Tag: April Books

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Blog Tours book reviews

BLOG TOUR: His Last Wife by Ruhi Choudhary

Published April 25th, 2024 by Bookouture
Mystery, Thriller, Drama, Psychological Thriller

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this sinister and unpredictable thriller. Thanks to Bookourture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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BOOK DESCRIPTION:

“Do not go in there, Anna. Never go in there.” The words ring in my head as I pick the lock to the only room in the house that the man I love tells me I’m not allowed to enter. Trembling as I step inside, I’m about to finally find out what happened to his last wife…

Everyone thinks my life is bliss. The love of my life, Cary, and I live in our dream home and we have a beautiful little girl, Harper. I may not have given birth to her, but I’m her mommy now. But there’s one thing we never talk about…

Cary’s wife before me, Presley, was perfect in every way. But she went missing a long time ago. Cary was distraught when he told me how she was abducted from her car, leaving behind a pool of blood. No one saw a thing.

The neighbors are always gossiping about Presley. I try to ignore them, but one day I hear something that makes my stomach flip. Presley was abducted from her home. The home I now live in. Cary lied to me about the car. But why?

As I search our beautiful home for answers, I stumble across Presley’s diary. My heart thunders in my chest as I discover the truth: Cary had something to do with his wife’s disappearance. And I’m terrified I might be next.

But Cary doesn’t know that I have a secret too. He doesn’t know how far I’ve gone to get this perfect life, and how much further I’ll go to keep it…

An unbelievably gripping psychological thriller, His Last Wife will have you flipping the pages until you reach the final, breathtaking twist. Fans of Don’t Let Her Stay, The Housemaid and The Perfect Marriage won’t be able to put this jaw-dropping read down!

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MY REVIEW:

Anna and Cary are living in their dream home in an affluent neighbourhood with a beautiful daughter, Harper. Anna may not have given birth to Harper, but she adores the angelic little girl and is her mother in every sense of the word. But there is one fly in the ointment of their happiness: Cary’s first wife, Presley. Presley was perfect, and Anna is struggling with living in her shadow. But when she discovers that Cary lied to her about Presley’s disappearance, Anna begins to wonder if he’s all that he appears to be. She searches their room for answers and stumbles across Presley’s diary, which contains worrying accusations against the man she loves. Could he have played a part in his wife’s disappearance? And can Anna uncover the truth without revealing her own secrets?

Forbidding, ominous and suspenseful, this edge-of-your-seat thriller was like a layer cake; filled with a multitude of twists, turns, red herrings, and revelations that kept coming right until the last page. Cleverly choreographed, intricate, and convoluted, Ruhi Choudhary held me in a vice grip as she shattered my predictions with each unforeseen twist. There’s secrets, lies, toxic relationships, and – possibly – murder; all taking place behind the doors of an affluent neighbourhood where appearances are everything. There’s constant drama, a very real sense of danger that permeates the pages, and so many twists that I felt dizzy. I needed answers!

Chaoudhary has created a cast of varied, compelling, and realistic characters who you can imagine living in a neighbourhood like Rosedale. I felt like I’d stepped into a darker version of the Real Housewives with all of the catty backstabbing, drama and displays of grandeur. Anna was the perfect fish out of water and it was easy to root for her as I think we can all relate to that feeling, but knowing she was hiding something did make me wonder if she was a reliable narrator. Presley might not appear on the pages until her diary, but Choudhary perfectly captures that sense of her shadow being cast over everything and she feels like a constant presence. Also perfectly captured is Cary. Choudhary has expertly written this charming man who love-bombs Anna before slowly revealing his true self. He was all-too recognisable and I was screaming at Anna to run away but understood the pull to remain that she felt because of Harper. But the character I found most chilling was ‘The Watcher’; an unknown person who is watching Anna and Cary and seems to have malevolent intentions. I had so many theories about who this person could be – most of them wrong. 

Sinister, tense and unpredictable, this is a must for the TBR of every thriller-lover.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

TW: Domestic abuse, emotional abuse, sexual assault

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ruhi Choudhary discovered her passion for writing when she was seven years old and wrote her first Star Trek episode. Being a fan of the dark and twisted, she found her calling in crime thrillers.

She likes to write stories that make you a little uncomfortable and characters that you struggle to make up your mind about but stay with you.

She lives in Toronto and spends her days training to be a scientist and wishing it rained more often!

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the blog tour.

Categories
Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Respect Rom Fic Romance Rocks

BLOG TOUR: Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis

Published April 11th, 2024 by Zaffre
Romantic Comedy, Humorous Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this witty and uplifting rom com. Thank you to Anne from Random Things Book Tours for the invitation to take part and to Zaffre for the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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BOOK DESCRIPTION:

‘Laugh-out-loud, heartwarming tale’ BETH O’LEARY

Millie Chandler is known at work as the nice receptionist who got dumped by the company hotshot, and ever since then, she has vowed to keep everything to herself – her feelings, her hopes, and especially her fears.

But Millie does have an outlet: her emails. From sarcastic replies to her rude boss, rants to friends about their terrible taste in men to a five-hundred-word love declaration to her ex, who three years on, is about to marry someone else. Millie’s reality lives in her drafts until the morning she discovers that they are somehow in her sent folder. The truth is out.

