Ragnar Jónasson’s iconic, multi-million-copy bestseller, Snowblind, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a glittering new edition, including a never-before published prequel, Fadeout…
Siglufjörður: an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland, where no one locks their doors – accessible only via a small mountain tunnel.
Ari Thór Arason: a rookie policeman on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavik – with a past that he’s unable to leave behind. When a young woman is found lying half- naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and a highly esteemed, elderly writer falls to his death in the local theatre, Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one, and secrets and lies are a way of life.
An avalanche and unremitting snowstorms close the mountain pass, and the 24- hour darkness threatens to push Ari over the edge, as curtains begin to twitch, and his investigation becomes increasingly complex, chilling and personal. Past plays tag with the present and the claustrophobic tension mounts, while Ari is thrust ever deeper into his own darkness – blinded by snow, and with a killer on the loose…
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Fadeout
When Ari Thór Arason receives a staggeringly high bill for a foreign credit card that was taken out in his name, his life takes a turn he never anticipated. The bill in question belongs to his namesake – his father, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances when Ari was only a child.
Seeking answers, Ari Thór travels to London to investigate, hoping to learn the truth about what happened to his father all those years ago, and discovering far more than he could ever have imagined…
My Review
I almost wish I hadn’t read Fadeout first, because it gives the answers to many of the questions about his mother and father that Ari Thór Arason doesn’t yet know in Snowblind. I was on the blog tour for Winterkill – the last in the series – in 2021, but I can’t remember what he had discovered if anything. Winterkill was my third venture into Icelandic Noir, though not my last. It’s one of my favourite genres now and I have read many Icelandic authors.
But back to the books. My five stars goes to Snowblind, more so than Fadeout, which was great but maybe a bit overlong. It jumps back and forth from the time that Ari Thór Arason was a child when his father disappeared without a trace, and his mother died soon after – we know this much in Snowblind, but nothing more. We also discover that Ari Thór was studying Philosophy at University in Reykjavik, but changed to Theology. It was here that he met Kristin, but their relationship was a slow burner because Ari Thór spent most of his time trying to find out what had happened to his father. This was triggered after all these years by a credit card bill in his father’s name. I found it all a bit confusing to begin with, especially as so many other characters are introduced, both now and then. However, the ending is a revelation, one I would never have guessed, though looking back, perhaps I should have. There are a fair few clues along the way.
In Snowblind, Ari Thór has given up studying Theology and embarks on a career in the police force. He feels it will suit him better than being a priest. Before he has even finished his training, he lands a job in Siglufjörður, a small fishing village in Northern Iceland, where there are only two other police officers, a small population and a lot of snow. Siglufjörður was once an important part of the herring fishing industry, but the herring left Icelandic shores in the late 1960s, partly due to overfishing, a cooling of ocean temperatures, and a decline in their food source. It devastated Iceland’s economy.
Kristin is annoyed that Ari Thór took the job in Siglufjörður without discussing it with her, and he is annoyed that she isn’t supporting him. And then there is the beautiful Ugla, to whom he is irrevocably drawn.
Siglufjörður is not exactly the crime centre of Iceland, but when a young woman is found bleeding and unconscious in the snow, and an elderly author dies after falling down the stairs, Ari Thór is thrown straight into what might be a double murder investigation.
But this is an author where nothing is simple, and we are tossed about on a turbulent sea filled with red herrings (see what I did there) and false starts. When we think we’ve solved both crimes, something else crashes over us like the relentless winter storms and avalanches that turn everything on its head. It’s dark, claustrophobic and compelling in equal measures and I loved it.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Ragnar Jónasson is the award-winning Icelandic author of the international bestselling Hulda series, the Dark Iceland series, and standalone crime fiction, with five million copies sold across 36 territories. The Times selected The Darkness as one of the 100 Best Crime Novels and Thrillers since 1945, and Snowblind has been selected as one of Top 100 Crime Fiction of all time. The Times has said of his work: ‘Is this the best crime writer in the world?’ His books have been on bestseller lists across Europe and the USA, and won multiple prizes. He has also won a special jury recognition for his poetry in Iceland. Ragnar has translated fourteen of Agatha Christie’s novels into Icelandic. Ragnar was also an executive producer of the CBS Studios TV series The Darkness, based on the first novel in his Hulda series. His novel Outside is currently being developed for the screen by Ridley Scott. Ragnar has a law degree and teaches copyright law at Reykjavik University. He also serves as a board member of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, and as the Deputy Chair of the Writers’ Union of Iceland.
