+ abuse, child abuse, crime fiction, family, fiction, friendship, kidnapping, loss, murder, police drama, police procedural, revenge, review, Scotland, serial killer
The First Cut (A Jane Renwick Thriller #1) by Val Penny
It’s hard to escape a brutal past. A vicious killer is on the loose. Victims targeted include an academic and members of Edinburgh’s high society.
When the Murder Investigation Team find out that the killer is connected to her past, DS Jane Renwick is banished to the side-lines and forced to look on as the manhunt ramps up at a ferocious pace.
#TheFirstCut @valeriepenny @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour
Has someone from Jane’s birth family returned to haunt her? Is one of her relatives involved? Where will the killer strike next?
This gripping police procedural is set in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The exciting novel is the first in Val Penny’s new series of Scottish thrillers.
My Review
Having read all three novels in the DI Hunter Wilson Edinburgh Crime Mysteries, I was looking forward to a new thriller featuring DS Jane Renwick, who we have already met many times. We don’t see Hunter in this book, but we do see Jane’s wife Rachael, Tim Myerscough (my favourite character) and his now girlfriend Gillian, Bear and Mel and lots of the others from the force.
There’s still a lot of banter in this one, a bit more swearing and constant tea and coffee, cakes and donuts. In fact the amount of hot drinks they partake in is enough to flood the police station and it did make me laugh.
But on to the story itself. Edinburgh has a serial killer on the loose. He or she (though apparently we are told that it is most likely a ‘he’ as there have only been four female serial killers in the UK and none of them in Scotland) has so far targeted ‘an academic and members of Edinburgh’s high society’. The victims appear to have nothing in common, except the women used the same fashionable hairdresser, an expensive cleaning firm, and a dog grooming parlour. All the victims had also registered with an online dating society called Alone in a Crowd. But why would that get them killed? There had to be more.
In the meantime, we have learnt a lot about Jane’s traumatic past. Having been removed by a social worker from her neglectful, abusive, drug-addled parents, she was separated from her siblings, but there is something in her DNA that might link her to the killer.
Another fast-paced, exciting read from this author, and I’m looking forward to the next book in the Jane Renwick series called A Fighting Chance.
Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Val Penny has an Llb degree from Edinburgh University and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store. Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction, and novels.
Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.
Follow her at:
Twitter : https://twitter.com/valeriepenny
Instagram : http://www.instagram.com/valerieepenny
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Authorvalpenny
Website : http://www.valpenny.com
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122788545-the-first-cut
Buy Links – https://geni.us/WAYcoj
+ adventure, child abduction, childhood, eighties, fantasy, fiction, friends, friendship, Ghost story, horror, kidnapping, mythology, paranormal, review, supernatural, superstition
Amongst the Mists by M.L Rayner
It was the most anticipated summer break of their young lives.
For Bran Lampshire, that summer of 1986 would be far different. The lure of a wilderness adventure sends him and his friends on a troublesome journey that would see them far from home and into the isolated shadows of the Sleathton Estate.
#AmongTheMists #MLRayner @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour
In a forgotten land where nature thrives, an unexplained mist settles upon the shaded grounds. And stories were told of events so chilling, they were forcibly buried over time.
Lose yourself beneath the endless trees. And discover that legends are sometimes so much more than ghost stories.
My Review
It all starts out as an innocent boys’ camping trip in the summer of 1986, when Bran, Marcus and Jack set off following the trail on Marcus’s antique map to the grounds of the Sleathton Estate. All seems well at first, but then Marcus falls off his bike and they are ‘rescued’ by a mysterious old man named Gregory. He takes them to his house in an abandoned village called Thyme and tells him about the myth surrounding the swamp, and the reasons why the village is now deserted. If they’d had the internet back then, I doubt they would have gone near.
Bran and Marcus have always been friends, but Marcus has invited Jack (who Bran calls ‘Special’ – it was the eighties remember), a slightly strange boy with odd coloured eyes. I really liked Jack, and Marcus, not so much Bran, who is a pain in the neck to be honest.
In the meantime, we hear from Olivia, a young girl wandering in the woods, near the swamp. But she’s been here many times and knows her way. Then she hears a voice that seems to be asking her to follow. The voice just repeats the same word ‘lost’ over and over. I found Olivia’s story the most harrowing. We feel her fear and ultimate panic.
Oh my goodness, what a creepy tale! It’s so cleverly written that I didn’t understand what was going on until the very last two chapters. And then it made sense. I never would have guessed. Would I want to go there and ‘check it out’? Not if my life (or my very soul) depended on it. Great stuff!
Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Born and bred in the county of Staffordshire. Matt is a keen reader of classical, horror and fantasy literature and enjoys writing in the style of traditional ghost stories. During his working life, Matt joined the ambulance service in 2009, transporting critically ill patients all over the UK. After writing his first novel, Matt now dedicates his time on future releases. His hobbies include genealogy and hiking, and he enjoys spending time with his wife, Emma, his children, and his family.
