Published July 22nd, 2021 by The Borough Press Thriller, Supsense, Dark Comedy, Satire
Welcome to my review of the delciously dark How To Kill You Family. This is my first audiobook and backlist book of 2024. Thank you to The Borough Press for the copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS: THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
‘I loved this book’ RICHARD OSMAN
‘An antiheroine able to best villainous male protagonists such as Patrick Bateman any day’ OBSERVER
‘Chilling, but also laugh-out-loud funny. Another corker’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
They say you can’t choose your family. But you can kill them.
Meet Grace Bernard. Daughter, sister, serial killer… Grace has lost everything. And she will stop at nothing to get revenge.
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MY REVIEW:
“I have killed several people, some brutally, others calmly, and yet I currently languish in jail for a crime I did not commit…”
Grace Bernard is currently in prison for a notorious crime that she didn’t commit. Ironically, her real crimes are unknown and Grace is actually a serial killer who has calmly and meticulously murdered six members of her family and will stop at nothing in her quest for revenge.
A deliciously dark and deadly debut, How To Kill Your Family is a gripping story of familial dysfunction, vengeance and murder. After it languished on my shelves for far too long I decided to listen to it as my first audiobook of the year. And I’m so glad I did. Bella Mackie has created a story dripping with jet-black humour and a compelling anti-hero you won’t forget. It was one of those great audiobooks that are easy to listen to because both the story and narration are so good and I got completely lost in this story. I thought I knew where it was headed and listened safe in that knowledge. But I was completely wrong and was left reeling with my jaw on the floor. Also, how could she end it there?! So cruel.
Mackie takes us deep inside Grace’s mind, allowing us to understand her behaviours even if we don’t agree with them. She’s a fantastic anti-hero: flawed, unforgiving, bitter, emotionally detached, unpredictable, calculated and untroubled by guilt or remorse yet she has a charm and magnetism that makes you root for her. It’s easy to understand why she’d want revenge on those who destroyed her life and I think we’ve all fleetingly considered how to get revenge on those who’ve hurt or betrayed us. But while we’d move on Grace doesn’t and methodically plans and carries out her complex plans, taking her time to avoid being caught instead of acting rashly and making mistakes. She’s consumed by her obsession and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever truly feel satisfied even after her plans were complete.
Witty, entertaining and addictive, How To Kill Your Family is a brilliant satirical debut that I highly recommend.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Bella Mackie is a former journalist who previously worked for The Guardian and Vice News. She writes a twice monthly Vogue column. Her first book, Jog On, was a memoir about mental health and running. It was a number two bestseller (just underneath Michelle Obama, which is a hallowed spot).
Since then she’s written an accompanying journal to encourage others to try exercise more for their minds than their bodies. Bella’s first foray into fiction, How To Kill Your Family, came out in July 2021 and ended up in the number one bestseller spot. Bella lives in London and spends a lot of time wrangling her large stupid dog.
Published January 4th, 2024 by Pan Macmillan Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction
Welcome to my review of One of the Good Guys, the unsettling new thriller from Araminta Hall which was my first Squadpod Reviews read of the year. Thank you to Pan Macmillan for the proof copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
‘Araminta is one of the most daring and intriguing writers working today. This is a resonant, razor-laced and dangerously glittering novel’ Gillian Flynn
‘An absolutely thrilling tale, full of breathless cliffside terror and fresh feminist theory masked in tight, propulsive mystery. I devoured this book’ Lisa Taddeo
********* If most men say they’re one of the good guys, then why are so many women afraid to walk alone at night?
Cole is the perfect husband: a romantic, supportive of his wife, Mel’s career, keen to be a hands-on dad, not a big drinker. A good guy.
So when Mel leaves him, he’s floored. She was lucky to be with a man like him.
Craving solitude, he accepts a job on the coast and quickly settles into his new life where he meets reclusive artist Lennie.
Lennie has made the same move for similar reasons. She is living in a crumbling cottage on the edge of a nearby cliff. It’s an undeniably scary location, but sometimes you have to face your fears to get past them.
As their relationship develops, two young women go missing while on a walk protesting gendered violence, right by where Cole and Lennie live. Finding themselves at the heart of a police investigation and media frenzy, it soon becomes clear that they don’t know each other very well at all.
This is what happens when women have had enough . . .
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MY REVIEW:
“Sometimes I wonder if that’s all life is, especially when you’re a woman, continuously running from fear until it finally overtakes you.”
Deeply unsettling but totally brilliant, One of the Good Guys is a book that demands to be read. Desperation, depravity, danger, dark deeds and disturbed relationships saturate the page of this powerful and all-too familiar tale. This was an amazing start to my 2024 reading and fantastic first Squadpod pick for the year.
Cole has moved to the countryside for a fresh start after the end of his marriage and it’s here that he meets Lennie, an artist who has also recently moved to the area. The pair begin what he hopes is the start of a much healthier relationship, but things aren’t what they seem…
This is one of those books where it’s best to go in blind and just enjoy the ride, so I’ll not say any more about the plot. But I will say you should prepare yourself for a journey to some bleak and troubling places.
