+ autism, childhood, coming-of-age, family, fiction, literature, love, motherhood, relationships, review
All The Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
I lived for and loved a bird-heart that summer; I only knew it afterwards.
Sunday Forrester lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Dolly, in the house she grew up in. She does things more carefully than most people. On quiet days, she must eat only white foods. Her etiquette handbook guides her through confusing social situations, and to escape, she turns to her treasury of Sicilian folklore. The one thing very much out of her control is Dolly – her clever, headstrong daughter, now on the cusp of leaving home.
#AllTheLittleBirdHearts #VictoriaLloydBarlow @headlinepg @TinderPress #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour
Into this carefully ordered world step Vita and Rollo, a couple who move in next door, disarm Sunday with their charm, and proceed to deliciously break just about every rule in Sunday’s book. Soon they are in and out of each others’ homes, and Sunday feels loved and accepted like never before. But beneath Vita and Rollo’s polish lies something else, something darker. For Sunday has precisely what Vita has always wanted for herself: a daughter of her own.
My Review
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. It’s like those people who refer to rugby as rugger, ‘Oh did you play rugger when you were up at Oxford, what.’ I’m not even sure how to use it in a sentence.
Vita arrives one day on Sunday’s doorstep, invites herself in and breaks every rule in Sunday’s etiquette handbook. Sometimes Vita turns up in an evening gown, at other times she’s wearing Rollo’s pyjamas with no underwear. She brings her little dog called Beast, smokes incessantly and assumes everyone adores her. Well I didn’t.
Sunday and Dolly are invited to Vita and Rollo’s Friday night dinner every week, where they drink copious amounts of Champagne (Sunday will only drink fizzy drinks), red wine and port. The menu includes hare (I remember my father cooking jugged hare and it smelled disgusting) and steak Tartare (in other words raw mince). My dad ate the latter as well.
I’m too squeamish, I’m afraid, to eat anything so ‘adventurous’, if that’s what you call it. Dolly is becoming increasingly frustrated with her mum, who has days where she only eats white food, and loves how Vita and Rollo have no such ‘issues’. Sunday has autism (about which I know very little), but neither her mother nor husband understood, just considered her outspoken, annoying and difficult. To Dolly she is just boring, while to Vita, Sunday is simply a means to an end.
I loved All The Little Bird-Hearts. It’s like poetry. The language is beautiful and lyrical and the author’s understanding of Sunday’s autism is both personal and sympathetic. But then Viktoria is also autistic and can write from her own extensive experience.
Of course, nowadays, it’s easy to criticise the lack of understanding of autism and neurodivergence, when information is out there for everyone to investigate. Thirty-plus years ago, it was misunderstood and someone like Sunday was considered too different and often inappropriate in her behaviour.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Kent, and has extensive personal, professional, and academic experience relating to autism. Like her protagonist, Viktoria is autistic. She has presented her doctoral research internationally, most recently speaking at Harvard College on autism and literary narrative. Viktoria lives on the Margate coast with her husband and children.
Deirdre and Arthur are on the case again so you know this will be fun.
Cryptic crosswords are good for the brain Arthur. I saw a programme…
But why does Deirdre have to read the clues out loud? It helps me think Arthur.
Arthur is angry about some missing computer parts. And he’s hungry. Deirdre’s new diet is like rabbit food and it gives him wind.
But it’s Deirdre’s crosswords that help Arthur solve the clues.
I love these two!
Written by Barbara Jennings
Directed by @EBraefield
Helen Fullerton @HelenFullyActor as Diedre Meadowes
and
Jonathan Legg @Jondlegg as DI Arthur Meadowes
Produced by Cat on a Piano Productions
Music:
Smoke Jacket Blues by Tracktribe
Dusk ’til Dawn by Tracktribe
The Theatrephonic Theme tune was composed by Jackson Pentland
Performed by
Jackson Pentland
Mollie Fyfe Taylor
Emmeline Braefield
Cat on a Piano Productions produce and edit feature films, sketches and radio plays.