Follow him at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLRayner/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m.l.rayner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/M_L_Rayner
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63190613-amongst-the-mists
Buy Links – https://geni.us/j7cTyO
+ adventure, fantasy, fiction, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, supernatural, witchcraft, witches
Between the Dragon King and His Wrath by Barbara Russell
Revenge is a curse that can only destroy.
Princess Annika loves dancing, wearing bright gowns, and enjoying life. When she travels to the neighbouring kingdom of Walhack for the spring festival, she expects to make new friends. What she doesn’t expect is to meet Wlad, the former prince of Walhack now a slave in his own kingdom, starved and beaten by the violent usurper. Her attempt to help the fallen prince ends with her being assaulted and her father damaged for life.
Revenge is the only thing that keeps Wlad alive after the invaders occupied his kingdom, killed his parents, and turned him into a slave. Annika is the first ray of sunlight in years of pain and humiliation. Her kindness and compassion awaken the most dangerous feeling of all in his heart—hope.
#BetweenTheDragonKingAndHisWrath @brussell84Kiwi @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour
Desperate to take his kingdom back, he makes a pact with the Sister Witches. He’ll be cursed forever in exchange for the supernatural powers that will allow him to defeat his enemy.
Eight years later Annika doesn’t dance anymore. Doesn’t wear bright gowns anymore. As she struggles with her trauma, she has to meet King Wlad the Dracul—the Dragon King of Walhack who slaughtered his way back to the throne. Everyone says he’s cursed, turned into an immortal creature who seeks blood to survive. But she hopes he’s still the kind young man she met years ago.
This is a standalone, steamy paranormal/historical romance with a happily ever after. Trigger warning for explicit sex scenes, assault (off page), violence (off page), and trauma. There’s a time jump after the first few chapters. Cinnamon roll hero.
Here is a short extract from the book:
“She had to grab the wrought iron handle with both hands and pull with all her strength before the door swung inward. The bright lights of the corridor glared at her when she inched the thick and heavy door open. Distant voices, laughter, and music echoed from the lower floor. Music! She perked up on her toes, hearing the happy tunes of harps, flutes, and kettledrums. A fast tempo was beating through the castle, and even from her bedchamber, she could smell the scent of spiced roasted mutton and mulled wine. She shifted her weight, the music and scents teasing her. Oh, dash it. She wanted to go. Where were the servants? Was her maid already carousing without her?
“Chewing her bottom lip, she searched the hallway. The light from the torches hanging on the walls danced on the dark stone floor. Closed doors lined the corridor, but there was no one around.
“There… Her heart leapt when she spotted someone. Whoever it was, the person was slogging along the corridor, carrying a basket.
“Excuse me.” She stepped out of the bedchamber, a hand on the front of her dress to prevent it from falling. “Excuse me,” she repeated when the figure didn’t give any signs of having heard her.
“The sound of shuffling feet stopped as the servant paused. Under layers of tattered clothes was a young man, who stared at her in stunned silence. She stepped back. For some silly reason, she’d taken it for granted that the servant was an old woman. Now she wasn’t so sure she wanted this man’s help. But he had only to tie her belt. He didn’t need to enter her bedchamber or touch her. Of course, she wouldn’t tell anyone. Her papa would panic again and ship her to Sieben-Saxon for good.
“He touched his chest, mouth hanging open. “Are you talking to me, my lady?”
“I’m in need of assistance, sir.” She waved at him.
“He limped over to her, carrying the basket with one arm. As he came closer, shivers crawled down her spine, leaving a chill on her skin. His short dark hair was trimmed close to the scalp, showing a cut on his hairline. Despite his strong jaw and broad shoulders, his face still held the roundness of youth. She gathered he wasn’t much older than she was, perhaps a year or two. Although ancient pain swirled in his deep dark eyes. They were so dark that the pupils were lost in the black sea of the irises. Cuts and bruises marred his face, knuckles, and neck. Bones protruded from underneath his worn tunic. If anything, it wasn’t fear that gripped her heart as he walked closer, but compassion.
“My lady?” His baritone sent another set of shivers along her body. Deep and steady, it vibrated with an unexpectedly gentle note.
“I’m sorry to trouble you, but I need your help to tie my belt behind my back.” She
patted the saffron fabric. His gaze darted around, and his breathing sped up.
“My lady, that wouldn’t be appropriate. Lord Draga will punish you and me if he knows I touched your dress.”
“Why would Lord Draga care? Also, why did this servant speak in such a refined fashion?
“We’ll be quick. My belt only needs to be tied up. Please.”
Concern tightened his face, but he nodded. “As you wish, my lady.” He put the basket down, wincing as he bent over. Dried blood stained his sleeves and black eyebrows.
“Lord, you’re injured.” She couldn’t stop herself from eyeing his body. She wasn’t an expert on the art of healing as her mother had been, but sage oil would soothe those bruises. Something was wrong with his leg, judging by the awkward way he held it slightly up. Or maybe with his entire body.”
From the Author
“Love stories have always captured my imagination. What’s better than two people falling in love with each other? I write steamy romance, usually with a paranormal twist in an historical setting. Add a touch of suspense and mystery and a pinch of darkness. I love stories with strong, sexy heroes and mischievous heroines who pull no punches. I live in the City of Sails, New Zealand, drinking tea (coffee gives me anxiety) and devouring books.