“I felt ridiculous, but also a little angry. I was being driven to behave in a stupid, reckless way because my wife had a vendetta against me. Or maybe against men in general. I don’t know any more. Maybe all women hated all men. Maybe they had good reason? At that moment nothing seemed clear. And I know, historically, it’s been hard to be a woman, but, my God, it’s hard to be a man right now.”
Timely, thought-provoking and relatable, this is a book that will spark conversation and become the latest topic around the water cooler at work or over coffee with friends. Armainta Hall is not holding back, taking us to some of the darkest parts of the human psyche in this unnerving and uncomfortable tale. It feels like she’s talking directly to you and you will see yourself or someone you know on these pages. It’s hard-hitting and may be triggering for some readers. I admit that it felt like I was reading my own first (abusive) marriage play out on the pages, but I found it relatable and representative of a truth that needs to be addressed, rather than triggering. But there is also a unique beauty to this book that lies in it being a cunningly crafted and expertly written illusion where Hall uses smoke and mirrors to put the reader off kilter and hold them in her thrall. Masterfully written, the complex layers are intricately woven and every detail is carefully and cleverly choreographed, drip-feeding us information before pulling the rug from under us. Bravo, Ms. Hall. Bravo.
I love an unreliable narrator and I didn’t trust any of the characters on these pages. From the start there was a feeling that something was not quite right and I was suspicious despite the fact that Cole was saying all the right things. Foreboding permeated the pages, and as the story went on there were little things that didn’t sit right or add up to me that contributed to the feeling. It felt like there was something much darker lurking under the surface waiting to emerge. It was chilling. As was the voyeuristic atmosphere that lingers over much of the story and adds to the feeling of malevolence and unease.
Darkly atmospheric, unsettling and addictive, One of the Good Guys is the kind of ink-black thriller I adore. Don’t miss the book everyone will be talking about this year.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Araminta Hall has worked as a writer, journalist and teacher. Her first novel, Everything & Nothing, was published in 2011 and became a Richard & Judy read that year. Her second, Dot, was published in 2013.
She teaches creative writing at New Writing South in Brighton, where she lives with her husband and three children. She is the great niece of Dodie Smith and great granddaughter of Lawrence Beesley, who survived the Titanic and wrote a bestselling account of the tragedy in the book, The Loss of the SS Titanic.
Our Kind of Cruelty, was published by Penguin Random House in 2018. It is a deeply unsettling thriller of a love story, in which a secret game between lovers has deadly consequences…
Her book, Perfect Strangers, was published in August 2020 by Orion. The hardback and US edition (FSG) were published as Imperfect Women.
Her novel, Hidden Depths, was published by Orion in March 2022.
Her new novel, One of the Good Guys, will be published by Zando in the US, and Macmillan in the UK in February 2024.
Published January 18th, 2024by Michael Joseph Psychological Thriller, Suspense
I’m finally sharing my review for this sensational thriller that is being released next month. I had the honour of not only reading an early copy, but being quoted on the cover of the book and in it’s description online (under my Twitter username of Bibliotreasures). Trust me when I tell you this is not one you want to miss! Thank you to Jen at Michael Joseph for the invitation to review this one and the proof copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS, HE MUST SACRIFICE EVERYTHING . . .
Discover 2024’s most original new thriller, a story of glamour, secrets and obsession…
‘GRABS YOU FROM THE OPENING LINE AND WON’T LET YOU GO’ ALEX MICHAELIDES, AUTHOR OF THE SILENT PATIENT
‘MASTERFULLY PLOTTED’ ERIN KELLY ‘WOW, JUST WOW’ BIBLIOTREASURES
*****
At long last, Adam Sealey has an Oscar within reach. Working with his controversial former mentor, Jonathan, he’s given the performance of a lifetime, and he almost believes it might be worth the cost.
Because Adam subscribes to “the method”. It’s the secret that the world’s greatest actors swear by – digging into their darkest, most personal traumas to bring a role to life.
And Adam’s greatest trauma is worse than most. Losing his mother when he was just a boy. A forced choice between the success he craved and the girl he loved. And that night back in drama school, the night of Adam’s darkest secret, when everyone knows about the dead body, but nobody suspects the truth.
And then he gets a message: someone knows. And if they tell, everything Adam’s worked for will come crashing down.
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MY REVIEW:
“I answered and for a moment there was nothing. A click on the end of the line. Static silence. Then a voice I hadn’t heard for two decades. A voice that couldn’t be on the end of a phone because dead people can’t speak. ‘How could you?’ it said.”
Sinister, haunting, addictive and utterly mesmerising, The Actor is a riveting thriller with a bigger Oscar night controversy than Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. I was in its thrall from the start, my heart pounding with nerve-shredding chills. It was so tempting to stay up all night and read this in one sitting, but, in the end, sleep got the better of me and I finished it quickly the next day.
