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The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre
Published: February 20th, 2020
Format: Paperback
Genre: Literary Fiction

I am thrilled to be one of the people opening the blog tour for this breathtaking novel. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers and to Bonnier Zaffre Books.

SYNOPSIS:

In the midst of war, he found love.
In the midst of darkness, he found courage.
In the midst of tragedy, he found hope.
What will you find from his story?

Nuri is a beekeeper, his wife, Afra, an artist. They live happily in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo – until the unthinkable happens and they are forced to flee. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain.

As Nuri and Afra travel through a broken world,  they must confront not only the pain of their own unspeakable loss, but the dangers that would overwhelm the bravest of souls. Above all – and perhaps the hardest thing they face – they must journey to find each other again.

Moving, compassionate and beautifully written, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a powerful testament to the triumph of the human spirit.

MY REVIEW:

“If I could give her a key that opened a door into another world, then I would wish for her to see again. But it would have to be a world very different from this one.”

I inhaled this mesmerising, poignant and illuminating novel in under a day. It is honestly one of the most beautiful books I’ve read and I was captivated by the exquisite, lyrical prose and stunning imagery that made every word one to savour.

This timely story shines a light on the struggle of those who are forced to flee because of war, from a perspective we rarely hear: the voice of a refugee. At a time where there is so much vitriol against them, where so many people see as the enemy, as someone who shouldn’t be in our country, it is refreshing to read a book that tells their story is such a beautiful and heartbreaking way; helping those of us who’ve never experienced such horror to have a small amount of understanding. 

It is told by Syrian refugee, Nuri, who made the perilous journey from Syria to the UK with his wife Afra, who was blinded by a bomb. In the present day we follow their battle to claim asylum while trying to adjust to the strangeness of the new country they hope to call home. In flashbacks we see their life in Aleppo before the war, how it was torn apart, their heartbreak as they lost their only child, and then follow them as they make the dangerous journey to England. We see the impact of all they’ve gone through on themselves and their marriage, threatening to tear them apart at their core as well as breaking apart the only thing they have left to hold on to – each other.  

“Where was home now? And what was it? I’m my mind it had become like a picture infused with golden light, a paradise never to be reached.”

This was the first time I’ve read a book by this author and I will definitely be reading more. Her writing enveloped me in their world, making me feel like I was right beside Nuri every step of the way both physically and emotionally. The characterisation was spectacular, with the author providing an eclectic mix of people who had very different stories from war-torn places around the world, and different reactions to what they’d gone through. There were wonderful examples of the best of humanity in the darkest of times, but also of the depth of evil that exists in our world and the damage that is done by such people.  The raw devastation and grief that each character exuded was hard, but necessary, to read, and was a humbling reminder of how our problems pale in comparison to being forced from your home and fighting each day to survive and find safety. 

The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a story about the horrors of war, trauma, grief and survival. But most of all for me it is a multifaceted love story.  It is an astonishing book that went straight to my soul. I can’t recommend you read this highly enough. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brought up in London, Christy Lefteri is the child of Cypriot refugees. She is a lecturer in creative writing at Brunel University. The Beekeeper of Aleppo was born out of her time working as a volunteer at a UNICEF-supported refugee center in Athens. She is the author of the novel A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible.

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The Foundling by Stacey Halls ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre
Published: February 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, Kindle
Genre: Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction 

Today I am thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour for this phenomenal novel. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers Tours for the invitation to take part and to Bonnier Zaffre for my gifted copy of this book.

SYNOPSIS:

Two women, bound by a child, and a secret that will change everything….

London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London’s Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst, that Clara has died in care, she is astonished when she is told she has already claimed her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl – and why.

Less than a mile from Bess’s lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend – an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital – persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart. 

From the bestselling author of The Familiars comes this captivating story of mothers and daughters, class and power, and love against the greatest of odds…

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MY REVIEW:

Ms. Halls has once again created a masterpiece. The Foundling is a lush, enthralling and lingering read that left me speechless. It is very different from her debut novel, The Familiars, but again Halls has infused this story with her exquisite, pitch-perfect prose, luring me in slowly until the world outside this novel no longer existed.

The story is narrated by Bess and Alexandra, two very different women from two very different walks of life, and begins on a cold night in November 1747 when Bess, an impoverished shrimp hawker, arrives at the London Foundling Hospital with her newborn daughter, Clara. Unable to raise her she has come for the monthly raffle to try and give her child a chance of survival. When Clara is accepted, Bess vows to one day return and claim back her little girl, leaving behind a token of half a heart made out of whalebone and carved with their initials so she can be identified. Six years later she finally has enough money saved to return but is told that Clara was claimed the day after being left.  And that she was the one who claimed her… 

I don’t want to say much more about the plot as part of the beauty of this book is discovering it as you go along. We know that Clara/Charlotte was taken, so the mystery is why. When the story shifts to Alexandra’s dark, gloomy townhouse that is more like a prison full of fear than a home, we slowly begin unravelling the complex motivations that led to her being taken and discovering if Bess will be reunited with her daughter. 

