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Unbroken by Madeline Black

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Published: April 4th, 2017
Publisher: John Blake Publishing Ltd
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Autobiography

Trigger Warning: Rape

Today is my spot on the blog tour for this powerful story. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Madeline Black for the gifted copy.

SYNOPSIS:

For many years after that night, my memories of what happened after he held the blade to my throat and threatened my life were fragmented… difficult to piece together. It was too extreme, too violent for me to understand.

Violently gang-raped when she was thirteen years old, and raped three more times before the age of eighteen, Madeleine has experienced more trauma in her life than most ever will.

Living in a state of shock and self-loathing, it took her years of struggle to confront the buried memories of that first attack and begin to undo the damage it wrought, as men continued to take advantage of her fragility in the worst possible way.

Yet, after growing up with a burden no teenager should ever have to shoulder, she found the heart to carry out the best revenge plan of all: leading a fulfilling and happy life. But the road to piecing her life back together was long and painful. For Madeleine, forgiveness was the key. True forgiveness takes genuine effort. It takes a real desire to understand those who have done us so much harm. It is the ultimate act of courage.

In Unbroken, Madeleine tells her deeply moving and empowering story, as she discovers that life is about how a person chooses to recover from adversity. We are not defined by what knocks us down – we are defined by how we get back up.

MY REVIEW:

“For many years after that night, my memories of what happened after he held the blade to my throat and threatened my life were fragmented, difficult to piece together and distant to non-existent. It was too extreme, too violent to understand.”

A harrowing, moving and powerful story of survival. 

At just thirteen-years-old Madeline Black was brutally raped and tortured by two men. Too terrified to tell anyone after her life is threatened, and filled with shame and guilt, she internalises and buries the ordeal. But it seeps out in other ways and she begins to act out, take drugs and act promiscuously. Every time her parents try to warn her that something bad might happen, the truth that it already has gets stuck in her throat, filled with words she feels unable to speak. Before she turns eighteen Madeline is raped on three more occasions and spends time in a psychiatric hosptial after attempting suicide. She had endured more in her short life than most of us ever will. 

“In that moment, I declared to myself that my best revenge on those who assaulted me would be to lead a good and happy life.” 

But this is a story that is so much more than the horrors she endured. This is the story of how she recognised her trauma, faced it and took the ultimate revenge on her attackers by thriving and going on to lead a happy and fulfilled life. 

Understandably this was not an easy book to read. I fought back tears and nausea and even had to put the book down a few times as the scenes depicting what she was subjected to were so horrifying. While that part of her story is necessary, the prevailing memory and message of this story is one of hope, bravery and survival. A reminder that you can survive a traumatic experience and turn it into something good, which Madeline does by not only living a happy life, but also working with the Women’s Aid and Rape Crisis and training as a psychologist. 

“I didn’t think my journey was so extraordinary, but the more I opened up to people, the more evidence I received to show me it was.”

Madeline is an incredible woman. To endure all she has and still thrive is remarkable and I am so glad that she felt able to share her story. I am filled with admiration for the strength and bravery she has shown and in her ability to find a path to forgiveness. 

Unbroken is an inspiring and empowering story that you won’t forget. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✫

Madeleine Black

MEET THE AUTHOR:

The sharing of her story on The Forgiveness Project’s website in September 2014, opened many doors for Madeleine in ways she never imagined and the invitations started to pour in.

She has taken part in both TV and radio interviews and has been invited to share her story at conferences, events and schools.

She recognises that she was a victim of a crime that left her silent for many years, but has now found her voice and intends to use it. Not just for her, but for so many who can’t find theirs yet.

She is married and lives in Glasgow with her husband, three daughters, her cat, Suki, and dog, Alfie.

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Blog Tours book reviews

I Know Your Secret by Ruth Heald

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Published: June 10th, 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Kindle, Paperback
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Domestic Fiction, Noir Fiction

Trigger Warnings: Mental Health, Self Harm

Happy Publication Day to this gripping thriller. Thank you Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

You’re not who you say you are. Neither is she.

She thinks she knows me.

She believes my marriage is falling apart at the seams, that my husband can barely look me in the eyes. She thinks I’m desperate for a baby, that my longing for a family keeps me up at night. As much as I hate to admit it, all of this is true.