Their latest project is called @Theatrephonic, a podcast of standalone radio plays and short stories performed by professional actors. You can catch Theatrephonic on Spotify and other platforms.
For more information about the Theatrephonic Podcast, go to catonapiano.uk/theatrephonic, Tweet or Instagram @theatrephonic, or visit their Facebook page.
And if you really enjoyed this week’s episode, listen to Theatrephonic’s other plays and short stories and consider becoming a patron by clicking here…
+ childhood, depression, family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, friends, friendship, grief, loss, love, marriage, mental health, motherhood, review
Em & Me by Beth Morrey
A mother. A daughter. A secret waiting to be uncovered.
The day that Delphine stands up for herself is the day that changes everything…
For too long, Delphine has been unable to let go of the past, obsessed with protecting her daughter, Em, and clinging to a secret that has cast a shadow over their lives. When a chance encounter offers a way out, Delphine seizes it with both hands. As their lives begins to fill with colour again, can she find the courage to change their lives forever?
My Review
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).
Anyway, now she is away from her dreadful ex-boss Gio, so many opportunities begin to present themselves through some amazing people. Delphine finds a new job at a coffee shop called Merhaba, run by Eritreans Selassie and his wife Abrihet. They take her under their wing, treating her like family and teaching her to cook.
Then there is Roz, who introduces us to Sylvie, daughter of Letty who’s a right old bat – we had a name for a German relative – ‘die alte fledermaus’ – maybe someone could tell me the equivalent in French. But at least Letty knows she is. She takes some warming to, but she has a lovely cat called Aphra. And a generous heart if you don’t annoy her.
Roz is married to Sanjay, who once had a successful pop career and has started a band with his friend Dylan, who happens to teach music at Em’s school. Did I mention that Roz also teaches there? Whoops, I forgot. But Roz was once a successful actress and dreams of being one again.
So many people, so many dreams. Will any of them come true? Beth’s writing makes you care about all of them, but especially Delphine and Em. And then of course there’s the big question. Who is Em’s father? And what will happen when Em finds out?
I knew I wouldn’t get to the end without shedding a tear or ten. Au revoir mes amis. I’m going to miss you all.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author, and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Previously Creative Director at RDF Television, Beth Morrey now writes full time. Her debut novel, Saving Missy, was a Sunday Times bestseller and longlisted for the Authors’ Club First Novel Award.
Beth lives in London with her husband, two sons and a St Berdoodle named Phoebe.
+ Catholic Church, crime fiction, family, female friendship, fiction, fifties, friendship, illegitimacy, Ireland, loss, love, motherhood, murder, police drama, rape, religion, review, serial killer, sisters, sixties, thriller
Blood Mothers by Gaye Maguire
Some debts can only be paid in blood.
A rich socialite is found hacked to death in her Dublin home. It’s the beginning of a killing spree that leaves five apparently unconnected people brutally slain. Kate Hamilton, a brilliant and ambitious detective sergeant, is assigned to the case and soon uncovers the connection between the victims – they were all involved in an illegal adoption scheme which was running in Ireland up to the 1980s.
#BloodMothers @GayeMaguire9 @inkubatorbooks @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour
In a deeply traditional society, unmarried mothers were shamed by their families, forced to give birth in secret and surrender their newborns for adoption, fuelling a lucrative and cruel baby trade.
Now, decades later, it seems someone is taking bloody revenge on those who played a part in the adoption racket.
With each day bringing a new victim, Kate and her team race to stop the bloodshed. But when she discovers she has a personal link with both victims and murderer, Kate realises her own life is in danger as never before.
Blood Mothers – the first in the gripping new series featuring DS Kate Hamilton.
My Review
I loved this book so much. The subject matter is devastatingly sad and makes for a compelling read.
Did you ever see the film Philomena with Judi Dench and Steve Coogan? It takes place in Ireland, a very traditional country, where an illegitimate birth was the greatest shame that could be suffered by a young girl. Former journalist (Coogan) is asked by Philomena’s daughter to write the story of her mother (played by Dench), whose son was taken away at birth over 50 years earlier, and ‘given’ to a good Catholic family in America. At this time, unmarried mothers were sent off to convents to have their babies in secret and avoid bringing shame on the family.