Adam Sealey has given the performance of a lifetime and finally has the Oscar he’s dreamed of in his reach. All of his hard work and sacrifice looks like it’s about to pay off. Because Adam is a student of ‘the method’, an acting approach that means digging intoyour greatest trauma and pain to breathe life into your character. Adam was taught ‘the method’ at drama school by his controversialmentor Jonathan Dors. And Adam’s greatest trauma is also hisdarkest secret. A secret that someone is now threatening to expose and bring his world crumbling down.
“It felt magnificent…there’s an extraordinary rush in wilful self-destruction. Destroying the sacred self seemed to me the ultimate form of empowerment.”
Wow. Just, wow. When I was asked to be one of the first bloggers to read this book I was excited yet totally unprepared for the rollercoaster I was about to ride. Skillfully written, fast-paced, tense and twisty, Chris MacDonald had me in the palm of his hand from the first page until the last. MacDonald goes deep in this book, exploring the darker side of ‘the method’, and asking if it could be damaging to the mental health of those who use it. His examination of the correlation between unresolved trauma, mental illness and ‘the method’ brought to mind how Heath Ledger immersed himself in the role of The Joker, and the discussions that this could have played a part in his untimely death.
Told in dual timelines, the story moves between past and present. In the present Adam is trying to find out who knows his secret and is threatening to reveal it, the past tells us the story of Adam’s days at drama school and events leading up to the night that still haunts him, long-held secrets are slowly revealed. My mind was a whirlwind of questions and I had no idea what would happen next as MacDonald pulled the rug from under me again and again. And that ending! I’m still reeling from the jaw-dropping shock of it all.
“The ripples of what I did had turned into high-walled waves.”
The characterisation in this book is nothing short of spectacular. Adam is a fantastic protagonist. Flawed, fractured, tortured and troubled,he’s living a life most of us can’t imagine, yet MacDonald succeeds in making him totally relatable. He’s a lost soul who is looking for acceptance and to make his mark, but as he falls deeper into ‘the method’ he loses his way, turning his back on those who are truly there for him to chase his dream. We see that life has become one long acting role and Adam is either unwilling or unable to be himself, always searching for the right character to inhabit in every situation. It seems like he’s lost who he is in the many characters he’s inhabited during his career. The supporting cast were equally as compelling. Standout characters for me were Jonathan, who was the perfect, elusive villain, and Nina, who was an ideal leading lady. I was really rooting for Nina and Adam and loved their relationship.
A breathtaking thriller that oozes menace and foreboding, The Actor is sure to be a huge hit in 2024. Add it to your TBR now!
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Readers, hello.
I’m a novelist, playwright, screenwriter and actor. I live in Margate with my wife, two children and a co-dependent cockapoo.
My new book is called The Actor and I’m very proud of it. It’s gripping, psychologically complex and draws on my time at drama school and has the most exciting Oscars scene since, well probably only a couple of years ago because Will Smith, WILL SMITH, hit Chris Rock in the face. Then there was the Moonlight thing a couple of years before. The Oscars really is a dumpster fire. Love it.
Thank you in advance for reading if you do. And if you don’t, I hope you’re enjoying whatever you’re consuming these days.
These are my all time favourites: Book – 1984, Remains of the Day Film – Chinatown, Step Brothers TV – Succession, Arrested Development Album – Hunky Dory Play – The Seagull Computer game: Football Manager (I know. Awful.) Ice-cream – rum-raisin Pasta shape – Penne
Published July 6th, 2023 by Ultimo Press Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction
Welcome to my review of the fantastic debut, Lowbridge, which was one of our Squadpod reads this year. Thank you to Ultimo Press for the copy of the book and chance to review it.
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SYNOPSIS:
A missing girl. Decades of silence. A secret too big to bury.
1987: It’s late summer and a time of change when a 17-year-old girl leaves the local shopping centre in the sleepy town of Lowbridge and is never seen again. Her unsolved disappearance is never far from the town’s memory. There’s those who grew up in the shadow of her loss whose own lives were altered forever, and those who know more than they’re saying.
It just takes an outsider to ask the right questions. 2018: Katherine Ashworth, shattered by the death of her daughter, moves to her husband’s hometown. Searching for a way to pick up the pieces of her life, she joins the local historical society and becomes obsessed with the three-decades-old mystery.
As Katherine digs into that summer of 1987, she stumbles upon the trail of a second girl who vanished and was never missed because no one cared enough to see what was happening in plain sight. Her trail could lead right to Katherine’s door.
In a town simmering with divisions and a cast of unforgettable characters, Lowbridge is a heart-wrenching mystery about the girls who are lost, the ones who are mourned and those who are forgotten.
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MY REVIEW:
“Everyone’s drawn to a good mystery, and Tess’s disappearance is the biggest mystery this place has ever seen.”