The two narrators are very different women at opposite ends of the social spectrum.  Both were richly drawn and felt sympathetic and relatable. It was fascinating to read their diverse views on life and motherhood and how differently they dealt with the problems life has thrown their way. Though I wanted Bess to be reunited with her daughter properly, I also could never fully get behind either woman in their battle for the child as they both loved her, wanted what they thought was best and there would be no winners, only losers in this battle. With Clara/Charlotte facing heartache and loss whatever the outcome was. Ultimately the story became more of an exploration of what it really means to be a mother, to want what’s best for your child and what matters most when raising them. 

Halls is a true storyteller who makes reading this book an immersive experience. Her imagery made me feel like I was in The Foundling Hospital with Bess and the other women, in Alexandra’s gloomy townhouse, that I walked the dank, dirty and filthy streets of Georgian London and could smell the decay. I could feel Bess’s anguish as she’s forced to hand over her child, her determination to get her back, Alexandra’s anxieties and fear and was waiting with bated breath as the tension mounted.  She illuminates the huge inequalities between the have and have nots and examines mental health problems at a time they aren’t recognised or understood. 

Utterly magnificent, heart-rending, compelling and cleverly executed, The Foundling is a superior work of gothic fiction. She has created a tender, restrained masterpiece that I have no doubt will have a place in my top 10 books of 2020. This is one you don’t want to miss. READ IT NOW!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stacey Halls grew up in Rossendale, Lancashire, as the daughter of market traders. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and moved to London aged 21. She was media editor at The Bookseller and books editor at Stylist.co.uk, and has also worked as a journalist for Psychologies, the Independent and Fabulous magazine. TV rights of The Familiars shave been sold to The Bureau production company.

Bought in a nine-way auction, The Familiars was received with much praise and is nominated for an HWA award.

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Real Life by Adeline Dieudonné ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Publisher: World Editions
Published: February 13th, 2020
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Genre: Coming-of-Age Fiction
Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this fantastic debut novel. Thank you to Anne at Random Things tours for the invitation to take part, and World Editions for the gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

Translated from the French by Roland Glasser.

At home there are four bedrooms: one for her, one for her little brother Sam, one for her parents, and one for the carcasses. Her father is a big-game hunter, a powerful predator, and her mother is submissive to her violent husband’s demands. The young narrator spends her day s with Sam playing in the shells of cars dumped for scrap and listening out for the melody of the ice-cream truck, until a brutal accident shatters their world.

The uncompromising pen of Adeline Dieudonné wields flashes of brilliance as she brings her characters to life in a world that is both dark and sensual. This breathtaking debut is a sharp and funny coming-of-age tale in which fantasy and reality collide.

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MY REVIEW:

“There are things you can’t accept. Otherwise you die.”

A powerful and affecting coming-of-age journey with elements of fantasy, Real Life explores the dark truths of growing up within a home laden with violence and fear, and the results of a life lived without love or guidance from those who should protect you. 

Our unnamed protagonist is a jaded young girl who lives at home with her parents and younger brother Sam, who she adores.  Their home is a malignant place, filled with the constant threat of her father’s wrath and their attempts to avoid it. She is indifferent towards her mother, who she refers to as an amoeba, seeing her as weak for living this life and not protecting or comforting her children. It is just her and Sam against the world. So when a tragic accident rips them apart and her brother becomes unreachable, a mute ‘robot’ who then slowly morphs into a sadistic young boy who seems to feel nothing unless he’s terrorising others, she feels like she’s lost everything and becomes obsessed with finding a way to go back in time and save her brother from this dark fate.

“Nothing made sense anymore. My reality had dissolved until a vertiginous void from which I saw no way out. A void so palpable I could feel its walls, its floor, and its ceiling tightening around me.”

The story takes place over five years, beginning the summer of the accident. During this time the protagonist goes from a girl of ten to a young woman of fifteen who has seen more than anyone her age should ever have to see. She’s scarred by the toxic life she’s been forced to live and the horror she witnessed that first summer, and is fighting to find a way back to when she felt happy and she and Sam were everything to each other. Along the way she discovered a talent and passion for science and is trying to both understand and hide the changes brought to her body through puberty. She slowly sees a shift in her father as he notices these changes and begins to see her as a target for his rage just like her mother, while the changes in Sam bring the pair closer together and our protagonist learns to fear her brother too. From the start of the book there are distressing scenes of domestic abuse. The fear and terror jumps from the page as they talk about having to tip-toe around him and feeling like they can only breathe when he’s not there.

