Marisol was murdered. Her husband Tyler was convicted and sent to prison, but new evidence has come to light and he could be innocent.
Kat’s mum and dad were foster parents, but when her mum died, her dad had his licence revoked, so Kat took over. All the brothers and sisters were grown up and had left apart from Evie who ran away. Then there was Naomi, who hated everyone and everything, but especially Kat – the only ‘bio’ kid.
Kat’s dad Joe, a weatherman on TV, has also died and Kat has returned to her childhood home for the funeral. It’s just like she remembers, all the kids having a profile on the ‘Hearth Wall’.
But it’s not long before things start to take a sinister turn. Notes accusing her dad of stuff, threatening Kat, etc. Kat starts to suspect everyone. And then a child, around five years of age, is trapped in the holly bush in the garden, screaming. Kat manages to get her out, but there is no-one to take her in at the moment, so she offers. She still has her fostering licence. She calls the child Holly. Everyone says she looks just like Marisol.
Towards the end I became suspicious of one or two people (one turned out to be correct) but had no idea why. What would be their motive? And what about Joe? Please not another lovely dad turns into pedo scenario. By this point I had no idea, I just had to get to the end. And everything was turned on its head. A perfect example of how to keep the readers on their toes from start to finish. Brilliant!
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Sonya Bateman is an award-winning copywriter and novelist, a mid-eighties to late- nineties fantasy movie enthusiast, coffee hoarder, and collector of cool rocks who spent a not-insignificant portion of her childhood climbing trees in order to read books in peace. She grew up in Central New York, where the seasons are Winter and Road Construction and “not the city” is officially part of everyone’s address. Sonya has been writing professionally for more than 15 years. She currently lives in a big house in a little city, still in Central New York (not the city), with her husband, son, and feline overlords. She writes fast-paced urban fantasy and twisty, shocking psychological fiction that may leave you suspicious of your friends and neighbours—and sleeping with the lights on.
Sonya’s Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonyabatemanauthor
Joffe Books’ Social Media
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Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219380755-the-foster-daughter
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/thefosterdaughter-zbt
Allison’s first venture into life on the smallholding was not without its challenges.
After months of battling for planning permission, she decided the location wasn’t right for her after all, and new plans were made.
Packing up her belongings along with a menagerie of animals, three dogs and a husband, she upped sticks and relocated to a 17th-century converted barn situated over twelve hundred feet above sea level.
#AllTheGearNoIdea X(Twitter) #AllisonLee @BlossomSpring3 @ZooloosBT
#ZooloosBookTours #blogtour #BookX #booktwitter
Instagram @allisonlee1967 @blossom.spring.publishing @zooloosbooktours #bookstagram
Like an audition for the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Allison found herself battling the elements, threatened to be blown away like the classic tornado storm in Kansas as she tethered down field shelters and rounded up pygmy goats wearing her pyjamas and waterproofs in the dead of night.
The second book in the series of an amusing and honest account of real life as a smallholding owner.
My Review
A follow up to book one, in which Allison and husband Mark started a smallholding with a menagerie of animals including pygmy goats, micro pigs, miniature ponies, dogs of course and chickens. It was hard work and it soon became evident that the location wasn’t right. So they sold up and moved to a huge house 1200 feet above sea level. The weather was terrible, the house took over a year to renovate, and they lost Bruce.
Bruce was an almost 17 year old Border Terrier. In 2021, we lost our almost 17 year old Jack Russell called Pancake. Just like Allison, we just kept putting off the inevitable, until her dementia was so severe, we knew the time was right. It was a bright sunny day and we sat with her outside. Once it was over she looked at peace and if she could have said thank you I’m sure she would. I cried when I read about Bruce – I’m crying now writing this.
How do you fill that gap, that enormous hole in your heart? Eventually you get another dog – in Allison and Mark’s case it was a Border Terrier called Barney – we haven’t yet. You can never replace them, but a puppy can also help you heal.
Allison also acquires a pair of Valais Blacknose sheep. Considered the cutest breed of sheep, don’t be fooled by their appearance. They are big, have horns, and need shearing twice a year. But never let it be said that Allison isn’t up to a challenge. Joan and Jett are going to be mums soon, and Allison also has Kevin and Kerry. I think she ends up with seven, the maths may be wrong here.
I really enjoyed book two and I’m looking forward to book three. Can Allison and her menagerie survive more winters in their ‘forever’ home? Personally I think she should come down here to the Cotswolds, where the weather is far more temperate. However, It is also VERY expensive, though I believe Herefordshire is a good compromise and still close enough for me to come and visit. I just have to meet all those animals. I can even help with the lambs…
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Allison Lee first started writing education and non-fiction books in 2006 based on her
profession at the time in the Early Years. Having always harboured a passion for writing a novel, she got her ideas for her debut book when she and her husband bought a remote cottage set in the heart of Snowdonia, where they escape for holidays and weekends, allowing Allison to indulge her passion for writing.