As every dark secret she’s worked so hard to keep password protected is released, Millie must fix the chaos her words have caused.

Will Millie find the strength to open both her heart, and her inbox?

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MY REVIEW:

“For the last couple of years my drafts have become my diary. A confessional. A haunted crypt of unsaid things. Things I wish I could say, things I really really want to say, but don’t in pursuit of an easy life…but now it’s out there… “

It’s a fear of the modern age; accidentally sending an email or text to someone that you didn’t want them to see. In Better Left Unsent, this dreaded nightmare becomes a reality for Millie when the many draft emails she’s written as an outlet for her heartache, frustration, and rage get sent to the people she never wanted to read them. With her innermost thoughts and feeling suddenly laid bare, Millie is left humiliated and scrambling to undo the damage. 

Witty, heartwarming and uplifting, this romcom was the perfect pick-me-up after some darker reads. Millie is a likeable character who was easy to relate to. As someone who often writes down my feelings as a way to get them out of my system, there are many ragey, sarcastic and heartrending notes I’ve written for my own sanity that I’d be mortified should they see the light of day so it was easy to put myself in Millie’s place and understand her toe-curling embarrassment. I would have liked to have seen more of the actual emails that were sent, such as the ones at the beginning of the book, but I loved how Lia Louis wrote the bumpy journey Millie took. The emotion leaped from the page as she attempted to mitigate the aftermath of the email disaster that affected every area of her life.

Some of the greatest shame Millie feels is from the emails she wrote while heartbroken after being dumped by Owen. We’ve all been there when you’re devastated, angry and confused, especially when they move on quickly while you’re struggling to get out of bed. It is through Millie’s relationship with Owen that Louis explores toxic relationships, emotional abuse, gaslighting and coercive control. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, and as she reflects on their broken relationship she begins to see the truth, and I loved seeing her emerge from the other side. There is also a non-toxic love interest in the form of Jack, and I loved reading their potential blossoming relationship as Ms. Louis captures the butterflies, anticipation, excitement and uncertainty that a new relationship brings. 

Funny, sweet and charming, Better Left Unsent is a story that reminds us that good things can come even from what we think are the worst moments of our lives.

Rating: 📨📨📨📨

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lia Louis lives in the United Kingdom with her partner and three young children. Before raising a family, she worked as a freelance copywriter and proofreader. She was the 2015 winner of Elle magazine’s annual writing competition and has been a contributor for Bloomsbury’s Writers and Artist’s blog for aspiring writers.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the blog tour.

Categories
Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2024

BLOG TOUR: Profile K by Helen Fields

Published April 25th, 2024 by Avon Books
Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Psychological Fiction, Crime Fiction

Today is my stop on the blog tour for the brilliant but unnerving, Profile K. Thank you to Avon Books UK for the invitation to take part and for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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BOOK DESCRIPTION:

‘Truly exceptional…twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, a unique concept, and brilliant characters…simply captivating.’ JOHN MARRS

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He’s going to kill you. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Midnight Jones is an analyst trained to understand the human mind. But everything changes when, in the course of her work, she discovers Profile K’s file – because K stands for killer, and she knows that someone more dangerous than she could have ever imagined walks among them.

Midnight knows what Profile K is capable of before he even commits his first crime. But as the news rolls with the brutal murder of a local woman, no one believes what she tells them: that he is capable of so much worse.

Profile K will kill again – and, terrifyingly, Midnight realises that the moment she found his file was the moment she became his next target. Because Profile K is coming for Midnight – and the only way to escape with her life is to find him before he finds her…

The million-copy bestseller is back with a dark, terrifying journey into the mind of a psychopath that will keep you riveted until the very last page.

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MY REVIEW:

He’s going to kill you. He just doesn’t know it yet.

The Queen of the dark, nerve-shredding thriller is back. And she’s outdone herself with this one. With a tagline like the one above I knew I was in for a twisted treat. Dark, depraved, disturbing and deadly, this book took me to some deeply unsettling places in one of the best and most malevolent thrillers I’ve ever read.

Profile K is an office urban legend at Netco. Something for staff to whisper about to one another over the water cooler. But when data analyst Midnight Jones comes across a so-called Profile K she discovers someone unlike anyone she’s profiled before. This applicant is troubling and dangerous. A ticking timebomb of murderous intent walking among us. Midnight takes the profile to her superiors, only for them to dismiss her concerns and tell her to forget what she saw. But she can’t and Midnight remains haunted by what this person is capable of. And when a woman is found brutally murdered, she is sure that Profile K is behind it. How can she make people listen before he kills again?

A tableau of horror, this is a story painted in blood and violence that has malice dripping from every page. Fields sets the tone from the start with a brutal first chapter that made my blood run cold. She moves between the multiple narrators to tell the story, building an atmosphere of ominous foreboding as we peek inside the daily lives of Profile K’s victims. And it is those victims through whose eyes we see their murders, their terror and pain palpable as the monster strikes and they finally discover their terrible fate. This is a dark thriller-lover’s dream, filled with grisly crime scenes, heart-stopping suspense, surprising twists, and a cold-blooded killer who puts the ‘psycho’ in ‘psychological thriller’. I devoured this one whole, unable to put it down for even a moment once I’d started. 