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.
Helsinki, 1982. Recently divorced postal worker Ilmari Nieminen has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but with six days to go – and no money – he’s desperate.
A last-minute job offers a solution: transport a valuable antique sofa to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost town in Finland.
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With the sofa secured in the back of his van, Ilmari stops at a gas station, and an old friend turns up, offering to fix his faulty wipers, on the condition that he tags along. Soon after, a persistent Saab 96 appears in the rearview mirror. And then a bright-yellow Lada.
That’s when Ilmari realises that he is transporting something truly special.
And that’s when Ilmari realises he might be in serious trouble…
My Review
I love that the ‘heroes’ of the author’s books all have mundane jobs. In The Adventure Park trilogy, our intrepid hero Henri Koskinen was an actuary, who had inherited the YouMeFun theme park with all the drama that ensued. Not a spy, or a detective, or a brain surgeon, but basically an accountant. Then in The Burning Stones, Anni Korpinen sold saunas. And not even the whole flaming thing, just the stove.
In The Winter Job, it’s 1982 when we meet postal worker Ilmari Nieminen. There’s nothing special about him. Recently divorced, he wants to buy his daughter a piano for Christmas, but he doesn’t have enough money, so he agrees to deliver a sofa to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost town in Finland. The sofa is admittedly a valuable antique, but surely it’s not valuable enough for the chase that follows.
Firstly, there’s the Lada, a really old-fashioned looking car made in the Soviet Union. It came in a variety of colours, including a bright lemon yellow. Driven by two mismatched communists, Anneli and Erkki, they want to use the sofa to raise money for their cause. But they are also being pursued by crazy Otto in his Saab 96, who has a different agenda. What does he know that they don’t? Something crucial of course. And don’t get in his way if you want to stay alive. Ilmari teams up with his old school friend Antero, but can he trust him? Or does Antero have his own agenda?
It’s often very dark, very gruesome, and very funny, all at the same time. And the method of killing the man who stole his leather jacket at a party is almost as bad as the first murder in The Burning Stones, which will remain branded on my memory for years to come. Antti Tuomainen’s books are unique in their humour and weirdness – once read, never forgotten. And again, the translation is perfectly seamless.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, his third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards and now a Finnish TV series. Palm Beach, Finland (2018) and Little Siberia (2019) were shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the first book in the trilogy will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios, and the first two books were international bestsellers. Antti lives in Helsinki with his wife.
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.
Grandad keeps forgetting more and more, and I worry that soon … he will forget me too.
But I know that he loves me and we can still have lots of fun, even if our treasured times together will only stay in my memories.
Genre: Children’s Fiction 3-9 Years
Publisher: HB Publishing
Number of pages: 40
Remember for you, is based on Nadine Holland’s own experiences with her beloved Dad and wanting to help her daughter understand. Her hope now is that this book will help other children and provide a space for them to express their feelings around Alzheimer’s.
My Review
What a beautiful and moving story. Granddad is starting to forget things, like the route to places he’s been visiting for years, and the words to songs. Soon it seems that granddad is forgetting more and more.
He can’t recollect the things he knew the day before. What if granddad forgets her? Will he still love her?
Mummy tells her not to worry, that you can still have fun together, and even though he may forget, it will still be in your memory.
I personally have no experience of dementia, but for those who do, this is such a wonderful way to explain to children how it can affect them and their relationship with an older relative. I hope it never affects me or my loved ones, but this book is there if it ever does.
Congratulations to Nadine for writing something so poignant and meaningful.
Link to the audio book on You Tube
Many thanks to Hygge Book Tours for inviting me to be part of the #RememberForYou #blogtour
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+ audio book, audio drama, family, family drama, fiction, Historical fiction, literature, review, siblings, sisters, Victorian Britain
The Household by Stacey Halls
In a quiet house in the countryside outside London, the finishing touches are being made to welcome a group of young women.
The house and its location are top secret, its residents unknown to one another, but the girls have one thing in common – they are fallen. Offering refuge for prostitutes, petty thieves and the destitute, Urania Cottage is a second chance at life – but how badly do they want it?