Shattered by the death of their daughter, Katherine and James move back to his hometown of Lowbridge. Looking for a way to begin to rebuild her life, Katherine gets involved with the local historical society and comes across a thirty-year-old unsolved mystery that still haunts the small town. Katherine begins to dig deeper into what happened that summer and comes across long-buried secrets that some people will go to extraordinary lengths to keep hidden…
Brilliantly written, steadily paced and compelling, this is a fantastic debut. Lucy Campbell has crafted an intriguing character-driven mystery that explores topics such as grief, motherhood, theessence of life in a small town and how the tragedy is still affecting those who live there decades later. Told in dual timelines, one following Tess in the months leading up to her disappearance in 1987 and the other following Katherine as she tries to solve the mystery thirty years later, there’s a claustrophobic feel to the story that comes from both the small-town setting and the bubble of grief that surrounds Katherine. Keeping us guessing, Campbell slowly unspools Lowbridge’s hidden history and dark secrets, building the suspense to a shocking and unexpected conclusion.
With any character-driven story it is vital to have well-written characters and Ms. Campbell has certainly delivered. While Tess and Katherine are our main protagonists, the story is filled with a cast of authentic, richly drawn characters who draw us into their lives. Campbell makes us feel what each character is going through which ranges from typical teenage angst to much deeper traumas. In the past, everything is happening against a backdrop of us knowing Tess will soon vanish so I found myself searching for clues and trying to figure out who was responsible. But it was Katherine who leapt from the pages most strongly for me, her grief and heartbreak over the loss of her daughter radiating from the pages and seeping into every facet of her existence as she tries to find a way to move forward. It is impossible not to feel heartbroken for her and think anyone who has lost someone close to them will recognise some part of that loss in her. I was rooting for her to succeed in both her quest to uncover the truth about Tess’s disappearance and learning to live again.
Gripping, cryptic and heart-wrenching, Lowbridge is a superb debut I have no hesitation in recommending.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
*DM me for TWs
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Lucy Campbell has worked as a writer and sub-editor across magazines, newspapers and non-fiction books. Lowbridge is her first novel. She lives in Canberra with her husband and three children.
Published July 20th, 2023 by Century Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction
Welcome to my review for the heart-pounding None Of This Is True. Thank you to Rachel Quin for the invitation to take part and to Century for the proof and audiobook.
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SYNOPSIS:
* AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER * * OVER 6,000 FIVE STAR REVIEWS * * AUDIBLE NO.1 SIX WEEKS IN A ROW *
‘Gloriously dark’ Lucy Foley ‘A moody, slippery novel‘ Gillian McAllister ‘One hundred percent brilliant’ Clare Mackintosh ‘Shocking and creepy and glorious’ Nicola Walker ‘Utterly addictive’ Claire Douglas ___________
Celebrating her 45th birthday at her local pub, podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie is also celebrating her 45th.
A few days later, they bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie says she thinks she would be an interesting subject for Alix’s podcast. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
Alix agrees to a trial interview and indeed, Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated. Aix finds her unsettling but can’t quite resist the temptation to keep digging.
Slowly Alix starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it Josie has cajoled her way into Alix’s life – and into her home.
Soon Alix begins to wonder who is Josie Fair really? And what has she done?
* The Hi! I’m Your Birthday Twin podcast has been bought to life! Listen to all 4 episodes and find out more here *
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MY REVIEW:
“But she can’t shift the discomforting sense that there’s something else. Something behind this dark yet somehow typical story of a family blighted by the dysfunction of a controlling and dominant man… And as much as her gut tells her to believe a woman who says she has been abused, it also tells her that Josie is not to be trusted.”
Podcaster Alix Summers is out celebrating her 45th birthday when she meets Josie Fair who introduces herself with the words, “Hi, I’m your birthday twin”. They run into each other again a few days later and Josie tells Alix she’s on the verge of big changes in her life and thinks she’d make an interesting subject for her podcast. Alix agrees to a trial interview and sees the potential for a great story in Josie’s complex and strange life. As they get to know each other the disquieting feelings Alix ignored only grows stronger as she realises Josie is hiding some dark secrets. And as Josie pushes her way further into Alix’s life and home, she begins to wonder who Josie really is and what she might be capable of….
Lisa Jewell never fails to deliver and showcases the full scope of her masterful storytelling skill set in this heart-pounding thriller. An addictive page-turner filled with delicious anticipation, sucker-punch twists,, and a ticking time bomb of dread, it had me on the edge of my seat from the first page until the last. And over a week after finishing it I still have no idea what is true and what isn’t. The mixed media format made it perfect for audiobook as the excerpts from interviews and podcast episodes brought the story alive and made me feel like I was listening to a true crime podcast rather than a work of fiction. And that ending! OMG. I was not ready and it left me with both my heart and jaw on the floor. A round of applause, Ms. Jewell.
Alix and Josie are compelling characters who feel relatable with their familiar struggles. I’m the same age and could imagine being friends with them and sitting discussing our problems over coffee. Well, I could to a point, because as the story digs deeper into their lives it quickly becomes clear that there is something dark and disturbing lurking in Josie’s life. Alex senses this darkness too, but the journalist in her compels her to keep going and discover what secrets she’s hiding, to reveal the story. I went from seeing Josie as a sad, lonely, downtrodden woman to a predator waiting to strike. The warning signs flashed in my head and I listened in rapt horror as it descended deeper into the things nightmares are made of.
