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Her Last Mistake (Detective Gina Harte Book 6) by Carla Kovach ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: May 11th, 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Kindle, Audio
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Noir Fiction, Police Procedural

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this gripping thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

Dressed in a sage green bridesmaid dress, and smiling for pictures, Holly is the happiest she’s ever been. Hours later, Holly is dead.

People love to hate Holly Long. Smart, beautiful and a woman who men find it hard to say no to, she’s the town’s most gossiped about resident.

Now Holly’s body lies in her hotel room, strangled at her best friend’s wedding party. And the gossip has stopped, because nobody wants to look like they did it.

When police search Holly’s immaculate apartment, amongst her stylish furnishings and expensive jewellery, they discover a different side to Holly. Orderly and precise, she wasn’t the chaotic party girl everyone thought her to be. In fact, Holly was a planner, and her next plan was to come out and tell her biggest secret – something she had been hiding for months, something that had the potential to ruin the lives of more than one wedding guest.

There are plenty of people who might have wanted to kill Holly, but only one who has finally made good on their promise.

An unputdownable crime thriller with an ending you will never see coming, this is the latest gripping novel from bestselling author Carla Kovach. If you like Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh, you’ll love Her Last Mistake.

MY REVIEW:

“The beast has escaped and it was never going back in its cave now, he was more than just a player – he had an urge.” 

Secrets, lies, betrayal, and a killer seduced by darkness; a perfect storm that leads to brutal murder in this compelling thriller. 

When Holly Long is found brutally murdered at her best friend’s wedding reception Detective Gina Harte and her team are called in to find her killer. Her family and friends seem bewildered that anyone could hurt her, but Holly was harbouring a secret that threatened to ruin the lives of more than one of the wedding guests. The question is, which one silenced her before she could tell?

I’m a big fan of a book series, especially in crime fiction. One of the things I love about them is that when you pick it up you know what you’re getting. Whenever I pick up a book in this series I know I’m getting a gripping, well-written, readable thriller with some violent murders thrown in for good measure. Her Last Mistake certainly lived up to those expectations and it was great to be back with Gina and her team. 

In this installment Gina is struggling with the fact that Briggs knows the dark secret she’s kept for two decades and the fear that she will lose herself if she opens up even more and relinquishes the control she’s kept all this time. And for Gina, losing herself means losing the ability to do her job and punish those who hurt others. It was good to see her wrestle with her vulnerable side during this book as she wrestled with relying on and confiding in someone else after so many years of only having herself for those things. I’m really rooting for her and Briggs though and would love to see Gina get her happy ever after. 

Carla Kovach has a talent for writing twisty crime fiction full of relatable characters and villains that send a shiver down your spine. I can honestly say that the mysterious killer in this book made my skin crawl more than any other that she’s written. His penchant for sadistic sexual thrills and murder mixed with the ability to charm those around him made him someone incredibly dangerous and hard to find. The chapters from his point of view were so well written that at times I felt sick and was covered in goosebumps from how much he creeped me out. 

Her Last Mistake is a dark, twisty and disturbing thriller that is hard to predict.  I flew through it in just a day,  hooked by the tension-filled plot and the need to know the killer’s identity and was on tenterhooks right until the pivotal moment when all was finally revealed. I would recommend this book and the previous books in the series to anyone who enjoys a well-written thriller.

Carla Kovach

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carla Kovach was born in Birmingham, UK and now resides in Redditch, Worcestershire. Author of supernatural drama ‘Flame,’ psychological thriller ‘To Let,’ crime thriller ‘Whispers Beneath the Pines,’ and holiday comedy, ‘Meet Me at Marmaris Castle.’ Carla also writes stage and screenplays, some of which have been produced in the Worcestershire area. Her feature film ‘Penny for the Guy’ is being made and is set for release in 2019.

Her latest book, Her Last Mistake is the sixth book in the DI Gina Harte crime series.

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Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: May 14th, 2020
Publisher: Orenda
Format: Kindle, Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Suspense,  Lesbian Literature, Youth Novel

TRIGGER WARNING: Child Abuse

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Orenda for the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

Single-mother Fran returns to her sleepy hometown to care for her dying father when a devastating bush fire breaks out. A devastating, disaster-noir thriller from the author of The Cry.