Helen Fields is an expert in writing fantastic characters that get under your skin and there are an abundance of them in this book. Forensic Psychologist Dr Connie Woolwine returns for a third time. And though she plays a crucial role, she’s a peripheral character who appears quite briefly. Our main protagonist is Midnight Jones, a brilliant character who not only has a great name but is likeable, brave, tenacious and easy to root for. She has a compelling backstory that made me furious on her behalf but I admired her selfless commitment to caring for her twin sister, Dawn. I loved the sisters’ relationship and many of their scenes together were incredibly moving. There is also a cast of fantastic background characters, with Dawn and septuagenarian Doris – a lifeline for Midnight and all-round lovely person- being my favourites. And then, there’s Profile K. This character is one of the most disturbed, savage, cruel, and remorseless killers I’ve ever read. Just thinking about him gives me chills and I was glad he didn’t narrate the murders, as the peek inside his twisted mind we got when he was contemplating or reliving them was bad enough, though his backstory did help us understand how he became this way. 

Menacing, macabre, unnerving and compulsive, this is a must read for anyone who enjoys dark and twisted thrillers. Just make sure you’ve nothing planned when you start reading. 

Rating: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Helen Fields’ first love was drama and music. From a very young age she spent all her free time acting and singing until law captured her attention as a career path. She studied law at the University of East Anglia, then went on to the Inns of Court School of Law in London.

After completing her pupillage, she joined chambers in Middle Temple where she practised criminal and family law for thirteen years. Undertaking cases that ranged from Children Act proceedings and domestic violence injunctions, to large scale drug importation and murder, Helen spent years working with the police, CPS, Social Services, expert witnesses and in Courts Martials.

After her second child was born, Helen left the Bar. Together with her husband David, she went on to run Wailing Banshee Ltd, a film production company, acting as script writer and producer.

Helen self-published two fantasy books as a way of testing herself and her writing abilities. She enjoyed the creative process so much that she began writing in a much more disciplined way, and decided to move into the traditional publishing arena through an agent.

Perfect Remains is set in Scotland, where Helen feels most at one with the world. Edinburgh and San Francisco are her two favourite cities, and she travels whenever she can.

Beyond writing, she has a passion for theatre and cinema, often boring friends and family with lengthy reviews and critiques. Taking her cue from her children, she has recently taken up karate and indoor sky diving. Helen and her husband now live in Hampshire with their three children and two dogs.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the blog tour.

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Squadpod Squadpod Book Club

SQUADPOD BOOK CLUB REVIEW: Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Published April 25th, 2024 by Pan Macmillan
Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Women Sleuths, Literary Fiction

Welcome to my review for the unnerving and addictive Darling Girls, which is the SquadPod Book Club pick for April. Thanks to Chloe at Pan MacMillan for the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

A thrilling page-turner about sisterhood, secrets, love and murder by Sally Hepworth, the New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate and The Mother-in-Law.

It’s not just secrets buried at Wild Meadows.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. Rescued from their own family tragedies, they were raised by a loving foster mother on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance for a happy family life.

But the girls’ childhood wasn’t quite the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. And when a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the three foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses.

It’s time for them to return home as adults. The only question is are they innocent victims or the prime suspects for murder?

With darkly comic timing and insidiously twisting plots, Sally Hepworth’s novels are guaranteed to keep you turning the pages . . .

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MY REVIEW:

“These days everyone is familiar with Wild Meadows. The media love the juxtaposition of the whimsical country estate and the atrocities that happened there.”

This month’s SquadPod Book Club pick – and this month’s 12 months, 12 countries challenge – transports us to Australia for a compelling and suspenseful story of found family, trauma, secrets and murder.

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are sisters not by blood, but by a bond forged by their shared experience living as foster sisters at Wild Meadows. They have spent their lives being told how lucky they were to be rescued from their tragic situations and raised by a loving foster mother. But nothing was as it seemed and there are more than secrets buried at Wild Meadows. And when a body is discovered buried beneath their former home, the sisters are drawn back into their murky past and the secrets they have long tried to forget…

“It was almost as if the clock had wound back twenty-five years. They were all young girls, begging to be believed. Except this time they weren’t children. This time they were going to demand to be heard.” 

Darling Girls was my introduction to Sally Hepworth. And what an introduction! The bright cover of this book hides the dark, sinister and unnerving story between its covers. Hepworth explores topics such as abuse, trauma, and unhinged psyches, permeating the story with heartrending moments alongside the heart-stopping tension and shocking twists that keep you on your toes until the very last page. I was in her thrall. Unable to shake the story from my mind and when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it. I needed answers. I needed to know what secrets were buried at Wild Meadows. And I was sure I had it all figured out, only for my jaw to hit the floor as Hepworth sucker-punched me at the eleventh hour for a truly spectacular finale. 

“Disturbing vignettes from her childhood circled in her brain—swimming pools and basements, birthday parties and horses. And fear, of course. Lots and lots of fear.”