Allison and her husband have two sons and two beautiful granddaughters. They live on a small holding in Yorkshire with their four dogs and animals, including sheep, pigs, goats, donkeys, ponies and chickens. Allison’s hobbies, besides caring for her beloved animals, are growing fruit and vegetables and supporting wildlife.
Social Media Links
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Website: https://allisonlee.co.uk
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Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214960028-all-the-gear-no-idea
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/allthegear-zbt
The Portrait Girl thrusts its bereaved and beleaguered heroine, jewellery designer Freya Wetherby, into an astonishing world of re-enacted Victorian art salons and the devious machinations of modern art theft.
Seeking the identity of a miniature portrait found in her late mother’s belongings, Freya becomes enraptured not only by this mysterious young woman but also by the hypnotic personality of art collector Ralph Merrick and his colourful entourage, including the dangerously attractive ‘Jack.’
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Thoroughly researched, the milieu in which The Portrait Girl would have moved is beautifully rendered by Swengley, as are the artworks and jewellery designs imagined in the novel. Freya’s own contemporary world and circumstances form a dramatic backdrop to the seductive ‘time slip’ episodes, a mirage created by Merrick that draws her into his web.
Ideal for fans of commercial fiction with compelling female heroines, this thrilling story has a literary quality and elements that will appeal to readers of historical fiction, as well as those with a passion for art and design.
My Review
I had no idea what to expect when I started reading The Portrait Girl. What we know is that Freya’s mother has just died and Freya needs to clear out her cottage and then decide whether to sell it, rent it out or keep it. Unfortunately, the jewellery business she ran with her husband failed and it also saw the end of their marriage. She is now on her uppers, and it appears her ex-husband sold one of her designs without crediting her or paying her a fee.
While going through her mother’s things, Freya discovers a portrait miniature, but she has no idea who the subject is or what it has to do with her family. Determined to discover its secrets, she finds herself drawn into the world of art collector Ralph Merrick and his ‘salons’. Merrick invites his friends and colleagues to take part in Victorian evenings, where everyone dresses up and becomes a character. For the evening Freya is known as Emily Meadowcroft, and everyone seems to know her.
It’s all a bit strange and Freya’s best friend Brooke fears for her safety. Something more than a bit of fun is going on at these salons. I have to say at this point, that one of the evenings is different from the others. It’s a seance with a medium and everything, and I would give this book 5 stars for that chapter alone. It was brilliantly written and so vivid, I could have been part of it.
The Portrait Girl was very different from my usual books. We swing back and forth from now to the 1880s, but much of it is not the real 1880s, but Merrick’s parties where everyone behaves as though it is. And no-one is ever out of character. Who are these people, particularly Jack, with whom Freya appears to be smitten. But is she smitten with Jack or the real person pretending to be him.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Nicole Swengley is a highly regarded and experienced journalist who has written about art and design for titles such as The Times, Financial Times, the Telegraph, London Evening Standard and many others. A past student of the Faber Academy, Nicole has written non-fiction books for Collins and Adlard Coles, and has had several short stories published.
Here are my favourite audiobooks of the year Part Three.
We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker
There are thousands of ratings and reviews of this book, so I’m not going to try and precis it. It’s been done so many times already and there is nothing I can add.
But as for my feelings – well there were so many moments when I cried. Especially towards the end. Duchess tries her best to protect her little brother Robin, but everything she does makes his situation worse. One thing she says results in the saddest moment of the whole story for me.
Sometimes she drove me mad, other times I wanted to hug her. I wanted to remove her bitterness, without damaging her strength and spirit. ‘I am the outlaw Duchess Day Radley,’ she says. And five-year-old Robin is a prince. Except she is really a vulnerable thirteen-year-old who has lost everyone who could take care of her.
For my full review click here
The Phoenix Ballroom by Ruth Hogan
I’ve read all of Ruth’s novels, a couple of them twice (almost unheard of for me). The Phoenix Ballroom is her fifth and it’s wonderful. But don’t expect something earth shattering that will change the world as we know it. This is a feel-good novel about hope and happiness across the generations. A book to be savoured when you are feeling down, a book to lift your spirits. And of course when you are already happy.
Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves has just lost her husband Hawk after fifty years of marriage. She knows she is going to be lonely, but her son Heron thinks she needs a ‘granny nanny’ to look after her. She is horrified. She’ll manage, she’s not exactly in her dotage.
For my full review click here
The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal
This is no reflection on the book, but I found it quite stressful to listen to at times. It’s because of Crawford. I want to hide behind the sofa. His plotting is just too awful. And it only gets worse. Is there no end to his scheming?