Fran hates Ash Mountain, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill, and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway.

She returns to her hometown to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time, and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer.

As old friendships and rivalries are renewed, and new ones forged, Fran’s tumultuous home life is the least of her worries, when old crimes rear their heads and a devastating bushfire ravages the town and all of its inhabitants…

Simultaneously a warm, darkly funny portrait of small-town life – and a woman and a land in crisis – and a shocking and truly distressing account of a catastrophic event that changes things forever, Ash Mountain is a heart-breaking slice of domestic noir, and a disturbing disaster thriller that you will never forget…

MY REVIEW:

“There’s a firestorm coming straight for Ash Mountain.” 

For Fran Collins Ash Mountain is a place that holds unwanted memories and stirs a sense of anger and injustice inside her. She left as soon as she could but is now back to care for her dying father. Little has changed in the rural town where everybody knows your business and never lets you forget. But there are some dark, sinister secrets that are still waiting to be discovered….

The small, sleepy town of Ash Mountain and it’s residents are vividly brought to life in this captivating novel.  From the opening chapter with its descriptions of the sky red and black with fire and the unrelenting heat, the author immerses you in Fran’s world as clearly as if you were watching it on a movie screen. I could see the fire raging towards me, feel it  scorching my skin and the smoke choking my lungs. Later on, when the flames take hold and burn through the town, there are heartbreaking scenes as the residents are caught in its clutches and descriptions of charred bodies that serve as a stark reminder of the true cost of disasters such as these.

Though there are multiple narrators and the book tells the stories of many of Ash Mountain’s inhabitants, it is Fran’s story that is at the heart of the book. When we meet Fran she is in her early 40s and a single parent to sixteen-year-old Vonny. Her son Dante is now twenty-nine, the product of a scandalous one night stand when she was fifteen, and still lives in the small town. Fran is a likeable and relatable protagonist and as the story moves between multiple timelines spanning thirty years, we begin to understand why she has such venom for her hometown and many of its residents. But lurking in the shadows, there is a much darker story waiting to be unearthed. And as the tension rises, harrowing discoveries bring to light the town’s most sordid secrets.

Atmospheric, original and pulsing with tension, this was a quick and fast-paced read. It is the first time I’ve read one of Helen’s novels and I will definitely read more. Don’t miss the acknowledgments and photographer’s note at the back of the book to learn the story behind the book’s beautiful front cover.

Helen Fitzgerald Author Pic

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of Dead Lovely (2007) and ten other adult and young adult thrillers, including My Last Confession (2009), The Donor (2011), The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and Viral (Out Feb 2016). Helen has worked as a criminal justice social worker for over ten years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia. She now lives in Glasgow with her husband and two children.

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What Lies Between Us by John Marrs ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: May 15th, 2020
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Suspense, Psychological Fiction

SYNOPSIS:

Nina can never forgive Maggie for what she did. And she can never let her leave.

They say every house has its secrets, and the house that Maggie and Nina have shared for so long is no different. Except that these secrets are not buried in the past.

Every other night, Maggie and Nina have dinner together. When they are finished, Nina helps Maggie back to her room in the attic, and into the heavy chain that keeps her there. Because Maggie has done things to Nina that can’t ever be forgiven, and now she is paying the price.

But there are many things about the past that Nina doesn’t know, and Maggie is going to keep it that way—even if it kills her.

Because in this house, the truth is more dangerous than lies.

MY REVIEW:

“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on shoes.” Charles Spurgeon

It was clear from the prologue that this was going to be another gorgeously written book by John Marrs and an easy five stars. I was so engrossed in reading this crazy, unpredictable thriller that I didn’t notice the time, read through the night, and the birds were singing as I finished. 