There is a mythical element to the story that is provided by how the protagonist sees the change in Sam; she believes that an evil being has taken up residence inside him and that his sadistic behaviour is at its bidding. This adds a mythical element to the story as well as highlighting how young she is at the time the story starts. She truly believes she will one day succeed in travelling back in time to save her brother and it becomes her only focus. Despite my rational mind knowing this isn’t possible, I was willing her to succeed and have some much- deserved joy and happiness in her life. 

Real Life is a superb and wonderfully written debut. The punchy, offbeat prose is compelling, insightful and raw. It makes it impossible to pull yourself away. I needed to know where this was heading, if she would save Sam and what would become of her. Unflinching and uncompromising, Harrowing and heart-rending, but with an indomitable hope running through its veins, this is a story that will stay with me.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Adeline Dieudonné was born in 1982 and lives in Brussels. A playwright and short-story writer, her first novella, Amarula, was awarded the Grand Prix of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. Two further booklets were published by Editions Lamiory in 2017: Saule dans le noir and Bonobo Moussaka. Real Life was recently awarded the prestigious Prix du Roman FNAC, the Prix Rossel, the Prix Renaudot des Lycéens, and the Prix Filigrane, a French prize for a work of high literary quality with wide appeal. Dieudonné also performs as a stand-up comedian.

Ronald Glasser is an award-winning translator of French literature, based in London.

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Beast (Six Stories #4) by Matt Wesolowski ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Publisher: Orenda
Published: February 6th, 2020
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Horror, Crime Fiction, Coming-of-Age Fiction.

Welcome to my spot on the blog tour for this dark and thrilling book. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Karen at Orenda for the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

Elusive online journalist Scott King examines the chilling case of a young vlogger found frozen to death in the legendary local ‘vampire tower’, in another explosive episode of Six Stories…

In the wake of the ‘Beast from the East’ cold snap that ravaged the UK in 2018, a grisly discovery was made in a ruin on the Northumbrian coast. Twenty-four-year-old vlogger, Elizabeth Barton, had been barricaded inside what locals refer to as ‘The Vampire Tower’, where she was later found frozen to death.

Three young men, part of an alleged ‘cult’, were convicted of this terrible crime, which they described as a ‘prank gone wrong’. However, in the small town of Ergarth, questions have been raised about the nature of Elizabeth Barton’s death and whether the convicted youths were even responsible.

Elusive online journalist Scott King speaks to six witnesses – people who knew both the victim and the three killers – to peer beneath the surface of the case. He uncovers whispers of a shocking online craze that held the young of Ergarth in its thrall and drove them to escalate a series of pranks in the name of internet fame. He hears of an abattoir on the edge of town, which held more than simple slaughter behind its walls, the tragic and chilling legend of the ‘Ergarth Vampire’….

Both a compulsive, taut and terrifying thriller, and a bleak and distressing look at modern society’s desperation for attention, Beast will unveil darkness from which you may never return…

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MY REVIEW:

Beast is a chilling, captivating and suspenseful story told by an original voice in a fresh and creative way. It is a story of the search for the truth of a young girl’s brutal murder that lies hidden behind the differing perspectives of those who knew her. It is an exploration of internet culture, the obsession with becoming internet famous and what motivates three young men to murder a popular young woman without apparent reason.

Elizabeth Barton was a YouTube star on the rise and the darling of Ergarth, a bleak, rundown town on the Northumrian coast. Her brutal murder left the town stunned. But could there be more to Elizabeth and her death that has been reported? In his podcast, Six Stories, online journalist Scott King attempts to find the answer to this and other questions surrounding the crime by talking to those who knew those involved best of all.

I loved the podcast format of this book. It’s the first time I’ve read anything like it and as a true crime buff it is exactly the kind of thing I listen to. I loved how realistic it felt, like I was actually listening to the interviews and commentary. The different perspectives provided a unique and fascinating look at the crime and the effects on those left behind, as well as helping to slowly reveal the pieces of the puzzle King was trying to solve. Wesolowski’s writing was absorbing, atmospheric and descriptive; demanding your attention and pulling you in. The eerie legend of the Vampire Tower and the Ergarth Vampire permeate the pages and provide an air of spine-tingling unease. 

We only get a first person glimpse of Elizabeth in the YouTube videos she posted leading up to her death. It’s clear she’s  on in these videos; being the person she wants the world to see. But is it the real her? Everyone in town loved Elizabeth. She was popular, kind and known for her philanthropy. Girl wanted to be her, and boys wanted to be with her. But as he digs deeper King learns there is another story, things she made sure was hidden from the world that didn’t fit the image she was trying to maintain. But we aren’t sure which is real and the more we learn the more the mystery deepens. I liked that Scott was so elusive in this book. Though he’s there throughout we don’t know a lot about him and I found that helped me focus on the story he was trying to tell. The book does hint at things about him being revealed in a previous book, but it’s a passing comment here or there and didn’t affect my enjoyment or understanding of the story. It just made me even more eager to read the other books in the series.