“Join my newsletter for exclusive content and the chance to receive an ARC copy of my books. Just copy and paste this link into your browser:
Barbara’s Newsletter
“If you love steamy paranormal romance set in Victorian London, my Royal Occult Bureau series is for you:
The Royal Occult Bureau Series
“Are you into shape-shifter romance? Check out my da Vinci’s Beasts series, set in WW2:
da Vinci’s Beasts Series
“For more Victorian paranormal romance with witches and sexy warriors, see the Knights of the White Blade series:
The White Order Series
“Love steampunk? Check out my Auckland Steampunk series:
Auckland Steampunk Series
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RussellBarbara84
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brussellkiwi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brussell84Kiwi
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68057091-between-the-dragon-king-and-his-wrath
Buy Links – https://geni.us/qYezIr
+ campus drama, fiction, jealousy, kidnapping, marriage, revenge, review, stalker, thriller, University
No Place to Hide by J.S. Monroe
You might be paranoid, but that doesn’t mean they’re not watching you.
Adam lives a picture-perfect life: happy marriage, two young children, and a flourishing career as a doctor. But Adam also lives with a secret. Hospital CCTV, strangers’ mobile phones, city traffic cameras – he is convinced that they are all watching him, recording his every move. All because of something terrible that happened at a drunken party when he was a medical student.
Only two other people knew what happened that night. Two people he’s long left behind. Until one of them, Clio – Adam’s great unrequited love – turns up on his doorstep, and reignites a sinister pact twenty-four years in the making…
No Place to Hide is a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together the dark web, murder, and blackmail…
My Review
What a page-turner this became. Slowly setting the scene in two timelines – Adam’s life as a medical student at Cambridge in 1998, and today as a paediatrician, married with two lovely children. The perfect life? It should be, but it’s all based on a lie. Because when Adam was at university, he was obsessed with an arts student called Clio and this led him to make a fateful pact with another arts student – Louis.
They all met when Adam played Dr Faustus in a college production, and Clio was Mephistopheles. Life imitating art? Most definitely.
Clio warns Adam not to get involved with Louis or her but he doesn’t take any notice. Louis is going to make a film of Adam’s life as a student. God only knows why thinks Adam; his life is so boring. But he agrees anyway and that’s when it all goes horribly wrong.
Twenty-four years later, Adam’s perfect life is beginning to unravel. But it all seems too far-fetched and unbelievable. Is he really being watched, stalked, filmed, all over again? Is Louis back, calling in a sinister Faustian pact they made after a terrible event at a drug-fuelled party? Why has Clio suddenly turned up after all these years? And will Tania believe him when he swears he’s innocent?
It becomes a race against time as Adam tries to protect his family before his ‘deal with the devil’ is called in. But he has one ally in all this – his old university friend Ji, obsessed with computer games and the dark web, where shocking videos are posted on a now defunct website called rotten.com. It was a ‘shock site’ which ran from 1996 until 2012. It was described as: “An archive of disturbing illustration…devoted to morbid curiosities, pictures of violent acts, deformities, autopsy or forensic photographs, depictions of perverse sex acts, and disturbing or misanthropic historical curiosities.” But that was not the worst of it as we discover later in the book.
I was almost afraid to research rotten.com and the dark web, because you know what they say – just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean they are not after you. I’m waiting for a knock on the door…
This book was brilliant. By the end of stave nine on Pigeonhole, I almost bought the book on Kindle so I didn’t have to wait 24 hours for the final denouement. I’m glad I waited though. The ending was fantastic. I was almost late for work finishing it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
J.S. Monroe, the writing name of a well-known British author and journalist, read English at Cambridge University, worked as a freelance journalist in London and was a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4. He was also a foreign correspondent in Delhi for the Daily Telegraph and was on its staff in London as weekend editor. He is the author of five other novels and lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their three children.
Published by Aries Fiction and Head of Zeus:
Twitter: @AriesFiction
Facebook: Aries Fiction
Instagram: headofzeus
TikTok: headofzeus
+ Ceylon, family, fiction, friendship, grief, Historical fiction, history, literature, loss, love, memory, racism, relationships, review, Sri Lanka
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
Welcome to Cinnamon Gardens, a home for those who are lost and the stories they treasure.
Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home is nestled in the quiet suburb of Westgrove, Sydney – populated with residents with colourful histories, each with their own secrets, triumphs and failings. This is their safe place, an oasis of familiar delights – a beautiful garden, a busy kitchen and a bountiful recreation schedule.
#ChaiTimeAtCinnamonGardens #ShankariChandran #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour
But this ordinary neighbourhood is not without its prejudices. The serenity of Cinnamon Gardens is threatened by malignant forces more interested in what makes this refuge different rather than embracing the calm companionship that makes this place home to so many. As those who challenge the residents’ existence make their stand against the nursing home with devastating consequences, our characters are forced to reckon with a country divided.