Nina and her mother Maggie live together in the house she grew up in. But no one else knows that. Everybody else believes Maggie moved away after getting ill two years ago, which is when Nina attached a chain to her ankle and imprisoned her in her bedroom to punish her for what she did. But nothing is as it seems and Nina has no clue that there are sinister secrets lurking behind her mother’s actions. Maggie would rather die than allow her to find out the truth; which just might happen as their game of cat and mouse gets out of control…

This book is quite simply a masterpiece. I inhaled and inhabited it; the outside world disappearing away around me. Fast-paced, deftly plotted, intricate and layered, this is storytelling at its best. I’ve been a fan of John Marrs since reading his first book, The One, and, to be honest, I didn’t think he could top that for me. But he knocked me for six with this one. I read a lot of thrillers, many of them dark, warped and twisty. But in all my years of reading I think this has to be one of the most dark, warped and twisty of them all. I’m kind of scared of him after reading this. 

Nina and Maggie are memorable, richly drawn, complex and flawed characters. The both play victim and villain and it is never clear who is who in their crazy, twisted games. It is a testament to the author’s talent and nuanced writing that I found myself still having empathy and understanding even when they did the most despicable things. Neither of them is particularly likeable, but they are compelling and I vacillated between compassion and loathing towards them throughout the book. 

Reading this takes you on one hell of a ride. Each time I thought I had it figured out everything I thought I knew would be turned on its head and there were so many twists and turns that I got book whiplash. 

What Lies Between Us has shot to the top spot of my favourite thriller this year and is now my favourite book by this author.  I just hope this is picked up for adaptation like my previous favourite, The One, which I’m excited to see on Netflix soon. 

READ. THIS. BOOK. 

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John Marrs is the author of #1 Best Sellers The One, The Good Samaritan, When You Disappeared, Welcome to Wherever You Are, Her Last Move, The Passengers and What Lies Between Us. The One has been translated into 30 different languages and is to be turned into an eight-part Netflix series in autumn 2020.
After working as a journalist for 25-years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time writer.

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Who We Were by B. M. Carroll ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: May 7th, 2020
Publisher: Viper
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Who We Were. Thank you to Viper Books for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.
Photo by Mrs Cooke’s Books.

Viper asked us to share a little bit about what we were like at school at the start of our post so I’ll start with some school memories and then pics for you to have a good giggle at.

I wasn’t the popular girl, the pretty girl, class clown or the sporty girl. I was the awkward  and shy ginger girl who was rubbish at sports. I had quite a few friends and was happy to talk to anybody, but I certainly wasn’t cool or popular.

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Me aged 11. Mum convinced me to have a perm and being ginger I ended up looking like Annie. Believe it or not this is one of the flattering pics.
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My English teacher, Mrs Ball. She helped me through hard times and encouraged my writing.

When I was twelve we moved to the south coast and I went to an all girls school. You can imagine how bitchy it could get with hundreds of hormonal teenage girls all together. I did struggle with bullying for a time but I came out the other side, accepted their apologies, and some of those girls are still my friends today. I do have a lot of fond memories: school trips, sleepovers with friends, being part of the school production of Jesus Christ Superstar and the French exchange trip are just a few that spring to mind.

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France, April 1993
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Trip to France, April 1993
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Jesus Christ Superstar, November 1994
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Mole and badger in drama class

This book certainly brought back memories and I could recognise people I knew back then in some of the characters. Though I went to school in the 80s and 90s in the UK I felt that the author captures the secondary/high school experience perfectly.

Me on leavers day, May 19th 1995

SYNOPSIS:

If you looked the other way, should you be punished?

Twenty years after they went their separate ways, friends and enemies are coming together for their school reunion. Katy, who is desperate to show that she’s no longer the shy wallflower. Annabel, who ruled the school until a spectacular fall from grace. Zach, popular and cruel, but who says he’s a changed man.

And Robbie, always the victim, who never stood a chance. As the reunion nears, a terrible event that binds the group together will resurface. Because someone is still holding a grudge, and will stop at nothing to reveal their darkest secrets…

MY REVIEW:

High school drama at its best; this compelling thriller is Dawson’s Creek with a deadly twist. 

It’s twenty years since Annabel, Grace, Melissa, Katy, Luke, Zach and Robbie left Macquarie High and went their separate ways. Their favourite memories, worst moments, hopes and dreams were recorded in their high school yearbook, a lasting reminder of who they were at that moment in time. With their twenty year reunion approaching, Katy thinks it would be fun to create an updated yearbook, an idea that soon turns sinister when someone begins to send distressing, personal messages to some of the group. How does this person know their deepest secrets? As the day of the reunion draws closer, it becomes clear that someone is holding a grudge and looking for revenge. But who? And why?