One of my favourite things about the book is the characters. First of all we have Bonnie, who has run away from her comfortable home to avoid being married off to a creepy man old enough to be her father. She goes to London where she meets Crawford, handsome and charming, he coerces her into doing his bidding, as he does his friend Rex (whose interest in Crawford is somewhat unhealthy). In fact they are little more than a couple of con artists, but Crawford has set his sights on a much higher ambition.
For my full review click here
The Story Collector by Evie Gaughan
The Lost Bookshop was one of my top five books of 2023 so it came as no surprise that I would love this one. And I did. It’s a dual timeline novel – Anna’s story set one hundred years ago, and Sara’s story set in modern times.
Anna is a young farm girl, her head turned by the son of the local landowner. But then she meets Harold, an American scholar studying at Oxford University, who is writing his thesis on the fairy stories that abound on the West Coast of Ireland. He needs someone who speaks the language to translate for him, and after much discussion, it is agreed that Anna is perfect for the task.
For my full review click here
+ crime fiction, fiction, grief, loss, murder, murder mystery, police drama, review, secrets, thriller
Rough Justice by Biba Pearce (Shrap Nelson #1)
A HOMELESS VETERAN, MURDERED.
When ex-military investigator ‘Shrap’ Nelson finds her fellow homeless veteran burned to death under a railway bridge, she knows there’s more to his murder than meets the eye.
Doug was the friend who saved her life two years ago, and now she owes it to him to uncover the truth.
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ON THE GRITTY STREETS OF LONDON
Armed only with her sharp intellect and military training, Shrap must rely on her wits and a crew of outcasts to piece together the puzzle. Battling crippling PTSD, she pushes herself out of her comfort zone and into a world she thought she’d left behind.
WHERE A POWERFUL ENEMY LURKS IN THE SHADOWS
As Shrap digs deeper, she uncovers a trail leading to a formidable figure in the London underworld. This ruthless adversary will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried. Hunted by a dangerous enemy, Shrap must stay one step ahead to avenge her friend and save herself from becoming the next victim. Solving this case could be Shrap’s redemption, but failure will destroy her. In a world where crime never sleeps, justice comes at a steep price.
My Review
What a great new series this promises to be! ‘Shrap’ Nelson is ex-military, but following a stint in Afghanistan, where her friends died in a mortar attack and she was beaten, tortured and left to die, she is suffering from crippling PTSD. No longer able to cope, she lives on the streets.
But when her friend Doug, also ex-military, is killed in a brutal and horrific manner, she cannot deny her past. In the meantime, the police have discovered the body of a murdered sex worker and pinned the crime on poor Doug, saying he then killed himself, by setting himself on fire. Shrap knows it’s not true and she is determined to get justice for Doug.
During her ‘investigations’, she meets DC Trevelyan who also has doubts about Doug’s guilt. What motive could he possibly have had for killing the girl? Trevelyan can’t accept Shrap’s help officially, but she is really good at obtaining information, albeit her methods are unorthodox and often not quite legal. And that’s putting it mildly. She regularly gets beaten up in the process, but her military training means she gives as good she gets.
Shrap and Trevelyan are soon drawn into the seedy side of strip clubs, drugs, murder and the London underworld. And these people mean business.
This was a very exciting read and I’m really looking forward to meeting Shrap and Trevelyan again in Book 2 An Unlikely Saviour.
Many thanks to the author for inviting me to be on the blog tour.
About the Author
Biba Pearce is a British crime writer and author of the DCI Rob Miller series. Biba grew up in post-apartheid Southern Africa. As a child, she lived on the wild eastern coast and explored the sub-tropical forests and surfed in shark-infested waters. Now a full-time writer with more than twenty-five novels under her belt, Biba lives in leafy Surrey and when she isn’t writing, can be found walking through the countryside or kayaking on the river Thames.
Why should the devil have all the best tunes?
The Salvation Army has come prancing and singing from the slums of London to the poorest quarters of Oxford, but along with its red hot gospel preaching and music hall songs it brings a prohibition message which sparks immediate opposition and violence.
An Army soldier – an ex-drunk – is brutally killed and a note suggests that the Salvation Army’s shadowy enemy, the Skeleton Army, is responsible.
With the police unwilling to come between the two forces, Non Vaughan, aspiring journalist and great hope of the Oxford women’s college movement, and Basil Rice, Jesus College fellow and union-sanctioned guardian of the dead man’s family, are compelled to investigate.
But as the threats from both sides escalate, resulting in a second death, Non and Basil realise that they must stop the fighting before it results in an outright war. For with the University’s annual commemoration week fast approaching, the entire city could be engulfed in fire and blood…
My Review
I was so conflicted reading this that I really had to get my thoughts together before writing my review. I am an admirer of the work that the Salvation Army do, even today. They are the best at finding people, and at marching bands, but it’s all too wrapped up in religion for me. And in the late 19th century, it was all about temperance, finding Jesus, confessing your sins and ‘glory fits’. This is where people were so overcome with the Holy Spirit that they fainted clean away and had to be taken into another room to recover. Excuse my cynicism, but it’s also a form of mass hypnosis and probably too tight corsets.