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens is about family and memory, community and race, but is ultimately a love letter to story-telling and how our stories shape who we are.
My Review
If you were looking for a light-hearted, funny read, you might be surprised. This is not The Good Karma Hospital. I am devastated. Not because it’s not Good Karma, but because there are images I will never get out of my head. Why are people so cruel to each other? I don’t understand. We could all live together in peace so easily.
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens is a masterpiece and everyone should read it. Because it’s not just about the predicament of the Tamils or outright racism. (Imagine being asked a question and giving your answer in Tamil. Having petrol poured over you and being set alight. Answer in Sinhalese and they let you go.) It could be Nazi Germany and the Jews. Or Palestine and Israel. Or even Northern Ireland. Or homophobia or transphobia.
But off my soapbox and back to the book. It’s written from the point of view of a number of the characters. We also revisit timelines from the 1970s, 80s and 90s. It talks about the burning of the Jaffna Public Library which took place on the night of June 1, 1981. And the torture and genocide of so many people.
First we have Maya, now in old age, mourning the loss of her husband archaeologist Zakhir, ten years earlier, as well as her father in terrible circumstances many years before. ‘Possession of land is nine-tenths of the law. Possession of history is nine-tenths of the future,’ her father said. His book made him an outlaw.
Her daughter Anji is a twin, though her brother doesn’t really feature in the book. She runs Cinnamon Gardens now her mother has retired. She is married to Nathan and they have three children.
Then there is Nikki, whose daughter Florence died ten months ago, leaving her with a young son Oscar, and her husband Councillor Gareth Barton. At one point he behaves unforgivably towards his wife, but he has never really been able to grieve properly for Florence and it has torn them apart. He is still in the anger phase of grieving and is unable to move on.
Ruben is Tamil and works at the nursing home. He has been beaten up for being a person of colour, even in Australia. In many of ‘his’ chapters he takes us back to the terrible things that happened before he left Sri Lanka.
The elderly residents of Cinnamon Gardens are a real mix, all with ‘colourful histories, each with their own secrets, triumphs and failings’. They are all called Aunty or Uncle by the carers and visitors alike. Some of their back stories are heartbreaking, especially Uncle Saha Anna, who was a gemologist in Sri Lanka. Shanthi and Maya knew each other from University and still hate one another. Ray is Nikki’s father.
As the story unfolds, we witness not just the terrible events in Sri Lanka in previous decades, but also the creeping racism in modern Australia. Allowed to get totally out of hand, it results in the most devastating of consequences. Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens will be stamped on my memory for years to come.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Shankari Chandran was raised in Canberra, Australia. She spent a decade in London, working as a lawyer in the social justice field. She eventually returned home to Australia, where she now lives with her husband, four children and their cavoodle puppy, Benji. In January 2017, she published her first book with Perera-Hussein, called Song of the Sun God. Her second book, The Barrier, was published in June 2017.
+ feminism, fiction, literature, love, memoir, review, secrets, University
Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes
She will change the way you see the world .
Elizabeth Finch was a teacher, a thinker, an inspiration. Neil is just one of many who fell under her spell during his time in her class.
Tasked with unpacking her notebooks after her death, Neil encounters once again Elizabeth’s astonishing ideas on the past and on how to make sense of the present.
#ElizabethFinch #JulianBarnes @VintageBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour
But Elizabeth was much more than a scholar. Her secrets are waiting to be revealed . . . and will change Neil’s view of the world forever.
My Review
Neil is our narrator. A failed actor, with one marriage and divorce behind him (so far), he’s a mature student, who becomes fascinated by his lecturer Professor Elizabeth Finch, while taking her class on Culture and Civilization. She’s a typical blue-stocking, never married (as far as we know), wears tweed and brogues, has neatly coiffed hair – I kept imagining a spinster version of Margaret Thatcher.
Elizabeth Finch or EF as the students refer to her, has a deep, lasting effect on the members of his study group, particularly on Neil, but also on Anna, a Dutch girl with whom he has a strange kind of affair. Linda wants EF to help her with her love life or unrequited love (not sure why she would ask EF), and then there is Geoff who doesn’t find her fascinating at all. In fact he finds her views old-fashioned and obdurate. I have to admit I tended to agree with him much of the time.
It’s not really a story – nothing actually ‘happens’ in the traditional sense – it’s mainly Neil’s musings on his platonic relationship and strange crush on this charismatic woman, because once his degree is finished, he continues to meet her for lunch a couple of times a year. Barnes examines the unusual friendship between these two mismatched people. For Neil it’s probably the only satisfying relationship in his life.
After her untimely death, Neil meets her older brother Christopher, who refers to his sister as Liz and admits that he was never as clever as her, or as compelling. She has left her papers and books to Neil, including a lot of material about Julian the Apostate, and the rise of Christianity in Europe, with which he becomes obsessed. He considers writing her memoir, though neither he nor her brother seem to know vey much about her private life.