Meanwhile, a few miles away in a Piccadilly mansion, millionairess Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of the benefactors of Urania Cottage, discovers that her stalker of 10 years has been released from prison . . .
As the women’s worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . .
The Household is the new novel from the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars , The Foundling and Mrs England. Set against Charles Dicken’s home for fallen women and inspired by real figures from history, it is Stacey Halls’ most ambitious and compelling novel yet.
My Review
Another audiobook, this time from Audible, and my fourth by this author. I eagerly await her next offering.
In The Household, it is 1847, when we meet a group of women who have fallen on hard times, and ended up in prison, or working the streets. Martha is the first to arrive and seems too good and innocent to be there. I was never really sure why she was, but I adored her. Then we have Josephine and Annie, who met in prison and became really close. About to be released, they are chosen to go to Urania Cottage, where they will learn skills like baking, sewing and playing an instrument. But after a while they will travel to Australia to begin new lives. Who will want to go?
Angela Burdett-Coutts, heiress of Coutts bank, is one of the benefactors, but like celebrated author Charles Dickens, she doesn’t really understand these women and their needs. Angela has been stalked by the deranged Richard Dunn for a decade, and he has made her life hell. She discovers that he has been released after serving time in prison, and she is now terrified that it will all start again.
Urania Cottage is run by Mrs Holdsworth, who tries her best to keep the young women in check, without it seeming like another prison. Her son Frank is a frequent visitor – he is a lowly PC in the Met.
I loved this book. I loved every character (the good ones anyway), particularly Martha and Josephine. They are so well-written and their situation and wretchedness draw us in, we just want them to have a happy ending. I’m not saying anything! There are often little clues – will Frank have a romance with one of the women, will Angela find love and with whom? There is drama and sadness, women were second rate citizens, even Angela in spite of being a millionairess. For the less fortunate, a woman of high intelligence and education, being a governess was considered the pinnacle if she hadn’t ensnared a wealthy husband. The Household is a fascinating look at the lives of women in the mid 1800s.
About the Author
Stacey Halls was born in Lancashire and worked as a journalist before her debut The Familiars was published in 2019. The Familiars was the bestselling debut hardback novel of that year, won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards’ Debut Book of the Year. The Foundling, her second novel, was also a Sunday Times top ten bestseller. Mrs England was her third novel. The Household is her fourth.
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, murder, narcissist, police procedural, revenge, review, thriller
The Surgeon by John Nicholl
Your life is in his hands… Exactly where he wants it.
When an eminent surgeon is arrested for murder, he knows he didn’t do it. He knows what it’s like to feel a person die on his operating table, but he didn’t inflict the wounds that ended the life of the girl they say he killed.
So, when the real perpetrator comes forward, and he is released, he feels vindicated.
Genre: Psychological Thriller / Thriller
Pages: 266
Publisher: Boldwood Books
What nobody knows – not the officer who arrested him, nor the influencer who petitioned for his freedom, nor the girl who escaped a killer years before – is that while he was incarcerated, he was making a plan.
Because revenge is sweet. But murder is sweeter…
My Review
I found this book very unsettling and I’ve read some pretty gruesome crime thrillers. Maybe it was because we hear from the voice of the killer himself and what goes through his head is disturbing to say the least.
He has a very high opinion of himself, believing that he is superior to virtually everyone else in the world. He is intelligent, educated, wealthy, and totally barking.
We know from the beginning that he didn’t kill the girl whose body he was found bending over, his face and hands covered in her blood like some kind of demented vampire. But though he didn’t kill her, we know he is not an innocent bystander, and that either he has killed before, or plans to in the near future. In fact we know he tried and failed ten years ago and he’s not going to let that one go. Because he has a plan. His killings will be carried out for medical science, so he can study their suffering and deaths. But it’s also about revenge plain and simple.
One wonders how he ever managed to work as a surgeon without anyone spotting his lunacy, but then I suppose he managed to keep it well under wraps.
The Surgeon is a very entertaining, if graphic and terrifying book. It’s definitely not for the faint-hearted.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of #TheSurgeon blog tour.
About the Author
John Nicholl is a Welsh author renowned for his gripping psychological thrillers and crime novels. Born and raised in West Wales, Nicholl draws upon his experiences as a former police officer, child protection social worker, and lecturer to craft compelling narratives that delve into the darkest corners of human nature. His work often explores themes of justice, psychological manipulation, and the resilience of the human spirit.