The story is narrated by the sisters, who each have rich backstories. They came to live at Wild Meadows due to tragic family circumstances, only to find that what was supposed to be a new beginning in a home filled with love was the beginning of a nightmare. Their foster mother, Miss Fairchild, is a sadistic and cruel monster who made my blood boil and my heart broke as I read of their torment under her so-called care. Miss Fairchild is one of the best villains of this kind that I’ve read, perfectly at odds with what a loving mother is supposed to be and sending chills down my spine when she was on the page. The sisters are each very different but share a close bond that I loved. And while they are flawed in their own ways, they are sympathetically written. But the mystery of the body buried under the house lingers ominously over every page, and while I was rooting for them, I was also aware that they were hiding something. I had various predictions over the course of the book, and, I’ll be honest, I was disappointed that it wasn’t Miss Fairchild they had done in and buried under the house.

Dark, menacing and affecting, I’d highly recommend this addictive thriller. Now I need to buy this author’s backlist ASAP.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

TW: Child neglect, abuse, trauma, drug addiction

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, most recently Darling Girls. She is also the author of Uncharted Waters, published by Amazon Original stories in 2022. Several of Sally’s novels have been optioned for TV and film.  

Sally’s novels are available around the globe in English and have been translated into over 20 languages. She has sold over one million books worldwide.

Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia with her family.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxxx

Categories
Audio Books Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR REVIEW: Leave No Trace (Kat and Lock, Book 2) by Jo Callaghan

Published March 28th, 2024 by Simon & Schuster UK
Psychological Thriller, Science Fiction, Book Series

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this riveting and nerve-shredding thriller. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part, and to Simon and Schuster UK for the proof copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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SYNOPSIS:

DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock return in the provocative new thriller from the author of In the Blink of an Eye.

‘A smart, agile, immaculately plotted and moving thriller that is unswervingly gripping and scary, and at the same time beautifully tender and humane’ NICCI FRENCH 
‘Chilled me to the bone and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Callaghan writes with such intelligence; interspersing humour with moments of utter heartbreak’ NIKKI SMITH
 
One detective driven by instinct, the other by logic.
It will take both to find a killer who knows the true meaning of fear . . .
 
When the body of a man is found crucified at the top of Mount Judd, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – and DCS Kat Frank are thrust into the spotlight as they are given their first live case.
 
But with the discovery of another man’s body – also crucified – it appears that their killer is only just getting started. With the police warning local men to be vigilant, the Future Policing Unit is thrust into a hostile media frenzy as they desperately search for connections between the victims. But time is running out for them to join the dots and prevent another death.
 
For if Kat and Lock know anything, it’s that killers rarely stop – until they are made to.

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MY REVIEW:

DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock are back thrust into the spotlight when they finally get to investigate their first live case in the second instalment of this gripping crime series. The pair are called to an unusual crime scene where a man has been found crucified at the top of Mount Judd. And when the body of a second man is found crucified it seems that their killer is just beginning. Local men are warned to stay vigilant as the Future Policing Unit face a race against the clock to find and stop the culprit before they kill again. 

Compelling, tense and surprising, I couldn’t put this one down. This time around the duo find themselves embroiled in a case that makes national headlines, putting them under even greater pressure. While the first book focused more on the sci-fi aspect of an AI detective, this time around there is less sci-fi and more crime, allowing Jo Callaghan to showcase herself as a crime writer to watch. I enjoyed the darker tone she took this time around and this is exactly the kind of twisted thriller that sings to me. After enjoying the audiobook last time I decided to listen again and loved it. I particularly enjoyed how the killer’s pov is told in an echoey way that is so eerie it sent chills down my spine every time I heard it. Even just thinking about it is making me shiver. 

I loved being back with the Future Policing Unit. Kat and Lock are a unique and fascinating detective team and I loved their banter and camaraderie, which has grown since their rocky start in the first book. But it is only their second case and they are still learning how to work together, something that can be tricky when one of them is driven by instinct and the other by logic. I like how well they balance each other out; one’s weaknesses being the other’s strengths, and how they both were learning to be better officers by including some of each other’s methods. I also really liked that Lock is no longer treated as a perfect detective. We see some of his limitations and flaws, which kind of humanises the AI detective a little. It certainly made me warm to him more this time around. 

Riveting, pacy, and filled with nerve-shredding tension, Leave No Trace is an action-packed thriller that will keep you on your toes. Now I just have to wait impatiently for book three. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

*I listened to this on Bookbeat. You can listen, too, with 2 months free listening with my affiliate link. Click here*

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Jo Callaghan works fulltime as a senior strategist, where she has carried out research into the future impact of AI and genomics on the workforce.She was a student of the Writers’ Academy Course (Penguin Random House), was long listed for the Myslexia Novel Writing Competition and Bath Novel Competition. After losing her husband to cancer in 2019 when she was just forty-nine, she started writing IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, her debut crime novel. Published to critical-acclaim, it selected by Val McDermid for her New Blood panel of the best debuts of 2023 and for BBC Two’s Between the Covers Book Club. TV rights were sold in a major acquisition.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the blog tour.