The Six Stories series is one I’ve been meaning to read for a while after seeing a lot of praise for it online and I’m glad I’ve finally read a book by this marvelous author. Spectacularly written, chilling, cryptic, ominous and unpredictable, this is a book that will stay with you for all the right reasons. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Matt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. He is an English tutor for young people in care. Matt started his writing career in horror, and his short horror fiction has been published in numerous UK and US based anthologies such as Midnight Movie Creature, Selfies from the End of the World, Cold Iron and many more. His novella, The Black Land, a horror set on the Northumberland coast, was published in 2013. Matt was a winner of the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival in 2015. His debut thriller, Six Stories, was an Amazon bestseller in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia, and a WHSmith Fresh Talent pick, and film rights were sold to a major Hollywood studio. A prequel, Hydra, was published in 2018 and became an international bestseller. Changeling, book three in the series, was published in 2019 and was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for Capital Crime’s Amazon Publishing Reader Awards in two categories: Best Thriller and Best Independent Voice.

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The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Publisher: Picador
Published: February 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, Kindle
Genre: Historical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:

Inspired by the real events of the Vardø storm of 1617, The Mercies is a story about how suspicion can twist its way through a community, and a love that may prove as dangerous as it is powerful.

On Christmas Eve 1617, the sea around the remote Norwegian Island of Vardø is thrown into a reckless storm. As Maren Magnussdatter watches, forty fishermen, including her father and brother, are lost to the waves – the menfolk of Vardø wiped out in an instant. 

Vardø is now a place of women.

Eighteen months later, a sinister figure arrives. Summoned from Scotland to take control of a place at the edge of the civilised world, Absolom Cornet knows what he needs to do to bring the women of Vardø to heel. With him travels his young wife, Ursa. In Vardø, and in Maren, Ursa finds something she has never seen before: independent women. But Absolom sees only a place flooded with a terrible evil,one he must root out at all costs.

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MY REVIEW:

Breathtakingly beautiful, mesmerising, lingering and consuming, I drank in this astonishing novel quickly and fell in love. 

Inspired by real events, the story begins on Christmas Eve 1617 when a terrible storm hits the remote island of Vardø and kills the forty men at sea, leaving the island now one of mostly women. Slowly they learn to survive without them, taking on roles usually for men in a bid to survive. A year later, just as things feel like they’ve settled, the island is disrupted again by the arrival of a new commissioner from Scotland. The women are wary, unsure what this means for them, and soon they find themselves caught up in the witch trials of the era, with neighbour turning against neighbour as they face a new battle for survival. 

It’s taken a while to be able to get my thoughts about this book down in a review I felt would do it justice and in that time I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I first heard about this book last year when author Elizabeth Macneal raved about it on her page and I immediately knew I needed to read it. I read this book as part of a readalong with the Tandem Collective. It was my first readalong with them. It made it a much more immersive and sensory experience and increased my already high excitement for the book. 

It is a story about sisterhood, a matriarchal society that is still beholden to the rule of men. It is a story about love, relationships, bravery, power and betrayal; about witchcraft, folklore and faith. At the centre is the story of a friendship of two women just trying to survive in a harsh and terrifying time.

It is told through the eyes of two women from very different backgrounds: Maren was raised in Vardø and knows nothing but the bleak, harsh landscape and the drudgery of life in the far north. Ursa was raised in the city and the new bride is shocked at the barren, hard circumstances she must now live in and struggles to adjust. The two form a quick and unexpected bond, becoming eachother’s confidant and balm.  I liked both narrators and their different voices. They were both kind, sympathetic characters and had strengths they didn’t recognise in themselves. For Ursa the culture shock of life Vardø, her dismay at finding herself married to a man who shows little affection or attention to her and missing her family, combines into a deep depression she can’t pull herself out of. Maren becomes a beacon of light pulling her from the dark as they bond when Maren teaches her how to keep house. Maren is used to the realities of life in Vardø but finds herself ashamed of how she lives and shocked at Ursa’s innocence and incapability. Ursa is a beautiful being and she feels honoured to have been asked to teach her. She is her escape, just as Maren is hers. I enjoyed their friendship and how Ursa in particular fought for it when others didn’t approve, saying Maren wasn’t good enough.

Every story needs a villain and the biggest villain in this story was Absolom, Ursa’s husband. He was a vile, cruel man who uses his religion to justify his actions. We know early on that he’s there to root out the evil that is believed to reside in Vardø but Ursa knows nothing of this or his past. When she learns the truth she is horrified and afraid. He had no redeeming qualities and got more repugnant as the story went on and I was terrified of what would become of both women as they skated on the edge of what is considered acceptable in their society. 