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Now you see a murder, now you don’t…
The Golden Age of Hollywood, 1938. It’s the annual Awards Banquet at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, and Vivian Steele can’t wait for the star-studded event. She’s attending with her best friend, Carole Lombard, and several acclaimed actresses will be wearing her fashion designs. What she doesn’t expect is for the night to turn deadly.
During the awards ceremony, Carole finds an actress stabbed to death in the restroom. She quickly alerts the staff, but when they return, they can’t find a body. An hour later, another guest screams bloody murder that an actor drowned in the pool outside. Again, the body disappears.
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While the guests have a good laugh, Vivian is convinced the murders took place and reluctantly asks Preston Stone, Hollywood’s notorious playboy, for his help in proving her suspicions.
Together, they uncover a sinister killer who has mastered the art of illusion and set his sights on two Oscar-winning stars. Can Vivian and Preston stop the killer in time…and without revealing their well-kept secrets?
A Bloody Banquet is the second book in this exciting new 1930s Stone & Steele mystery series starring a great cast of characters ranging from the rich and famous to Bella and Boris, the canine costars, and a few other endearing folks. (A pretty clean read – series or standalone)
My Review
Our intrepid heroes are back in book two in the exciting new series – the Stone & Steele Mysteries. And of course Bella, the Boston Terrier, and her friend, Boris, the giant Saint Bernard are back too. They are part of the book’s attraction for me as a dog lover. Since reviewing book one I got a Jack Russell puppy, who is about the same size as Bella, so ALL her doggy friends are bigger than her, though not as big as Boris.
But I digress. Vivian is best friends with the film star Carole Lombard. They are at an awards ceremony at The Cocoanut Club, when Carole discovers a dead woman in the Ladies Restroom. But when they return to investigate the body has disappeared. Was it ever there or did Carole imagine it? But then another guest discovers a body floating in the swimming pool, which also mysteriously vanishes. No-one believes them of course, but Vivian is not so sure. It’s not like her friend to make things up.
One of the things I love about this series is the real life film stars that feature in the stories. Actors like Clark Gable, who was famously married to Carole Lombard until her premature death in 1942 in a plane crash (historical fact not a spoiler), Bette Davies and Spencer Tracy. Their involvement in the plot of course is entirely fictional.
Preston Stone and Vivian Steele still dislike each other, though we know they don’t really. Vivian is a dress designer to the stars, while Preston is a wealthy playboy. He’s everything she hates, but they still make a great team as he is always reminding her. And then there are Nick and Barney, who help Preston with his investigations. It’s a great series, full of excitement and intrigue and I look forward to book three.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Award-winning author Gail Meath writes historical romance novels that will whisk you away to another time and place in history where you will meet fascinating characters, both fictional and real, who will capture your heart and soul. Meath loves writing about little or unknown people, places and events in history, rather than relying on the typical stories and settings.
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+ 1950s, alcoholism, bullying, childhood, family, family drama, fiction, marriage, motherhood, review
The Butterfly Bush by Josephine DeFalco (Book 1 of The Butterfly Series)
Growing up and figuring out who you are has never been easy. It’s the early 1950s, and following her husband’s death in WWII, Leandra’s mama yanks her off the family’s Appalachian farm to fulfill her personal dream to live in a big city.
Leandra, only thirteen years old, learns that survival is best accomplished by pushing aside her country identity to fit into city life.
After high school graduation her rich city boyfriend makes plans to start college while she struggles to find work and juggle family issues. Mama turns to alcohol to ease her disappointment with her new husband, while Leandra is left to look after her little brother burdened with troubles of his own.
In time she discovers she doesn’t belong in the big city or the country. As her Appalachian ways call her to heart, drawing her back to Mamaw, Papaw, the butterfly bush, and home, she must follow her journey to the end. But what her journey reveals will remain both a mystery and surprise–especially to Leandra.
My Review
I loved Leandra as a character. I felt every sympathy for her living a life that is totally out of my experience. It’s the early 1950s, just before I was born, and Leandra is still a child. Her father was killed in the war and she lives with his parents, whom she calls Papaw and Mamaw, and her mama. She has a little brother Ray, who is a bit ‘slow’.
Everything is fine until mama starts dating, and finally decides to marry Roger, and move with him to New York. The children are understandably devastated. They don’t want to leave their grandparents, their home or the butterfly bush which means so much to them.