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2024

PUBLICATION DAY REVIEW: The Darkest Hour by Mark Edwards

Published April 16th, 2024 by Thomas & Mercer
Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Police Procedural, Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction

Happy publication day to this dark and sinister thriller. Thank you Mark Edwards for the gifted copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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BOOK DESCRIPTION:

In this chilling thriller from the bestselling author of Keep Her Secret, if you don’t take your dark secrets to the grave, maybe they’ll take you there first…

Calvin finally owns the bakery of his dreams, in an idyllic village in the Lake District. After reluctantly following his wife Vicky’s advice to promote it on social media, he’s thrilled when a viral clip makes him a legend overnight. But then the creepy DMs start flooding in―all from a stranger who claims she’s his biggest fan.

Meanwhile, a local recluse is found on a nearby beach, buried to his neck and left to drown, and the community goes into shock. Why would anyone want him dead? And who exactly was he? Detective Imogen Evans, new to the Lake District, is under pressure to find out before the killer strikes again.

As the murder hunt gathers pace, Calvin’s obsessive admirer turns up right on cue after his assistant is injured in an accident, and to Vicky’s horror she’s here to stay. As events begin spiralling into darkness, is there anyone in this quiet backwater Calvin can trust―or have his mistakes already put him, and everyone he loves, in terrible danger?

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MY REVIEW:

He’s done it again! The King of domestic horror is back with another sinister story fueled with adrenaline. Just make sure you don’t have other plans, because you’ll be cancelling them to read this once you’ve started. I inhaled it in one sitting; shackled to the pages by the scalpel-sharp tension and my desperate need for answers. 

The body of local recluse Leo James is found on a beach in the Lake District buried up to his neck and left to drown. The shocking murder rocks this small, idyllic village to its core and puts its new detective, Imogen Evans, under pressure to find the culprit quickly. It is soon clear that some of Elderbridge’s residents are hiding dark secrets. But which of them will kill to keep it that way?

Mark Edwards never misses and The Darkest Water showcases why his books are a highlight of my reading year. Expertly written, shrewdly choreographed, and darkly atmospheric, this was a masterclass in misdirection. As part one came to a close I was sure I had it all figured out. But I was wrong. Moving between the dual timelines, dark secrets and surprising connections were unveiled piece by piece until the full, shocking picture emerged. 

The story is told by multiple narrators, one of whom is a blast from the past for fans of this author. Detective Imogen Evans, first seen in Edwards’ book The Lucky Ones, is the detective charged with solving Leo James’ murder. I loved revisiting a loved character in a new world as it felt like the ideal mix of standalone and series; some familiarity for fans but also not excluding new readers. The characters are all compelling and richly drawn, however briefly they appear on the pages, and you get a real sense of community in this picturesque village, which was the ideal backdrop for this story. Idyllic but also isolated and bleak, Elderbridge has a sense of danger simmering under its surface, while foreboding hangs in the air. Its idyll is fractured by the crime and the horror is compounded by the reminder that these things can happen anywhere, even in the most beautiful and seemingly safe places. 

A dark and brooding thriller filled with breath-sucking tension, The Darkest Water is a must-read for fans of this genre. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

From Amazon:
Welcome to my Amazon Author Page! I write books in which scary things happen to ordinary people, the best known of which are Follow You Home, The Magpies, Here To Stay and The Retreat. My novels have sold over 4 million copies and topped the bestseller lists numerous times. I pride myself on writing fast-paced page-turners with lots of twists and turns, relatable characters and dark humour

I live in the West Midlands, England, with my wife, our three children, two cats and a golden retriever.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxx

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Readalong

READALONG REVIEW: Five Bad Deeds by Caz Frear

Published April 11th, 2024 by Simon & Schuster UK
Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Domestic Fiction

Welcome to my review for this deliciously dark thriller. Thank you to The Likely Suspects for the invitation to take part in the readalong and the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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BOOK DESCRIPTION:

FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SWEET LITTLE LIES COMES A DARK AND TWISTY THRILLER ABOUT SECRETS, LIES AND REVENGE. 

ONE WOMAN’S SECRET
TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY
THREE DEADLY BETRAYALS
FOUR POTENTIAL SUSPECTS
FIVE BAD DEEDS

‘A big high five for Caz Frear’s Five Bad Deeds – a page-gripping, nail-gnawing good read’ Cara Hunter

‘A deliciously dark story of how one woman’s life of seemingly domestic bliss can unravel faster than she ever thought possible. I predict it will be one of the big hits of 2024 – I loved it’ Nikki Smith

‘Deliciously waspish, twisty, and relatable’ Claire McGowan

Ellen Walsh has done something very, very bad. If only she knew what it was . . .

Teacher, mother, wife, and all-around good citizen Ellen is juggling non-stop commitments, from raising a teen and two toddlers to job-hunting, to finally renovating her dream home, the Meadowhouse. Amidst the chaos, an ominous note arrives in the mail declaring:

SOONER OR LATER EVERYONE SITS DOWN TO A BANQUET OF CONSEQUENCES.