I flew through this book in just a day. Impossible to predict or put down, I couldn’t figure out who was behind the messages and had to keep reading until I knew the answer. Under the surface of this readable thriller, is a book that deals with some sensitive and hard-hitting issues, such as bullying, drug use and mental illness. The flashbacks to their school years also address how cruel and callous teenagers can be and the long lasting effects that can have. The author writes about these issues with sensitivity and has created richly drawn, authentic characters that are full of depth. I was completely immersed and invested in their lives, particularly Robbie’s heartbreaking story and Annabel’s struggles with her teenage son. 

Running parallel to the drama of the character’s personal lives is something much darker and more ominous. At first it seems like it is just a cruel prank, but as the story goes on it is clear that they could be in real danger. Everyone is a suspect: wives and husbands, life-long friends, new lovers. How do you protect yourself from a threat when you don’t know who they are or what they want? The tension and fear radiated from the pages and I was on tenterhooks as we approached the dramatic climax.

Emotionally-charged, dramatic, twisty and surprising, this riveting thriller keeps you on your toes from start to finish. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ber Carroll (also known as B.M Carroll) was born in Blarney, a small but famous village in Ireland. The middle child of six, she often retreated from the chaos of family life by immersing herself in books. She has fond memories of the mobile library bus that used to pull up outside their house in Blarney and the dozen or so books she would borrow at a time, some quite inappropriate for her age.

Ber moved to Sydney in 1995 with her boyfriend (now husband) Rob. She got a job as a finance manager in the IT industry and began to climb the corporate ladder. The exciting and dynamic work environment captured her imagination and inspired her first novel. When Executive Affair was published, Ber flatly denied it was in any way auto-biographical. She now admits that the novel did have a lot of her in it, and suspects that half the people who purchased the book were her ex colleagues, to see if they were in it too. Ber gave up her finance career when she realised that she couldn’t hold down a demanding job, be mum to two small children and write books to contractual deadline. She now writes fulltime, but says that she misses getting dressed up for work and being around people who listen to what she has to say, unlike her kids!

Ber is the author of nine novels, including Just Business, High Potential, The Better Woman, Less Than Perfect, Worlds Apart and Once Lost. Her most recent novels The Missing Pieces of Sophie McCarthy and Who We Were (coming May 2020) are published under B.M. Carroll.

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The Happy Couple by Samantha Hayes ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: May 6th, 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Kindle, Paperback
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Noir Fiction, Medical Thriller.

Today is my stop on the blog tour fort this spectacular novel. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

Me and Will. Will and Me. A perfect match. He said he would always be there for me, but it’s been a year since he drained his coffee, walked out the front door and vanished.

Did he leave me? Or did something terrible happen? I’m scared someone finally found out about what happened on the drive home that night…

I lie awake at night trawling the internet for rental properties, desperate for an escape. Until I see my husband’s gorgeous face smiling back at me from a photograph on the fireplace in someone else’s home, and something inside of me snaps.

At the house, I find no trace of him and the woman who lives there has no idea who I am. But I’m certain she’s hiding something behind the locked door upstairs. I know that if I want answers, I have to stay.

You might think that what’s inside that room is the answer to all my questions and the end of all my pain. But it’s only the beginning…

Nail-biting and completely gripping, The Happy Couple will make you question how well you really know the ones you love. Perfect reading for anyone who adored by The Wife Between Us, The Girl on The Train or Gone Girl.

MY REVIEW:

Jo Carter has been searching for her husband, Will, since his sudden disappearance almost a year ago. She still can’t believe he would leave her as they were perfect together and refuses to give up hope despite friends and family telling her it’s time to move on. When her best friend Louise suggests she take a holiday it is supposed to be a time of healing. Instead, it’s the start of a nightmare that begins when she sees her husband’s pictures on a strange woman’s mantlepiece…

Samantha Hayes has yet again written a book that is action-packed, masterfully plotted and utterly addictive. Dripping with suspense, desperation and menace, Hayes had me on the edge of my seat. The story is multilayered and was hard to predict and even when I thought I had it all figured out, I would be proven wrong with another shocking revelation.  