Life is very different in the city, and it takes a while for Leandra to get used to it, but she makes friends with some girls at school, an Italian boy named Sal, their neighbour Mrs Scuderi and of course the boys who are not averse to her looks.
But for Ray it’s another matter. Sent to a Catholic school, he struggles with every aspect. He finds anything academic beyond him and is bullied and told he is stupid. Ray’s story is so sad, as no-one apart from Leandra seems to understand his unhappiness. Nowadays, he would be sent to a specialist school, where he could be helped and encouraged, but things were very different then.
So much of Leandra’s life is sad, with her alcoholic mama, her troubled brother who she has to take care of, and the dreadful Roger. I think I would have taken Ray and gone home to Mamaw and Papaw. There is so little light in the darkness and things only get worse. I just hope Leandra finds her happiness in Book Two.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of #TheButterflyBush 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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The jungle watches. The dead remember.
The virgin rainforest seems a paradise to Englishman Simon Corbett. A last chance to salvage his career. A final refuge from a terrible secret.
But the jungle is no Eden. It hides secrets of its own. It does not forgive.
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As Simon is drawn deeper into its haunted shadows, he learns to his horror that the past will not stay buried. For there are places in the forest where the line between the living and the dead is thinner than the skin of water.
A terrifying supernatural tale from Sunday Times bestseller Michelle Paver, author of Dark Matter, Thin Air and Wakenhyrst.
My Review
I’ve only read one book by this author – Wakenhyrst – which was brilliant, so I knew this would be too. But oh what an unlikable main character and narrator! Simon Corbett really is a creep and a stalker and the fact that this is set in the early 1970s is no excuse. Things were different then? My era – and no they weren’t.
Simon has never had a relationship before, but he falls head over heels in love with a girl called Penelope, around twenty years his junior. She’s bright, young and fashionable, and while she is happy to have the odd coffee with Simon, she is not looking for a relationship with him. But he won’t let go. We know something awful happened, but we only learn about it gradually throughout the book.
It’s why he fled England to join an archaeological dig for three months in a virgin rainforest in Mexico. It was the home of the Mayans, who left their mark on the jungle, and the Yachikel Indians still live there. But Simon is not interested in archaeology or Mayan superstition – he’s there to collect mantids – hoping to find a new species that will give him tenure at a university. His methods include fogging the great ceiba (kapok) tree, but it kills other forms of wildlife in the process. The Yachikel are not best pleased.
The sense of impending horror is one that creeps slowly and insidiously – it never jumps out at you or provides instant shock value, but it’s there all the same. There were times when Simon and most of his colleagues like Ridley and Birkenshaw were so vile that I even hoped the howler and spider monkeys, which Simon dislikes intently, would get them.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Born in Malawi to a Belgian mother and a father who ran the tiny Nyasaland Times, Michelle Paver moved to the UK when she was three. She was brought up in Wimbledon, and following a Biochemistry Degree from Oxford University, she became a partner in a big City law firm. She gave up the City to follow her long-held dream of becoming a writer. Successfully published as an adult author, the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness (“Wolf Brother”) were her first books for younger readers, followed by her brilliant 5-part series set in the bronze age, Gods and Warriors. On the adult side, her first ghost story, Dark Matter, was a UK bestseller and won massive praise from reviewers and readers alike, as did her supernatural novels, Thin Air and Wakenhyrst.
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, murder mystery, mystery, police drama, police procedural, psycopath, review, serial killer
The Caller by Chris Carter (Robert Hunter #8)
Be careful before answering your next call. It could be the beginning of your worst nightmare.
After a tough week, Tanya Kaitlin is looking forward to a relaxing night in, but as she steps out of her shower, she hears her phone ring. The video call request comes from her best friend, Karen Ward. Tanya takes the call and the nightmare begins.
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Detectives Robert Hunter and Carlos Garcia are thrown into a roller-coaster of evil, chasing a predator who scouts the streets and social media networks for victims, taunting them with secret messages and feeding on their fear.
My Review
Welcome to post number eight on this fab #blogathon. I will be reviewing one book per month.
Well this was very different. And a word of warning for any potential serial killer – sometimes you need to be wary of who you choose as your next victim, as you never know what you may have inadvertently set in motion.
