“Why fit in when you were made to stand out?”
Sox is a microbe. One day, he trips and is catapulted into a human body. He bumps into Nova, or rather, Nova crashes into him!
Publisher: Blossom Spring Publishing
Genre: Children
Page Count: 29 pages
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Nova says strange things, making Sox feel confused. Soon, the mysterious Bammies start chasing them. It all sends Sox into a sizzle!
Join Sox in an adventure with crashes, chases, sizzles and giggles along the way.
My Review
Sox in a Sizzle is written in rhyme. This makes it easy to read and understand, and entertaining for younger children.
Sox went out walking,
Stepping forward, unaware.
That slipping on their saggy sock
Would fling them swiftly in the air!
Sox is a microbe who is accidentally catapulted into a human body. Here he meets Nova who tells him:
“Get your skates on snappy,” Nova shrieks.
“The Bammies are coming,
And we need to be quick.
Find somewhere to hide, or we’ll be in a fix!”
Sox and Nova must hurry to get away from the Bammies. It all sends Sox into a sizzle.
Sox in a Sizzle is aimed at children with autism and is the first in a series of short stories with neurodivergent characters at its core. I would like to have known what the Bammies are.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Sox in a Sizzle is the first of what I envision will be a series of books of short, fun,
playful stories with neurodivergent characters at its core. I am an autistic creative artist
based in North Yorkshire, UK. I was nonspeaking until aged 15 and developed a passion
for reading from a young age. Books were both my escape and connection with the
world.
My background is in mental health nursing. I then retrained and completed a diploma in Art & Design and a BA Fine Art degree. Leading on to be a freelance artist. I have set up art and wellbeing groups in a broad range of community and hospital settings. As well as delivering support for autistic adults with a late diagnosis.
When not creating, I find much joy in live music, getting out walking in nature, and being inspired to read new authors at my book group.
My son was diagnosed as autistic at age 5. I remember it creating a sense of complete isolation for both of us, at that time. Not being in contact with any other adults or children who understood. We are all different and unique in our own way. I believe it’s important to celebrate and accept difference. To be happy with who we are, has a huge impact on our health.
+ 1960s, alcoholism, fiction, France, friends, friendship, gay, ghosts, haunting, journalist, literature, London, love, music, obsession, racism, review, supernatural
The Music of the Cosmos by Carole Bulewski
“We must discover the Music of the Cosmos.”
With these words, visionary, depraved and intensely artistic Gaius piques the curiosity of Sam and his friends, young lads from Kent who have come to Swinging Sixties London in search of musical success.
To further their quest for the otherworldly Music of the Cosmos, the boys leave London for Paris, and experiment with the help of psychotropic drugs designed by a mysterious patron who only Gaius has ever met. While traveling through rural France to escape the madness of that countries May 1968 revolution, events take a turn for the tragic – and the supernatural.
Genre: Historical / supernatural
The Music of the Cosmos, Carole Bulewski’s debut novel is a supernatural delight. Well written, thought-provoking imagery, that will paint glorious psychedelic images in your mind.
The Music of the Cosmos will play on in your head long after you’ve finished it.
My Review
My first observation is that the young friends from Kent are so young. They leave school and go to London when they are sixteen. They make music, write songs, and try to earn a living. I went to the Isle of Wight Festival in 1969 with two friends when I was sixteen and thought that was outrageously adventurous.
Then Sam (our first person narrator) meets mixed-race Alfie, who also joins the band. Life is strange, fun and they are so independent. Until they meet Gaius, who is very wealthy and holds drug fuelled orgies at his house. He is obsessed with The Music of the Cosmos. Of course we know that this is basically music they play when tripping on little yellow pills, similar to LSD I suppose, though I have never done any drugs stronger than a couple of joints in my late teens. I was always too scared.
This wouldn’t normally be the type of book I would read, but it’s beautifully written and Sam is so endearing, as is his best friend Joe to whom he is recounting the tragic events that occurred forty-five years ago after Joe left the band to pursue his love of journalism.
Apart from Gaius, other people appear in their lives, like Martin, who is a friend of Gaius and is in his twenties, and seems to be the steadying influence in the band. In Paris we meet Daniel, with whom Sam spends a lot of time.
The second part of the book is set during the protests and strikes in France in May 1968. The band are left stranded when they run out of petrol on their way to Spain and have to stay at a supposedly haunted house. This is where the book turns sinister and terrifying, with a touch of the supernatural.
The Music of the Cosmos is both original and unique, maybe not a standard modern genre, but something akin to “Psychedelic Literature: A specific movement focused on the use of hallucinogenic drugs and the resulting altered states of consciousness, often with philosophical or spiritual interpretations.” It certainly made for an interesting read.