She thinks I listen to her advice, that I care about her opinion. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Because she has no idea who I am. She has no clue that I know everything.

I know her secret. I know that she did the unforgivable. I know how many lives she ruined.

I know exactly what she did. And I’m here for her.

An utterly gripping, addictive and shocking read about the dark secrets we’re ashamed to admit, and the lengths people go to for revenge. Fans of K.L. Slater, My Lovely Wife and The Wife Between Us will be racing through the pages, gasping at the twists, and reeling from the explosive ending of this unmissable page-turner.

MY REVIEW:

Nothing is what it seems at first in this exciting and gripping thriller. Danielle tells therapist Beth that she needs help saving her marriage. While it may be true that she and husband Peter have problems, the real reason for Danielle being there lies beneath years of secrets. Danielle knows what she did and won’t stop until Beth has paid the price.

Wow! What a ride! An undercurrent of danger and foreshadowing runs through this multi-layered and fast-paced thriller. The story opens with an unknown arsonist starting a fire and fleeing the scene leaving us to try and decipher the clues to figure out who they were, if they got away with it, and who was the person they heard screaming as they left. As truths are slowly unveiled, I found that every time I thought I had things figured out the author would pull the rug from under me and take things in an entirely new direction.

Danielle and Beth are unreliable narrators, which I liked as it made them and the story harder to figure out. Beth is a newly single mum to four-year-old Charlie and is trying to come to terms with the end of her marriage when we meet her and I instantly related to her due to similarities in our stories. Danielle was harder to like. Even in situations where I had empathy for her I didn’t trust her and felt she was calculating and manipulating things, though I couldn’t be sure just how much. One big thing that Beth and Danielle have in common is their struggles with their mental health. The author examines how mental health can be affected when we go through something life-changing and traumatic. It felt like a timely subject to be reading about during PTSD Awareness Month and I liked that the author showed two very different, but real, ways of coping as we see how one character sought help while the other uses unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with their pain.

I Know Your Secret is a cleverly written, twisty and riveting thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a well-written and exciting psychological thriller.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ruth Heald is a psychological thriller writer from a suburban Buckinghamshire town. She studied Economics at Oxford and then worked in an eclectic mix of sectors from nuclear decommissioning to management consulting.

Seeking a more creative environment, she found a role at the BBC and worked there for nine years before leaving to write full time. Ruth is fascinated by psychology and finding out what drives people to violence, destruction and revenge. She’s married with one daughter and her novels explore our greatest fears in otherwise ordinary, domestic lives.

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Blog Tours book reviews

The Lies I Tell by Joel Hames

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Published: June 9th, 2020
Publisher: FFS Publishing
Format: Kindle, Paperback
Genre: Psychological Thriller

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour and Happy Publication Day Joel Hames. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for the invitation to take part and FFS Publishing for the ebook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

SHE’S WATCHING YOU
BUT WHO’S WATCHING HER?

From the bestselling author of Dead North, a tense, claustrophobic psychological thriller perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Claire McGowan and Clare Mackintosh.

Meet Polly. Meet Emily. Meet Belinda.

They’re all me. My name is Lisa and I’m an identity thief. If I’m not inside your system stealing your money, I’ve probably already stolen it. I’m your friend. I’m a thief. I’m gone.
I’m in control.

Only now, the tables have been turned. I’m in danger. My son is in danger. And I don’t know where that danger’s coming from.

Any friend.
Any enemy.
Any stranger.

Anyone from the past I’ve been trying to outrun for years.

NOBODY CAN BE TRUSTED.

MY REVIEW:

When she fled her tragic childhood home at the age of fifteen,  Lisa Atkins shed her first identity and became someone else. Ever since she has invented new identities in order to outrun her past and to scam her targets.

But now the tables have turned and she is the target. Realising that she and her son, Simon, are in danger, Lisa frantically tries to find the source of the danger. But they remain illusive. Will the past she’s been trying to outrun for two decades finally catch up with her?