Dark, brooding, compelling, and unexpected, Lisa Jewell reminds us all why she’s the Thriller Queen with this nerve-shredding story. A must-read for fans of the genre, just make sure you carve out a chunk of time before reading because once you pick this one up you won’t be putting it down until you’re finished.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Lisa Jewell was born in London in 1968.
Her first novel, Ralph’s Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs and The Night She Disappeared. Her latest novel None of This Is True was published in July 2023.
Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over twenty-five languages. She lives in north London with her husband, two daughters and the best dog in the world.
Published August 31st, 2023 by Simon & Schuster UK Romantic Comedy, Literary Fiction
Today I’m finally sharing my review for this heartwarming and beautiful story. Thank you to Simon and Schuster UK for offering the Squadpod the chance to read the book and sending me a copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
The brilliant and incisive new novel from the author of Lives Like Mine…
A deeply affecting novel, In Bloom tells of strength, survival, forgiveness, resilience and determination, and the fierce love and unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters.
Delph has kept herself small and quiet as a form of self-protection, ever since the love of her life Sol’s untimely death left her pregnant and alone at the age of twenty-four. Theirs was such a once-in-a-lifetime love, that the loss of her soulmate broke her heart ‒ and almost broke her, too.
Years on, Delph’s protective bubble bursts when her daughter Roche moves out of the flat Delph shares with her partner Itsy and in with her estranged nan, Moon. Now that it’s just the two of them, the cracks in Delph and Itsy’s relationship begin to grow. Feeling on the outside of the bond between her fierce-yet-flaky tarot-reading mother and volatile martial-arts-champion daughter, Delph begins questioning her own freedom.
Is her life with Itsy all it seems? And has keeping small and safe truly been her choice all these years…?
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MY REVIEW:
In Bloom is a beautiful and affecting story about mothers and daughters that follows three generations of women from one family on a journey of self-discovery, forgiveness and freedom. Filled with courage, resilience, strength and hope, it is a multilayered story about ordinary women trying to navigate their dysfunctional relationships and survive the cards that life has dealt them.
This is a slow-burn novel that took me a bit of time to get into. But I found that once I did I was hooked and didn’t want to put the book down. Eva Verde is an extraordinary writer and her prose is poetic, insightful, raw and emotive, tugging at your heartstrings one moment and then making you laugh out loud the next. Difficult topics such as toxic relationships, grief and generational trauma are explored with sensitivity while also being written in an honest, authentic and relatable way. And that ending! I was not prepared for how beautiful and heartrending that would be.
Roche, Delph and Moon each narrate this multiple timeline novel, slowly taking us through their past and present to slowly reveal the secrets they are hiding even from themselves. While they are very different people they also have many similarities and each woman is fierce, strong, determined, flawed and scathing, with Roche being particularly fiery. And while I liked them all, it was Delph I found myself connecting with most of all because we had many similar struggles.
Heartwarming, insightful, funny, bittersweet and raw, In Bloom is a remarkable and deeply human story that I highly recommend.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Eva Verde is a writer from East London. Identity, class and female rage are recurring themes throughout her work and her debut novel Lives Like Mine, is published by Simon and Schuster.
Eva’s love song to libraries, I Am Not Your Tituba forms part of Kit De Waal’s Common People: An Anthology of Working-Class Writers. Her words have featured in Marie Claire, Grazia, Elle and The Big Issue, also penning the new foreword for the international bestselling author Jackie Collins Goddess of Vengeance.
Eva lives in Essex with her husband, children and dog.
Published October 12th, 2023 by Aria Festive Fiction, Romance Fiction, Holiday Fiction, Humorous Fiction
Welcome to my review for the second of the Squadpod’s two December Book Club books. Thank you to Aria for the gifted copy.
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SYNOPSIS:
This Christmas, everything will change…
When Liv Latimer says goodbye to her fellow nurses and finishes work for the holidays, she’s looking forward to a Christmas to remember with her boyfriend Eddie.
But as she leaves the hospital, tragedy strikes and Liv is faced with a choice. Will she ignore her instincts and go home as planned? Or will she stay, and potentially change the course of her life as she knows it?
Whatever choice she makes, Liv is about to discover that fate finds a way…
From the bestselling Irish author of The Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club comes an emotional and uplifting festive story about love, family and how a split-second decision can change your life.
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MY REVIEW:
On the First Day of Christmas is a sliding doors style story that is told in parallel timelines that diverge at a fateful moment. Liv Latimer is excitedly thinking about her cosy family Christmas celebrations back home in Ballycove and daydreaming about the proposal she is sure her long-term boyfriend, Eddie, will finally make this year when she’s caught up in a tragic accident. Faced with a choice, will Liv ignore her gut feelings and go home to Ballycove as planned, or will she stay in Dublin and see where destiny leads her?