The writing in this book is simply beautiful. With lyrical and elegant prose that tells the story fluently, this is an example of storytelling at its finest. It is my first time reading a book by this author but I do have one of her others on my shelf and am even more impatient to read it now. 

The Mercies is an exquisite, powerful and enchanting read that seeped right into my soul. It is as stunning inside as it is on the outside and I’ve no doubt it will be one of my favourite books this year. READ THIS BOOK.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kiran Millwood Hargrave (b. Surrey 1990) is a poet, playwright, and author. Her books for children and young adults include the bestselling The Girl of Ink & Stars, The Way Past Winter, and The Deathless Girls. Her debut novel for adults is The Mercies (February 2020).

Between them, her children’s books have won numerous awards including Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Historical Association Young Quills Award, and the Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Year. They have been shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize, the Little Rebels Prize, the Branford Boase Award, the Blue Peter Best Story Award, Costa Children’s Book Prize, and Foyles’ Children’s Book of the Year, amongst others.

The Mercies has been selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club, and was called ‘unquestionably the book of the 2018 London Book Fair’ by The Bookseller.

Kiran lives in Oxford with her husband, the artist Tom de Freston, and their rescue cat, Luna.

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The Wreckage by Robin Morgan-Bentley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Trapeze
Format: Hardcover, Kindle
Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this exhilarating debut. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for the invitation to take part, and Trapeze and NetGalley for the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

Things will never be the same again…

Ben is driving on the motorway, on his usual commute to the school where he works.

A day like any other, except for Adam, who in a last despairing act jumps in front of Ben’s car, and in killing himself, turns the teacher’s world upside down.

Wracked with guilt and desperate to clear his conscience, Ben develops a friendship with Alice, Adam’s widow, and her 7-year-old son Max.

But as he tries to escape the trauma of the wreckage, could Ben go too far in trying to make amends?

Gripping and sinister, The Wreckage is guaranteed to keep you up all night….

MY REVIEW:

Wow! What an exhilarating and breathtaking rollercoaster ride this was. The Wreckage is an utterly gripping debut. Cleverly crafted, perfectly paced and full of heart-stopping tension, I devoured this book, unable to put it down and staying up to the early hours until my eyes betrayed me and I had to sleep.

The two protagonists are flawed and fractured characters, but that is where the similarities end. Their approach to life and how they deal with trauma is vastly different and were fascinating to observe. Ben is immediately shaken by the accident and struggles to cope with the knowledge that he’s killed a man. An already anxious person, it plunges him deeper into his anxiety and brings on a depression that he can’t seem to climb out of. When he decides to visit Adam’s family it’s as a form of restitution, to try and make amends for what he’s done. He’s a sensitive, kind soul who falls apart easily and is very concerned with how others see him. I could relate to his anxiety and felt a great amount of sympathy for him. Alice is a different kettle of fish. She’s stoic, spiky, pragmatic and resilient. She doesn’t seem to care what others think and can come across as unemotional at times. I soon warmed to her though, especially her often scathing observations that made me chuckle, especially when they were at such odds with the tragedy or seriousness of a situation. They both go on an emotional journey over the course of the book and I enjoyed seeing how they changed and the way it affected my feelings for them, with my sympathies drastically changing by the end of the book.

As Ben and Alice became closer, it was clear that he thought there was more to their relationship and had deeper feelings than she did. As his feelings grow he also begins to lose control and things start to take a more sinister turn. We see a different side to him as  he becomes obsessive, menacing and unhinged. The atmosphere was ionised as his behaviour became increasingly unpredictable and frightening. 

The Wreckage is an outstanding page-turner from a sensational new talent. It’s a story that has tension running through its veins, the pulse beating more rapidly over its course until we reach an electrifying crescendo and an ending that gave me chills. If you enjoy well-written, exciting thrillers, then do yourself a favour and read this book. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in London in 1987, Robin Morgan-Bentley has been making up stories since he was very little. After graduating from Cambridge University with a First Class degree in Modern and Medieval Languages, he worked at Google in London, Madrid and New York.

Since 2014, he has worked with authors and actors at Audible. For the Audible Sessions podcast, he has interviewed many thriller writers, and it was his conversations with them that inspired him to start writing his stories down. Robin lives in north London with his husband, Pauly.

Robin’s debut psychological thriller, The Wreckage, will be released on February 6th 2020.

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Never Look Back by A. L. Gaylin ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

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Publisher: Orion
Published: February 6th, 2020
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this fantastic thriller. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for the invitation to take part and to Orion for the gifted copy of the novel.

SYNOPSIS:

She was the most brutal killer of our time. And she may have been my mother…

When website columnist Robin Diamond is contacted by true crime podcast producer Quentin Garrison, she assumes it’s a business matter. It’s not. Quentin’s podcast, Closure, focuses on a series of murders in the 1970s, committed by teen couple April Cooper and Gabriel LeRoy. It seems that Quentin has reason to believe Robin’s own mother may be intimately connected with the killings.