But I’m jumping forward. Our first victim is beautician Karen Ward. But she’s not the only victim of this grisly killing, because the killer has used her phone to video call her best friend Tanya Kaitlin and make her watch his little game. Nice. And it wasn’t a fun watch.
But the next murder is slightly different. Yes it includes the video call, and the victim’s husband being made to watch her grisly demise, but never mess with Mr J. who is not your average ‘victim’ of a crime.
And so begins a game of cat and mouse, the killer being pursued by Detectives Robert Hunter and Carlos Garcia before he strikes again. But they are not the only ones seeking the killer, and God help him if they don’t get there first.
I’m not sure how I feel about this twist in the tale. It gave the reader a unique experience in the Robert Hunter series, but for me I prefer not to introduce another dimension, but having done so I would have personally liked to see a different ending. Still a great read though and looking forward to The Gallery of the Dead next month.
Many thanks to @Tr4cyF3nt0n for inviting me to be part of the #CompulsiveReaders #blogathon.
About the Author
Born in Brazil of Italian origin, Chris Carter studied psychology and criminal behaviour at the University of Michigan. As a member of the Michigan State District Attorney’s Criminal Psychology team, he interviewed and studied many criminals, including serial and multiple homicide offenders with life imprisonment convictions. He now lives in London. Visit his website www.chriscarterbooks.com
+ audio book, audio drama, fiction, Georgian England, Historical fiction, magic, Magical realism, prostitution, review
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar read by Juliet Stephenson
One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock finds one of his captains waiting eagerly on his doorstep. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid.
As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society, where he meets Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on… and a courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course.
What will be the cost of their ambitions? And will they be able to escape the legendary destructive power a mermaid is said to possess?
My Review
Let me just say that you will need to be patient. It’s a long book which meanders along, sometimes not knowing exactly where it is going, and I occasionally struggled to follow the intertwining plot strands. So why 5 stars I hear you ask? Many reasons. The stories are richly woven, the characters beautifully drawn, and the language both masterful and poetic. And then there’s Juliet Stephenson’s narration which is always amazing.
The main strands include the story of widower Jonah Hancock, a merchant whose ship has been sold in exchange for a mermaid. At first he is horrified, but then he sees the potential. He is ably helped by his niece, 14-year-old Suki, probably my favourite character.
Then we have Angelica Neal, prostitute and courtesan, and Jonah is captivated by her beauty. Her ‘housekeeper’ Eliza Frost has her own story, but that comes much later.
Mrs Chappell runs a high class brothel, where ‘gentleman’ go for their entertainment. Some of the scenes are quite shocking, so be prepared. There is a lot of historical detail about the brothel, its clientele, and the often very young girls who work there, and some of it shows the racial prejudice and outright misogyny of the time, much of which is still relevant today. Just listen to the heated exchange between Eleanor (one of the girls) and the ghastly Georgie, Angelica’s young lover.
I’m not sure how to describe this book. It’s very different from my usual read. It has elements of magical realism, and while it is trying to tell us about the dreadful lives of women in particular, and the poor in Georgian England, it’s also trying to make a point morally and philosophically, and for me it definitely succeeded. Ultimately, be careful what you wish for!
About the Author
Imogen studied Archaeology, Anthropology and Art History at UEA’s Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts before going on to work in museums. She began to write small pieces of fiction inspired by the artefacts she worked with and around, and in 2013 won the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at UEA.
She won the Curtis Brown Prize for her dissertation, which grew into a novel titled The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock. An early draft was a finalist in the MsLexia First Novel Competition 2015, and it was also one of three entries shortlisted for the inaugural Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers’ Award.
Imogen lives, works, and walks around south-east London – an area whose history she takes a keen interest in – and her first novel, The Mermaid & Mrs Hancock, was published in 2018.
The night they told me my baby didn’t survive, I heard it. One tiny cry.
I ran and never came back. Not for sixteen years. Not until a stranger found me and handed me a note that chilled me to my core: It’s happening again. Come home before she dies too.
Now I’m back in the hometown I swore I’d escape forever.
#OneTinyCry X(Twitter) @ZooloosBT #ZooloosBookTours #booktwitter
Instagram @zooloosbooktours #bookstagram #blogtour
My mother is dying.
My best friend Caitlin vanished years ago.
And someone is watching me – leaving dolls carved in my likeness, knowing my secrets, dragging me back to the night that ruined everything . . .