The Skeleton Army was a real thing in the 1880s. Starting in Weston-super-Mare, or maybe Exeter, it became prevalent around the South of England mainly, and spread to Whitechapel and Oxford (in the book). Members were mostly working class – Tomrags – and resented the Salvationists telling them to drink milk instead of beer. Well, you would, wouldn’t you. They also resented the university people thinking they were superior. Unfortunately, even though I understand their sentiments, the talk of real Englishmen etc smacks too much of the EDL, and confrontations accompanied by rent-a-mob, looking for a punch up.
But this book is really about Non, who we met in A Bitter Remedy. Non is a feminist of her day. She believes in education for women, but wants them to be fully accepted into university and take the same exams as men, with the same degree at the end. But as well as a career in academia, she wants to be a journalist. Does she want a husband and family? The jury is still out.
We also met Basil, who is unmarried, but not because he hasn’t yet met the right woman, or because he is married to his ‘job’ at the university, but because his ‘proclivities’ would see him arrested (right up to 1967, unbelievably). He was in love with Teddy and distraught when Teddy went to London and married so he could appear ‘normal’. Teddy says Basil is a f***ing coward.
I’ve adored the first two books in the series, and I get the feeling that this is not the last we are going to see of Non and Basil.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author, and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Alis Hawkins grew up on a dairy farm in Cardiganshire. Her inner introvert thought it would be a good idea to become a shepherd and, frankly, if she had, she might have been published sooner. As it was, three years reading English at Corpus Christi College, Oxford revealed an extrovert streak and a social conscience which saw her train as a Speech and Language Therapist. She has spent the subsequent three decades variously bringing up two sons, working with children and young people on the autism spectrum and writing fiction, non-fiction and plays. She writes the kind of books she likes to read: character-driven historical crime and mystery fiction with what might be called literary production values.
+ crime fiction, dark humour, feel-good, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, humour fiction, List, Magical realism, murder mystery, mystery, supernatural, superstition, thriller, Victorian Britain, World War Two, WW2
My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part Three
Here are my favourite ten books of 2024 Part Three, not counting audiobooks. Quite a disparate selection for a change. Audiobooks to follow.
Gallows Wood by Louisa Scarr
I read this in ten staves with the Pigeonhole online book club. It was almost unbearable waiting for the next instalment. The book was so exciting, the suspense nail-biting.
While this is the first in a new series ‘starring’ PC Lucy Halliday, we really have two other main protagonists. The first is her new boss DI Jack Ellis, brought in from the met, but maybe the real star is DPC Moss aka Doggy PC Moss, the ‘cadaver’ dog. Moss is trained to find dead bodies, so when a hand turns up in Gallows Wood, Moss and Lucy are first on the scene to find the rest of the body.
For my full review click here
The Little Clothes by Deborah Callaghan
I’m still a bit in shock after reading this. I was a bit nervous when I started, probably because of a review that gave it one star and said it was too disturbing. Isn’t that the whole point? I hope that same person doesn’t read Strange Sally Diamond – I found some parallels in the way the story starts out quite humorous, and then becomes very dark indeed. Yes it was hard to read at times, but life isn’t all Mills & Boon and Barbara Cartland. I actually read it in two sittings in the end.
Anyway, as I was saying, there is a lot of humour to start with. Audrey can be very sarcastic and inappropriate. ‘You’re so funny Audrey,’ everyone tells her, even if she doesn’t mean to be. But she’s not a team player they tell her.
For my full review click here
Zero Risk by Simon Hayes
If you woke up one morning to find an extra nought at the end of your bank balance, you’d be delighted, right? Wrong! You can’t spend it, it’s not your money. It’s some kind of computer blip, except it’s not. It’s the work of the most sophisticated hacker or hackers the world has even seen And it could happen here, or anywhere, at any time.
The results would be devastating – that’s millions of accounts having an extra zero, then another and another, busting the banks, the world of finance, and the government, having to bail everyone out. It all looks like a joke to start with – an early Christmas present – but people must not go out and spend, spend, spend. There will be civil unrest and panic buying. Shelves stripped of flour and toilet paper. Soon we’ll be making banana bread out of spelt.
For my full review click here
Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
I’m totally in love with this book. If I had a banner I would wave it from the rooftops. I LOVE SIPSWORTH! It’s not just because I became very fond of Helen or that I rather like mice. It’s the way something so small could change the life of one person in such dramatic ways.
