Tag: August 2020

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Blog Tours book reviews

The Silence by Susan Allott

Published: August 6th, 2020
Publisher: The Borough Press
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Crime Thriller

Today is my stop on the tour for this riveting debut. Thank you Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and The Borough Press for the gifed copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

It is 1997, and in a basement flat in Hackney Isla Green is awakened by a call in the middle of the night: her father, Joe, phoning from Sydney.

30 years ago, in the suffocating heat of summer 1967, the Greens’ next-door neighbour Mandy disappeared. Joe claims he thought she had gone to start a new life; but now Mandy’s family is trying to reconnect, and there is no trace of her. Isla’s father was allegedly the last person to see her alive, and he’s under suspicion of murder.

Back home in Sydney, Isla’s search for the truth takes her back to 1967, when two couples lived side by side on a quiet street by the sea. Could her father be capable of doing something terrible? How much does her mother know? And is there another secret in this community, one which goes deeper into Australia’s colonial past, which has held them in a conspiracy of silence?

Deftly exploring the deterioration of relationships and the devastating truths we keep from those we love, The Silence is a stunning debut from a rising literary star.

MY REVIEW:

“This is the community she grew up in. Where people know everything but say nothing.”

Susan Allott is an author to watch. In her debut novel, a dramatic family saga that I couldn’t put down, Allot has captured a sense of time and place so vividly that you can see the outdated wallpaper and feel the acrid heat. It is a mysterious, foreboding, emotional and layered story that takes the reader back to one of the darkest times in Australian history, merging it with the tantalising tale of a woman missing for thirty years and long-held secrets finally being revealed. 

Told using dual narratives, we simultaneously follow neighbouring families the Greens and the Mallories during the summer of 1967. A summer that will leave them inextricably linked after Mandy Mallorie disappears and Joe Green comes under suspicion. In 1997, Isla Green returns home to support her family and tries to get to the bottom of what happened thirty years ago. As Isla delves deeper into the past, shameful secrets resurface that threaten to rock her whole world. Could her father have killed Mandy? And how much does her mother know?

This was a powerful and affecting read. Examining relationships, secrets and lies, the author handles difficult subjects such as domestic abuse and alcoholism in a real but sensitive way. The characters are flawed but intriguing and I couldn’t help but feel invested in their fates.

Atmospheric, haunting, utterly compelling and with a strong emotional resonance, this novel drew me in, transporting me back in time and to the other side of the world. One I would highly recommend, it kept me guessing right until the unforgettable finale. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Susan Allott is a fiction writer whose debut novel THE SILENCE was published in e-book and audio formats on 30th April 2020 by Borough Press (Harper Collins, UK) with the hardback edition due to be published on 6th August 2020. The UK paperback will follow in April 2021.

THE SILENCE was published in North America on 19th May 2020 by William Morrow (Harper Collins, US) with the paperback to follow in May 2021.

In Australia and New Zealand THE SILENCE was published by Harper Collins on 1st May 2020.

Harper Collins will publish THE SILENCE in the rest of its English language territories in August 2020.

In Italy THE SILENCE will be published by Harper Italia and in France by Editions Belfond.

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The Twins of Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor

Published: August 6th, 2020
Publisher: Monoray
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Biography, Autobiography

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this moving novel . Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and Monoray for the gifted copy of the book .

SYNOPSIS:

The Nazis spared their lives because they were twins.

In the summer of 1944, Eva Mozes Kor and her family arrived at Auschwitz.

Within thirty minutes, they were separated. Her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, while Eva and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man who became known as the Angel of Death: Dr. Josef Mengele. They were 10 years old.

While twins at Auschwitz were granted the ‘privileges’ of keeping their own clothes and hair, they were also subjected to Mengele’s sadistic medical experiments. They were forced to fight daily for their own survival and many died as a result of the experiments, or from the disease and hunger rife in the concentration camp.

In a narrative told simply, with emotion and astonishing restraint, The Twins of Auschwitz shares the inspirational story of a child’s endurance and survival in the face of truly extraordinary evil.

Also included is an epilogue on Eva’s incredible recovery and her remarkable decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. Through her museum and her lectures, she dedicated her life to giving testimony on the Holocaust, providing a message of hope for people who have suffered, and worked toward goals of forgiveness, peace, and the elimination of hatred and prejudice in the world.