I really liked Jo. She’s vulnerable and heartbroken and I was rooting for her to find closure regarding Will so she could be happy again. Still reeling from Will’s disappearance, she’s an unreliable narrator. She ‘sees’ Will everywhere and often blurts out things she thought she’d only said in her head, so when she says she’s seeing these pictures of Will we don’t actually know if that’s true. I love when the narrator of a book is unreliable like this, not knowing if what we’re being told is true and trying to figure that aspect out alongside what might be going on. Jo’s psyche affects the lens through which we see all the characters as she is our only narrator. That is most evident in Suzanne. It’s clear she has suffered major trauma and her PTSD is real but we can’t tell if she’s a victim or villain, a friend or foe. I loved the extra tension this added and the xx dynamic it created between her and Jo.

The Happy Couple is a story laced with tragedy, lies and secrets. A story that asks how well you really know the person who sleeps beside you every night and about finding the strength inside that you never knew you had when you’re at your lowest ebb. 

Riveting, twisty, and completely unexpected, this spectacular thriller will keep you reading late into the night. This was my fourth time reading one of Ms Hayes’ books and the more I read, the more I am in awe of her talent. She writes about ordinary people living in extraordinary and frightening circumstances, and you really believe it.  I highly recommend this book and her back catalogue. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Samantha Hayes grew up in Warwickshire, left school at sixteen, avoided university and took jobs ranging from private detective to barmaid to fruit picker and factory worker. She lived on a kibbutz, and spent time living in Australia and the USA, before finally becoming a crime-writer.

Her writing career began when she won a short story competition in 2003 and her sixteenth novel, THE HAPPY COUPLE is out 6th May. Her novels are family-based psychological thrillers, with the emphasis being on ‘real life fiction’. She focuses on current issues and sets out to make her readers ask, ‘What if this happened to me or my family?’ And you’ll always find a BIG twist at the end of her novels!

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING says “We’re big fans of Samantha Hayes. Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping…”

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The Secrets of Sunshine by Phaedra Patrick ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: May 14th, 2020
Publisher: HQ
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Domestic Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Humourous Fiction

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this beautiful story. Thank you to HQ for the invitation to take part and the gifted copy of the book .

SYNOPSIS:

‘A wonderfully hope-filled story’ Sarah Haywood, bestselling author of The Cactus

A single father gets an unexpected second chance at love in the heart-warming new novel from the bestselling author of The Library of Lost and Found.

Only his daughter Poppy knows that behind his prickly exterior, Mitchell Fisher is deeply lonely. He may have sworn off romance, relishing his job cutting off the padlocks that couples fasten to his hometown’s famous ‘love story’ bridge… but underneath it all, he’s still grieving the loss of Poppy’s mum.

Then one hot summer’s day, everything changes when Mitchell bravely rescues a woman who falls from the bridge into the river. He’s surprised to feel an unexpected connection to her, but then she disappears. Desperate to find the mysterious woman, Mitchell teams up with her spirited sister Liza to see if she’s left any clues behind. There’s just one – a secret message on the padlock she left on love story bridge…

Brimming with Phaedra Patrick’s signature charm and a sparkling cast of characters, The Secrets of Sunshine follows one man’s journey to unlock his heart and discover new beginnings in the unlikeliest places.

MY REVIEW:

The Secrets of Sunshine is as heartwarming, uplifting and delightful as its name suggests and is the perfect read on sunny summer days. When I picked up this book I was in need of something lighthearted to refresh my reading pallet after a number of back to back thrillers and I couldn’t have chosen a better book for the job.

Single dad Mitchell Fisher spends his days removing love locks from his hometown’s famous ‘love lock’ bridge and his nights with his nine-year-old daughter Poppy. He is struggling to move on from the death of Poppy’s mother and still writes her love letters he will never send. 