This is the premise of Blood Mothers, but in this case there is a bloody and sinister twist. It starts with two women, brutally murdered in their own homes, with no apparent connection to each other. It’s only when Billy Butler, the elderly caretaker of the now disused St Mary’s Convent that was involved in the adoptions and secret baby trade, is also murdered, that a pattern begins to emerge.
DS Kate Hamilton has recently returned from working with the FBI in America, to join the Murder Squad of An Garda Síochána. She is called in to investigate the murders, along with her boss DI Jim Corcoran. But little does Kate know that her life is linked to both the victims and the killer, or that she is increasingly in danger.
In 1967, 14-year-old Rosie Jackson finds herself pregnant, having been raped by her cousin. She is sent away to St Mary’s to have her baby and is befriended by another girl called Bernie O’Toole. Rosie’s story is heartbreaking, as is that of Bernie and of the other girls sent away to St Mary’s.
We jump between the two timelines, Rosie in 1967 and Kate in 2010. I don’t always like this tactic, as the ‘now’ is often more interesting than the ‘then’ which can prevent the story from moving forward. But this is different. I loved Rosie’s story – maybe loved is the wrong word – often even more so than the murders. It’s hard to imagine that people were so cruel and judgemental in my lifetime, but they were and many young girls had to live with the consequences.
Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Gaye admits to a lifelong obsession with crime, and a keen interest in psychology and social history. She credits her parents, who were avid readers, with her love of fiction. When she graduated from Enid Blyton to Agatha Christie at age nine, so began a life of crime… reading. She enjoyed an award-winning career as a TV Producer/Director working for the BBC, ITV and RTE. She’s always written in her spare time, and during lockdown, when her husband built himself a workshop at the end of the garden, she seized control (peacefully) and renamed it her writing cabin. The result was Blood Mothers.
Now a full-time writer, she has three adult children and one adorable granddaughter. She lives in Dublin with her husband, to whom she now owes a workshop, two of her grown up kids and two rescue dogs who are not at all grown up, but make for great company at the bottom of the garden.
Blood Mothers is Gaye Maguire’s first book with Inkubator Books.
Follow her at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gayemaguire/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gaye.maguire.1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GayeMaguire9
+ crime fiction, fiction, grief, loss, love, motherhood, obsession, retreat, revenge, review, superstition, Sweden, University
The Wilderness Retreat by Jennifer Moore
I release myself from the shackles of the outside world and embrace the wilderness within.
As Bella drops her son off at university, she’s devastated. It’s been the two of them ever since Asher was born. The only thing helping her through is the upcoming week-long wilderness retreat in Sweden. It’ll be her chance to reconnect and recharge.
At the retreat, Bella basks in the beauty of the modern lodge, with its luxury rooms and picture-perfect views, the glistening lake and lush forest. For the full detox effect, everyone must surrender their phones.
The holiday seems idyllic until the person who ruined Bella’s life years ago arrives, threatening everything she’s worked hard for and will do anything to protect. Suddenly, a terrified Bella is trapped in the wild, knowing someone wants her dead…
My Review
If anyone ‘buys’ you a retreat in the middle of nowhere ‘to release yourself from the shackles of the outside world and embrace the wilderness within’, be very wary. Especially if it’s in a place called Dead Man’s Wood in an isolated location in Sweden (or anywhere else for that matter). And there’s a storm. And you are cut off from civilisation by fallen trees. And some of the others are self-obsessed twats. And someone is trying to kill you.
Single mum Bella’s son Asher has just gone off to university, after spending his whole life with just her. She is devastated to the point of overkill. Maybe it’s her creativity as a composer (she just composed the score for a film about a serial killer), that gives her an overactive imagination and I thought I was overprotective! The retreat is a gift from her sister in the hope that it will give her something else to focus on.