Many thanks to Hygge Book Tours for inviting me to be part of the #blogtour
About the Author
Born and raised in the south of France, Carole Bulewski moved to the UK at the end of the second Millennium, eventually settling down in London after a few years in the South West of England, a place that has inspired her many a supernatural story since – writing first in her native French, but now almost exclusively in the English language.
Although writing has always been Carole’s preferred means of expressing herself, having written her first fairy tale at the tender age of seven, music in one form or another plays an important part in her life, and consequently in her writing. For not only do musicians make great characters in supernatural and horror stories, but they also have the ability to conjure up a parallel universe where different rules apply.
In her writing, Carole explores how the supernatural can creep into the most mundane of situations. The Music of the Cosmos, her first novel in the English language, takes the reader on a journey through the extraordinary era that were the late Sixties, from Kent to Swinging London, the Paris of May 1968 and southern France, from the perspective of a musician whose use of chemical substances might have altered his perception of reality. The Music of the Cosmos was published in February 2018.
Since then, Carole has been working on a trilogy, the Queen’s Park trilogy, the first instalment of which, The Piper and The Fairy, was released in 2020. The two following novels, Water of Life and The Little God of Queen’s Park, were released in 2021.
Carole is also a member of urban baroque group Firefay.
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+ fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, illegitimacy, jealousy, marriage, mythology, obsession, review, superstition
House of Splinters by Laura Purcell
Not every house is a home…
Belinda Bainbridge has spent her life in the shadow of her anxious mother, so when her father-in-law dies at The Bridge, his remote ancestral seat, she is secretly thrilled. His death means she, her husband Wilfred and their children can relocate and finally begin to create their own happy home born a merchant’s daughter, she will now be lady of the manor.
But their new home quickly proves far from ideal. The garden is a wilderness, the estate is struggling financially, there are whispers about the mysterious death of a servant many years before while their young son, Freddie, seems unusually fixated on the strange wooden figures – so-called ‘silent companions’ – that were once owned by his ancestors.
When Wilfred’s charismatic brother, Nathan, arrives unexpectedly from abroad, bringing a very different account of the family’s past, Belinda begins to question what her husband has told her. What really lies behind the sad history of the house?
And are Belinda’s children truly safe here?
The outstanding new haunted house story from Sunday Times bestseller and multi award winner, Laura Purcell. Adored by readers, The Silent Companions was picked for both the Radio 2 Book Club and the Zoe Ball ITV Book Clubs, and reignited readers’ passion for classic gothic tales for a new audience. House of Splinters revisits her iconic setting of The Bridge for a fresh new tale to chill and thrill new readers and existing fans to their very depths.
My Review
I’ve loved all of Laura’s books, but The Silent Companions has always been my favourite. I couldn’t believe we would be revisiting spooky house The Bridge, where it was set, in her latest novel House of Splinters.
There is something very creepy about the whole concept of ‘silent companions’. Each of these strange wooden figures resembles someone who lived at the house many years before, from the murdered footman Roberts and Wilfred’s late father, to Henrietta Maria, a supposedly wicked child who committed a series of heinous crimes and was eventually killed by her own mother, Anne Bainbridge.
Like Wilfred’s sister who was said to have the gift of sight, Freddie can see and talk to Henrietta Maria, or Hetty as he calls her. And he must take care of his baby sister Lydia and keep her from harm.
But when Wilfred’s estranged younger brother Nathan turns up after 18 years, things take a stranger turn. He is nothing but charm and charisma, but why was he sent away? And what is his relationship now with his brother?
Once again I listened to this on Audible and I am now waiting for Laura’s next Gothic mystery. It was brilliant and scary with some shocking moments I didn’t expect.
About the Author
Laura Purcell is a former bookseller and lives in Colchester with her husband and pet guinea pigs.
Her first novel for Raven Books The Silent Companions won the WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award 2018 and featured in both the Zoe Ball and Radio 2 Book Clubs. Other Gothic novels include The Corset (The Poison Thread in USA), Bone China, The Shape of Darkness (2020) and The Whispering Muse.
Laura’s historical fiction about the Hanoverian monarchs, Queen of Bedlam and Mistress of the Court, was published by Myrmidon.
The Olympitis father and daughter team are back with this second instalment of the Whispers in the Park series…
Now in vibrant colour, Whispers in the Park: The Prophecy is the thrilling second book of Emmanuel and Olympia Olympitis’s enchanting series. As winter draws in around St James’s Park, a mysterious new arrival sends shockwaves through the centuries-old school for grey squirrels. A red squirrel – descendant of the school’s legendary founder – joins the ranks in a haunting echo of an ancient prophecy.