Robin thinks Quentin’s claim is absurd. But is it? The more she researches the Cooper/LeRoy murders herself, the more disturbed she becomes by what she finds. Living just a few blocks from her, Robin’s beloved parents are the one absolute she’s always been able to rely upon, especially now amid rising doubts about her husband from internet trolls. Robin knows her mother better than anyone.

But then her parents are brutally attacked, and Robin realises she doesn’t know the truth at all…

MY REVIEW:

Wow! This was a roller-coaster ride that I didn’t want to end. Multiple plot lines and characters were woven together like an intricate patchwork quilt in this complex, thrilling and addictive read. 

In letters to her future daughter, infamous murderer April Cooper reveals what really happened in the summer of 1976, when she and her boyfriend, Gabriel LeRoy, better known as the Inland Empire Killers, embarked on a murder spree that terrorised their town before finally perishing in a fire. In the present day, Quentin Garrison is working on his new podcast Closure, telling the story of his family connection to the case and how the couple’s actions have impacted survivors and their families. When he contacts journalist Robin Diamond and tells her he has reason to believe her mother Renee is connected to the killings, she dismisses the idea as preposterous. But then her parents are attacked in their homes and she realises she doesn’t know her mother as well as she thought. Could her mother know something about what happened forty years ago? Both determined to get to the truth, we follow as it is slowly unveiled and lives are changed forever.

The mystery of April Cooper, her true role in the murders and if she survived the fire that supposedly killed her is the heartbeat of this story. She is an enigmatic, vivid character who looms large on every page. Through her secret letters, which were my favourite part of the book, we were offered an insight into who she was and the truth behind the lurid, sensationalist headlines and local lore. I had a real soft spot for her, even in the moments she wasn’t likeable and I was desperate to find out what had really happened to her. 

I devoured this book and knew it was one I’d love from the first page. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about reading it. I loved that I couldn’t figure it out, vacillating so many times in my suspicions. While I was right about some things, there was a lot I never would have thought of in a million years. On the surface it seemed a simple storyline but it morphed into something unexpected, something much more complex and inextricably linked than I imagined. The shocking revelations had my jaw on the floor and at one point in my notes I wrote “F***!! This is mental!” The twists came so fast at one point I thought I was going to get book whiplash. I’m in awe of the intricate plots that authors create and, while it would be kind of terrifying, I’d love to get a look inside their brain to find out how on earth they think of them. 

Never Look Back is a first class psychological thriller. The plot is nuanced and peppered with clues and red herrings that keep you on your toes until the last pages. It is a story about family, long-held secrets and the ripple effect caused by trauma. It is a search for the truth that shatters people’s lives while giving others a chance at redemption. 

Compelling, tense, atmospheric, deliciously suspicious and utterly brilliant I would recommend this book to any thriller lover. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alison Gaylin’s debut book was nominated for an Edgar Award in the Best First Novel category. A graduate of Northwestern University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Alison lives with her husband and daughter in upstate New York.

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The Alibi Girl by C.J. Skuse ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

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Publisher: HQ
Published: February 6th, 2020
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Dark Comedy, Coming-of-Age Fiction

Welcome to my spot on the blog tour for this fantastic thriller. Thank you to HQ for the invitation to take part and the gifted copy of this novel.

SYNOPSIS:

JOANNE HAYNES HAS A SECRET.
THAT IS NOT HER REAL NAME.

And there’s more. Her flat isn’t hers. Her cats aren’t even hers. Even her hair isn’t really hers.

Nor is she any of the other women she pretends to be. Not the bestselling romance novelist who gets her morning snack from the doughnut van on the seafront. Nor the pregnant woman in the dental surgery. Nor the chemo patient in the supermarket for whom the cashier feels every so sorry. They’re all just alibis.

In fact, the only thing that’s real about Joanne is that nobody can know who she really is. 

But someone has got too close. It looks like her alibis have begun to run out…

MY REVIEW:

Absolutely, bloody brilliant! I tore through this book in under a day. The word ‘unputdownable’ couldn’t be more appropriate than when talking about books written by C.J. Skuse. Riveting, addictive and full of Skuse’s trademark dark humour, this was a joyous read despite the subject matter. 

Ellis has a variety of aliases which change depending on who she’s talking to; Genevive who cleans rooms at a local hotel, single mum Joanne living in a dingy flat, doctor Mary who has just given birth to her fifth child with her gorgeous husband, Charlotte the famous novelist, a cancer patient and bride-to-be. No one knows her real name apart from Scants as it’s too dangerous for them to know. But Ellis is sure she’s being followed, that the people she’s running from have found her and her time is running out. 