Mouse traps, for instance. Such cruel contraptions. You think they kill instantly, but they don’t. Personally, we have only ever used the humane ones. And then there’s Helen’s musings, ‘if mice are capable of giving and receiving love,’ she reasons, ‘are not pigs, cows and chickens of equal intelligence?’ She immediately buries her ‘meat products’ in the garden and becomes a vegetarian.
For my full review click here
The Guests by Charlotte Stevenson
If I said I found the ending hilarious, you’d think I was really weird. I actually told my son about it and he laughed and said ‘I get it.’ However, the opening chapter with the baby crying at the end of the bed was heartbreaking and not one bit funny.
The book was nothing like I expected. The ‘Guests’ are not real in the sense that they are actual living flesh and blood. They haunt Tamsin, but they are not ghosts either. There are three of them and she knows they want something from her, but she has no idea what it is. She knows who they are, but not why they won’t leave her alone. Her answer is to drink every night and get totally smashed.
For my full review click here
I Died At Fallow Hall by Bonnie Burke-Patel
I didn’t really know what to expect from this book apart from the fact that it’s set in Gloucestershire where I live, and Cirencester is about 15 miles down the road. Detective Inspector Hitesh Mistry has left London to take up a post there. I’m pretty sure that Upper Magna is fictitious, though there is one in Shropshire, while Chew Magna is a village in Somerset. From the Latin, ‘Magna’ just means big or great in village terms.
Anna Deerin moved to Upper Magna about 18 months previously, to become a gardener and live her life off-grid. She doesn’t even have a phone. With it comes a remote, rent-free, one-bed cottage, but she has to grow her own food, which she sells at the local market. It takes self-sufficiency to a whole new level.
For my full review click here
Deadly Protocol by Roger Corke
This book moves at such a cracking pace that I read it in two sittings. Not a word, sentence or paragraph is wasted. No extra padding, no stretching it out, it just rockets to a satisfying finish.
I often say that a lot of novels are too long and could easily be cut to shed the ‘dead wood’ or too much description. They sometimes refer to it as ‘murdering your darlings’. With Deadly Protocol there is no dead wood, though plenty of murdering, literally! What we do have is politics, intrigue, medicine and the elusive cure for cancer. It’s fast, intelligent and exciting. What more could you want from a thriller?
For my full review click here
One Night Only by G.P. Ritchie
I’m still reeling from reading this book. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Yes it’s a crime thriller, but add in a deranged, mad scientist, and a medium who knows where the bodies are buried, and you have a match made in heaven. Or is it hell?
Our main protagonist is Edinburgh detective Andy Lorimar. Older and wiser than most of his colleagues, his past comes back to haunt him when he becomes part of an investigation into the horrific murder of a local councillor. And it seems that her past is also mysterious.
For my full review click here
Missy by Raghav Rao
What a wonderful book. It’s not only a tale of courage and resilience, it’s also a love story, an insight into India’s culture, and a philosophical tome. The poverty in India is extreme – poor people age faster than in the West – and the servants are often treated worse than the animals. But Savi, later known in America as Missy, is different, and her journey is miraculous.
We first meet Savi when she and her mother have been abandoned by Savi’s father, and then walk miles in bare feet to find a better life. But Savi’s mother dies and the orphaned Savi is taken into St Ursula’s convent. It is obvious she is clever and good at languages, so the nuns secure for her a position with the wealthy Nandiyar family at their country estate. She will be governess to their young son Aditya.
For my full review click here
The Torments by Michael J Malone (Annie Jackson Mysteries #2)
I read and reviewed The Murmurs, the first of the Annie Jackson Mysteries, this time last year. The Torments continues in the same vein, with Annie as the hero who can look at someone and know they are going to die imminently, and how. It’s very upsetting for her. Even more so because if she tries to warn them, they treat her like a nutter, but if she doesn’t, their family blame her for not warning them. She can’t win.
We are now a year later and Annie is living in a tiny cottage, away from everyone and the voices – the murmurs – are quiet here. She even has a job in a cafe. But she has just been the subject of abuse because she didn’t warn someone of a car accident. Her cottage is targeted, so her twin brother Lewis comes up to stay with her.
For my full review click here
Kloe can’t wait to get started at her new school… but when her brother Wreny starts acting out, will she end up stuck in his shadow?
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Age: 8-12
Or will she be able to make her own way and make others see her for who she truly is?
My Review
It’s the start of Kloe’s new school term and she is nervous. Her friends try to make her feel better, but she is worried that her brother Wreny is going to spoil everything for her. He’s always disruptive and has had to stay down a year to catch up on everything he missed.
But the most important thing for Kloe is that she wants to join the cheerleader team, and while she knows she is good enough, she is afraid that Wreny will mess it up for her. At the moment hardly anyone knows she is Wreny’s sister, but when they find out – which they inevitably will – will they judge her.