At the airport she is ‘accosted’ by fellow ‘retreatee’ (inmate? Victim?) Oscar Wildman (with a name like that I was bound to be an author – yes Oscar we get it), and soon meets the others on the journey. Krista is an older lady with a sad past, Hamar is half-Swedish and likes practical jokes (eg pushing people into freezing cold water without even checking whether they can swim, ha ha not), T is whatever, and Lena is a journalist who is reporting on her stay. They are met by the owners Stuart and Marie. The only staff are Saga and Rosel, who cook and clean.
It’s not long before things start to get weird and Bella begins to feel creeped out, assuming it’s all about her. To make it worse, everyone has to hand in their phones so they can truly experience the full detox. Then to add insult to injury, the guest speaker turns out to be someone from her past. Someone she had wanted to forget and never see again. And he has his wife with him. Even worse.
I so enjoyed this book. The characters are well-drawn and entertaining. Bella is annoying and I often struggled to sympathise, but I warmed to her in the end. I got the perpetrator totally wrong for most of the story, though I did get something else right – no spoilers. My fellow ‘pigeons’ and I had great fun trying to work out who was doing what, so buddy-reading with an online book club is highly recommended.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author, and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Jennifer Moore is a freelance writer, novelist and children’s author. She was the first UK winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and was previously shortlisted for the Greenhouse Funny Prize. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous publications on both sides of the Atlantic, including in the Guardian, Mslexia, The First Line, Fiction Desk and Short Fiction.
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, friends, friendship, jealousy, kidnapping, marriage, murder, murder mystery, police drama, police procedural, review, thriller
No More Lies by Rachel Abbott
It would be unfair to blame the woman I met tonight for turning my life upside down. She didn’t. It was already upside down. I just didn’t know it.
Recently life has been good for Mallory Hansen: a great job, a lovely home, and a wonderful man, Nathan, to share it with.
But now she must ask herself: is it all built on lies?
A terrible accusation has been made against Nathan, and Mallory doesn’t know who to believe. All the signs point to his guilt. She has learned to trust Nathan, but she also remembers the fickle boy he used to be.
#NoMoreLies @RachelAbbott #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour
Together, Mallory and Nathan were part of a close-knit group of six friends until a vicious argument drove them apart. Now, fifteen years later, they are back in touch with one another, only to find themselves drawn into a web of mutual distrust, one by one…
The attacks on their lives are cleverly targeted, designed to hit them where they hurt the most, and when a young woman disappears and a baby is abducted, DCI Tom Douglas must try to unravel the past and discover the architect of their misery.
My Review
I’ve read quite a few of Rachel Abbott’s books – in fact this is number eight as far as I know, most of them being part of the DCI Tom Douglas thriller series. I’ve loved every single one. I’m a huge fan. This is my first blog tour though.
Having read so many of the others, I know a lot about Tom’s back story (though it doesn’t matter if you haven’t read them). I know about his brother Jack, his ex-wife, his daughter and his relationship with Louisa. And baby Harry of course. But on to the main story.
Mallory and Nathan were part of a group of six friends until an argument ended their friendship. Nathan had a fling with Jodie, but dropped her quite quickly for a girl outside the group (it might break up their friendship he told her), called Erin. That was also short-lived, because the only girl he really wanted was Mallory, but she knew he meant trouble. Fifteen years later, Mallory and Nathan are married – he swore he’d changed – but when Nathan is suspended at work for an accusation which he emphatically denies, Mallory has doubts. Is he the same womaniser he was all those years ago?
In the meantime, one of their other friends, Taya, has also been targeted, but at this point there isn’t a link. In fact the police don’t know yet that Taya, Mallory and Nathan were friends.
At times during the story, we jump back to that fateful night, fifteen years ago, when it all fell apart. Nathan, Mallory, Connor, Akin, Jodie and Taya decided to spend their last night drinking and celebrating before they all went off to university. But something happened when they got to their destination and played a silly game from their childhood. And that’s when it all went wrong.