Meanwhile, for young students Shane and Sophie, and their new friend Rufus, their tranquil life among the foliage is about to become increasingly perilous. St James’s is soon under threat from the shadowy underworld of cunning foxes, ruthless rats and powerful enemies as a sinister plot emerges against the nearby royal palaces. But with Headmaster Horatio Hoyland on high alert and the ever-watchful Siamese detective Sam on the case, there is always hope that disaster can be averted.
Bursting with charm, intrigue and unforgettable characters, Whispers in the Park: The Prophecy is a spellbinding tale of courage, friendship and the fight to protect a legacy – perfect for fans of The Wind in the Willows and Redwall.
My Review
Everyone at St James School for squirrels knows about the prophecy. But is it real and will it come true?
“From Egypt’s sands, a warning clear,
In London’s oak, the end draws near …
“A red-furred son, so brave, so small,
Will stand alone to save them all.”
But when Rufus the red squirrel arrives, it is obvious that he is descended from the Founder of the school. But is he the red-furred son, so brave, so small? Being a well-mannered, intelligent squirrel, he soon fits in and makes friends, in spite of being much smaller and ‘different’. He is very good at writing – his father is a journalist, and editor of The Inverness Chatter – and football, though not very good at other sports or academic subjects.
In the meantime Fabian the wily fox is plotting a robbery with the help of the stoats and rats. Well two actually, the first one at Clarence House will be a distraction, while the second one will be the real thing. It’s all very complicated and involves wealthy property developer Silus, who hates red squirrels. It also involves gangsters from Chicago. Who knew!
But Fabian hadn’t banked on the involvement of Sam the Siamese cat, who is the detective we met in book one. She is convinced there is more to the robbery than anyone is letting on. She threatens Reinfeldt the rat for information, reminding him how he got his scar and lost an eye.
‘Fortunately, he was too slow, and the kitten leaped up as he lifted the crowbar in the air, raking his face with her claws. These claws in fact.’ Sam examined them fondly for a minute. ‘Yes. I was that kitten.’
Thinking the crime was solved, Hoyland quotes the Prophecy, but Rufus tells him that he forgot the last two lines.
‘What last two lines? That’s all there is,’ gasped Hoyland, ‘that’s the complete Prophecy. What are you talking about?’
‘Not quite.’ Rufus’s voice had deepened still more, full of doom. He was in a trance. ‘The last two lines are:
“But treason’s stain must never mark
The Crown, or all will end in dark.”
And so the crime really is solved…. for now.
As well as being a lovely story, The Prophecy also teaches children about diversity – Rufus is red and small – as well as respecting each other’s race and culture. I love the squirrels, in fact they are amongst my favourite animals, but it’s Sam the Siamese cat that stole my heart, maybe because she is like my neighbour’s cat Woody, who I can just picture being a feline detective.
Many thanks to Grace Pilkington Publicity for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.
Email: gracepilkingtonpublicity@gmail.com
About the Author and Illustrator
Emmanuel Olympitis is a British businessman who has held many public company directorships during his career. He is also the author of critically acclaimed By Victories Undone and Marked Cards.
Olympia Olympitis is a full-time illustrator based between London and Wiltshire, having studied at City and Guilds of London Art School and The University of Edinburgh. Specialising in house portraiture, landscape illustration and bespoke wedding & event stationery, Whispers in the Park was her first book.
Hettie, Tilly, Bruiser and the Butter sisters set out across the snowy fens to spend Christmas at The Fishgutter’s Arms.
Snowed in with no hope of rescue, they find themselves sharing Christmas with some unwanted guests.
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Will the ghosts of Christmas Past wreak vengeance on the present? Can our feline detectives dig themselves out of a spooky festive fiasco? And will the sausage rolls and sherry last until midnight?
Jump on board for a cat-a-strophic sleigh ride into a snow drift full of Christmas spirits.
My Review
Six Tails At Midnight is the first of The No 2 Feline Detective Agency that I’ve read – it’s actually book fifteen. It’s a cross between a cosy mystery with cats, and a ghost story with some pretty nasty bits thrown in – and they are quite gruesome at times. It takes place mainly in an old ruined and deserted pub called The Fishgutter’s Arms, located in the middle of nowhere, during a snowstorm. All that’s missing is someone having a baby (or kitten in this case), as in so many TV dramas, snowed in with the wind howling outside. You know the kind of thing.