In this story, Kloe learns about true friendship, finding yourself and confidence in your abilities. It’s a life lesson for all children and Kloe must learn to believe in herself and find her own way.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of the #KloesNewStart blog tour.
About the Author
“For 30 years I’ve wanted to write children’s books – stories based on my first-hand experience of growing up as the sibling of a mentally ill older brother.
“This is the beginning of a series of semi-autobiographical stories relating some of the struggles children may face and how the tone of one’s life does not have to be set by complex family dynamics.
“The stories are told using animal characters who are brought to life with charming, vivid illustrations.
“Through my stories, I want others in similar situations to know that they are not alone, that it is possible to find resilience and strength within themselves.”
Buy Links
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+ adventure, art, fiction, journalist, murder, murder mystery, review, secrets
The Two Masks of Vendetta by Tony Lee Moral – Extract
Caught between love, lies, and the Italian mafia – Catriona Benedict’s life is about to take a deadly turn.
Catriona, a struggling actress in New York City, finds herself trapped in a dangerous web of secrets. Approached by the wealthy and charismatic Miles Kingston, she’s offered an incredible sum of money to pose as his wife – an arrangement that will help Miles secure his enormous inheritance. Eager to escape her financial woes, and her boyfriend’s debts to a violent loan shark, Catriona reluctantly agrees.
But as they toast to their union, there is a shocking murder, and a slew of suspects. The glamorous world of the Kingston family soon reveals its darker side. Now Catriona must race against time to clear her name and outwit a killer before she becomes the next target.
A stylish murder mystery filled with unexpected twists and unforgettable characters, this is a thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Extract
Catriona noticed the man the moment she walked up onto the stage that rainy New York evening. He was sitting in the front row of the almost empty theatre, incongruously dressed in a Bergdorf Goodman dark navy suit and wearing the satisfied smile of a man who was accustomed to getting what he wanted. All through the performance his dark eyes watched her with a thoughtful intensity that made her very uncomfortable. She was anxious for the curtain to fall so that she could escape his impenetrable gaze.
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” Catriona said. With tremendous relief, she eventually reached the end of her performance with a two-page monologue.
When the curtain fell, Catriona took a bow and glanced over to the man in the front row who was applauding with a smug smile on his face. For a brief moment, she caught his eye and suddenly felt very naked and bare, as if he had exposed her very soul.
She rushed off the stage, breathless, to where her manager, Lowry, was waiting to greet her. He was a short, fat, balding man, who resembled a hard-boiled egg with beads of perspiration on his round face. Oval spectacles, a bow tie, and a brown pinstriped wool flannel suit completed his costume.
“Bravo, a great performance,” said Lowry. “I think I counted two more in the audience tonight.”
“Who’s that man sitting in the front row?” Catriona immediately whispered, nodding her head towards the audience.
Lowry peered through the black curtain. “What man?”
When Catriona looked again, the row was empty. Strange. She glanced down the aisle but could see no sign of him. She shrugged. Oh well, maybe just some curious fan. New York was full of lonely people. Many came to the tiny theatre off Broadway to escape their troubles or even just to get out of the rain and the biting wind.
“Well, I’m afraid that’s it,” Lowry said. “We’re not opening next week.”
Catriona wanted to argue, but didn’t have the heart to do so, even though she desperately depended on the small wage the role afforded her. She nodded with resigned acceptance. Lowry had taken a considerable financial risk to run the play and it hadn’t worked out. They had gambled and lost.
“Well, let’s at least have a drink to cheer us up,” she said.
In the dressing room, Lowry poured a generous measure of bourbon for Catriona and then one for himself into two glass tumblers. The year was almost coming to an end, and it hadn’t been a very good year for either of them.
“What will you do?” he asked.
Catriona shrugged. “Look in the trades and try to find a job. Maybe some temporary work. How about you Lowry, any plans?”
“I’d like to start a drama school for aspiring board walkers,” said Lowry. “I’ve been giving it thought for some time and that’s what I want to do with the rest of my life.”
“Here’s to that,” said Catriona and they toasted.
After the drink she bade Lowry goodnight and started to walkthe twenty blocks home. Her thoughts were with Mario. She wondered what they would do to pay the rent. There was no option; she would have to go back to being a waitress or a secretary, which she hated doing. She really wanted to stay in the theatre.
So preoccupied was Catriona, that she failed to notice the black town car that was following her until it had pulled up directly alongside. The back seat window wound down and a voice called out.
“Ms. Benedict do you have a minute?” The voice was thick and luxuriant. It was the man in the audience who had been staring at her. Catriona was on her guard instantly.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“I have a business proposition I’d like to make to you.”
Catriona sighed. She thought so, a pickup.
“Sorry I’m not interested,” she said and started to walk faster in the direction of Waverly. The car followed her slowly.