My heart was not ready for this book. Heartwarming, funny, and filled with festive magic, I completely lost myself in this story. This was the second of the Squadpod’s two December Book Club Books and it is safe to say I’m full of the joys of Christmas reading. Beautifully told, cleverly plotted and filled with compelling characters, it is a fascinating exploration of how the choices we make can alter our lives forever but fate will always find a way. Faith Hogan expertly crafts the story parallel timelines, allowing us to see how the decision Liv makes at that fateful moment impacts not only her Christmas, but the rest of her life.
The protagonist, Liv, is a wonderful and authentic character who is relatable, messy, vulnerable, kind, and stronger than she knows. The book opens with the tragic death of her twin sister, Rachel, from cancer and we see that she is still trying to come to terms with her loss, which is woven into the fabric of her existence and shaped her life ever since. I loved that Rachel was so present throughout the book and remained a guiding light for Liv from the beyond. It explores loss and grief in such a beautiful way that I related to and took comfort from on a personal level.
Another topic the story explores is the fear of being alone. Liv has been with her boyfriend, Eddie, for six years and is convinced that this Christmas he will finally ask her to marry him. Much of Liv’s inner turmoil and dilemmas revolve around their relationship. She knows Eddie is no prince charming but she’s also sure that being with him is better than being alone, something I think many of us can understand. But at the same time I was willing her to stop accepting less than she deserved and finally kick the deadbeat to the curb.
A charming, witty and moving story filled with Christmas cheer, On the First Day of Christmas was a joy to read from beginning to end. I’m so thankful to the Squadpod for introducing me to new-to-me authors like Ms. Hogan and her backlist is now on my TBR.
Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Faith Hogan is an Irish award-winning and bestselling author of nine novels. Her books have featured as Book Club Favorites, Net Galley Hot Reads and Summer Must Reads. She writes grown up women’s fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, feel good and inspiring.
She gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway.
Her latest novel is The Guest House By The Sea – set in the west of Ireland – this is a book to fall in love with.
She also writes crime fiction as Geraldine Hogan. Her Corbally series is out now.
She is currently working on her next novel. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She’s a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger – except of course when it is raining!
Published November 23rd, 2023 by Orenda Books Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Gothic Thriller, Suspense, Thriller, Hard-boiled Mystery, Horror Fiction, Occult Horror, Translated Fiction
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the unsettling Yule Island. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Karen at Orenda for the proof copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
An art expert joins a detective to investigate a horrific murder on a Swedish island, leading them to a mystery rooted in Viking rites and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter. The Queen of French Noir returns with a chilling, utterly captivating gothic thriller, based on a true story. FIRST in a new series.
‘Gustawsson’s writing is so vivid, it’s electrifying’ Peter James
‘Remember her name. Johana Gustawsson has become a leading figure in French crime fiction [and] Yule Island is impossible to put down’ Le Monde
***Winner of the Cultura Ligue de l’Imaginaire Award 2023***
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Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.
Emma must work alone, and the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide?
As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.
When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key?
Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter…
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MY REVIEW:
OMG. My mind is completely blown and I’m still trying to pick my jaw up from the floor after reading this mesmerising gothic thriller. Darkly atmospheric, unsettling and original, this is one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Art expert Emma Lindahl has come to the manor house on the island of Storholmen to appraise the artwork belonging to the Gussman family. But that isn’t all this house is famous for. It is also the place where the infamous hanging girl was found nine years ago. A brutal murder that remains unsolved. And when the body of another young woman is found in the icy waters that surround the island, it looks like Detective Karl Rosen might have found a connection between the crimes. What follows is a breathtaking story of murder, dark secrets and Norse mythology that you won’t be able to put down.
You know when you pick up one of Johana Gustawsson’s books that you should expect the unexpected; a heart-stopping thrill-ride that you can’t put down. Yule Island is all that and more. From the moment I read the author’s note at the start I was in Gustawsson’s thrall, feeling like I’d actually stepped inside the book as I read in breathless anticipation. Expertly written and cleverly plotted, this is a masterclass in storytelling. I was blindsided as she pulled the rug from under me again and again, not giving me time to catch my breath before delivering yet another shocking revelation. As
tension builds, Gustawsson intricately interweaves meticulously researched Norse mythology and Swedish history to keep you on the edge of your seat. ‘The Queen of French Noir’ is living up to her title and it’s easy to see why this book has already received so much acclaim.
Gothic fiction is one of my favourite genres and Gustawsson absolutely nailed the dark, gothic vibes of this story from the start: the cold weather, an isolated island shrouded in silence, an old, echoing manor house filled with mysterious residents and the trappings of faded opulence, the screams that can be heard randomly, and the haunting history of the hanging tree. Knowing that Storholmen is a real island and this is all based on a true story adds to the unease that permeates every page. This is one of those books that will have you looking for the monsters that lurk in the shadows and I loved every second.