This readable and intriguing thriller captured my attention quickly. The story is told in chapters that alternate between the past and present with flashbacks revealing the terrible homelife she endured and the trauma that has cast a shadow over her whole life. In the present day we watch her keep track of her various identities and scams while also being a doting mother to four-year-old Simon. It provides a shocking and thought-provoking reminder of how our modern-day love of technology and social media can be used against us by those with the knowledge to do so. Personally, I could only think how being so many different people must be exhausting. Just reading all she had to do to keep on top of her many identities left me feeling like I needed a nap!

One of the things I liked most about this book was Lisa’s nuanced and layered character. Lisa isn’t supposed to be someone we like. She’s a con artist and a thief who takes pride in what she does, but she is also a loving mother and someone with a tragic past. There is something about her that was endearing to me from the start and I couldn’t help but like and root for her. The flashbacks to her childhood were certainly a contributing factor to this as the story went on as it was impossible not to be moved by what she had gone through.  

Another thing I enjoyed about this novel is that I found it hard to predict. I had no idea who was targeting Lisa or what turns the story would take next. My only issue with this book, and the reason I have given it 3.5 stars instead of 4, is that about a fifth of the way in the tension wanes and doesn’t pick back up for quite some time. But overall this was a fascinating, twisty, and enjoyable thriller. 

Rating: ✮✮✮.5

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Joel Hames lives in rural Lancashire, England, with his wife and two daughters, where he works hard at looking serious and pretending to be a proper novelist.

After a varied career in London which involved City law firms, a picture frame warehouse, an investment bank and a number of market stalls (he has been known to cry out “Belgian chocolates going cheap over ‘ere” in his sleep), Joel relocated from the Big Smoke to be his own boss. As a result, he now writes what he wants, when he wants to (which by coincidence is when the rest of the family chose to let him).

Joel’s first novel, Bankers Town, was published in 2014, and The Art of Staying Dead followed in 2015. The novellas Brexecution (written and published in the space of ten days following the UK’s Brexit referendum, with half the profits going to charity) and Victims were published in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

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The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson

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Published: September 20th, 2018
Publisher: Headline
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime Fiction
Trigger Warnings: Physical and sexual abuse, self harm

I read this book as part of a readalong with The Tandem Collective. Thank you to Headline for the gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

‘All the stuff in the papers was lies.
We were never The Ice Cream Girls’

Serena and Poppy were teenagers when they were branded as the Ice Cream Girls.

When they were accused of murder, one of them was sent to prison while the other was set free.

Now, 20 years later, one of them is doing all she can to clear her name and the other is frantically trying to keep her secrets.

Which Ice Cream Girl is desperate enough to kill to get what she wants?

MY REVIEW:

“I stop in my tracks as ice-cold fingers with razorblade fingernails scratch at my heart, lungs, stomach. This is what it feels like when the past crops up unawares, when it will not stay dead and buried as it should be.”

As teenagers Serena and Poppy, known as The Ice Cream Girls, were accused of murder. While both protested their innocence only one was found guilty while the other went free. 

Now, 20 years later, Poppy is out of jail and determined to clear her name while Serena is frantically trying to keep her past a secret. But which Ice Cream Girl is desperate enough to kill to get what she wants?

I read this book as part of a readalong with Tandem Collective and was instantly hooked. Although I own a number of books by Dorothy Koomson, it was my first time reading one and I am now kicking myself for waiting so long. Her descriptive and evocative writing pulls you into the story and doesn’t let go until the last page. Atmospheric, twisty and riveting, I couldn’t put it down and sped through it quickly instead of reading over the course of five days.

In this novel the author tackles unsettling subjects such as domestic violence and abusive and inappropriate relationships. She explores how people are drawn into these relationships, their reasons for staying, the danger of leaving and the lasting effect they can have on your mental health in an honest but sensitive way. As someone who was in an abusive relationship I could see aspects of my past in this book and in both Poppy and Serena.

The Ice Cream Girls is a dark, addictive and thought-provoking page-turner that will keep you guessing right until the breathtaking finale. The sequel,  All My Lies Are True, is out in July and I can’t wait to see where the author takes the story next. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✫

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Dorothy Koomson is the award-winning author of 15 novels and has been making up stories since she was 13 when she used to share her stories with her convent school friends. Her published titles include: Tell Me Your Secret, The Brighton Mermaid, The Friend, When I Was Invisible, That Girl From Nowhere, The Flavours of Love, The Woman He Loved Before, Goodnight, Beautiful and The Chocolate Run.