My Review
This was crazy bonkers at times and I loved every minute. Anything to do with religious cults is up there with my favourite genres, and One Tiny Cry is one of the best I’ve ever read. But it did get more out there as we progressed. No-one believes Darla that there is something weird going on in the town she left sixteen years ago, though as the reader we never doubt her for a moment. Nothing indicates that she might be an unreliable narrator.
I really wanted to slap Darla’s ‘best friend’ Emmie, who starts out on her side, but then starts to agree that she needs therapy for her imagined threats. And as for her other friends? As they say – with friends like that who needs enemies .
In the meantime, Darla’s mum is really sick and seems to be going downhill too fast. She is being cared for by nurse Trina, the same nurse who delivered Darla’s stillborn baby girl sixteen years ago. Trina gave me the creeps.
Darla loves gardening like her late father, and has a plant called Percy (plus a dozen plant ‘patients’) who she takes with her when she goes home, and even straps him in with a seat belt. Oh and she talks to him. Maybe talking to a plant is a bit odd, but who am I to judge. Sounds like me and my dog (yes, she has her own seat belt).
The twist at the end may be a bit much for some readers, but I thought it was ridiculously brilliant. This maybe one of my favourite books of 2025.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Christina Delay is an award-winning author of psychological suspense, as well as mythological-based fantasy written under the pen name Kris Faryn. A wanderer by heart, Christina’s latest adventure has led her and her family—a supremely patient husband, two adorable patooties, and a mischievous, senior citizen cat—to the southwest of France.
When not planning their next quest, Christina can be found writing on her terrace, hosting writing retreats in the Caribbean and other exotic places, sneaking in a nap, or convincing her patooties to call her Empress. If you love books about complex characters who never know when to quit, with a good bit of will-they or won’t-they tension, check out her books, give her a follow on Facebook, or Instagram and visit her website, or sign up for her never-boring, hopefully-not-annoying newsletter.
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241206169-one-tiny-cry
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/onetinycry-zbt
Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorchristinadelay
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorchristinadelay/
Website: https://www.christinadelay.com/
+ crime fiction, dark humour, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, List, murder mystery, mystery, supernatural, superstition, thriller, Victorian Britain
My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part Three
Here are my favourite ten books of 2025 Part Three, including audiobooks, as I haven’t listened to enough to have their own post this quarter. As usual quite a disparate selection.
The Empty Cradle by Lisa Rookes
This was so good. I’m not sure how a story could be scary, creepy, and really funny at the same time. I think that’s because it’s so well written it can be serious, dark and hilarious without ever being in bad taste or offensive (though there is a bit of swearing. Get over it).
Amy and Joel have the perfect life. Or so it seems. They buy houses, do them up and flip them for a nice profit. Except Joel is desperate for a family, and Amy is struggling to get pregnant. Then all at once, Amy has lost the cottage she had put in a sealed bid for, found out her pregnancy test is negative, and discovered that Joel is having an affair with her best friend.
For my full review click here
One For Sorrow by Sarah A Denzil Isabel Fielding #1
I know some people had an issue with the plot twist, but I didn’t see it coming and I don’t care. And yes the ending went into the realms of the sublime to the ridiculously far fetched, but again I don’t care because it’s fiction and I found it highly entertaining. If I wanted mundane I’d watch a soap opera (no thanks) or read a cosy crime (which I do as well).
I think one of the things I loved the most about One For Sorrow is not knowing whether Leah is innocent. ‘… a young woman with a sweet, gentle nature, someone she could never see as a murderer.‘ according to Leah. And the reader doesn’t have a clue either. And I’m not saying, because that would spoil everything.
For my full review click here
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
I got this audiobook from Borrowbox. It’s such a great service from the library and it’s free. Plug for our libraries, but let’s get on with the book itself.
As you know Gothic mystery / horror is one of my favourite genres, particularly the ones where an often feisty governess (in this case she’s a children’s nurse) takes a job at a remote house in the countryside. It’s spooky with shadows on the walls of corridors and messages written on mirrors, and the master is dark and broody. And handsome – obviously. The mistress is often ill (or dead) or locked in the attic (think Jane Eyre). Or supposed to be dead, but lives in the attic. But I digress.
For my full review click here
The Betrayal of Thomas True by A J West
This book is undoubtedly a masterpiece, a modern classic, but it was hard to read at times. The way people were treated was unbelievable, with punishments as cruel as they could possibly be. The bull defies imagination. Who could come up with something like that?