Told from multiple points of view, the characters are fascinating, relatable and richly drawn. The two protagonists, Emma and Karl, are very different in terms of age, circumstance and perspective. I enjoyed their distinct voices and seeing the investigation from both a professional and lay perspective. But they have similarities too: both are intelligent, determined and have a sober air that surrounds them. I enjoyed how Gustawsson slowly teased their backstories, allowing us to feel invested in their lives and root for them before making us question everything as we wonder if they are unreliable after all. There was a third narrator, Viktoria, who was a housekeeper at the manor. Her chapters gave us a glimpse of life behind the closed doors of the manor and added to the mystery that surrounds it. The background characters are just as well written and I loved the sense of community that existed on the island and how they welcomed Emma into their midst when a lot of small communities will make outsiders feel like just that. But it did make me wonder about the killer as it surely had to be one of the three hundred residents on Storholmen. Could one of them really commit vicious crimes like these while looking their neighbours in the eye? Or was there another explanation?
Claustrophobic, eerie, sinister and unnerving, Yule Island is an absolute must-read. An outstanding Gothic thriller that is perfect for this time of year, I have no hesitation in highly recommending it.
Rating: ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series (Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song) has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in twenty-three countries. The third in the series, Blood Song, was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. Johana lives in London with her Swedish husband, and three young sons, and is currently working on the book four in the Roy & Castells series.
David Warriner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada – and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.
Published October 26th, 2023 by Pan Macmillan Festive Fiction, Romance Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Holiday Romance
Welcome to my review for this charming Christmassy read and the first of our two Squadpod Book Club Books. Thank you to Pan Macmillan for the copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
‘There’s nothing quite like a Karen Swan novel to get you in the festive mood – Seasonal escapism at its best’ – Woman & Home
Snowed in for the holidays, old truths rise to the surface. Christmas by Candlelight is a cosy Christmas story from Karen Swan, bestselling author of The Stolen Hours.
It’s three days before Christmas and starting to snow when high-flier Libby and her new boyfriend reluctantly attend her university reunion.
Hosted by Archie Templeton – the heartbreaker of their group – at his grand family estate in Yorkshire, the night is a great success until they go to leave: the road is now blocked with snow.
At first, being snowed in together is fun. But as hours pass everyone grows restless.
Then the power goes out . . .
Hunkered down together by candlelight, they reminisce about old times – and tensions soon start to rise. Secrets from the past begin to unravel and Libby is confronted with a truth she has long tried to deny.
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MY REVIEW:
Three days before Christmas Libby and her new boyfriend, Max, reluctantly make their way to a reunion with Libby’s university friends. She hasn’t seen them since they left Durham University nine years ago and has made excuses for every annual reunion and meet up. She is wracked with nerves at seeing them again but reassures herself it’s only for a few hours. The snow is already falling when they arrive at the family estate of the group’s heartbreaker, Archie, just outside Thirsk in North Yorkshire. Despite her apprehension, the night is a success, but when Libby and Max go to leave they discover the snow has fallen much harder than anyone realised and they are snowed in. At first they try to make the best of things and enjoy their extended visit, but after the power goes out and they are stranded without any way of contacting help, tensions rise, old hostilities flare, and long-held secrets are slowly revealed, forcing Libby to confront things she’s been running from for almost decade.
Christmas By Candlelight is one of the Squadpod Book Club books this month. Fun, uplifting, immersive and addictive, this is festive fiction at its finest. I started reading this in November and didn’t think I was quite ready to start my festive reading, but this was exactly what I didn’t know I needed and helped me get into the festive spirit. It warmed my heart, broke it, and then warmed it again as I lost myself in the story. The vivid descriptions of the snowy landscape and old estate adorned with decorations conjured up images of a scenic Christmas while also providing a feeling of claustrophobia that adds to the suspense and foreboding. Somehow, this was my first Karen Swan book. I’ve no idea how I’ve never read any of her books until now but this certainly won’t be my last.
The story is narrated by Libby and told in dual timelines: the Christmas reunion in the present day and the group’s final term at Durham University in 2014. The friends are an eclectic cast of fascinating characters and there’s a feeling of nostalgia that comes from their reminiscing and the flashbacks to university. As the outlier of the group, Libby was a great choice for narrator and was likeable, flawed and relatable. It’s clear from the start that there are secrets, old conflicts, tension, and unresolved bad blood between the friends which boils over as they are forced to live in close quarters without heat or power after being stranded by the snow. Yes, there is some cheesiness and predictability to the story, including a will-they-won’t-they romance, but this is expertly merged with the more serious aspects of the story and all a part of the book’s charm.
So if you’re looking for a charming Christmassy read that will warm you from the inside, I’d highly recommend this book.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Karen Swan is the Sunday Times top three bestselling author and her novels sell all over the world. She writes two books each year – one for the summer period and one for the Christmas season. Previous summer titles include The Spanish Promise, The Hidden Beach and The Secret Path and for winter, Christmas at Tiffany’s, The Christmas Secret and Together by Christmas.
Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.
Her historical series called The Wild Isle, is based upon the dramatic evacuation of the Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930.
Published December 7th, 2023 by Orenda Books Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Hard-boiled Mystery, Noir Fiction, Political Thriller Translated Fiction
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the first book in an exciting new series. Thank you to Orenda for the proof copy and Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part in the tour.