Dorothy’s first novel, The Cupid Effect, was published in 2003 (when she was quite a bit older than 13). Her third book, My Best Friend’s Girl, was selected for the Richard & Judy Summer Reads of 2006 and went on to sell over 500,000 copies. While her fourth novel, Marshmallows For Breakfast, has sold in excess of 250,000 copies. Dorothy’s books, The Ice Cream Girls and The Rose Petal Beach were both shortlisted for the popular fiction category of the British Book Awards in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

Dorothy’s novels have been translated into over 30 languages, and a TV adaptation loosely based on The Ice Cream Girls was shown on ITV1 in 2013. After briefly living in Australia, Dorothy now lives in Brighton.

In 2019 Dorothy was awarded the Image Award by The Black British Business Awards to celebrate and honour her achievements.

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The Split by Sharon Bolton

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Published: May 28th, 2020
Publisher: Orion
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this riveting thriller. Thank you to Alex at Orion for the invitation to take part and the gifted eBooks ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

SHE’S GOT NOWHERE LEFT TO HIDE.

A year ago, in desperation, Felicity Lloyd signed up for a lengthy research trip to the remote island of South Georgia.

It was her only way to escape.

AND NOW HE’S COMING FOR HER.

Freddie Lloyd has served time for murder. Out at last, he’s on her trail.

And this time, he won’t stop until he finds her.

BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW FAR YOU RUN, SOME SECRETS WILL ALWAYS CATCH UP WITH YOU…

Tense, gripping and with a twist you won’t see coming, Sharon Bolton is back in an explosive new thriller about a woman on the run…

MY REVIEW:

“The ends of the Earth. That’s how far she ran this time.

Not far enough.”

Felicity Lloyd is a Glaciologist taking part in the research trip of a lifetime in South Georgia. But her career isn’t the only reason she signed up for the two-year expedition. She is also a woman on the run. But even running to the ends of the Earth wasn’t enough to stop the man she lives in fear of from finding her. He is on the island and won’t stop until he finds her.

Wow! I am still trying to catch my breath after reading this exciting and twisty thriller. A rip-roaring and wild ride that had me holding on for dear life, this was as impossible to predict as it was to put down. Packed with heart-stopping tension and gripping cliffhangers, there is much more to this layered thriller, and its characters, than first meets the eye.

“The last ship of the season. One more and she’s safe. She thinks of the fear inside her like cancer, eating away at muscles, organs, bone, growing all the time, until there is nothing left of her but a rotten, stinking mass in skin stretched like an overfilled balloon. How will the terror burst out, she wonders, when it inevitably does. A scream? A petrified wimper?“

Sharon Bolton is the Queen of the complex and chilling thriller. I’ve been a fan ever since reading Blood Harvest two years ago but was unprepared for the twisted web she would weave on these pages. The story is cleverly written and plotted, taking me in unexpected directions every time I thought I had it figured out. And even though one wild theory of mine was ultimately proven true, her clever red herrings had me convinced I was wrong right until the reveal.

One of the things I loved most about this book is its setting in the beautiful, bleak and icy Antarctic. The author breathes life into the surroundings with evocative imagery that is so transportive that I almost forgot I was sitting in the summer sun whilst reading. The author had clearly done her research and I found myself getting an education about glaciers and the Antarctic whilst reading.

Atmospheric, unexpected and riveting, The Split has ticks every box needed for a sensational thriller. Sharon Bolton is definitely on my list of auto-buy authors after this novel and I can’t recommend it highly enough to anyone who enjoys a well-written thriller that keeps you on your toes.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

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MEETTHE AUTHOR:

Sharon J Bolton was born and brought up in Lancashire, the eldest of three daughters. As a child, she dreamed of becoming an actress and a dancer, studying ballet, tap and jazz from a young age and reading drama at Loughborough University.

She spent her early career in marketing and PR before returning to full-time education to study for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at Warwick University, where she met her husband, Andrew. They moved to London and Sharon held a number of PR posts in the City. She left the City to work freelance, to start a family and to write.