“Ms. Benedict,” the man called again.
“Hey, you’ve got the wrong gal. If you and your driver don’t beat it, I’m calling the cops.”
“Without hearing what I have to say? I know a public place not far from here. Will you join me for one drink? I’m quite safe, honest. My driver will vouch for me.”
His voice was matter of fact and well spoken. Catriona hesitated again and then she nodded out of curiosity more than anything.
“OK, one drink. Who are you?”
“Miles Kingston,” came the reply.
Many thanks to the author for a gifted copy. Review to follow soon.
About the Author
Tony Lee Moral is a mystery and suspense writer who has previously published three novels, and four non-fiction books about the works of Alfred Hitchcock in both the UK and US. Find out more via his website: www.tonyleemoralbooks.com
Tony explains: “Alfred Hitchcock always wanted to begin the opening of a thriller in an Opera House and a murder takes place when the Soprano hits the high C. I start my novel with exactly that and the story is very much a homage to Hitchcock’s films with classic use of suspense, characters and Macguffins.”
Buy Link
www.amazon.co.uk
Websites
https://www.tonyleemoralbooks.com
https://www.ghostmaven.com
https://www.alfredhitchcockbooks.com
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/tonyleemoral…
Instagram
@tonyleemoral
Twitter/X
@tonyleemoral
+ fiction, Ghost story, grief, haunting, loss, love, Magical realism, motherhood, mythology, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, supernatural, superstition
Ghost Story by Elisa Lodato
She came to write, but the island has its own story . . .
Off the windswept coast of Scotland lies Finish Island, rugged and remote. Once a home, it now stands abandoned, a place of dark history and deep memory, a place that holds its stories close. Unable to write since her daughter’s death, it’s here that Seren comes to work, hoping that the solitude and silence will inspire her next novel.
#GhostStory X/Twitter @bonnierbooks_uk @Tr4cyF3nt0n
Instagram @manilla_press @thebookdealer #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour
But the island holds memories of its own, restless and unwilling to stay buried. As unsettling occurrences become even more bizarre and frightening, Seren starts seeing uncanny resonances between her past and the island’s history. There is something on this island, something ancient and unforgiving. Will Seren discover its secrets, before it’s too late?
My Review
I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did to be honest. But I just loved it.
Seren was once a successful, published author. Her first book was such a success, that the publishers wanted a sequel. But it flopped. It wasn’t very good – Seren knows that.
She hasn’t written anything since. The most unimaginable tragedy befell her family and now she is divorced, alone, and still struggling with her grief six years later. I am not one bit surprised. I’m not sure how you ever get over it.
But now her publishers want her to write a ghost story. She decides to go to Finish Island where she spent holidays when she was young. It’s deserted – the inhabitants all left in 1912. It’s also the site of a terrible act of revenge in the 17th century and many believe that the island is haunted by the spirits of those who died. It sounds perfect for the inspiration she needs.
While researching the island’s history, she meets Alex in the library in Edinburgh. He’s a PHD student, many years her junior, working there while studying. They hit it off but she has now moved on. On the way to Finish she stays in a guest house where she meets Kathleen, who has dementia, but came from the Island originally. Her nephew Daley takes tourists across in his boat.
Sounds like a simple story, but it soon turns into something dark and sinister and I found it scarier than most scary books I have read recently. The myths and superstitions get inside Seren’s head – and mine – until she is not sure what is real and what is not. There are some pretty horrific descriptions of events, so be warned, but nothing is ever gratuitous, it’s always essential to the plot. A fantastic read that will stay with me for a long time to come.
Many thanks to @Tr4cyF3nt0n for inviting me to be part of the #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour and to NetGalley for an ARC.
About the Author
Elisa Lodato grew up in London and read English at Cambridge. Her debut novel, An Unremarkable Body, was longlisted for the 2016 Bath Novel Award and shortlisted for the 2018 Costa First Novel Award. Her second novel is The Necessary Marriage and Ghost Story is her latest novel. Elisa lives in Gloucestershire with her husband and two children.
When famed curator Giovanni Montefiore’s is shockingly murdered at the Italian Opera in Rome following his bold proclamation regarding the authenticity of the True Cross, there are many suspects, but suspicion falls heavily upon his nephew, Mario Montefiore.
With his American girlfriend, actress Catriona Benedict, by his side, they embark on a perilous quest for truth and to uncover the real killer, leading them through some of Italy’s most iconic and glamorous cities.
But as the body count rises and the relentless pursuit of both law enforcement and paparazzi intensifies, they find themselves fleeing to Florence in search of the True Cross ,which they hope holds the answers they need. Amidst the ancient streets of Florence, Catriona assumes a daring new identity, delving into a world of shadows and deception.
Will they uncover the secrets surrounding the True Cross before it’s too late?