The six cats – Hettie, Tilly, Bruiser, the Butter sisters and postmistress Lavender Smith – have booked Christmas at a smart pub-cum-hotel called The Fishgutter’s Arms, but either they’ve made a terrible mistake, got massively lost, or been conned out of their money. However, as the Morris, and Bruiser’s motorbike and sidecar, Miss Scarlet, are virtually buried in the snow, they must make the best of it.
For some bizarre reason, instead of sleeping in the bar area where they have lit a roaring fire, they decide to separate and sleep in the inn’s tiny bedrooms. And this is where it all goes a bit Christmas Carol, as each of the cats is visited by a ghost with a grisly tale, or should it be tail, to tell. We are only missing the clanking chains.
The whole book is a bit weird initially with only cats as characters, and they all act and speak like humans. There is a lot of food and drink involved, from sausage rolls, mince pies and sandwiches with the crusts cut off, to sherry and whatever else they can find in the bar. Lavender in particular is partial to a snifter every now and again … and again.
Once I got into it I found it very funny and entertaining – the inventive names of places like Much-Purring-on-the-Rug and Much-Purring-on-the-Blanket in particular, and characters called Irene Peggledrip and Ruben Catcraft, the executioner. And I love all the feline-based silliness and humour.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Mandy Morton began her professional life as a musician. More recently, she has worked as an arts journalist for national and local radio. She lives with her partner in Cambridge and Cornwall where there is always a place for a long-haired tabby cat. Follow Hettie on Facebook: Facebook.com/HettieBagshotMysteries
Albina du Boisrouvray was born into extreme wealth as granddaughter of Bolivian tin magnate Simón Patiño, and the daughter of Count Guy du Boisrouvray.
Through a turbulent relationship with her mother and her regular prayers for her parents to divorce, she navigated a privileged but often lonely childhood.
Disconnected from her aristocratic upbringing, Albina was determined to break away. Albina searched for her tribe. She joined leftist groups rejecting her wealthy upbringing and led a successful career in journalism and film production. She made 17 films in 22 years with Albina Productions. Tragedy struck when her only child, rescue pilot François-Xavier Bagnoud, died in an accident aged just 24. But she emerged from the chrysalis of grief as a butterfly and dedicated her life to what she always felt was her calling — changing the world. Albina sold three-quarters of her assets and founded the FXB Foundation and its NGOs to combat poverty and AIDs, and to support orphans and vulnerable children. Since 1989, the FXB Foundation has improved the lives of 20 million people.
From Cannes to Calcutta, Phoenix Rising traces Albina’s unique journey from film sets and high society to refugee camps and slums, as she reinvents her privilege to found and lead one of the most innovative global anti-poverty organisations.
Divided into three books, which signify different stages of her life, Phoenix Rising is a testament to Albina’s nature: courageous and unstoppable. In this beautifully written memoir, the reader watches the phoenix rise from the ashes of grief and dedicate herself to helping millions.
‘A visceral story of loss and redemption, narrated by an indomitable woman who transformed her grief over the loss of her only child into “seeds of love” that saved other’s lives.’ David Ignatius, Columnist at the Washington Post
And here is an extract from this moving memoir:
“It’s a great privilege in life to meet exceptional people. In late 1999, I had the immense joy of spending a few hours almost one-on-one with Nelson Mandela. There were four of us at lunch: Mandela, Cyril Ramaphosa, who is now president of South Africa, Mark Lloyd, a generous friend with many connections who organized the meeting, and me. The magazine Elle, through Anne-Marie Périer, had asked me to participate in a project at the dawn of the new century: asking a group of women to be photographed with someone whom they’d always dreamed of meeting in their life.
“Nelson Mandela,” I answered right away.
“That will be tough.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it!”
“After calling this dear friend who could accomplish miracles, here we were, along with a photographer, flying to Johannesburg. I was touched and disconcerted. I thought I was dreaming, but, no, it was quite real. I sat down next to this handsome man who was so simple, so warm. There emanated from him an extraordinary goodness, along with a feeling of calm and gentle serenity. These were a few rare hours that give value to life. Full of humour, always ready to joke, one could detect no trace of the suffering he had endured for so many years. His desire to unify his people, to reconcile Blacks and Whites, was not part of any political calculation. There was nothing narcissistic about it. There was no bitterness. He sincerely forgave. Of course, we talked about AIDS. Of the particularly tragic situation regarding the disease in Africa and the countless orphans. That very afternoon, I was to go to Alexandra and Soweto to look for a local partnership that would allow FXB to set up aid programs for these children.