She and Andrew now live in a village in the Chiltern Hills, not far from Oxford, with their son and the latest addition to the family: Lupe, the lop-eared lurcher. Her daily life revolves around the school run, walking the dog and those ever-looming publishing deadlines.

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A Theatre For Dreamers by Polly Sampson

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Published: April 2nd, 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for A Theatre For Dreamers. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and Bloomsbury for the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

1960. The world is dancing on the edge of revolution, and nowhere more so than on the Greek island of Hydra, where a circle of poets, painters and musicians live tangled lives, ruled by the writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston, troubled king and queen of bohemia. Forming within this circle is a triangle: its points the magnetic, destructive writer Axel Jensen, his dazzling wife Marianne Ihlen, and a young Canadian poet named Leonard Cohen.

Into their midst arrives teenage Erica, with little more than a bundle of blank notebooks and her grief for her mother. Settling on the periphery of this circle, she watches, entranced and disquieted, as a paradise unravels.

Burning with the heat and light of Greece, A Theatre for Dreamers is a spellbinding novel about utopian dreams and innocence lost – and the wars waged between men and women on the battlegrounds of genius.

MY REVIEW:

When she was eighteen-years-old Erica followed her first love to Hydra, an island inhabited by dreamers: writers, poets, painters and musicians who all came to create under the heat of the Greek sun. The novel tells the story of their lives on the island that summer; the trials and tribulations, romance, heartache and self-discovery, all through Erica’s eyes.

This captivating and evocative novel was pure escapism. Beautifully and elegantly written, the rich, vivid imagery transported me to the Greek Island of Hydra and the heady summer of 1960 so clearly that I could feel the sun on my skin and taste the salt on my tongue. The author brings to life a time of freedom, innocence and discovery when everything seemed so much simpler. After finishing I was left with a longing for that summer like I myself had lived it. 

The fantastic cast of characters leap from the page and it was only after reading the author’s notes that I realised that these are real people and the story is based in fact. It is clear that the author has extensively researched her characters and I found myself heading to google to learn more about them. I loved Erica. When she arrives on the island she is fleeing from the sadness of her mother’s death and her father’s tyranny and is in the throes of passionate first love. In this bohemian society she finds a home like she has never experienced before and I enjoyed watching her journey of self-discovery. Erica’s pain at her mother’s death and longing for her is a theme that runs throughout the book. She is searching for that mother figure she’s lost in Charmian but doesn’t really get back what she hoped for in return and it made me want to put my arms around her and mother her myself. 

A Theatre For Dreamers is an atmospheric, immersive and delightful novel. It offers an escape and enables you to visit the shores of a Greek Island during a time when we are all unable to go much further than our back gardens. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✫

Polly Samson Author pic

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Polly Samson is an English novelist, lyricist and journalist. She is married to musician David Gilmour, and has written the lyrics to many of Gilmour’s works, both as a solo artist and with the group Pink Floyd.

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The Glass House by Eve Chase

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Published: May 14th, 2020
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Mystery, Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Suspense, Domestic Fiction

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this captivating mystery. Thank you to Gaby at Michael Joseph for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

Outside a remote manor house in an idyllic wood, a baby girl is found.

The Harrington family takes her in and disbelief quickly turns to joy. They’re grieving a terrible tragedy of their own and the beautiful baby fills them with hope, lighting up the house’s dark, dusty corners.

Desperate not to lose her to the authorities, they keep her secret, suspended in a blissful summer world where normal rules of behaviour – and the law – don’t seem to apply.

But within days a body will lie dead in the grounds.

And their dreams of a perfect family will shatter like glass.

Years later, the truth will need to be put back together again, piece by piece . . .

From the author of Black Rabbit Hall, The Glass House is an emotional, thrilling book about family secrets and belonging – and how we find ourselves when we are most lost.

MY REVIEW:

“Only the trees know what happened in the woods that night.” 

August 1971. The Harrington family are spending their summer at Foxcote Manor in the Forest of Dean in the hope that the idyllic setting will help them recover after a family tragedy. But it doesn’t seem to be working and they feel more fractured than ever. 