Elizabeth Finch is certainly not like anything else I have ever read. A fascinating insight, I would have liked to know more about Neil himself – he considers himself to be too dull to be worth writing about – but I feel it would have helped me to understand how and why he became so absorbed in his mentor.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Julian Barnes is the author of thirteen novels, including The Sense of an Ending, which won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Sunday Times bestsellers The Noise of Time and The Only Story. He has also written three books of short stories, four collections of essays and three books of non fiction, including the Sunday Times number one bestseller Levels of Life and Nothing To Be Frightened Of, which won the 2021 Yasnaya Polyana Prize in Russia. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d’honneur.
+ adventure, cosy mystery, crime fiction, Dogs, family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, friendship, love, murder, mystery, relationships, review, secrets, sisters
Barking Up The Right Tree by Leigh Russell
When Emily’s boyfriend walks out, she is devastated. As she is puzzling over what to do with the rest of her life, she is surprised to learn that her great aunt has died, leaving Emily her cottage in the picturesque Wiltshire village of Ashton Mead.
This inheritance comes with a condition: Emily must take care of her great aunt’s pet. Not knowing what to expect, Emily sets off for the village, hoping to make a new life for herself.
#BarkingUpTheRightTree @LeighRussell #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour
In the village, she soon makes friends with Hannah who runs the Sunshine Tea Shoppe, and meets other residents of the village where she decides to settle. All is going well… until her unknown pet arrives. Then Emily’s ex-boyfriend turns up and against the advice of her new friends, she takes him back.
When her next-door neighbour’s daughter disappears in mysterious circumstances, Emily decides to investigate, unwittingly putting her own life in danger…
My Review
What a lot of fun this book was! Our intrepid hero Emily, having lost her job and been dumped by her prat (I’m being polite or my review will get rejected) of a boyfriend Ben, has inherited her late aunt’s house in the depths of Wiltshire. But in order to keep the house, she has to agree to look after her aunt’s pet. Only she has no idea what it is. It could be a poisonous snake, a tarantula (eek), a stick insect (I hate those) or even a leopard (now I jest).
Phew! It’s only a goldfish. Except that turns out to be temporary. It’s actually a cute puppy called Poppy. She’s a Jack Tzu (Jack Russell crossed with a Shih Tzu – we have another name for those) and she’s friendly, playful and fluffy. Emily has no idea how to look after a pooch, but how difficult can it be? Bit of food – she’s only small – and two walks a day.
Emily soon makes friends in the village of Ashton Mead. There’s Hannah who runs the Sunshine Tea Shoppe and Toby who lives in Swindon, but cares for his disabled mum nearby. Emily is loving it in her new home, that is until Ben turns up and she takes him back. Nooo! I hear you cry. Hannah doesn’t trust his motives, Toby thinks he’s an idiot and Poppy hates him. And dogs know best, don’t they? If only she could talk.
Poppy also gets spooked by Emily’s next-door neighbour Alice, who is very unfriendly, except when it comes to talking about her daughter Sophie, who has gone travelling.
Emily’s new friends worry about her, She’s suspicious of everyone, not just Alice. She thinks her aunt’s death wasn’t an accident but has no proof of anything untoward, except her aunt saying she feared for her life – the day before she died.
Barking Up The Right Tree is an easy read, a cosy mystery, with a lovable dog at its core. I can’t wait for the next instalment of the Poppy Mystery Tales.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Alongside her popular DI Geraldine Steel detective novels, Leigh Russell is the author of the Poppy Mystery Tales, a brand new cosy crime series set in an idyllic English village. The stories feature Poppy, a lively puppy who helps her owner solve mysteries. Leigh has an MA in English Literature from the University of Kent. She has been shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger Award, the CWA Dagger in the Library, and the People’s Book Prize. Keen to support new writers, Leigh chairs the CWA Debut Dagger Judges, and is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. Leigh lives in London, near her two daughters and granddaughter. One of her daughters has a rescue puppy who inspired the Poppy Mystery Tales.
+ abuse, adventure, alcoholism, autism, childhood, crime fiction, dark humour, family, feel-good, fiction, friendship, grief, lies, List, literature, loss, love, Malaya, marriage, mental health, motherhood, murder, obsession, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, secrets, superstition, thriller, writer
My Top 8 Books of 2023 – Part One
Here are my favourite eight books of the first quarter of 2023. One of these will definitely make it into my top three books of 2023. While I read a lot of crime novels all these books are other genres, as a crime novel needs to be totally unique and exceptional to make it into my favourites.
So Pretty by Ronnie Turner
Part way through this I had to make a family tree so I could remember who was whose son or daughter. There are some unsavoury characters in each family – Teddy’s father, Ada’s mother and her mother’s mother. Then we have Mr Vincent, who is creepy and evil – at least that is what the townspeople think. I don’t disagree. He owns a shop called Berry & Vincent, but no-one goes in or shops there. Many years ago there was an antique shop in Cheltenham called Summerfields. It was jam-packed with stuff and he never sold anything. When he passed away, it turned out he was a millionaire. But I digress. I’m certain he was a very nice man and a trust was set up in his name.