“I can’t come here and just take a photo with you!” I told him.
“I must see how FXB can help South African children. Come with me! Photos of you holding these HIV-positive orphans would be the most effective weapon against fear and discrimination.”
“I can’t, you have to ask Thabo Mbeki, I’m no longer president. But it’s true that it’s a huge tragedy. When I was in the government, we should have done more, but at the time we were swamped with so many problems every day…”
“Such honesty, such modesty, showed me the greatness of this man.”
Extract courtesy of Read Maxwell Communications
About Albina
Albina du Boisrouvray is the founder of FXB Global which has helped the lives of millions worldwide and her memoir is now being published by Nomad Publishing.
She is a French-Swiss philanthropist, journalist, and former film producer. She is the granddaughter of Bolivian tin magnate Simón Patiño and the daughter of Count Guy du Boisrouvray. She initially built a successful career in journalism and film production but in 1986 her only son, François-Xavier Bagnoud, a helicopter rescue pilot, died in an accident. Albina abandoned her career to honour his memory, founding the François-Xavier Bagnoud Foundation (FXB) and its NGOs in 1989. The organisation focuses on poverty alleviation, child welfare, and sustainable development, particularly aiding AIDS orphans and putting them on the map. With a TikTok following of over 143k, Albina is a leading global philanthropist and is very much in the public eye.
+ 1950s, 1960s, family, feminism, fiction, Historical fiction, literature, London, love, marriage, mental health, mental illness, music, obsession, psychiatrist, relationships, review, sisters, therapy, twins
The Crooked Little Pieces: Volume 5 by Sophia Lambton
Love thrives in hiding.
Crowded by encroaching dangers, Anneliese confronts a range of hurdles in The Crooked Little Volume 5: a dive into unstopping problems.
As Isabel disdains a figure from her past, the dastardly Charles Anthony keeps making his psychiatrist miserable – to nobody’s avail. Susanna stumbles amidst frayed attempts to get her youth back; toying with an unfazed Christopher. Dazed Isabel once more fears going off the tracks. With odds stacked stubbornly against her, Anneliese shuns sin in an unprecedented downward spiral of events. Undying pining pins her sister to inaction.
Culminations menace characters unable to defy denial in this fifth season of the novelised tv a dose of episodes that keep us on the edge.
My Review
I’d just like to say first that I love all the descriptions of the beautiful dresses. I’m so jealous!
We are now heading towards the 1960s as the twins are hurtling towards their 40th birthdays. Anneliese is still single and reluctantly ‘treating’ Charles Anthony. I put treating in inverted commas because nothing changes. Is he in love with her or her with him? There is a dependency which has nothing to do with romantic love and CA is still having relationships outside marriage, currently with a much younger woman, who also happens to be a patient of Anneliese.
Isabel is still Head of Music at Croham Girls School and is engaged to billionaire Tally. I’m not convinced he is right for her. Richard, on the other hand, has always been my favourite, though goodness knows why. We see him return in Vol 5, but he only makes Isabel’s life more difficult and her decisions harder.
Psychiatrist Susanna/Sara is still monitoring Anneliese, though she is probably the one who needs the counselling. A tragedy pushes her into a relationship with married, father-of-nine, Christopher. She is also obsessed with finding cures for various illnesses like Parkinson’s and CJD, using poor unsuspecting mice. I worried constantly for the mice.
We are reaching a crossroads in the lives of the twins and we wonder where Vol 6 will take us. It’s all change now for both, but will their new lives be more successful than the old? Another fabulous episode in the lives of the sisters.
Many thanks to the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author
Sophia Lambton became a professional classical music critic at the age of seventeen when she began writing for Musical Opinion, Britain’s oldest music magazine. Since then she has contributed to The Guardian, Bachtrack, musicOMH, BroadwayWorld, BBC Music Magazine and OperaWire, and conducted operatic research around the world for The Callas Imprint: A Centennial Biography, which was published to coincide with the soprano’s one hundredth birthday in December 2023.
Crepuscular Musings – Lambton’s cultural Substack – provides vivid explorations of tv and cinema together with reviews of operas, concerts and recitals sophialambton.substack.com.
The Crooked Little Pieces is her first literary saga. This is volume 5. She lives in London.
Forced to leave her family farm when only a young child, Leandra abandons the bitter memories of growing up on the East Coast and returns to North Carolina.
Life begins anew with a past romance and marriage, while she dives head first into the cultural upheaval of the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, challenges of rural healthcare, and women’s rights. Bolstered by her deep-rooted love for Appalachia and her people, she takes on new roles, some of which she chooses with others thrust upon her.