MY REVIEW:

“There are not many children of the Holocaust, much less Mengele twins, who lived to tell their stories. Eva did. And this story is told in her voice, in the first person, as an adult looking back over sixty-five years; to a time when a little girl, clutching at the trembling hand of her identical twin sister, showed up at the gates of horror—and survived.”

Eva and Miriam Mozes were just ten years old when they were herded onto a cattle car with around 100 other Jews and taken to Auschwitz. Upon their arrival the twins are selected for ‘special treatment’ by Dr Josef Mengele – also known as the Angel of Death – who used twins, dwarves, the disabled and Gypsies as human guinea pigs for his experiments.

This is the story of their daily fight to survive in Auschwitz and Eva’s life after the war as an advocate for education and change.

“We were Jews, and we were guilty.”

The Holocaust is one of the times in history I am most fascinated with. My dad has always read about it voraciously and I was definitely influenced by his interest in the subject. Mengele’s experiments are obviously something I’m aware of, but I hadn’t read much about them. Certainly not a first person account. So I knew this was a book I wanted to read as soon as I read the synopsis.

“We never thought they would come to our tiny village.”

The book starts out with how life was for the family before and at the beginning of the war and talks about seeing the rise in anti-semitism amongst not only the government, but in school and among the people they know in their village. Reading about how children were given books talking about killing Jews and how propaganda films such as ‘How To Catch And Kill A Jew’ were shown in school and at the theatre, brought tears to my eyes. I can’t imagine how scary that must have been to a child. One of the things that broke my heart most of all is reading of the family’s missed chances at escape before being sent to Auschwitz, knowing they may have all survived if only they’d been able to flee.

“We shrieked. We cried. We pleaded, our voices lost among the chaos and noise and despair. But no matter how much we cried or how loud we screamed, it did not matter. Because of those matching burgundy dresses, because we were identical twins so easily spotted in the crowd of grimy, exhausted Jewish prisoners, Miriam and I had been chosen. Soon we would come face to face with Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor known as the Angel of Death… But we did not know that yet. All we knew was that we were abruptly alone. We were only ten years old.

And we never saw Papa, Mama, Edit or Aliz again.”

Eva talks about losing trust in her parents’ ability to protect her and her sisters as the hatred progresses and how she lost any sense of safety. That hit me right in my mother’s heart. I would do ANYTHING to protect my children and couldn’t imagine the pain of not being able to do that and their lives were at risk. I pictured my own children at 10 years of age being all alone in a fight for survival and completely alone. It is unfathomable. I will never understand how people can be so cruel to other humans, especially innocent children.

“At Auschwitz, dying was easy. Surviving was a full-time job.”

Eva is a survivor and shows a quiet strength from the moment she arrives at Auschwitz. That strength continued throughout her life and she was a tiny, but mighty who was promoted Holocaust education and toured giving speeches on the life lessons she had learned, hoping to encourage others to live in kindness rather than hate. She was open about her struggle with anger, hate and bitterness towards not only the Nazis, but her parents, for many years before choosing to forgive. This, along with her advocacy for change, saw her become a controversial figure among survivors, who often misunderstood what that meant. But she stayed true to herself and fought for change until her death in July 2019.

“Anger is a seed for war; forgiveness is a seed for peace.”

Poignant, powerful and lingering, this, like any Holocaust story, is a harrowing read. Dire living conditions, the daily struggle to survive and the cruel experiments that were supposed to kill her are described in detail which, while avoiding being gruesome, are still upsetting. But what stands out is that this is a story of courage, survival and triumph over evil.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✫

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Eva Mozes Kor was a Romanian-born survivor of the Holocaust. Along with her twin sister Miriam, Kor was subjected to human experimentation under the direction of SS Doctor Josef Mengele at the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland during World War II

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Hinton Hollow Death Trip by Will Carver

2020-08-12-09-17-09

Published: August 13th, 2020
Publisher: Orenda
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Political Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Religious Fiction

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Animal Cruelty

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

SYNOPSIS:

Five days in the history of a small rural town, visited and infected by darkness, are recounted by Evil itself. A stunning high-concept thriller from the bestselling author of Good Samaritansand Nothing Important Happened Today.

‘Cements Carver as one of the most exciting authors in Britain. After this, he’ll have his own cult following’ Daily Express

________________

It’s a small story. A small town with small lives that you would never have heard about if none of this had happened.