This is a brilliant book, maybe even my favourite of Rachel’s novels. It’s exciting, fast-paced, well thought out, with a maturity that has grown since book one.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Rachel Abbott is a British author of psychological thrillers. As a self-published author, her first ten novels (and one novella) in the DCI Tom Douglas series have combined to sell over four million copies. All have been bestsellers on Amazon’s Kindle store, and her books have been translated into over 20 languages. In 2015, Rachel was named the number one bestselling self-published author in the UK and the 14th bestselling author (both published and self-published) over the previous five years on Amazon’s Kindle in the UK.
In 2017, following a five-way auction, Rachel signed a two-book deal with Headline Publishing Group. The first book, And So It Begins, was published in 2018 and features Sergeant Stephanie King. The second book in this series, The Murder Game was released in April 2020. Books three and four in the series are to be published by Headline in late 2023 and 2024.
Rachel’s writing career began in 2009, when she decided to write a book about a woman facing a situation which gave her no option but to commit murder. In November 2011, she published the story – Only the Innocent – on Amazon. It rose to number one in the charts and remained there for four weeks. Rachel followed up Only the Innocent with The Back Road, Sleep Tight, Stranger Child, Kill Me Again, The Sixth Window, Come A Little Closer, The Shape of Lies, Right Behind You and Close Your Eyes. All the thrillers in this series focus on the victims and perpetrators of the crimes, and the complex relationships that exist between protagonist and antagonist. This series features Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas.
Rachel grew up near Manchester, England. She worked as a systems analyst, and then founded an interactive media company, developing software and websites for the education market. When she sold the company in 2000, she moved to Italy where she restored a 15th-century Italian monastery. For a time she and her husband operated the property as a venue for weddings and holidays. She now lives on the Channel Island of Alderney in a Victorian Fort where she spends her days writing in her office – a former gunpowder shelter.
Follow her at:
Twitter: @RachelAbbott
Instagram: @rachelabbottwriter
Facebook: RachelAbbott1Author
Website: rachel-abbott.com
“I don’t want to be here” – based on a true story.
All reservists are being called up. But Lionel has already done his bit for King and country. Two and a half years as an officer. So why would he want to sign up as a guardsman?
It seems he has no choice. He’s been conscripted, but he doesn’t want to be here. Can he find ways to avoid fighting? Of course he can!
Very funny and inventive (particularly on Lionel’s part). I love Lionel’s mum as she gets more fed up with each phone call.
Written by Nigel Foster
Directed by Emmeline Braefield
With
Sally Hyde Lomax as Mrs Gwendoline Hetherdew
Ben Manning as Lionel Hetherdew
James Parsons as Sergeant Beaumont and Sergeant Rudger
Scott Peacock as Captain Horncock
and
Emmeline Braefield as The Telephone Operator
Produced by Cat on a Piano Productions
Music:
Invitation to the Castle Ball by Doug Maxwell
Brooke’s Triumphant March – United States Marine Band
Bike Sharing to Paradise by Dan Bodan
With Shot and Shell by the United States Marine Band
Away by Georgrapher
Strenuous Life by United States Marine Band
The Theatrephonic Theme tune was composed by Jackson Pentland
Performed by
Jackson Pentland
Mollie Fyfe Taylor
Emmeline Braefield
Cat on a Piano Productions produce and edit feature films, sketches and radio plays.
Their latest project is called @Theatrephonic, a podcast of standalone radio plays and short stories performed by professional actors. You can catch Theatrephonic on Spotify and other platforms.
For more information about the Theatrephonic Podcast, go to catonapiano.uk/theatrephonic, Tweet or Instagram @theatrephonic, or visit their Facebook page.
And if you really enjoyed this week’s episode, listen to Theatrephonic’s other plays and short stories and consider becoming a patron by clicking here…
Everywhere Michael turns he sees a Reservoir Man.
Michael’s endless trials of survival include sexual assault, The Vietnam War, an arrest in Spain, Hollywood scandal, the AIDS outbreak, 9/11 and beyond.
If only Michael could find the one thing he values most, his freedom. Michael’s coming-of-age is tarnished by many but the courage to live his truth may just keep Michael one step ahead…or will he succumb to the embraces of a Reservoir Man?
#AReservoirMan @authorlambrosio @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour
A Reservoir Man, critics have hailed this explosive and timely work as “a must-read coming-of-age story of 2022.”