Skuse has a flare for turning unlikable characters into ones you take to your heart. She did it with Rhiannon in the Sweetpea series, and she has done it again with the protagonist in this book. Ellis is a compulsive liar, the girl who cries wolf. She doesn’t like or trust adults, preferring the company of children and is very child-like in her own behaviour. In dual timelines Ellis’ story is slowly revealed and we learn why she has to hide, why she invents a multitude of identities to live in and why her innocence seems so sad. It’s a harrowing and heartbreaking tale, and by the end of the book I wanted to reach through the pages and give her a big hug. 

I love the raw honesty and dark, cutting humour she brings to her prose. There’s nothing else like it out there and it’s made her one of my must-read authors. The story is intriguing, keeping me guessing throughout, and with plenty of twists to keep you on your toes. I did guess most things right but there were turns the author took I wasn’t expecting but I loved as it increased the mystery and intrigue.  

The Alibi Girl is an entertaining, emotional, complex and refreshing read. It is a perfect mix of mystery, thriller and dark comedy that was just what I needed after some heavy books. I can’t recommend this book, and this author, highly enough.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

C.J. Skuse is the author of the Young Adult novels Pretty Bad Things, Rockoholic, Dead Romantic (Chicken House), Monster and The Deviants. She has recently written the adult crime novels Sweetpea and its sequel for HQ/HarperCollins. C.J. was born in 1980 in Weston-super-Mare, England and has First Class degrees in Creative Writing and Writing for Children and, aside from writing novels, lectures in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. 

C.J. loves Masterchef, Gummy Bears and graveyards. She hates hard-boiled eggs, going to the dentist and coughing. The movies Titanic, My Best Friend’s Wedding and Ruby Sparks were all probably based on her ideas – she just didn’t get to write them down in time. Before she dies, she would like to go to Japan, try clay-pigeon shooting and have Tom Hardy present her with the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

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Little White Lies by Philippa East ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

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Publisher: HQ
Published: February 6th, 2020
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Coming-of-Age Fiction
Trigger Warnings: Abuse, Trauma 

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this debut thriller. Thank you to HQ for the invitation to take part and the gifted copy of the novel.

SYNOPSIS:

She only looked away for a second…

Annie White only looked away for a second, but that’s all it took to lose sight of her young daughter.

But seven years later, Abigail is found.

And as Anne struggles to connect with her teenage daughter, she begins to question how much Abigail remembers about the day she disappeared….

Addictive, edge-of-your-seat, dark women’s fiction perfect for fans of Heidi Perks, Sophie Hannah and Lisa Jewell.

 

MY REVIEW:

“It was when it was over that all the rest began, all that led up to that night on the bridge. When I had to account for everything I had done. And, ultimately, everything I had not.”

Seven years after Abigail White went missing at a London tube station she walks into a police station gripping the hand of a young girl. When her mother receives the call to say her fifteen-year-old daughter has been found, her joy is tinged with dread. Anne has been keeping a dreadful secret since that day, one that she has lived in fear of being revealed while also desperately doing all she can to find her child. Will her daughter remember what she did that day? Or will she return home without the truth shattering her family even more?

This one had me intrigued from the start. It started slowly, beginning on the day that Abigail is returning home, and gradually pulled me in, picking up pace until I was gripped by the heart-pounding tension and sizzling fear as more of the story was revealed. At the heart of this book is  a story about family. The two sisters and their families have always been incredibly clo and her sister Lillian had their daughters Abigail and Jess just two weeks apart and they were more like twins than cousins. The two families have remained close since Abigail’s abduction, a relationship that is an integral part of the story. 

In this book the author has The author has used her expertise as a psychologist and therapist to illuminate the complexities of the ‘joyful’ homecoming of a kidnapped child after many years: the fear alongside the relief and happiness, the disconnect between the child and their parents, the adjustments that are needed and the effects of trauma not only on the child, but their extended family. She also highlights how hard it might be for a child to trust their parents after they failed to protect them and their inner battle regarding their affection and fear for their captor and not knowing if all they’ve believed for so many years is actually true. My heart broke for this fractured family as I watched them try to piece themselves back together. The disconnect between Anne and Abigail was particularly palpable and tragic; she’s waited so long to her her child back and now doesn’t know how to be with her. This is compounded by her fear of what Abigail remembers and the guilt she’s carrying for whatever she did that day, but I wanted to reach through the pages and tell her to just hold her daughter. The author also highlighted the stunted personal growth Abigail would have gone through and used small details to show this. 