Then one day everything changes. It begins when he rescues a woman who falls from the bridge into the river and then disappears as quickly as she seemed to appear on the bridge. Feeling an unexpected connection to her,  he agrees to team up with her sister Liza to try and find her, starting with a clue she left on her the lock she hung on love lock bridge…

I got totally lost in this beautiful story and devoured it in under a day. A story about celebrating love, finding, hope, overcoming grief and moving on, it was a breath of fresh air. Letter writing is a prominent feature of this story. There are the letters Mitchell writes to Anita, the ones she wrote him, and the many letters he receives from the public after being hailed ‘The Hero on the Bridge’. I loved the personal and emotional dynamic the letters added to the story and enjoyed the touching stories in the letters Mitchell received from strangers. It also made me nostalgic for the days where we took the time to write letters to each other and the joy of receiving them.

Mitchell isn’t an easy man to like at first. He is a prickly, rigid person who lives life by a strictly regimented schedule. But behind all of that he’s a man who’s had his world turned upside down, has been left brokenhearted, and is trying to do the best he can for the daughter he adores. I had a lot of empathy for him from the start but started to warm to him more as he moved out of his comfort zone and relaxed a little more. His story arc was one I thoroughly enjoyed and I loved his character by the end of the book. I found the secondary characters Liza, Poppy, Carl and Graham endearing and thought they added a lot of warmth and humour to the story.

The Secrets of Sunshine is an absolute gem. Charming, quirky, captivating and full of hope, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something that will brighten their day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Phaedra Patrick studied art and marketing and has worked as a stained glass artist, film festival organiser and communications manager. An award-winning short story writer, she now writes full time in Saddleworth where she lives with her family.

Her debut novel, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, was translated into over twenty languages worldwide and has been optioned by a major Hollywood film studio. Her second novel, Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone (named Wishes Under the Willow Tree in the UK), is also under option in the US as a TV movie. Her third novel is The Library of Lost and Found, and the fourth one is titled The Secrets of Love Story Bridge (The Secrets of Sunshine in the UK).

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One Mistake by Rona Halsall ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: May 5th, 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Format: Psychological Fiction

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this gripping thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

How far would you go to protect your happy home?

Sara made one promise to herself when she was growing up in foster care: that if she was lucky enough to have a family, she’d always do whatever it took to protect them. Looking around her home with its cosy kitchen and living room, where her energetic teenage daughters and gorgeous four-year-old son all eat, play and live together, she knows she’d do anything to keep them safe.

So when Sara’s husband Matt loses his job and every shred of his confidence with it, she knows it’s up to her to bring the family back from the brink. Though she doesn’t know where she can possibly find the money they need to keep afloat.

Until her boss offers her a deal. He’ll help out. All she has to do for him is one little favour…

This year’s most gripping psychological thriller – perfect for fans of My Lovely Wife, The Girl on the Train, and Something in the Water.

MY REVIEW:

“She’d thought she was solving a problem, but she had in fact created a monster.”

Sara would do anything for her family. They are her world. And after an unhappy childhood growing up in foster care, she promised herself that she would always protect her children from the same kind of hurt.

When her husband Matt loses his job and she sees him becoming a shell of his former confident self, Sara impulsively takes drastic action to help her family. When her actions are discovered, she agrees to a deal that seems to be the answer to all her problems. But she will discover it is the beginning of everything spiralling out of control.

One Mistake examines the age-old conundrum: how far would you go to protect those you love. Sara has always said she would do anything, and she proves it with her actions over the course of the book. Yes, she makes some questionable choices, but they are all done with thoughts of helping her family at the forefront of her mind. She sacrifices so much about herself for them. What starts out as a small lie to just one person becomes much more as her lies pile up and bleed into every facet of her life. It is out of her control and she’s terrified of what is going to happen.

Rona Halsall has become one of my go-to authors. Her stories are always morally complex and filled with emotion. She puts you in the shoes of the protagonist and you find yourself empathising rather than judging as she makes you think about what you would do in their position. Without her ability to do that I would have written off Sara as stupid early on. Instead, I found myself with my heart in my throat as I wondered how on earth she would get herself out of this mess as her world collapses around her.

Unexpected, entertaining and immersive, One Mistake is an emotionally-charged multilayered thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rona lives on the Isle of Man with her husband, two dogs and three guinea pigs. She has been a bookworm since she was a child and now she’s actually creating stories of her own, which still feels like a dream come true.