Twists and turns further pull the reader into Michael’s action-packed tale, with powerful themes, from betrayal and family to secrets and identity.
My Review
I am still slightly confused about the meaning of ‘reservoir man’. I have had to go back to the beginning of the book and search for the first few times it is mentioned. I think it is based on the men who hung around the reservoir at the top of the hill. Michael needs to get to the top of the hill. But it appears that these ‘reservoir men’ are wandering around aimlessly. Michael doesn’t want to do that. He wants to find purpose in his life and be free from the constrictions put on him by society and religion.
But it’s still only the 1960s (Michael was born in 1947) and things we take for granted today are frowned upon or illegal.
Michael was born with a harelip but he is still attractive to both men and women, though I don’t think he realises it. He is very clever even though his initial school career doesn’t reflect this. He has friends and many casual relationships with men, but none of them last. Sometimes he is very naive. He starts businesses, but they seem to fold or run out of steam quite quickly. At times he seems to drift without purpose, even though that is not his intention.
He adores his parents Andy and Frances, but seems to spend a lot of time away from them. He is a man of contradictions. His life doesn’t stabilise until he adopts his two children. Even then his business operations run into trouble.
During the 1980s AIDS had become a worldwide pandemic. Michael loses almost all his close friends and colleagues to AIDS.
The book follows Michael from birth to old age, and everything in between. He is sexually assaulted as a young man, though he doesn’t seem to realise he was assaulted. He travels around Europe, is arrested in Spain, escapes the Vietnam war draft, witnesses 9/11, and survives a Hollywood scandal. He strives for freedom and truth as he tries to find his identity.
Michael’s father Andy once told him that ‘men don’t cry.’ Michael repeats this on several occasions, including to his son Joshua. But the very last paragraph will have you in tears, whatever your gender.
Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.
Follow him at:
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ljambrosioauthor/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/louis.ambrosio
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorlambrosio
Website : https://ljambrosio.blogspot.com/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61401919-a-reservoir-man
Buy Link – https://geni.us/Xc1oErq
+ abuse, brothers, care home, crime fiction, dark humour, dementia, domestic noir, fiction, jealousy, murder, review
Make Me Clean by Tina Baker
She will leave your surfaces sparkling.
But she may well leave you dead…
Maria is a good woman and a good cleaner. She cleans for Elsie, the funny old bird who’s losing her marbles, with the terrible husband. She cleans for Brian, the sweet man with the terrible boss. She cleans for the mysterious Balogan, with the terrible neighbours.
If you’re thinking of hiring her, you should probably know that Maria might have killed the terrible husband, the terrible boss and the terrible neighbours. She may also have murdered the man she loved.
She didn’t set out to kill anyone, of course, but her clients have hired her to clean up their lives, and she takes her job seriously – not to mention how much happier they all are now. The trouble is, murder can’t be washed out. You can only sweep it under the carpet, and pray no one looks too closely…
My Review
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.
Then there is Nick, the on-off husband of the old dear she cleans for. That’s Elsie, and Maria is fiercely protective of her. Because Elsie has dementia. Sometimes she’s as happy as Larry, singing and dancing and swearing like a trooper. At other times she thinks Maria is her dead sister Violet.
Elsie has four cats and she loves them all, though Sweetie is her favourite. Nephew Del wants her to go into a care home (he’s after the house). Nick is getting off with the bird from the betting shop (but he also wants the house). Maria will do anything to help Elsie stay in her own home – it’s about the cats mainly, but also because Nick is currently pushing up the daisies – well the roses actually, so all he’s going to get is black spot and powdery mildew.
Maria also cleans for Brian, who hates his horrible boss, and for the mysterious Balogan, who is seriously scary. But Maria is also scary, but only if you cross her. So don’t make her angry – she won’t turn green and tear her clothes. But she might just kill you.