But then a baby girl is found on a tree stump in the woods by their house. The family decide to keep her secret and take her in rather than alerting the authorities and it seems like their answer to their healing has arrived.

But then a few days later a body is found in the woods and their idyll is shattered. None of their lives will be the same again. 

The Glass House is an atmospheric, mysterious, compelling and riveting story about deep, dark family secrets that hold the key to the truth of a mystery that has lingered for almost fifty years. It is one of the most beautifully written mysteries that I’ve read and each word has been perfectly polished so that not one is wasted. The author has created a memorable cast of characters and a richly drawn sense of place that gave the novel a mysterious, eerie and haunting ambience. 

Told in dual timelines by multiple narrators, the complex and layered story is tightly plotted and I loved how the author slowly wove together the mysterious and tragic events of 1971 with those in the present day. I was utterly immersed in its pages and inhabited the world inside this book along with the characters. 

The Glass House is an enthralling, dark, and twisting mystery. It was one of my most anticipated books this year and did not disappoint. I highly recommend this exquisitely written book. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

From Amazon:

I’m an author who writes rich and suspenseful novels about families – dysfunctional, passionate – and the sort of explosive secrets that can rip them apart. I write stories I’d love to read. Mysteries. Page-turners. Worlds you can lose yourself in. Reading time is so precious: I try to make my books worth of that sweet spot.

My office is a garden studio/shed. There are roses outside. I live in Oxford with my three children, husband, and a ridiculously hairy golden retriever, Harry.

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Water’s Edge (Detective Megan Carpenter Book 2) by Gregg Olsen

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Published: May 28th, 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Kindle
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Hardboiled

It’s Publication Day and my stop on the blog tour for this gripping thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the gifted eBook ARC of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

The young woman’s body is lying with her arms stretched out to each side. Her lips slightly parted. Her face untouched by injury and her hair spread around her head like a fan. A redhead. Just like the others.

When the body of Leann Truitt is found in a secluded cove in Mystery Bay, Detective Megan Carpenter is one of the first on the scene. The victim has tell-tale marks on her wrists, ankles and neck where she has been bound. But that’s not all. Next to Leann’s body lies a puzzling clue – an unusual symbol scratched into a rock.

With rookie Deputy Ronnie Marsh under her wing and the investigation underway, Megan starts to receive disturbing messages. Someone knows about her traumatic past. They know what she did.

Determined to stay focussed, Megan soon makes a chilling link between Leann’s brutal killing and the unsolved murder cases of two other women – all redheads with the same marks on their bodies, the same symbol carvings found at the crime scenes, and most shockingly, all had been pregnant.

The killer stalks his prey, kidnapping and torturing them in a very exact and methodical pattern. And he is not finished yet…

When the body of another woman is found bearing a striking resemblance to the other victims, Megan must crack the clues fast if she is to catch the twisted soul before they strike again.

Megan might be closing in on the killer, but someone is watching her every move. Can Megan hide the secrets of her past threatening to destroy her future? And can she protect herself and Ronnie before they both find themselves in terrible danger?

An addictive, gripping and completely unputdownable crime thriller from the Number One New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Amazon Chart bestselling author.

MY REVIEW:

“A serial killer has come to Jefferson County.”

The body of a young woman is found in a secluded cove on Marrowstone Island. She has been beaten and strangled, posed, and there is a strange symbol carved  into a rock nearby. Detective Megan Carpenter is one of the first on scene and sets about trying to identify the young woman and find her killer. When she finds links to previous murders in the area it is clear they are hunting a serial killer. One whose crimes have chilling echoes of those carried out by Megan’s father. Could someone who knows about her past be sending her a chilling message? 

Water’s Edge is the second installment in the Detective Megan Carpenter series. I loved the first book and was eagerly anticipating this follow up. Once again the author had me gripped from the first pages and I flew through this readable thriller. 

“Someone out there knows my secrets. Someone out there wants me to suffer.”

In the first book there are hints about Megan’s mysterious past. This time, her past is unveiled in more detail and features heavily in the story, allowing the reader to get to understand her better. We understand why she has closed herself off from others and lives in fear while also seeing the strength and bravery it took to have endured and risen above such a horrific past and get to where she is today. As the case triggers memories of her past and she sees similarities to her father’s crimes, Megan’s determination to get justice for the victims grows and we learn just how far she is willing to go to ensure that justice is served. 