As the years pass by, more and more secrets are revealed to her, then buried, each one redefining who she has become. At some point she must choose to share these secrets or die with them, and a decision is made that will forever change the Barker family and future generations.
My Review
Poor Leandra still has it tough in book two. At the end of book one, The Butterfly Bush, we left her with Mamaw and Papaw, having returned to the farm. So much has happened to her – her failed relationship with Greg, her brother Ray’s death, and baby Autumn. She has left her alcoholic Mama and dreadful husband Roger in New Jersey.
Once back she rekindles her relationship with John and resumes life on an Appalachian farm. They have a son Donny who follows in his parents and grandparents footsteps as farmers, from an early age.
But cracks appear in Leandra’s marriage, when she discovers that the town’s only doctor is set to retire and she decides to open up a free health clinic for everyone in the local area. John thinks this is too time-consuming and is eating into her role as traditional wife and mother.
Leandra has matured considerably and we follow her life from young motherhood, to middle age and beyond. It’s still a rocky path, but there are moments of true happiness, like opening a petting zoo on the farm which delights Donny, and selling Pawpaw’s apples. Growing tobacco is still a bone of contention between them.
Pawpaw and Archie (Archie is Black, but it has never affected their friendship) are getting old now, and Mamaw’s slide into dementia is one of the most heartbreaking parts of the book, and is handled with understanding and sensitivity.
Once again the author creates a world full of love, hardship, tragedy and sadness, with characters that will stay with us for a long time to come. It’s a triumph yet again.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of #TheButterflysSecret blog tour.
Author bio
Josephine DeFalco loves to tell a good tale. With three adult children and their children, a multitude of pets and wild things in her life, she finds ample material for her stories. A degreed dietitian, she worked in public health and wrote for Arizona Woman Magazine for ten years, before returning to college to become a registered nurse and EMT. She will rescue anything with fur, feathers, or skin as long as it promises not to bite. That includes humans. Jo divides her time between an urban farm in Arizona and a rural farm in Wisconsin, growing much of the food her family eats. This resulted in two books on food preservation which supports her drive to teach others food gardening, health and nutrition. Her Facebook page, BestLittleOrganicFarm, is filled with photos, stories, and information on gardening. Born and raised in Arizona, the southwest desert inspired her first historical novel, The Nightbird’s Song, reflecting on the hardships of the early desert settlers. Her first series includes The Butterfly Bush and The Butterfly’s Secret, revealing her deep respect for the Appalachian families that inspired her stories.
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+ abuse, audio book, Australia, child abduction, crime fiction, family, fiction, grief, loss, marriage, motherhood, review, Scotland, secrets, superstition
Stranger in the Woods by Anni Taylor
Photographer Isla Wilson is thrilled she’s landed her dream job, but the clients who hired her are getting stranger by the day.
It sounded so perfect – a month‘s assignment at the misty, sprawling Scottish Highlands property of brilliant architect Alban McGregor, and his wife, Jessica.
But deep in the woods, there is a chilling playhouse.
Two years ago, the McGregors’ daughter, Elodie, died after being abducted and taken there. Alban refuses to knock the playhouse down, and he keeps a picture of it on his wall.
Isla senses that both Alban and Jessica are keeping terrible secrets.
The closer Isla comes to getting answers about Elodie, the more the danger mounts. And with a dense cover of snow now blanketing the town, all chance of escape might already be gone.
My Review
First of all let me say that I really enjoyed listening to Stranger in the Woods on Audible, but I can’t say I didn’t have some issues. It started off OK, with Sydney-based, professional photographer Isla having had a seizure on a boat during a shoot and almost drowning, deciding to take a dream job in Scotland. She has never been abroad before.
Her mother tries to dissuade her but she is determined to go. The job is to photograph an architect and his family – the same family whose daughter Elodie was abducted and killed. I already had misgivings – surely there was a photographer in the UK who could do the job?
Isla is met by assistant Greer and installed in the cottage near the house designed by Alban McGregor, who is the talented architect looking for a portfolio of his work. The family is a bit strange, especially Alban’s wife Jessica. We know there will be secrets, lots of them. Then Isla goes to a neighbour’s house where she meets Troy who insists she knows him. In fact he claims they had a relationship two years ago. And this is where it all got a bit far-fetched.
I won’t say any more, but I felt there were too many things going on and it all got a bit confusing. Sometimes I was just ‘No way’.
Also, hearing from Elodie’s voice while she is being abducted and in a ‘coma’ made me very uncomfortable, as did Jessica leaving an eight-year-old alone in the middle of nowhere while she went out to get potatoes.