At this point I must say that the way Tina writes about dementia is both sympathetic and insightful. It will bring tears to your eyes. It’s also so full of pain, that at times it seems personal.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author, and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read. And to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author
Tina Baker, the daughter of a window cleaner and fairground traveller, worked as a journalist and broadcaster for thirty years and is probably best known as a television critic for the BBC and GMTV. After so many hours watching soaps gave her a widescreen bum, she got off it and won Celebrity Fit Club. She now avoids writing-induced DVT by working as a Fitness Instructor.
Call Me Mummy was Tina’s first novel, inspired by her own unsuccessful attempts to become a mother. Despite the grief of that, she’s not stolen a child – so far. But she does rescue cats, whether they want to be rescued or not.
Nasty Little Cuts was her second novel. Make Me Clean is her third.
+ brothers, crime fiction, Detective novel, Edinburgh, fiction, kidnapping, murder, police corruption, police drama, police procedural, prostitution, psychopath, revenge, review, Scotland, thriller, trafficking
Hunter’s Force (The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries #3) by Val Penny
Hunter by name – Hunter by nature. Can DI Hunter Wilson keep Edinburgh safe when he is the hunted?
Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson is woken in the early hours of the morning by a call from his son. Cameron’s flatmate has been murdered.
Why would anybody want to kill a young woman recently arrived in the city?
#HuntersForce @valeriepenny @SpellBoundBks @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours
Hunter must call in the new Major Incident Team (MIT), however his ability to be involved in the case is severely compromised when someone from his past resurfaces with revenge on their mind
When Hunter goes missing, and his team struggle to find the clues they need to locate him. Who would want to stop Hunter in his tracks?
Meanwhile, Hunter’s team must also work closely with the MIT and with or without him, solve the murder in this taut crime thriller.
My Review
The team is back! DI Hunter Wilson is at the helm and still in a relationship with pathologist Meera. Tim ‘young Myerscough’ is dating Gillian, a linguist at the university, who has a green flash in her hair. Bear and Mel are still together, while Jane has relocated to MIT, but is still with Rachael.
Ian Thompson is out of ‘the big house’ (prison to you and me) on parole, but Tim’s dad, the former Chief Constable Sir Peter Myerscough is still in residence. As is Arjun Mansoor, yet another villain from book one. Jamie Thompson is still around being an idiot, as is his cousin Frankie. Keep up! I’m trying really hard to.
In the meantime Hunter’s son Cameron has a nice flat, which comes with his job as driver to wealthy ‘Lucky’ Buchanon. So far so good. Until Cameron is out one night and returns to his flat with some mates to find a dead girl, his flatmate, her face smashed in and her fingertips removed.
And so it begins. Who is she? Who killed her and why? And what is the connection to the university where Gillian works, a dodgy massage parlour and two new betting shops?
Everything appears to be connected in this story. Hunter is being hunted. Someone from his past is out to exact revenge with the help of a hired muscle man, who is connected to both the victim and Thompson. And there is also a link to Eastern European prostitutes.
It’s all very complicated and fast-paced – it’s a real page-turner. So glad there is plenty more to come.
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 : www.instagram.com/valerieepenny
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Authorvalpenny
Website : www.valpenny.com
+ cover reveal, crime fiction, fiction, friendship, murder, Psychological fiction, review, serial killer, thriller
The Skull Keeper by Mariëtte Whitcomb Cover Reveal
Best friends on social media, Allysa and Morgan share a love of three things: thriller novels, true crime, and keeping secrets from each other.
As soon as Allysa asks Morgan to be her plus one at a funeral, Morgan jumps on the first available flight. Burying the dead might unearth the truth about what happened to Allysa’s brother twenty years earlier. She’s never believed he simply left town without saying goodbye.
Once they learn he’s the last known victim of a serial killer, Allysa and Morgan decide to do what the police couldn’t – bring him to justice.
When the hunters become the hunted, only one question remains – do you know your friend well enough to save her life?