Hinton Hollow. Population 5,120.

Little Henry Wallace was eight years old and one hundred miles from home before anyone talked to him. His mother placed him on a train with a label around his neck, asking for him to be kept safe for a week, kept away from Hinton Hollow.

Because something was coming.

Narrated by Evil itself, Hinton Hollow Death Trip recounts five days in the history of this small rural town, when darkness paid a visit and infected its residents. A visit that made them act in unnatural ways. Prodding at their insecurities. Nudging at their secrets and desires. Coaxing out the malevolence suppressed within them. Showing their true selves.

Making them cheat.
Making them steal.
Making them kill.

Detective Sergeant Pace had returned to his childhood home. To escape the things he had done in the city. To go back to something simple. But he was not alone. Evil had a plan.

MY REVIEW:

“I am Evil. 

And I have come to destroy your town.”

Deliciously dark, malevolent and addictive, this is a small story about the small town of Hinton Hollow, and the five days when Evil came to stay. 

Written with Carver’s distinct quirky, unique and affecting prose, this is a darkly atmospheric story that pulls you in from the first pages. Carver’s novels aren’t easy reading. They are uncomfortable and deep, but also thought-provoking, timely and brilliant. In this story he examines a range of topics such as the concept of good and evil, what drives us to do bad things, a mother’s love for her children, social media and having an online persona, the parts of ourselves that we hide from others, bystander behaviour, adultery, anger, bullying, animal cruelty and gluttony.  He also poses questions to the reader, making them think about their own lives and behaviour, challenging them to be better and kinder people. 

“Don’t read this.

You can leave now, if you want. Don’t even bother finishing the page. Forget you were ever here. There must be something else you could be doing. Get away. Go on.

This is the last time I try to save you.”

This strange and sinister story is narrated by Evil itself, who warns the reader of the nightmare to come at the start. Evil isn’t able to force people to commit terrible acts, just nudge and encourage. They also surprisingly have morals, leaving children alone and appearing shocked at some of the actions of the residents of Hinton Hollow. Evil’s voice was sly, cunning and alluring; whispering in the ears of those it touched as they move through the town infecting it with it’s poison. Evil’s sights are set on Detective Sargeant Pace, the main character in the series. 

Pace is a troubled and lonely figure who is trying to come to terms with the awful events of book two and has fled London to find solace in his small hometown. Only it didn’t work. Evil followed him. I find Pace a peculiar character who I am ambivalent about. But he is well written, as are the array of other characters in the book. The author created a relatable community full of flawed characters who you could imagine knowing. There were some I really liked, others I couldn’t stand, but they were all compelling and pulled me deep into their story, needing to know their fate. 

“A THOUGHT ABOUT BEING BETTER

Forget your job, forget your relationship, forget about being the best parent in the world, 

forget about perfection. 

Put in the most work, each day, on yourself. 

Be better. Get fitter. Learn more. 

Do this every single day. 

Work the hardest on YOU. 

The rest will fall into place.

If more people thought about how they could be better, do better, you may find yourself in a position to form this tide of social-media lies and self-loathing and talent shows for people who only want to be famous and don’t care what it’s for.

There  could be more good. Therefore, less need for me. And that would be perfect.” 

Both times I’ve read this author’s work I’ve had two thoughts: 

  1. This man is a genius
  2. What on earth must it be like in his head?! 

Carver is one of the most original fiction voices I’ve come across. I promise you that you won’t have read anything like this before. Though it is the third in a series and continues on immediately after the events of book two, it is able to be read as a standalone novel, so don’t let that put you off.

Lingering, immersive, poignant and disturbing, Hinton Hollow Death Trip is one of the best books I’ve read this year. An absolute tour-de-force that I can’t recommend highly enough. Carver is now on my auto-buy list and I can’t wait to see what utterly fantastic and twisted story he writes next. So, what are you waiting for? READ. THIS. BOOK. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

Will Carver Author pIc

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in The Guardian, The Telegraph and the Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

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My Life For Yours by Vanessa Carnevale

2020-08-11-16-04-29

Published: August 7th, 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction

I’m a few days late, but here is my stop on the tour for this beautiful novel . Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

Your life or your unborn child’s – how do you choose?

Paige and Nick are happy. They have a beautiful home, a loving family and, most importantly, they would do anything for each other. Now, they are having a baby and it feels like all their dreams are coming true.