My Review
This was like a cross between Indiana Jones and a Dan Brown novel. Our intrepid heroes, actress Catriona Benedict and boyfriend Mario Montefiore are seeking important historical artefacts around Rome, The Vatican and Florence, while being chased by ruthless killers and religious fanatics.
Famed curator Giovanni Montefiore was shot to death during an opera in Rome after revealing what he believed to be the authenticity of The True Cross. He was Mario’s uncle, and they had been overheard arguing over the reward money for finding a missing Caravaggio in the previous book. Giovanni wouldn’t give them the $10,000 reward and it all turned a bit nasty. After all, blood is thicker than water and there will be lots more of it to come as the body count rises and the plot thickens.
It’s all very exciting and the pace never lets up. The ‘accidents’ that almost kill them are very inventive and entertaining. At one point Catriona must use her skills as an actress to pull off a daring disguise, while Mario just gets hot under the collar and shows his jealousy of Catriona’s friend Freddie, an American journalist, who happens to be in Italy at the same time and ends up helping them out. OK, I admit I wasn’t a fan of Mario, but I do like Freddie.
Altogether a furious and enjoyable romp which I thoroughly enjoyed. I hope there will be more to come and that Catriona decides….better not say any more.
Many thanks to the author for a gifted copy.
About the Author
Tony Lee Moral is a mystery and suspense writer who has previously published three novels, and four non-fiction books about the works of Alfred Hitchcock in both the UK and US. Find out more via his website: www.tonyleemoralbooks.com
Tony explains: “Alfred Hitchcock always wanted to begin the opening of a thriller in an Opera House and a murder takes place when the Soprano hits the high C. I start my novel with exactly that and the story is very much a homage to Hitchcock’s films with classic use of suspense, characters and Macguffins.”
Buy Link
www.amazon.co.uk
Websites
https://www.tonyleemoralbooks.com
https://www.ghostmaven.com
https://www.alfredhitchcockbooks.com
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/tonyleemoral…
Instagram
@tonyleemoral
Twitter/X
@tonyleemoral
+ crime fiction, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, murder, review, superstition, thriller, witchcraft
Death Rites by Sarah Ward
Professor Carla James is an archaeologist with an interest in more than just bones and stones. She wants to understand the emotions behind the sites she investigates.
Desperate for a change of scene following the death of her husband, Carla takes a job at Jericho, an elite New England college. On her first day, Carla is asked to represent the department at an unusual murder site. Although she initially believes there is nothing interesting about the debris that surrounds the body, there is more to the site than meets the eye.
This victim is just the latest in a series of unsolved deaths in Jericho. Although the deaths appear unlinked, Carla is convinced: there is a methodical and calculated killer operating under the cover of darkness. Can she uncover the truth before she becomes the next victim?
My Review
I’m going to rave about this because I loved everything about it. I read it in nine staves with my book club The Pigeonhole, and couldn’t wait for the next one to be delivered. Death Rites has everything I love – murder, intrigue, witchy elements, strong female protagonists – what more could I ask for.
The book opens with the murder of a retired school teacher who was killed in her own home. The police are baffled. Why would anyone want to kill this seemingly harmless, elderly lady.
Professor Carla James has been widowed for three years and decides to leave the UK to start a new life in New England, USA, lecturing on the ‘archaeology of emotion’ at Jericho College. In her first week, two things happen. First she discovers that her office is still full of the things belonging to her predecessor Lauren, who took her own life. It’s all a bit unsettling. Secondly, she is asked to take a look at the site of a gruesome murder and see if anything strange stands out for her. Unfortunately, the ‘burnt’ body is still in situ. She meets pathologist Erin and they soon become friends.
This murder bears no resemblance to the previous one. There are no links, the victims didn’t know each other, there is no apparent motive, and the MOs are totally different. But Carla had spotted some random objects placed around the ‘burnt woman’ and wants to know if this has happened before.
And this is where it gets really interesting. Because she believes the objects are not random and have a meaning related to witch bottles, hexafoils and superstition. So she starts looking at other murders in Jericho, which has the police rattled as her suggestions start making them look incompetent.
I admit I did guess one possible link pointing to the killer, but not why, or who else might be involved, and there were so many red herrings that I kept questioning whether I was finding links that didn’t exist. A bit like Carla really.
I just adored this book, and the ending makes me think it’s not the last we are going to see of Carla and Erin. PLEASE make this a series. I can’t wait.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author, and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Sarah Ward is a critically acclaimed crime and gothic thriller writer. Her book, A Patient Fury, was an Observer book of the month and The Quickening, written as Rhiannon Ward, was a Radio Times book of the year. Sarah is a former Vice-Chair of the Crime Writers Association, Trustee ofGwyl Crime Cymru Festival and an RLF Fellow at Sheffield University.