She is an outdoorsy person and loves stomping up a mountain, walking the coastal paths and exploring the wonderful beaches on the Island while she’s plotting how to kill off her next victim. She also makes sure she deletes her Google history on a regular basis, because… well, you can’t be too careful when you spend your life researching new and ingenious ways for people to die.

She has three children and two step-children who are now grown up and leading varied and interesting lives, which provides plenty of ideas for new stories!

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Categories
book reviews

Keeper by Jessica Moor ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: March 19th, 2020
Publisher: Viking
Format: Hardcover, Kindle
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Police Procedural
Trigger Warnings: Domestic Abuse and Rape.

SYNOPSIS:

He’s been looking in the windows again. Messing with cameras. Leaving notes.
Supposed to be a refuge. But death got inside.

When Katie Straw’s body is pulled from the waters of the local suicide spot, the police decide it’s an open-and-shut case. A standard-issue female suicide.

But the residents of Widringham women’s refuge where Katie worked don’t agree. They say it’s murder.

Will you listen to them?

An addictive literary page-turner about a crime as shocking as it is commonplace, KEEPER will leave you reeling long after the final page is turned.

MY REVIEW:

“The trick was to never let the bruises heal, to never remember what life was like without them. Then it didn’t seem too much to bear.”

Keeper is a story about the dark side of love. It takes us to the depths of darkness in humanity and the horrors visited on those they abuse. 

It has taken me a while to write this review because it hit so close to home and triggered painful memories that can still cause anxiety and nightmares over a decade later. Reading this was a visceral experience. It made me angry, made me sick to my stomach and broke my heart while also reminding me of the strength of those of us who have known that “life”. 

A murder investigation is the springboard for a much deeper novel as the author takes a look at the truth of abusive relationships. It highlights the danger of these relationships, the stark reality that these women are in more danger when they leave that when they stay, rape in a relationship (ie marital rape but she’s not married) and also looks at its affect on mental health. Though it is a startling honest book, the author is never gratuitous and deals with the issues in a sensitive and compassionate way. She focuses on the women’s quiet bravery throughout their ordeals and offers an insight into the psyche of an abused woman. 

“She learns to name the demon. To understand that, just as cities can fall without a shot being fired, a woman can relinquish herself, piece by piece.” 

This book was filled with richly developed characters. I’ll talk about the ones I loved first of all, which was the strong female characters. They were so much more than mere victims cowering in a corner. They each had their own stories and nuances that shaped their decisions. Even if they didn’t see it, their strength the reader could recognise it, but at the same time the author showed how hard it is to break away from the control of an unhealthy relationship; especially when it’s all you’ve known or they’ve destroyed you from within. 

One of the hardest things for me was recognising my abuser in some of the men in this story. Jamie and DC Daniel Whitworth were the two where I saw him most of all. Watching Katie and Jamie’s relationship play out in the flashbacks as it slowly became toxic and unhealthy was hard. Early on I recognised the love bombing, distancing you from your friends and the gaslighting. The author did a great job of accurately portraying how they play you and make you believe they love you before slowly starting to strip away your self esteem and controlling you. DC Whitworth is initially portrayed as a caring and sensitive man, but the veneer is quickly stripped away and the misogynistic dinosaur who blames abused women for their position and is ignorant and dismissive of mental health is revealed. I would get so angry reading scenes with him, more so than with Jamie as there was no attempt to charm or gloss over the awful things he said and thought. He really was a bad fit for investigating a suicide of an abused woman with mental health issues.

Keeper is a tragic, unsettling and important novel that everyone should read. It is a powerful, heart-rending, thought-provoking and outstanding debut from a superb new talent. The author doesn’t just write about abused women, she really sees them. I don’t think I’ve read a book where I recognised myself and my past so utterly and I think a lot of others will feel the same. This is one to read in 2020 and I think it will make a great impact.

Thank you to Viking books for my gifted copy of this novel.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jessica Moor is a writer from London. Her debut novel, Keeper, was published by Penguin Viking in 2020. She divides her time between Berlin and London.

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:

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BUY THE BOOK:

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Categories
Blog Tours book reviews

He Started It by Samantha Downing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: April 30th, 2020
Publisher: Penguin UK
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense

Thank you to Sryia at Michael Joseph Books for the invitation to take part and the & gifted copy of the novel .