But joy turns to despair when they discover that Paige has a rare, life-threatening heart condition and they lose their longed-for child. Heartbroken, the couple must accept the reality that they may not become parents after all.

Just as they begin to come to terms with their loss, Paige unexpectedly falls pregnant again. Paige’s heart is still weak, and to carry the baby to term puts them both at risk. The couple now face an impossible decision: Paige’s life or the life of their unborn child?

If Paige keeps the baby, she could lose her life and destroy the man she loves. If Nick tries to stop her, he may lose them both forever. It’s the most important decision they have ever had to make – and time is running out.

My Life for Yours is a heartbreaking, gripping and emotional story about love, loss and an impossible choice, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Kelly Rimmer and Kate Hewitt.

MY REVIEW:

Your life or your unborn child’s – how do you choose?

Paige and Nick are excited about the upcoming birth of their first child. But tragedy strikes when they learn that Paige suffers from a rare and life-threatening heart condition and they lose their longed-for child. Further heartbreak comes when they learn Paige may never fully recover and it may never be safe for her to carry a child. 

Just as they are coming to terms with their loss, Paige learns she is unexpectedly pregnant and they find themselves faced with an impossible and heartbreaking choice: Paige’s life or her unborn child’s? 

This book went right to my soul. Moving, devastating, heartwarming and tender, this made me feel all the feelings. 

The author examines an array of complex personal and emotional issues in this story: a woman’s right to choose what happens with her own body, the pressure from family and friends to do what they think is right instead of giving the woman the support in her choice, the fear of a husband and family at the thought of losing someone precious and irreplaceable, and the medical and moral dilemma of weather a mother’s life is more important than that of her unborn child’s. She portrays all the fear, emotion and intricacies that accompany these issues and shows how it can divide a family at a time they need to come together the most. She also looks at how our past affects those feelings and decisions and the difficult journey of accepting when life doesn’t turn out how we planned and learning to acquiesce to the path we’re given. 

The characters were all well written and I quickly took to both Paige and Nick. They are two people caught up in a devastating situation that tests the limits of their love and their own strength. I empathised with them both as they agonised over the decision but found I could relate to Paige in particular as I’ve had my own struggles with pregnancy, infertility, and health problems affecting the decisions you need to make when planning a family, and I understood her overwhelming desire to keep her child no matter the cost to herself. 

The story is beautifully written, the poignant prose immersing you in this gut-wrenchingly raw and thought-provoking novel. I didn’t want to put this book down, needing to know how things ended for Paige and Nick, while also being terrified of what might happen. 

I would highly recommend this book. Just make sure you have tissues on hand and are ready to ugly cry. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

Vanessa author photo

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Vanessa Carnevale is an Australian author of women’s fiction. She is also the host of Your Beautiful Writing Life retreats held in Tuscany and Australia.

Vanessa loves to travel, and spent several years living in Florence, Italy, a place she considers her second home. She lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

Her previous novels, THE MEMORIES OF US and THE FLORENTINE BRIDGE are published by HarperCollins and have been translated into German and Slovenian. Vanessa’s third novel will be published by Bookouture in August 2020.

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The Big Chill by Doug Johnstone (The Skelfs 2)

2020-08-05-14-06-40

Published: August 20th, 2020
Publisher: Orenda
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Urban Fiction, Lesbian Literature

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

SYNOPSIS:

Running private investigator and funeral home businesses means trouble is never far away, and the Skelf women take on their most perplexing, chilling cases yet in book two of this darkly funny, devastatingly tense and addictive new series!

Haunted by their past, the Skelf women are hoping for a quieter life. But running both a funeral directors’ and a private investigation business means trouble is never far away, and when a car crashes into the open grave at a funeral that matriarch Dorothy is conducting, she can’t help looking into the dead driver’s shadowy life.

While Dorothy uncovers a dark truth at the heart of Edinburgh society, her daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah have their own struggles. Jenny’s ex-husband Craig is making plans that could shatter the Skelf women’s lives, and the increasingly obsessive Hannah has formed a friendship with an elderly professor that is fast turning deadly.

But something even more sinister emerges when a drumming student of Dorothy’s disappears and suspicion falls on her parents. The Skelf women find themselves sucked into an unbearable darkness – but could the real threat be to themselves?