The introduction of Reserve Deputy Ronnie Marsh as Megan’s partner was an interesting character arc. Megan hates working with others and is resentful of being forced to take Ronnie under her wing, but she slowly begins to see that not going it alone can have it’s benefits, something that also makes her think about her choice to shun getting too close to new people in her personal life too. I enjoyed seeing some of Megan’s iciness thaw and her open up to having friends and relationships in her life. 

Water’s Edge is a dark, harrowing, tense and gripping thriller that keeps you guessing. Fast-paced, deftly plotted and well written, it is a bumpy and twisty ride that I didn’t want to end. The author has crafted a strong second installment in this new crime series and while it can be read as a standalone I highly recommend reading the first book too and can’t wait for book three.  

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

A #1 New York Times, Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, Olsen has written nine nonfiction books, seventeen novels, a novella, and contributed a short story to a collection edited by Lee Child.

The award-winning author has been a guest on dozens of national and local television shows, including educational programs for the History Channel, Learning Channel, and Discovery Channel.

The Deep Dark was named Idaho Book of the Year by the ILA and Starvation Heights was honored by Washington’s Secretary of State for the book’s contribution to Washington state history and culture.

Olsen, a Seattle native, lives in Olalla, Washington with his wife, twin daughters, three chickens, Milo (an obedience school dropout cocker) and Suri (a mini dachshund so spoiled she wears a sweater).

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Blog Tours book reviews

His & Hers by Alice Feeney

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Published: May 28th, 2020
Publisher: HQ
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Police Procedural

Happy Publication Day to this spectacular thriller! Thank you to HQ for the invitation to take part and the gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

If there are two sides to every story, someone is always lying…

Jack: Three words to describe my wife: Beautiful. Ambitious. Unforgiving.
Anna: I only need one word to describe my husband: Liar.

When a woman is murdered in Blackdown village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Anna’s ex-husband, DCI Jack Harper, is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation.

Someone is lying, and some secrets are worth killing to keep

MY REVIEW:

“People might recognise my face, they may even know my name, but they’ll never know the real me.”

It is impossible to know who to trust in this compelling thriller where long-held secrets lead to revenge and murder. 

When a woman is found murdered in Blackdown, newsreader Anna Andrews reluctantly heads back to the village she grew up in to cover the story. Her ex-husband, DCI Jack Harper, is eager to solve the murder quickly. They are both hiding secrets they would like to keep hidden. Secrets that might even be worth killing to keep… 

Wow! This is exactly the kind of dark, twisted thriller I love. Fast-paced and deftly plotted, the short, quick-fire chapters kept me on the edge of my seat and the author had me in the palm of her hand from the start. I didn’t foresee the jaw-dropping twists she had in store and was left reeling after turning the final page. 

“Sometimes I think I am the unreliable narrator of my own life.
Sometimes I think we all are.”

The characters are flawed, complex, nuanced and richly drawn. Jack and Anna are both struggling to recover and move on after the tragedy that ended their marriage. They are both keeping secrets and are clear suspects from the start. I really enjoy a book that is told by unreliable narrators as I love having to decipher all the small clues in what they say and do and how it increases the tension as you try to figure them out. Anna and Jack are both unreliable narrators, with Anna also being a character that is far from warm or likeable.  

As the death toll rises it is clear from the brutal murders that this is personal to the killer. Someone wanted the victims to suffer and is out for revenge. The chapters from the killers point of view offered a chilling insight into their twisted mind, motives and the sadistic pleasure they took in the murders. Could Anna or Jack really be hiding such darkness? Though I had my suspicions about the killer’s identity from early on they would vacillate many times over the course of the book and I could never settle on a clear suspect. For me, that is the sign of great writing and a fantastic novel and I loved the breathless anticipation of waiting for the final reveal. 

His & Hers is the second time I’ve read and loved a book by this author and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. She is definitely now one of my auto-buy authors. Taut, twisty, breathtaking and full of suspicion, the twists and turns kept coming, taking you on a rollercoaster ride right up until the shocking climax. This is an electrifying thriller you don’t want to miss.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5 

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Alice Feeney is a New York Times and international bestselling author.