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SYNOPSIS:
When a celebrated government official is found dead after his surprise birthday party, a young police officer uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives. Icelandic politician Katrín Júlíusdóttir’s award-winning debut – first in a breathtaking series…
**Winner of the Blackbird Award for Best Icelandic Crime Debut**
‘A breathtaking political thriller from one of Iceland’s most exciting new voices’ Eva Björg Ægisdóttir
‘Katrín Júlíusdóttir skilfully weaves together intense family dynamics, dark pasts and criminal endeavours in this masterful narrative’ Lilja Sigurðardóttir
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A murder is just the beginning…
When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn’t until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.
As Óttar’s shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís’s own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…
Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off an addictive, mind-blowing new series.
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MY REVIEW:
“There’s a lesson to be learned: life’s not a game to be played.”
Unnerving, tense and twisty, Dead Sweet is a strong start to an exhilarating new Scandi Noir crime series. Debut author Katrín Júlíusdóttir takes us on a turbulent ride of buried secrets, double lives, criminal ventures and dark deeds that are finally uncovered. She introduces us to Sigurdis, a young police officer with a traumatic past, who is finally given the chance to sink her teeth into a major investigation when celebrated government official Óttar Karlsson is found murdered on the beach after failing to show up for his surprise 50th birthday party. The police are initially stumped as to who could have wanted to kill this well-liked man until Sigurdis discovers a safe hidden in Óttar’s luxury apartment that reveals he was not the man anyone thought he was. The signs all point to a financially motivated crime but Sigurdis isn’t convinced and her gut is telling her this was more personal. But can she prove it?
My love for everything Orenda publishes is no secret, and their translated crime fiction are some of my favourite books, so I was very excited about this one. I might not need yet another crime series on my TBR, but I knew it would be a mistake not to read this book. And once again they’ve struck gold. After reading this it’s easy to see why it was the winner of the Blackbird Award for Best Icelandic Crime Debut and Katrín Júlíusdóttir is undoubtedly an author to watch. Cleverly plotted, sharply observed, and skillfully written, she intricately weaves together a plethora of narrators and threads perfectly. She keeps you guessing, sporadically including old diary entries from an unknown narrator that add to the dark undertones already running through the pages. I was on a knife-edge from the first page right up until the surprising conclusion. I don’t mind admitting that I did not get this one right at all!
“Ottar seemed to have the psychopaths knack of adapting himself to the people from whom he wanted something, showing interest and understanding until his prey believed that they had found a soul mate and placed complete trust in him.”
I love the added apprehension multiple narrators can bring to a book and the different voices telling this story put the tension through the roof. Ms. Júlíusdóttir has packed this book with an array of realistic and compelling characters and while it did take me some time to fully connect with some of them, it was never confusing. I liked that it was always clear that Sigurdis is our central character and I thought she was a great protagonist. She’s likeable and easy to root for and has a dark, traumatic and heartbreaking backstory that only strengthened the bond I felt with her. While Sigurdis is probably our most frequent narrator, Óttar is only ever on the page as a memory or a victim, Júlíusdóttir manages to make him feel vivid and three dimensional. We feel his sinister presence polluting every page as his misdeeds haunt those he left behind and every time I thought I couldn’t like him any less there would be more revelations that made me dislike him even more. Júlíusdóttir writes these fractured and flawed characters with honesty and sensitivity, allowing us to understand some of their actions and comprehend the trauma and pain they are living with, while never allowing it to feel like their wrongdoings are excused. Her exploration of their dynamics also feels authentic and appreciated the accuracy and relatability with which she wrote these characters and storylines.
Intelligent, suspenseful and totally gripping, Dead Sweet is a must read for any thriller-lover.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Katrín is a Policy advisor and author. She received the Blackbird Award, an Icelandic crime-writing prize, for her first novel, Sykur (en: Sugar) in 2020. Her debut novel was reviewed well by critics and hit the best-selling lists in the first weeks after publication.
She was the Managing Director of Finance Iceland from 2016-2022. She has a political background and was a member of Parliament from 2003 until 2016. The Minister of industry, energy and tourism from 2009-2012 and Minister of finance and economy from 2012-2013. She served as the Social Democratic Alliance’s vice-chair from 2013-2016.
Before she was elected to Parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the Managing Director of a student union during her uni years. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, as a store clerk and took nighttime shifts at a pizza place. She studied Anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjavík University.
She was raised in Kópavogur, about 15 minutes’ drive from downtown Reykjavík. She now lives in the neighbouring town of Garðabær with her family. She is married to author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys.
Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia as a teenager, jumping at the chance of a gap year working in Iceland. For a variety of reasons, the gap year stretched to become a gap decade, during which time he went native in the north of Iceland, acquiring a new language, a new profession as a seaman and a family, before decamping en masse for England. He worked as a truck driver, teacher, netmaker and trawlerman at various times before falling into journalism, largely by accident. He is the author of a series of crime novels set in present-day Iceland (Frozen Out, Cold Steal, Chilled to the Bone, Winterlude, Cold Comfort and Thin Ice) which have been published worldwide. He has translated all of Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series.
Emma's Biblio Treasures 