Following three women as they deal with the dead, help the living and find out who they are in the process, The Big Chill follows A Dark Matter, book one in the Skelfs series, which reboots the classic PI novel while asking the big existential questions, all with a big dose of pitch-black humour.

MY REVIEW:

The Big Chill is the second book in the Skelfs Series, which follows the Skelf women – Dorothy, Jenny and Hannah – as they work together running the family funeral home and private investigation company. I haven’t read the first book but the author quickly catches you up on the traumatic and life-changing events that occurred.

The story jumps straight into the action with a car chase interrupting a funeral that leaves the unidentified driver dead. The family matriarch, Dorothy, can’t let it go and is determined to find out who he was and lay him to rest. But this isn’t their only investigation, with others running simultaneously, as well as the funeral business always keeping them busy.

This was a complex and layered novel, with lots of drama, tension and things bubbling beneath the surface. I loved the fascinating mix of three generations working together in dual roles that is an unusual pairing. It’s a brilliant basis for a series, so different from anything else I’ve read.

The characters are well-written, compelling and full of depth. They are each trying to come to terms with the distressing and painful events of book one, and are still haunted and trying to make sense of it all. In the three women, the author shows how trauma and PTSD can affect people in different ways in a very real and relatable way that hit home with me a number of times. The background characters were also fully drawn with interesting storylines and back stories of their own. I’m very eager to read more about Archie and his unusual condition.

If you’re looking for something different that will hold your attention and make you come back for more, this is the book for you. I’ll definitely be reading book one and look forward to seeing what’s next for the Skelf women.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✫

Doug Johnstone Author Pic

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Doug Johnstone is the author of ten novels, most recently Breakers (2018), which was longlisted for the McIlcanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. Several of his books have been bestsellers and award winners, and his work has been praised by the likes of Val McDermid, Irivine Welsh and Ian Rankin. He’s taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts and journalist for twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band of crime writers. He’s also player-manager of the Scotland Writers Football Club. He lives in Edinburgh.

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We Are All The Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin

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Published: August 6th, 2020
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Format: Hardback, Kindle, Audiobook
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction

Happy Publication Day to this compelling thriller. Thank you to Ella at Michael Joseph for the invitation to take part and the gifted ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

It’s been a decade since the town’s sweetheart Trumanell Branson disappeared, leaving only a bloody handprint behind.

Since her disappearance, Tru’s brother, Wyatt, has lived as an outcast, desperate to know what happened to his sister.

So when Wyatt finds a lost girl, he believes she is a sign.

But for new cop, Odette Tucker, this girl’s appearance reopens old wounds.

Determined to solve both cases, Odette fights to save a lost girl in the present and in doing so digs up a shocking truth about that fateful night in the past . . .

MY REVIEW:

“We are all the same in the dark.

My mother said that to me when she kissed me good night.

She meant that in the dark, all that’s left is our souls.”

A small town’s dark secrets are finally revealed when a lost girl investigates the mysterious disappearances of two of its residents in this gripping page-turner.

Dark, brooding, atmospheric and immersive, this book had me in its thrall from the first pages. The author created a community full of secrets, a vile quagmire threatening to overflow with the murky truths lurking beneath its surface. Every character seemed to have something to hide, and we never knew who we could trust. But there were also characters with real heart: Odette and Angel standing out in particular. They pulled me into their search for the truth, the mystery deepening with every turn of the page. 

I’ve wanted to read this author’s books for quite a while, so when the opportunity arose to take part in this blog tour, I didn’t hesitate. Skillfully written, the tension and foreboding sizzle from the pages as the truth is slowly revealed. My only regret is that I didn’t read her books sooner. I’ve now bumped her previous books up my tbr.

Tantalising, evocative, absorbing and unpredictable, We Are All The Same in the Dark is a layered, nail-biting thriller that you don’t want to miss.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✫

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Julia Heaberlin is the author of the international bestseller Black-Eyed Susans and Paper Ghosts, her newest crime novel set in the moody landscape of Texas where she grew up. Heaberlin’s psychological thrillers, all set in her home state, have sold to more than twenty countries. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed Playing Dead and Lie Still. As a journalist, she worked in features as an award-winning editor at The Detroit News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and The Dallas Morning News and has always been especially interested in true crime and how events play out years later. The Star-Telegram Life & Arts section was named one of the Top 10 sections in the country during her tenure as its editor. Heaberlin lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area where she is at work on her next novel.