For my full review click here
Someone Is Coming by TA Morton
This was one of the strangest books I have ever read. I mean that in a good way. It’s very short and is basically the story of 93-year-old Philip Goundry, now living in a care home in the UK, and how he gradually reveals his memories to Dr Lin.
But all is not as it seems. As he recalls, over a period of time, his childhood on a rubber plantation in Singapore, memories he has buried over decades start to emerge. His father was a good man, or was he? His mother ran away with a lover and was never seen again. His Amah and her superstitions – there was a pontianak, she said, a vampire girl from Malay and Indonesian mythology in the abandoned house where a woman died. This girl would draw men to their death. Don’t go near.
For my full review click here
Make Me Clean by Tina Baker
Having read both of Tina’s other novels, I knew what to expect. It wouldn’t be ordinary, the humour would be dark and the story wouldn’t pull any punches. And I wasn’t wrong.
Our main protagonist is Maria – a cleaner. But she’s no ordinary cleaner. She’s very good at getting blood out of the carpet and bodies out of the house. She could make a career out of it, if she didn’t feel so guilty.
First there might have been her traveller husband Joby, the love of her life, but initially there are only vague references to what may have happened.
For my full review click here
Em & Me by Beth Morrey
If it was possible to give six stars to Em & Me on Amazon or Goodreads, I would. Beth has the ability to create such believable characters. Delphine is wonderful, but at times she is so negative you want to scream at her. Daughter Em is a joy. She’s clever almost to the point of genius level but she’s never precocious or unlikeable.
Delphine’s French mother died when Delphine was a child and her father – a piano tuner – fell to pieces. He’s out of tune but he can’t retune himself. Delphine became his carer as well as being a single mum to Em. They live in a tiny flat with only her income. She and Em still have to share a bed. And then she gets the sack from the coffee shop where she works (personally I think she deserved a medal).
For my full review click here
Mother’s Day by Abigail Burdess
Get to the top of the list! This was totally bonkers and I loved it! It’s not even trying to be anything else (I hope I haven’t got that wrong). I’ve read a couple of reviews that said it rapidly spins out of control until it becomes utterly batshit crazy (latter are my words not theirs). I think that’s the whole point of the dark humour. To me it was perfect.
I read it in one sitting while I was off sick and my husband was at work, but I’d probably have taken the day off to finish it if I wasn’t (only joking work peeps).
For my full review click here
All The Little Bird-Hearts by Victoria Lloyd Barlow
Poor Sunday! Unloved by her mother, blamed for her sister’s death and then rejected by her husband, whom she refers to as the King, none of them understood her or why she behaves the way she does. Except maybe David at the farm, where she works. David is deaf and Sunday signs with him. He is probably my second favourite character, after Sunday.
As for her new next-door neighbours, Vita and her husband Rollo, they made my skin crawl from day one. Vita with her pretensions, her affectations and an accent so posh it’s ‘almost a speech impediment’, as someone once joked to me. I hope that’s not too un-PC. But Sunday is entranced by their charm, as is her sixteen-year-old daughter Dolly. Vita calls Sunday ‘Wife’ – no idea why – Rollo is Rols and Dolly is Doll.
For my full review click here
Murder Under The Tuscan Sun by Rachel Rhys
And now for something completely different. So not my usual genre, but I loved it.
Poor Constance! Too ‘old and fat’ to be any threat to the ‘ailing gentleman art dealer’, recovering from a bleed to the brain. That’s the view of the selfish, air-head Evelyn, who sees women’s only worth being decorative, forgetting that it takes more than that to be a good ‘companion’ to an intelligent man like William North. A man who disapproves of Mussolini’s black shirts and Evelyn’s husband Roberto happens to be one of them.
Not that Constance has any designs on her wealthy employer. Though after a year as a widow and many more since she had a proper relationship with her late husband, it’s difficult not to be attracted. Even in illness William is an imposing, handsome figure. But Constance has travelled alone to Italy to be his companion and nothing more.
For my full review click here
End Of Story by Louise Swanson
I’ve read three of Louise’s novels, written under the name Louise Beech. Nothing Else was one of my favourite books of 2022. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much while reading a book.
‘If you tell a story well enough, it’s true.’ says Fern. It’s her catchphrase, her motto.
End Of Story is very different. It’s set in the future, in a dystopian world where all fiction is banned. Once a month there is an amnesty at ALLBooks, where novels can be handed in without fear of prosecution. Like guns or knives.
For my full review click here
So that’s it! Back in three months with my next list of favourites. See you then!
+ art, celebrity, fiction, grief, jealousy, lies, literature, loss, love, marriage, relationships, review, thriller
The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop
‘It was always hard to tell where our marriage ended and my work began. I often dream now that I am drifting in a dark sea, the water around me lukewarm, like blood.’
Novelist JB Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Patrick is older than JB, formerly her professor. He is a film director. A cult figure.
But now his success is starting to wane and her art may overshadow his. For days they sail in the sun. They lie about drinking, reading, sleeping, having sex. There is nothing but dark water all around them.
Then a storm hits and Patrick falls off the ship. JB is left alone, as the search for what happened to Patrick – and the truth about their marriage – begins.