Her debut thriller Sometimes I Lie is being made into a TV series by Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. starring Sarah Michelle Gellar.

His & Hers is her third novel and will be published around the world in 2020.

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Blog Tours book reviews

Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: May 14th, 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this magnificent  debut. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and Bloomsbury for the gifted copy.

SYNOPSIS:

Lover. Murderer. Mother. Meet TSARINA, the most powerful woman history ever forgot.

Spring 1699: Illegitimate, destitute and strikingly beautiful, Marta has survived the brutal Russian winter in her remote Baltic village. Sold by her family into household labour at the age of fifteen, Marta survives by committing a crime that will force her to go on the run.

A world away, Russia’s young ruler, Tsar Peter I, passionate and iron-willed, has a vision for transforming the traditionalist Tsardom of Russia into a modern, Western empire. Countless lives will be lost in the process.

Falling prey to the Great Northern War, Marta cheats death at every turn, finding work as a washerwoman at a battle camp. One night at a celebration, she encounters Peter the Great. Relying on her wits and her formidable courage, and fuelled by ambition, desire and the sheer will to live, Marta will become Catherine I of Russia. But her rise to the top is ridden with peril; how long will she survive the machinations of Peter’s court, and more importantly, Peter himself?

MY REVIEW:

“He is dead. My beloved husband, the mighty Tsar of all the Russias, has died – and just in time.”

Tsarina is a story of power, lust, sex, murder and betrayal. Of rags-to-riches. Of Catherine, the first Tsarina of all the Russias. 

It begins in February 1725, on the night that Peter the Great, Tsar of All the Russias, dies. Catherine, her children and his advisors try to conceal his death for as long as possible to delay their fate. It is a matter of life and death. The story then moves between that night and flashbacks to Catherine’s life, beginning when she was just thirteen-years-old, still known as Marta and living with her serf family. We then follow her journey from poor peasant girl to Tsarina; a story that would be deemed too far fetched if you tried to sell it to a publisher. But every word of this novel is based in fact, with just a few liberties taken as the details of Catherine’s early life is shrouded in mystery.

I have always had a love for history and ever since studying the fall of the Tsars for my History A Level I have been fascinated with their story. So when I saw this book advertised I knew from just the title that I HAD to read it and after reading the synopsis it became one of my most anticipated books of the year. Thankfully, this magnificent debut surpassed every one of my high expectations. It was an all-encompassing read. A book that I took my time with, taking time to soak in every word, but also one that I couldn’t put down or stop thinking about when I had to do so. 

Ellen Alpsten is a new talent to watch. Exquisitely written and wonderfully crafted, her meticulous research shines through on every page, bringing back to life those who lived and died three hundred years ago and making you feel like they are right there beside you with her powerful storytelling. I was hooked from the start and became totally lost in Catherine’s story, living every word of this book while reading it. Every moment of love and joy, every piercing pain of heartbreak and every gut-wrenching horror she witnessed and experienced, I felt along with her. 

“Together, we have lived and loved, and together, we ruled.”

After reading this novel it seems unimaginable that Catherine’s story has been forgotten. That such a strong, brave and remarkable woman had been consigned to a footnote in history. At that time life for most of Russia’s people was hard, harsh and bleak. Even those in the upper classes lived in fear of falling out the Tsar’s favour and losing not only their wealth but their lives. Peter had a new vision for Russia and was a ruthless leader who was willing to sacrifice anyone and everything to achieve it. Even as his wife Catherine walked a tightrope knowing she could be stripped of everything and either sent to a convent or killed should the fancy take him. The brutality of life at that time and the lack of rights that were held by even the highest-ranking women is starkly illuminated in Catherine’s story in sobering detail. 

Tsarina is a masterpiece of historical fiction. Atmospheric, intoxicating, unsettling, and compelling, this outstanding novel is one that will linger long after you close it’s pages. This gloriously decadent debut is one you don’t want to miss. 

Ellen Alpsten Author Pic

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ellen Alpsten was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands. Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint, and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons, and a moody fox red Labrador. Tsarina is her debut novel.

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