SYNOPSIS:

This is a story about three siblings. Like any family, sometimes they don’t get along.

It’s a story about a secret that they’ve all kept since they were children.

It’s a story about lying. A story about murder.

It’s a story where only one can win.

MY REVIEW:

Dark, twisty and smouldering with tension, nothing is as it seems in this spectacular thriller.

Lured by the promise of inheriting life-changing wealth, siblings Beth, Eddie and Portia are reluctantly recreating the road trip they took with their Grandpa twenty years ago. Things happened on that first trip that they have never discussed again, not even amongst themselves, the memories tormenting them as they retrace their journey. And when they realise they are being followed, the siblings begin to wonder if this trip will end just like the first, or if this time they will manage to emerge unscathed…

Wow! Samantha Downing has done it again. Her debut, My Lovely Wife, was one of my favourite books of 2019 so I was eagerly anticipating this follow up and hoping that lightning would strike the same place twice. Thankfully it did. The story is cleverly crafted, deftly plotted and expertly written and I was utterly transfixed from start to finish. With her singular style, Downing has created another masterpiece and secured her place as one of the most talented thriller writers out there. The story is cleverly crafted, deftly plotted and expertly written and I was utterly transfixed from the first pages. With her singular style, Downing has created another masterpiece and secured her place as one of the most talented thriller writers out there. 

The Morgan family are a family held together by gossamer threads and haunted by the ghosts of twenty years ago. They are fractured, troubled, well-written characters who are each full of secrets and their own hidden agendas for agreeing to this road trip, besides the money of course. The narrator, Beth, tells the reader from the start she’s no heroine, giving us a small hint of the turbulence to come as the layers of her character are slowly peeled away. 

He Started It left me reeling, I did not see that ending coming at all and was left with my jaw on the floor. An absolute tour de force, this is a thriller you don’t want to miss. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Samantha Downing is the author of the Edgar Award-nominated novel My Lovely Wife. Amazon Studios and Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films have partnered to produce a feature film based on the novel.

Her next book is called He Started It and will be released in 2020. She currently lives in New Orleans, where she is furiously typing away on her next novel.

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:

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BUY THE BOOK:

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Categories
Blog Tours book reviews Monthly Wrap Up

Monthly Wrap Up – April 2020

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I can’t believe we’re a third of the way through the year already. April has been a strange month for the world with us being in lockdown. For me, that’s meant mostly getting used to not having a quiet house during the day Monday to Friday, which is when I do a lot of my reading and blogging. I’ve also had to hand over my laptop to our eldest as his is broken so I’m restricted in my times I can write.

In terms of reading, April has been another strong month for me. I’ve read thirteen books, taken part in fifteen blog tours, two cover reveals, one readalong and one buddy read. So here is what I’ve read this month:

  1. Mine by Clare Empson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  2. Strangers by C.L. Taylor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  3. The Philosopher’s Daughters by Alison Booth ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  4. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  5. All In Her Head by Nikki Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  6. The Fallout by Rebecca Thornton ⭐⭐⭐.5
  7. The Switch by Beth O’Leary ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  8. I Am Dust by Louise Beech ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  9. What’s Left of Me Is Yours by Stephanie Scott ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  10. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
  11. The Thunder Girls by Melanie Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  12. The House Guest by Mark Edwards ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  13. We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  14. So Many Lies by Paul J. Teague ⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can read the synopsis and reviews for what I’ve read this month by clicking on the links above except for The House Guest, which will be reviewed next month.

So many great books means it’s hard to choose a favourite. And this month it was almost impossible. I loved Hamnet and was sure nothing would top that; until I read the breathtaking debut novel, What’s Left Of Me Is Yours. I still think about that book many times each day and am constantly recommending everyone read it. So if you haven’t yet bought a copy you can use the links in my review to do it now! Other books I feel deserve a shout out are the fantastic thrillers Strangers and All In Her Head, the heartwarming and uplifting The Switch, and the brilliantly sinister I Am Dust. Each of these were also contenders for my book of the month.

Thank you to the publishers for my gifted copies of the books and the blog tour organisers for all their hard work.

What have you read this month and what was your favourite? Comment below.