My Review
Initially I had very mixed feelings about this book. At one point I almost gave up. It’s not that the writing isn’t wonderful and beautiful – it is – it just spends so much time looking inwards and I probably don’t have the patience. Maybe if I was on holiday, lying on the beach, with nothing else to do I would have been more invested. I just wanted the story to move forwards.
But – the last part of the story was totally engrossing and unbearably sad. I can’t say more without giving anything away. I’m just so glad I didn’t give up.
We first meet JB when she is Patrick’s student at university. She, like everyone else, idolises him. He seems taken with her, to the annoyance of other students. Not only is he her professor, he’s also at least 20 years older than her. But they are soulmates, each helping the other to become the best at their art. Until Patrick’s fame starts waning, while JB’s career as a novelist is on the up.
On their anniversary – it never states how many years exactly, though at one point she says she is roughly the same age as Patrick was when they met – they go on a cruise. Then tragedy strikes, there’s a storm and Patrick falls overboard. Incidentally I didn’t like Patrick one bit. I found him to be controlling, selfish, narcissistic and secretly misogynistic.
The Anniversary looks at the truth about that fateful night as well as the truth about their marriage. It’s a fascinating insight into relationships, fame and jealousy.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Stephanie Bishop is a widely acclaimed novelist and critic. She is the recipient of multiple prizes, including The Readings Prize for New Australian Writing, the Literary Fiction Book of the Year Award, the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards (shortlisted), the Christina Stead Prize for fiction (shortlisted) and the Stella Prize (longlisted). She is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.
+ child abduction, childhood, crime fiction, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, kidnapping, lies, loss, marriage, motherhood, obsession, Psychological fiction, review, secrets
The Silent Midwinter by Jamie-Lee Brooke
Kate processes the mail day in, day out at Standington Prison. With her home life turning stale, she spends her days obsessing over the correspondence between an inmate and his girlfriend. Who is sexy Anna West and what does she see in a cold-blooded killer?
Kate also suspects her husband of having an affair. Harper, her stepdaughter, is full of teenage angst and resentment towards her. Her other stepdaughter, seven-year-old Felicity, has selective mutism, brought on by the trauma following her mother’s death.
#TheSilentMidwinter @Jamie_LeeBrooke @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour
One risky move follows another as Kate delves deeper and deeper into Anna West’s life. She’s not prepared for the danger she stumbles into – danger that will threaten her whole family as they are swept into a web of secrets and lies.
Just how far will Kate go to save her family?
The Silent Midwinter is an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller with a shocking twist that will floor you.
My Review
I fell asleep on the sofa last night and woke up at 1.30am. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I continued reading The Silent Midwinter from where I left off – about a third off the way through. Next thing it’s 5.30am and I have 30 mins to go. I did get back to sleep and when the alarm went off at 7am the first thing I did was finish the book. That was when one of the most unique twists occurred. I never expected that ending.
Our main character and narrator for much of the story, Kate, processes the mail at Standington Prison. She works with her best friend Mala and together they must decide what the prisoners are allowed to receive.
Two years ago she married a widower, whose wife was killed, leaving him with two daughters. Harper is in her mid-teens and is being bullied at school, for which she blames Kate’s job and the fact that Kate went to the school to report the bullying. Seven-year-old Felicity, or Fizzy, has selective mutism, brought on by the trauma of her mother’s death. But for some strange reason, she will only speak to Kate, while Harper appears to hate her.
Kate thinks her husband is having an affair, is bored and frustrated, and becomes obsessed with one of the inmates, whose glamorous girlfriend Anna West sends revealing and provocative photographs with her letters, which have to be sifted out and destroyed.
What Kate does next is both stupid and dangerous, putting herself and her family in danger from a gang of criminals. But just how far will she go to protect them?
It’s such an exciting book, so to say I literally could not put it down is no exaggeration.
Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Jamie-Lee Brooke is the pen name of Brooke Venables who lives with her twin sons in the Worcestershire area. She is an author of both horror and thrillers and works as a dental nurse which gives her plenty of scope to imagine putting people in uncomfortable situations. She loves her job and takes great satisfaction in helping people to smile.
Jamie-Lee’s biggest achievement to date is graduating after studying with the Open University for six years, achieving a BA Honours in Humanities with classical studies and creative writing. It was no mean feat whilst working and being a mum to twins who both have autism and learning difficulties.
Follow her at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063616654780
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jamie_LeeBrooke
TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/jamielee_brooke_author
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamielee_brooke_author/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122412407-the-silent-midwinter
Buy Links – https://geni.us/69QN
+ family, fiction, friendship, grief, Historical fiction, Italy, literature, loss, love, murder, review, suffragette movement
Murder Under The Tuscan Sun by Rachel Rhys
An isolated castle, a deadly crime. Is this real or a nightmare?
In a remote castle high up in the Tuscan hills secrets are simmering among its glamorous English residents:
The ailing gentleman art-dealer
His dazzling niece
Her handsome Fascist husband
Their neglected young daughter
The housekeeper who knows everything
and Connie, the English widow working for them
#MurderUnderTheTuscanSun #RachelRhys #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour
Every night, Connie hears sinister noises and a terrible wailing inside the walls. Is she losing her grip on reality?