Thomas True is the son of the reverend and his wife in Highgate. The reverend is a cruel man who regularly beats his own son and even puts him in the pillory to be stoned and ridiculed. Thomas eventually runs away to London where he meets first Jack and then Gabriel and becomes a patron of Mother Clap’s molly house, where gay men could be themselves, but risked execution if caught. As someone whose usual historical novel is Gothic mystery of the Victorian period, I was out of my comfort zone with Georgian England.
For my full review click here
An Evil Mind by Chris Carter (Robert Hunter #6)
This is definitely my favourite so far, even without Garcia at Robert’s side. In An Evil Mind, Detective Robert Hunter is called by the FBI to help with a case. There’s been an accident in the car park of a diner, and the truck that was hit has a surprise in the back. A freezer containing half a ton of oven chips? Cookie dough flavoured Häagen-Dazs? No, two severed heads. After all, this is Chris Carter, what else would we expect?
The case has immediately been handed over to the FBI. They have someone in custody, but he is asking for Robert, and him alone. Who is this man and why Robert? All is soon revealed, but can he believe that the suspect is innocent, and that he was simply delivering the truck.
For my full review click here
The Wish by Heather Morris
In 2004, when my younger son was in sixth form, 15-year-old Laura E. was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. More than 400 people turned out to give blood samples to The Anthony Nolan Trust one Thursday night in a bid to save her life, even many who didn’t know her. She needed a bone marrow transplant.
I remember sitting with my sister-in-law crying as we read of the failed transplants, and how she chose to let go. It was one of the bravest and saddest things I’ve ever read.
A lot of books make me cry, but this one had me in tears for much of it. Maybe it was because of the memory of that brave girl, or I would have done so anyway, but The Wish handles it so sensitively. It never shies away from the feelings of anger as well sorrow.
For my full review click here
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
I read The Foundling by this author with my online book club in 2020. I adored it, but not sure why I didn’t pick up another of her books until I listened to Mrs England just over a month ago. I loved that as well, so I thought I’d better listen to The Familiars. I used Borrowbox from the Library for both.
The Familiars is based on the real case of the Pendle Hill witch trials in Lancashire in 1612. ‘The trials occurred during the reign of King James I, a staunch believer in witchcraft who introduced the death penalty for it.’ The characters in the book are mostly real people of the time, but the story is pure fiction.
For my full review click here
The Howling by Michael J Malone
In the first book in the Annie Jackson series, we had flashbacks to the time when witches were strangled and their bodies thrown on a blazing pyre. In Book Three, The Howling, it’s about wolves.
Jean and Mary are sisters who have fallen out. One lives in a great hall, while the other lives in a hovel with her son Andra and two daughters. It’s the year 1707 and Andra saves a wolf cub, which he calls Laddie. He is the last wolf left in Scotland, as all the others have been killed. As Andra and Laddie become close, their souls begin to merge as one. Andra knows that if the wolf takes over he will be lost forever. Hundreds of years later, Drew has flashbacks to Andra’s life and his relationship with Laddie.
For my full review click here
The Therapy Room by OMJ Ryan
I couldn’t stop reading this – it’s real edge of your seat stuff! I started one evening but fell asleep with an hour to go, woke up at 6 am and finished it.
Initially, we know very little about Shelly, only that Olivia believes she did something so terrible fifteen years ago that it destroyed her life and that of her family. We don’t know what to believe, but no matter what it was, Olivia’s methods of getting revenge made me cringe. I couldn’t justify what she did for any reason whatsoever.
For my full review click here
Nine Dolls by Rupa Mahadevan
I’m not sure why I am finding this so hard to review. Maybe it’s because the plot is so twisty and intense. Maybe it’s because there are a lot of characters, and I initially struggled to remember who was who. But mainly I think it’s because I gave up trying to work it out and let myself go with the flow.
Firstly, I must say that I find festivals from other cultures really fascinating and I had never heard of Navaratri, the Hindu Festival of Dolls, and as we are told in the book blurb, the dolls ‘are not toys. They’re part of a sacred tradition’. Once set up, they must not be moved till the festival is over, so when someone starts moving them, and the scenes playing out represent each of the character’s deepest, darkest secrets, it becomes very sinister.
For my full review click here
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