#TheSkullKeeper #MarietteWhitcomb #CoverReveal #PsychologicalThriller
Here is the cover of this fantastic new psychological thriller by one of my favourite authors Mariëtte Whitcomb:
Release Date: March 20, 2023
Cover Design: Jabber Media
Cover Image: Pexels
About the Author
Mariëtte Whitcomb studied Criminology and Psychology at the University of Pretoria. An avid reader of psychological thrillers and true crime books, writing allows her to pursue her childhood dream to hunt criminals, albeit fictional and born in the darkest corners of her imagination. When Mariëtte isn’t writing, she reads or spends time with her family, friends, and her two miniature schnauzers.
Social Media Links
Website/Newsletter: https://mariettewhitcomb.com
Email: mariette@mariettewhitcomb.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariettewhitcombauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariettewhitcomb/
Tiktok: tiktok.com/@mariettewhitcomb
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/mariettewhitcomb
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/goodsreadscommariettewhitcomb
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mariette-whitcomb
+ crime fiction, female friendship, fiction, lies, marriage, murder, review, secrets, serial killer, thriller, writer
Trust Only Me by McGarvey Black
From her home office in rural Connecticut, self-published thriller author Jillian Samuels dreams of writing a bestseller.
Her tall, dark and handsome chef husband Teddy, and her BFF, Natalie, a glamorous PR woman always in six-inch heels, cheer Jillian on when her new book, The Soul Collector, is accepted by a New York agent.
By night, she writes about serial killers. But then her stories begin to come true.
#TrustOnlyMe @mcgarveyblack @JoffeBooks @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour
Not long afterwards, crimes from her old thrillers start to really happen — two bodies are found covered in silver paint — one unconscious, the other dead.
Some people on Twitter notice the eerie similarities to Jillian’s previous books. Jillian’s book sales are rising — but the police are asking questions . . .
My Review
Jillian has written three serial killer thrillers. She self-published all three and has only sold a few of each – mainly to friends and family. Her fourth novel The Soul Collector is going to be different. She’s going to get herself an agent and a publisher and get the book promoted. It’s going to be a bestseller – hopefully.
Her husband Teddy, a glamorous, celebrity (almost) chef, and her even more glamorous best friend Natalie, are both rooting for her. After concentrating on their own exciting lives, that is.
Finally her book is accepted by a New York Agent, but it’s going to be a long road. And will involve a lot of self-promotion, particularly on social media. Not Jillian’s forte, she has a go mainly at Twitter, but it’s not proving to be a huge success. She’s out of her depth.
Until her stories begin to come true. Life imitating art maybe? It certainly boosts her online profile and her books start to sell. Teddy thinks it’s all a coincidence, her agent thinks it’s manna from heaven and Natalie is too absorbed in her own love life. The police, however, are very interested. They don’t believe in coincidences. Especially when two men turn up covered in silver paint (just like in one of Jillian’s books) and one of them happens to be dead.
I really didn’t like Natalie one bit. What a ghastly woman. Red lipstick, six inch stilettos, a real man-eater. Two or three men on the go at once and all of them rich. Then throwing them out like so much garbage after a few weeks. The only good thing about her is that she gets some of the best laughs.
‘I’m serious,’ she said…’the only men I meet are perverted losers.’
‘They can’t be all that bad.’
‘Oh yes they can. The last guy I went out with brought his pet hamster on our first date. We met in Central Park…the whole time we were walking he kept fussing with something inside his jacket. After fifteen minutes, he asked me if I’d like to meet his little friend. The next thing you know he’s holding a big (hamster? big?) brown rodent in his hand and introducing me to Pablo.’ Well it could have been so much worse.
This was a very entertaining book and that ending was inspired. It’s very witty and observant. I loved it.
Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
McGarvey studied voice at Manhattan School of Music and was later a theatre major in college. She pursued an acting career but later moved into a magazine and digital media career. During that time, she sold advertising and managed sales teams for companies like Conde Nast, WebMD and worked for brands including GQ, Travel + Leisure, and Allure. In between, she took a year off and backpacked alone around the world. Later, after having two children, she left media and became an executive recruiter for internet companies. In 2017, she began writing full time and has since published six novels.
Follow her at:
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/mcgarveyblack
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/mcgarveyblack1/
Website: https://mcgarveyblack.com/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65308951-trust-only-me
Buy Link – https://geni.us/lf25Md
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