Though there are male characters in the book it did feel like a story dominated by female characters and it was they who were the most richly drawn. All of them were well-intentioned but flawed. I liked that Abigail wasn’t the stereotypical child that’s just thrilled to be home and happy now she’s free.. She’s quiet, distant, surly, evasive, and scared. She’s endured unspeakable horrors and is reluctant to share what she’s been told by her captor. She slowly reveals little morsels, usually to Jess, and a picture gradually emerges of just how much he messed with her mind and hurt her emotionally. Obviously there’s a lot of sympathy for her, but the menacing undercurrent to her character and ambiguity of whether or not she’s causing harm made her all the more interesting to read. 

Little White Lies is an emotional, twist-filled story. The author had a skill for making you think you can relax after a revelation only to leave you stunned with yet another heart-pounding twist that has you reading so fast the words almost blur. As the story progressed the author threw in a number of curveballs to throw us off the scent regarding Anne’s secret. I had a few theories about it, and about the man who’d taken Abigail, but I was so wrong. When the truth was finally revealed my jaw was on the floor. 

A sizzling debut that you don’t want to miss. A perfect read for anyone who loves a good, twisty thriller.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Philippa East works as a Clinical Psychologist and therapist. She lives in Lincolnshire with her husband and cat. Philippa’s prize-winning short stories have been published in various literary journals and Little White Lies is her debut novel.

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The Leaving Party by Lesley Sanderson⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Publisher: Bookouture
Published: January 31st, 2020
Format: Kindle
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Coming-of-Age Fiction

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this new thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

SYNOPSIS:

Every year on the same day, on the anniversary, I receive a black rose. Thirteen years of dark petals, jagged thorns, dredging up memories I’ve tried to forget…

I’ve packed up my life. All my belongings are carefully sealed in labelled boxes, my suitcase ready for my big move. I’m just days away from a new life with my boyfriend Ben.

No one knows the real reason I’m desperate to leave.

My best friend Lena is throwing me a leaving party. A celebration, to say goodbye. Champagne to toast my farewell. Speeches, full of fond memories.

No one knows what I’m running from.

Then another black rose appears, dragging up thirteen years of buried memories. My passport goes missing. The very people I am trying to escape from turn up at our house.

Someone knows what I did.

This party was meant to be the first night of the rest of my life – but now I don’t know if I’ll see tomorrow.

Someone knows my secret. They’re in my home, they’re at my party, and they’re making me pay for it.

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MY REVIEW:

The Leaving Party is a story about how one night can change your life. About what can happen when long-held secrets and toxic obsession collide. And makes us question how well we really know those we consider closest to us. 

Ava is on the cusp of a new life. in two days she’s joining her boyfriend Ben in New York and she can finally leave behind the awful thing she did that’s been haunting her for thirteen years. She’s tried to move on but so far it’s followed wherever she goes with the appearance of a single black rose on the same day every year. she’s never told anyone, not even her best friend Lena who saved her life terrible, fateful night. But today one appears out of sequence, terrifying Ava and convincing her that her tormenter will be at the party and might just be planning their revenge. 

The backstory is slowly told in flashbacks of another party thirteen years ago. What happened that night cast a dark shadow over their lives and bound the pair together for the rest of their lives. Ava feels beholden to Lena for her actions that night and it’s clear that Lena plays on this, using it to keep Ava close and guilt her into accepting how she clings to her and wants her all to herself. The dynamic is unhealthy but Ava feels so indebted to Lena that she can’t see it clearly.  

I didn’t find Ava or Lena particularly likeable. Ava was a character I felt a bit indifferent about and I never particularly took to her or feel the connection you need with a character to really care about what happens to them. Though she talks about having done something awful and secretive, I never felt that tension or got the feeling she had done anything wrong, but sensed she felt a huge amount of guilt for causing an accident that ended in tragedy. Lena was different. I didn’t like or trust her from early on, and though she unnerved me I was able to feel her pain more keenly. As more of her character was revealed it was clear she had an unhealthy attachment to Ava and might benefit from some psychiatric help. She was a great character to read as though she’s clearly unhinged we’re never sure if she’s the good or bad guy. 

I loved the premise of this book. It was full of mystery and started with tension in the air as Ava receives the rose that morning. Though it never reached a level where I was on the edge of my seat,  tension was added to the story with the mystery of what had happened to Ben, the influx of sinister, unwanted party gifts and Ava trying to figure out who she could trust and which guest was behind it all. I had suspicions about the suspect early on that ultimately proved true, but the author kept me on my toes with a number of viable suspects that each seemed to have equal merit and made it had to be sure who was the perpetrator.

The Leaving Party was a quick, easy and engaging read. It is perfect for those who enjoy mysteries that don’t have the gruesome element you often find in this genre.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lesley spends her days writing in coffee shops in Kings Cross where she lives and also works as a librarian in a multicultural school. She has lived and worked in Paris and speaks four languages. She attended the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course in 2015/6, and in 2017 was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish fiction prize. Lesley discovered Patricia Highsmith as a teenager and has since been hooked on psychological thrillers. She is particularly interested in the pschology of female relationships.

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