Why would someone send her this note? Ellen has no clue. She’s no angel – a white lie here and there, an occasional sharp tongue – but nothing to incur the wrath of an anonymous enemy.
Everyone around Ellen – her husband, her teenage daughter, her sister, her best friend, her neighbours – can guess why, though.  They all know from bitter experience that while Ellen’s intentions are always good, this ultimately counts for very little when you’ve (unintentionally?) blown up someone’s life.  Could the five bad deeds that come to haunt Ellen explain why things have gone so horribly wrong?

As she races to discover who’s set on destroying her life, Ellen receives more anonymous messages, each one more threatening than the last . . . and each hitting closer and closer to home and everything she cherishes.

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MY REVIEW:

Ellen Walsh is a busy mother juggling the demands of raising her teenage daughter and toddler twins with her teaching job and renovating her dream home. Out of the blue she receives an ominous note that reads ‘Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.’
Who sent the note? What did she do to incur such malice and vengeance? As Ellen tries to answer these questions, those around her have no such trouble understanding why someone may want to bring her down. Because while she may be full of the best intentions, Ellen’s deeds are not as good as she’d like to think and there are five bad deeds that could be the answer why her life is falling apart…

Five Bad Deeds is a nail-biting story of secrets, lies, frenemies, scandal and suspicion filled with tension and foreboding. I devoured this book in one sitting, handcuffed to the pages and so desperate for answers that I didn’t even notice the time and read through the night until the sun was about to rise again. Skillfully written and cleverly plotted, Caz Frear showcases her storytelling expertise as she drops clues into prose like hidden breadcrumbs for us to follow as we try to identify the culprit from the multiple suspects. But who has the biggest motive for wanting to destroy Ellen’s picture-perfect life? 

I love it when you aren’t sure if someone is the good or bad guy and when you don’t know if you can trust a character, and this has both those things in abundance with an array of frenemies, backstabbing, frayed relationships and dark intentions woven into the plot. Even Ellen was potentially untrustworthy and I enjoyed that I could never be sure if she deserved all the chaos and torment coming her way. The story was told from multiple points of view which allowed us to not only get an insight into Ellen’s perspective, but also that of the people around her, and we soon discover just how differently she sees herself compared to the people around her. But who is telling the truth? I loved that it was so hard to predict and how every time I was sure I had things figured out another revelation would pull the rug from under me and make me reassess my predictions. 

Deliciously dark, twisty, chaotic and venomous, this riveting story is a must-read for any thriller lover. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Caz Frear grew up in Coventry and spent her teenage years dreaming of moving to London and writing a novel. After fulfilling her first dream, it wasn’t until she moved back to Coventry thirteen years later that the writing dream finally came true.

She has a first-class degree in History & Politics, which she’s put to enormous use over the years by working as a waitress, shop assistant, retail merchandiser and, for the past twelve years, a headhunter.

When she’s not agonising over snappy dialogue or incisive prose, she can be found shouting at the TV when Arsenal are playing or holding court in the pub on topics she knows nothing about.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Categories
Blog Tours book reviews

BLOG TOUR REVIEW: Bride and Groom by Rona Halsall

Published April 5th, 2024 by Bookouture
Psychlogical Thriller

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this ominous and compelling thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the proof copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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SYNOPSIS:

Walking down the aisle in the packed church, sunlight glints off my ivory silk gown. This should be the happiest day of my life. But as I carefully lift my veil and greet my husband-to-be, my heart is pounding with fear. Does someone out there know what we’ve done?

Ethan gently squeezes my hand as he slides the golden ring onto my finger. But I know we aren’t worthy of happiness.

As I look down at my wedding ring, in a blistering flash, I suddenly remember another piece of that pitch-black, rainy night… but I try to focus on Ethan’s gorgeous blue eyes. I know exactly what he’s thinking. We can never tell.

All our family, friends and loved ones smile as they watch Ethan and I promise to be together until death us do part. But only we know what that really means…

Because we have already killed someone.

My dear, sweet new husband isn’t quite all he seems…

But then again, neither am I.

An incredibly addictive psychological thriller that will keep you up all night, gasping at the truly mind-blowing twists! A completely unputdownable, edge-of-your seat page-turner for fans of The Perfect Marriage, Freida McFadden and Shari Lapena.

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MY REVIEW:

When Nicci and Ethan make their vows to one another on their wedding day, only they know the real meaning and weight behind them. Underneath her smile, Nicci’s heart is pounding with fear because she and Ethan have just vowed to never reveal that they were responsible for the hit and run that took a man’s life. But Nicci can’t shake her guilt. Or the worry that someone else might know their secret. And she’s beginning to wonder if her new husband is who she thinks he is…

Well, Rona Halsall did it again. She jumps straight into the intense action and a feeling of foreboding hovered over every page of this story. I will confess that I thought I had this all figured out and it seemed like it was a predictable read. I should have known better. Ms. Halsall pulled me in hook, line and sinker, and just as I totally relaxed in the knowledge that I knew where this was heading…Bam! I’m smacked in the face by a delicious curveball that changed everything I thought I knew and reminded me why she’s the queen of misdirection. Rona, I am sorry I ever doubted you. From that moment on it was a tense rollercoaster ride where I held on for dear life as she took me from one shocking revelation to another. 