About the Author
Anni Taylor writes thrillers for readers who love deep, twisty plots that surprise. She lives by the beach north of Sydney, Australia, with her partner and sons and little fluffy (sometimes scruffy) dog – where she concocts her stories. Her most recent gig before becoming a full-time author in 2016 was as a Features’ Writer & Community Manager for Fairfax Media, Australia.
+ abuse, crime fiction, fiction, Iceland, Iceland noir, murder, murder mystery, review, Scandi noir, secrets, sisters
Black As Death (An Áróra Investigation Book #5) by Lilja Sigurðardóttir translated by Lorenza Garcia
The haunting final chapter to an award-winning series…
And a final reckoning…
With the fate of her missing sister, Ísafold, finally uncovered, Áróra feels a fragile relief as the search that consumed her life draws to a close. But when Ísafold’s boyfriend – the prime suspect in her disappearance – is found dead at the same site where Ísafold’s body was discovered, Áróra’s grip on reality starts to unravel … and the mystery remains far from solved.
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To distract herself, she dives headfirst into a money-laundering case that her friend Daníel is investigating. But she soon finds that there is more than meets the eye and, once again, all leads point towards Engihjalli, the street where Ísafold lived and died, and a series of shocking secrets that could both explain and endanger everything…
My Review
Black As Death is Book 5 and the final episode in the Áróra Investigation series. We have followed Áróra as she tries to discover what happened to her sister Ísafold, but we now know that she is dead, her body found in a suitcase inside a fissure on the Reykjanes peninsular. Believing that her boyfriend Björn killed her, it came as a surprise when his body was also found in the same place.
Their relationship was turbulent, Björn regularly beating her up, gaslighting her, and making her believe she was stupid. All the time Björn was dealing in drugs, eventually persuading Ísafold to steal tablets from the residents of the old people’s home where he made her get a job.
We are also introduced to other characters including Sturla, another drug dealer, one of his ‘boys’ called Felix, and the owners of a seemingly successful chain of coffee shops called Kaffiko Ltd. Except that the coffee shops are making too much money compared to their actual trade, and Áróra helps her now boyfriend police officer Daniel to investigate the irregularities. Then there is Grimur, whose strangeness has been discussed in previous books. He is Ísafold’s neighbour and is very protective of her.
The saddest part of the story is when we hear from Ísafold herself, as she tells us about Björn, her fear of being beaten and abused, how she has to hide in the bathroom when he’s been drinking, but how she still loves him. No matter how many times Áróra tells her to leave him, she can’t. Áróra gave up on her a long time ago, Ísafold tells us.
This whole series has been exceptional. There are always exciting stories – the supernatural element in Book 4 was my favourite – at the forefront of the books, but Ísafold’s disappearance simmers away in the background until we get the final resolution in Black As Death.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Icelandic crime writer Lilja Sigurðardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in
Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written eleven crime
novels, including Snare, Trap and Cage, making up the Reykjavík Noir trilogy, and her standalone
thriller Betrayal, all of which have hit bestseller lists worldwide. Snare was longlisted for the CWA
International Dagger, Cage won Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year and was a Guardian Book
of the Year, and Betrayal was shortlisted for the prestigious Glass Key Award and won Icelandic
Crime Novel of the Year. The film rights for the Reykjavík Noir trilogy have been bought by
Glassriver. Cold as Hell, the first book in the An Áróra Investigation series, was published in the
UK in 2021 and was followed by Red as Blood, White as Snow and Dark as Night. TV rights to the
series have been bought by Studio Zentral in Germany. Lilja lives in Reykjavík with her partner and
a brood of chickens.
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, review, serial killer
Gallery Of The Dead by Chris Carter (Robert Hunter #9)
‘Thirty-seven years in the force, and if I was allowed to choose just one thing to erase from my mind, what’s inside that room would be it.’
That’s what a LAPD Lieutenant tells Detectives Hunter and Garcia of the Ultra Violent Crimes Unit as they arrive at one of the most shocking crime scenes they have ever attended.
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In a completely unexpected turn of events, the detectives find themselves joining forces with the FBI to track down a serial killer whose hunting ground sees no borders; a psychopath who loves what he does because to him murder is much more than just killing – it’s an art form.
Welcome to The Gallery of the Dead.
My Review
Welcome to post number nine on this fab #blogathon. I will be reviewing one book per month.
I’ve always said that the Robert Hunter series gets better and better, but with Book 9, Gallery Of The Dead, we have jumped into a different realm. Book 8 was not my personal favourite, especially after the brilliance of Book 6, An Evil Mind, but I think we may even have outdone that one. I’m also glad that the victims are not all young, attractive women, as that makes me slightly uncomfortable.