Or does someone in the castle want her gone?
Filled with breath-taking Tuscan scenery, a sinister atmosphere and an English widow caught up in a family feud with a wandering murderer out to get her. Murder Under the Tuscan Sun is a compelling tale of classic crime with an escapist setting, a 1920s background, and vivid characters trapped in a murder mystery.
My Review
Poor Constance! Too ‘old and fat’ to be any threat to the ‘ailing gentleman art dealer’, recovering from a bleed to the brain. That’s the view of the selfish, air-head Evelyn, who sees women’s only worth being decorative, forgetting that it takes more than that to be a good ‘companion’ to an intelligent man like William North. A man who disapproves of Mussolini’s black shirts and Evelyn’s husband Roberto happens to be one of them.
Not that Constance has any designs on her wealthy employer. Though after a year as a widow and many more since she had a proper relationship with her late husband, it’s difficult not to be attracted. Even in illness William is an imposing, handsome figure. But Constance has travelled alone to Italy to be his companion and nothing more.
Evelyn’s eight-year-old daughter Nora from her first marriage is a stick-thin child with a crooked nose. Desperate for her mother to notice her, she soon forms an attachment of sorts to Constance, who has warmed to the child’s intelligence and wit.
I am not usually a reader of historical fiction, but every now and again, a location, a description, a setting or a historical event takes my fancy. Murder Under The Tuscan Sun is one of those. A castle in Tuscany with secrets hidden in its walls, eerie music in the night, ghosts even, but are they real or a figment of Constance’s imagination? Or is it something far more sinister?
Set mainly in 1927, when the ‘bright young things’ were partying between the two world wars, Constance knows she doesn’t fit in. As a widow in her late forties, her life is a daily grind. Her son James can’t believe she’s going to Italy to take up a position in a castle full of strangers, or is he just a little bit jealous?
I loved this book and read it in virtually one sitting. It has everything. Interesting characters, a beautiful setting described in perfect detail, intrigue and a giant dog called Solomon. Wonderful!
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
RACHEL RHYS is the pseudonym of psychological thriller writer Tammy Cohen. Her debut, Dangerous Crossing, was a bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club pick and was followed by A Fatal Inheritance and Island of Secrets. Rachel’s latest novel, Murder Under the Tuscan Sun is once again superb historical suspense crime, this time with an irresistible Italian 1920s setting. She lives in North London, with her three (allegedly) grown up children and her neurotic rescue dog.
Visit www.tammycohen.co.uk to find out more about her work, including her latest psychological suspense title The Wedding Party. You can also find her on facebook or twitter as @MsTamarCohen or on Instagram as @tammycohenwriter.
+ dystopia, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, reading, review, writer
End Of Story by Louise Swanson
Too much imagination can be a dangerous thing. It has been five years since writing fiction was banned by the government.
Fern Dostoy is a criminal. Officially, she has retrained in a new job outside of the arts but she still scrawls in a secret notepad in an effort to capture what her life has become: her work on a banned phone line, reading bedtime stories to sleep-starved children; Hunter, the young boy who calls her and has captured her heart; and the dreaded visits from government officials.
But as Fern begins to learn more about Hunter, doubts begin to surface. What are they both hiding?And who can be trusted?
My Review
I’ve read three of Louise’s novels, written under the name Louise Beech. Nothing Else was one of my favourite books of 2022. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much while reading a book.
End Of Story is very different. It’s set in the future, in a dystopian world where all fiction is banned. Once a month there is an amnesty at ALLBooks, where novels can be handed in without fear of prosecution. Like guns or knives.
‘If you tell a story well enough, it’s true.’ says Fern. It’s her catchphrase, her motto.
Fern Dostoy was a successful children’s author, the first children’s laureate and winner of awards and accolades. Until the ban. She lost her livelihood, her home, her sanity. She’s a criminal, masquerading as Fern Dalrymple, working as a cleaner at the hospital. Listening to the plans of the doctors. The madness, taken straight from her third novel.
One day a man selling tea from a van turns up on her doorstep. He has a scar on his face and is in a wheelchair. She doesn’t want his pity, but then he doesn’t want hers.
Eventually, she volunteers at a banned phone line, reading bedtime stories to young children who can’t sleep. That’s where she connects with Hunter, the boy who has captured her heart. But who is he really, and why does his call come through on the wrong phone?
End Of Story is intelligent, imaginative, creative and unique. You may never read another story like it. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Louise Swanson is the pen name of bestselling author Louise Beech, who has published eight novels with Orenda Books. Her work has previously been longlisted for the Not the Booker and Polari prizes and shortlisted for the Romantic Novel Award. She won Best Book of the Year with her 2019 psychological thriller Call Me Star Girl. In April 2023, Louise will also publish her memoir Eighteen Seconds with Mardle Books. She blogs regularly on louisebeech.co.uk, and is on Twitter under the name @LouiseWriter.
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