There are some deep topics explored in the story such as toxic relationships, coercive control, and, of course, moral dilemmas. And this story provided one of the biggest moral dilemmas Ms. Halsall has written yet: should Nicci confess that she and Ethan were responsible for the hit and run that night to ease her torment, or should she keep her vow of silence? Halsall expertly wrote Nicci’s internal torture over her dilemma and I felt everything alongside her at every turn. A people pleaser who struggles with anxiety, Nicci was easy to relate to and I was cheering her on as she found her inner strength as the story went on. But this is a dual narrative and Ethan’s voice was very different. Just as brilliantly written, I loathed this manipulative man. He was a great, but stark, contrast to Nicci and as his secrets were slowly revealed he got more and more chilling. 

So if you want a compelling, unpredictable and ominous thriller, this is the book for you.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Rona is the #1 Best Selling author of psychological thrillers published by Boldwood and Bookouture. She loves to turn domestic storylines on their head to keep her readers guessing what the heck is going on.

Her 2023 release, THE BIGAMIST, has been short-listed for the International Writers Awards 2024, for Best Original E-Book, which is probably the peak of her writing career to date!

She has been a bit of a nomad during her adult life, moving around the north of England, before settling in Snowdonia, North Wales where she brought up her family while working as a business mentor. She lived on the Isle of Man with her husband and mad little Border Collie, Maid, for several years before returning to Wales. Recently, she has recruited a new member to the writing team – a Romanian rescue dog called Evie.

She is an outdoorsy person, who loves nothing better than stomping up a mountain, walking coastal paths and beaches and wadering round forests and woodlands while she’s plotting her next book. She has three children and two step-children who are all grown up and leading varied and interesting lives, which provides plenty of material for new stories.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Amazon*
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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the tour.

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BOOK REVIEW: Their Cold Hearts (Detective Gina Harte 13) by Carla Kovach

Published April 14th, 2023 by Bookouture
Thriller, Mystery, Suspemse, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Psychological Thriller, Noir Ficiton, Crime Series

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SYNOPSIS:

She shuts the door behind her, relieved to be in the safety of her own home. But tonight her house is the most dangerous place she could be. Someone has been waiting for her, and they know she’s home alone…

Sasha loves her job finding accommodation for homeless people, and she’s proud of the small but cosy apartment she rents on the good side of town. She’s worked hard to leave her dark past behind her and make amends for the accident that still haunts her memories. She knows she was innocent, though she’s still careful about who and what she tells of her old life. But not all secrets stay hidden forever…

When her phone rings loudly in the middle of the night, Sasha fears what she’ll hear when she picks up – a deathly silence. It’s happened every night for weeks. Is it a childish prank, or a chilling warning that someone has uncovered her secret?

But the news of a body found at a local shelter means her worst nightmare has come true. It can’t be a coincidence that evidence related to the victim has been found at the same location where the most devastating moment of Sasha’s life took place.

Days later, a second body is found and Sasha’s heart pounds wildly as she takes in the victim’s unforgettable green eyes. She hasn’t seen her in a long time, but she’d know her old friend anywhere. She was the only other person who knew Sasha’s secret, so how can Sasha prove her innocence now?

Sasha doesn’t know who’s coming for her, but she’s certain of one thing: she’s next on the list…

Fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh will love Their Cold Hearts – a totally thrilling and addictive crime thriller that will have you up all night!

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MY REVIEW:

A homeless shelter should be a place of sanctuary for those in need. But one such place becomes a nightmare when one of the residents of a local shelter is found brutally murdered with what seems to be a cryptic coded message from the killer. A number of suspects soon emerge, but when a second body is found – this time a woman in her home – the mystery deepens. What is her connection to the first victim? What do the killer’s clues mean? And who is next on the killer’s list?

Sinister and suspenseful, Their Cold Hearts had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Complex, layered, and twisty, Carla Kovach has once again written an intricately woven thriller that took me on an emotional rollercoaster. It’s fast-paced, compelling and twisty with lots of red herrings. I thought I had the killer’s identity figured out, but Kovach blindsided me with the shocking big reveal. 

This is the thirteenth book in the Gina Harte series, and it’s no secret that I’m a big fan. At this point Gina and her team feel like old friends and I’ve got a special place in my heart for Gina in particular. In this book, Gina is going through a lot in her personal life partly because of her dedication to her job, and it was a very emotional read in places. Then there’s that ending, which broke my heart into pieces. But I love the relationship that the team shares and how they are a family, something that Gina needs more than ever. But she’s still the feisty, determined woman who will do everything she can to bring a criminal to justice. And the person she’s facing this time made my blood run cold. We only get a few glimpses into their psyche, but they made a chilling impression. 

Dark, tense and forbidding, Their Cold Hearts is a riveting thriller that I didn’t want to put down. I’m so glad to have the next book in the series waiting for me so I can find out what’s next for Gina. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carla Kovach is a USA Today bestselling author from the UK and is published by Bookouture, Sphere and Boekerij. Her DI Gina Harte series has been translated into Dutch.