In Gallery Of The Dead, Robert and sidekick Carlos Garcia must work with two FBI agents. It doesn’t start off well as Garcia and Agent Fisher take an instant dislike to each other. The suspense is at times unbearable, and I just couldn’t stop reading. Just a bit more, and a bit more. Is that the time? Good thing I’m retired.
The first victim’s body is discovered in her own home and is one of the most shocking scenes Robert and Garcia have ever witnessed. But is this the killer’s first victim? The FBI are already tracking someone that may be the same killer. However, the victims have no connection to each other. Different ages, different sexes and discovered in three separate states. And it seems that the method of killing has less relevance than the victims themselves. But what links them?
There are clues, like the messages left in Latin, but what do they mean? It looks like the killer is creating works of art, his own ‘gallery of the dead’, but we don’t know whether the setting is the art, or the victims themselves. Everyone has a theory, but they could all be wrong.
Agent Fisher is an interesting character, moody, acerbic, and forthright to the point of rudeness. The FBI works alone, and while she admires Hunter’s brilliant mind, she treats Garcia like an unwanted addition to the ‘team’. But they must all work together before the killer finds his next target. And they have no idea who or where that might be.
Gallery Of The Dead is so sophisticated and well-plotted, and I got my wish with Hunter, say no more. And that ending! That taster of what’s to come in the next book Hunting Evil! I can’t wait.
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
MEET YOUR NEW FAVOURITE DETECTIVE.
Detective Norman is out of retirement and back on the beat in a rainy Welsh seaside town. Llangwelli might be short on sunshine, but it’s certainly not short on murders . . .
Norman may seem a bit old-fashioned, but he’s always willing to learn from his band of misfit recruits.
A body in the forest. An ancient pagan ritual. A baffling mystery.
On Halloween night, the body of a young woman is discovered buried in a shallow grave in the Dragon Forest, a popular local beauty spot. The only clue to her identity is the number 37 tattooed on the sole of her foot.
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Detective Norman’s new boss, Acting Superintendent Evans, is convinced the murder is connected to a group of pagans who were performing a secret ritual in the forest that night. Norman’s not so sure. The one thing he does know is that he’d make much faster progress without the insufferable Evans breathing down his neck.
Something is off about this case. Norman knows he’s missing something important — but he can’t seem to see the wood for the trees.
Then the discovery of a second body in the woods turns everything on its head.
My Review
If I said this was great fun and an entertaining read, that would probably sound inappropriate for a book that involves murder, people trafficking and pagan worship. But what makes it so entertaining is the banter between DS Norman Norman, his boss DI Sarah Southall and the other members of the team, plus their total dismay at the attitude of Acting Superintendent DCI Evans who is the temporary stand-in for DCI Bain, who is recovering from an operation. It seems like Evans wants to get rid of both Bain and Norman in case they affect his ambitions.
A Body In The Forest is the seventh book in the West Wales Murder Mysteries series and the first one for me, though it can be read as a standalone. I was attracted to the book because of the number 37 tattooed on the first victim’s ankle. I like anything that may involve witchcraft, symbols and strange carvings (often into the body itself) but this turned out to be something quite different. Evans, however, is convinced that it’s connected to the pagan rituals carried out a few times a year, especially because of the location of the body – Dragon Forest is a place of myth and mystery – and the fact that it’s Halloween. Evidence be damned!
DNA shows that the victim was probably from the Middle East, which makes identifying her almost impossible if she was here illegally. However, when a second body is discovered, that proves to be easier, but the MO is totally different, so are they even connected? Norman and his band of merry men (and women) have their own ideas, which don’t sit well with Evans.
At the time of the first murder, six teenage friends were celebrating Halloween, but there was also a seventh, who could be key to the whole mystery. It’s all very complicated or so it seems.
It’s a great read and the characters of Norman and Southall are as endearing as Evans isn’t. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Peter Ford always dreamed of becoming a writer, but a dream is easily stifled without support from those around you. It was only when his old, unhappy life fell apart and he met his new partner (now wife) Mary, who believed dreamers should be encouraged, that he finally got the chance to live that dream. Fast forward a few years and you find a man transformed.
Now, blissfully happy, settled in a quiet corner of Wales with wife Mary and their rescue dogs, P.F. Ford is living proof that it’s never too late to achieve your dreams.
Where can you find them?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PFFordAuthor
Website: https://pfford.com/
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240349998-a-body-in-the-forest
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/bodyinforest-zbt
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