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The Missing Pieces of Nancy Moon by Sarah Steele

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Published: August 6th, 2020
Publisher: Headline
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: General Fiction, Women’s Fiction

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this spectacular sunner debut. Thank you to Rosie at Headline for the invitation to take part and the gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS: 

To unravel the story of that long-lost summer, she had to follow the thread…

Florence Connelly is broken-hearted; her beloved grandmother has just died and her marriage has collapsed.

But things change when she opens a box of vintage 1960s dress patterns, discovered inside her grandmother’s wardrobe. Inside each pattern packet is a fabric swatch, a postcard from Europe and a faded photograph of a young woman wearing the hand-made dress. Why did Flo’s grandmother never speak of this mysterious woman – Nancy Moon?

Her life in tatters, Flo decides to remake Nancy’s dresses, and to head across to the Continent to re-create Nancy’s Grand Tour of 1962. As she follows the thread, Flo begins to unravel an untold story of love and loss in her family’s past. And perhaps to stitch the pieces of her own life back together…

MY REVIEW:

“Most journeys begin with a goodbye: to a friend or a loved one, often to a lover, and sometimes a place… Some goodbyes last merely a few hours, but some will have to last a lifetime.”

This riveting and uplifting debut encapsulates the essence of summer. It transported me from Brighton and Hove to Paris, Antibes, Capri, Venice and Tuscany, so vividly that I could feel the summer sun beating down on me and the breeze in my hair.

Florence is mourning the loss of her grandmother and her marriage when she comes across vintage dress patterns from the 1960s, each containing mementos from a European adventure taken by her Great Aunt – Nancy Moon. But Flo has never heard of Nancy before. Why did her family keep her a secret? And why has she never been seen or heard from again since that trip?

Florence decides to solve the mystery of what happened to Nancy, embarking on a pilgrimage retracing Nancy Moon’s Grand Tour; remaking the dresses and following in her footsteps, slowly unravelling the untold story of her family’s past.

There’s been a bit of a buzz about this book and I had heard some great things, but I still wasn’t expecting to fall so completely in love with Nancy, Florence and this beautifully told story of family, love, loss and long-held secrets. The author’s lyrical prose and rich imagery brought the story to life as clearly as if I was watching it play in technicolour on a movie screen.

The author effortlessly moves between the dual timeliness, immersing you in their world and the mystery of what happened to Nancy. The characters are compelling, likeable and memorable, and the narrators – Florence and Nancy – are relatable and easy to connect with. But there is something about Nancy that made her leap from the page; an air of glamour and mystery that radiates from her and reminded me of the aura surrounding Marilyn Monroe or Grace Kelly; that movie-star lustre, beauty and mystery that makes them feel out of reach.

Heartwarming, uplifting, emotional and immersive, The Missing Pieces of Nancy Moon is a must-read, encapsulating the essence of summer like the sun is shining from the pages

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

MEET THE AUTHOR :

Sarah Steele (c) Eoin Schmidt-Martin

Sarah Steele trained as a classical pianist and violinist in London, before joining the world of publishing as assistant at Hodder and Stoughton. She was then for many years a freelance editor. She now lives in Stroud and in 2018 was the director of Wordfest at Gloucester Cathedral, which culminated in a suffragette march led by Helen Pankhurst. The Missing Pieces of Nancy Moon is her debut novel.

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Cover Reveal – The Missing Pieces of Nancy Moon by Sarah Steele

cover-reveal

Today I am thrilled to be taking part in the cover reveal for this beautiful debut novel. 

SYNOPSIS: 

To unravel the story of that long-lost summer, she had to follow the thread…

Florence Connelly is broken-hearted; her beloved grandmother has just died and her marriage has collapsed.

But things change when she opens a box of vintage 1960s dress patterns, discovered inside her grandmother’s wardrobe. Inside each pattern packet is a fabric swatch, a postcard from Europe and a faded photograph of a young woman wearing the hand-made dress. Why did Flo’s grandmother never speak of this mysterious woman – Nancy Moon?

Her life in tatters, Flo decides to remake Nancy’s dresses, and to head across to the Continent to re-create Nancy’s Grand Tour of 1962. As she follows the thread, Flo begins to unravel an untold story of love and loss in her family’s past. And perhaps to stitch the pieces of her own life back together…

Published August 6th 2020 by Headline.

You can pre-order on Amazon