As well as novels, she has also written stage and screenplays.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Watestones* | Amazon*

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxx

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Categories
Audio Books book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

REVIEW: Eighteen Seconds by Louise Beech

Published April 27th, 2023 by Mardle Books
Memoir, Depression and Mental Health Biographies

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mental health, suicide, abuse, neglect, trauma.

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SYNOPSIS:
My mother once said to me, ‘I wish you could feel the way I do for eighteen seconds. Just eighteen seconds, so you’d know how awful it is.’

I thought about it. Realised we could all learn from being in another person’s head for eighteen seconds. Eighteen seconds inside Grandma Roberts’ head as she sat alone with her evening cup of tea, us girls upstairs in bed. Eighteen seconds inside one-year-old Colin’s head when he woke up in a foster home without his family. Eighteen seconds inside the head of a girl waiting for her bedroom door to open.

Writer, Louise Beech, looks back on the events that led to the day her mother wrote down her last words, then jumped off the Humber Bridge. She missed witnessing the horror herself by minutes.

Louise recounts the pain and trauma of her childhood alongside her love for her siblings with a delicious dark humour and a profound voice of hope for the future.

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MY REVIEW:

“This is my story. No fiction to hide behind.”

February 2019. As author Louise Beech took her usual morning walk she paused to photograph some early daffodils she was surprised to see. Five hours later she gets the devastating news that her mother has jumped from the Humber Bridge. Had Louise not stopped to take that photograph, she might have been there when it happened.  

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so it feels like the perfect time to be sharing this review.  Powerful, poignant and heart-wrenching, Eighteen Seconds is the true story of Louise’s life and the aftermath of the harrowing event that shook her family to its core. It was hard-hitting and emotional from the start, and I cried many times while listening to the audio version of this book.  But this is Louise Beech, and even the most solemn of stories cannot be told without her trademark wit, and there is lots of laughter amongst the tears. However, this isn’t only her story. It is also the story of her family, and includes interviews and quotes from her siblings and other family members that discuss how events impacted them. The strong bond Ms. Beech shares with her siblings is clear to see, and I loved their banter and their sense of humour, which they use as a coping mechanism and a way to lighten the darkest of times. I loved her reflections of her grandmother and the special relationship they shared. These were deeply moving and made me think of my own Nan, who I was very close to. 

“… humour is the wonky mirror for emotions often too difficult to look at directly.”

This isn’t an easy read, but it is an important one, featuring topics such as trauma, mental health, suicide, and abuse. It also highlights how dysfunction, pain and trauma don’t only affect us in that moment, but our whole lives, with ripple effects trickling down through the generations as we attempt to not only survive, but flourish, and break those harmful cycles.  And Louise seems to have achieved this. Her love for her own children shines brightest of all in this book and it is evident she is a wonderful mother. I admired her ability to help her children through their problems while navigating her own pain and breaking those toxic cycles. 

“I discovered the one thing that thawed me: writing.”

There is no question that Beech is a talented author. She is one of my favourite authors and I’ve loved every book of hers that I’ve read. Consequently, I expected this book to be well written, but I was unprepared for just how beautiful, potent and unflinching her prose would be this time around.  The narration was fantastic and perfectly conveyed the appropriate emotions for the listener while bringing to life those whose stories are being told. Though my own story is obviously different, her story resonated with me on a personal level in many ways, particularly the exploration of the effects of trauma in chapter five. I laughed, cried, raged, and felt every emotion in between as I was swept away by this phenomenal and courageous memoir.

Eighteen Seconds is a tableau of heartbreak, healing, and forgiveness that demands to be read. Piercingly frank, raw, heartrending, and courageous, it never shies away from the pain and messiness of family and life, striking a resonant chord as it pulls on your heartstrings and then ties them back together with uplifting humour. Louise’s story is one I will never forget and I applaud her for being brave enough to share it with the world. It is a reminder that those who have been through the greatest pain often have the kindest hearts and brightest smiles, and my admiration for this author has grown after reading her story. 

Bravo, Louise, and thank you. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Louise’s debut novel, How to be Brave, was a Guardian Readers’ pick in 2015 and a top ten bestseller on Amazon. The Mountain in my Shoe longlisted for the Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2016. The Sunday Mirror called Maria in the Moon ‘quirky, darkly comic, original and heartfelt’. It was also a Must Read in the Sunday Express and a Book of the Year at LoveReadingUK. The Lion Tamer Who Lost was described as ‘engrossing and captivating’ by the Daily Express. It also shortlisted for the RNA’s Romantic Novel of the Year and longlisted for the Polari Prize 2019. Call Me Star Girl hit number one on Kobo. It also longlisted for the Not The Booker Prize and won the Best magazine Big Book Award 2019. This Is How We Are Human was a Clare Mackintosh August Book of the Month 2021. Audiobook memoir Daffodils came out in 2022, and novel Nothing Else too. Her memoir is coming in paperback as Eighteen Seconds April 2023.

Louise also writes as Louise Swanson.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Amazon* | Bookshop.org*

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxxx

*All purchase links are affiliate links