Published: September 1st, 2022 Publisher: Grove Press Genre: True Crime Format: Paperback, Kinlde
Welcome to my review of Slenderman. Thank you to Grove Press and Netgalley for the eBook ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
The 2014 Slenderman stabbings in Wisconsin, USA, shocked the local community and the world. The violence of Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weiser, the two twelve-year-old girls who attempted to stab their classmate to death, was extreme, but what seemed even more frightening was that they had done so under the influence of an internet meme, the so-called ‘Slenderman’.
Slenderman tells the full story for the very first time. Morgan and Anissa’s friendship could so easily not have taken the turn it did – but Morgan was suffering with early onset schizophrenia. She believed she had been seeing Slenderman for years, and that the only way to stop him killing her family was to bring him a sacrifice. Her victim miraculously survived the attack but was left deeply traumatised, while the severity of their crime meant Morgan and Anissa would be tried as adults. Slenderman is both a page-turning true crime classic and a compelling search for justice.
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MY REVIEW:
“There is a natural tendency, when a child is hurt, as Payton was, to want vengeance. But vengeance isn’t justice—vengeance is an appeal to passion and prejudice, an appeal to ignore the facts and the law.”
The Slenderman stabbings in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA is a haunting crime that shook the world. On May 31st 2014, three 12-year-old friends went to play at a local park after a sleepover. A few hours later one of them is found bloodied and near death after being stabbed nineteen times. She says her friends are the culprits. When Morgan Geyser and Anissa Wieser are apprehended and questioned hours later, the story they tell is one no-one expected. It’s a story of myth, horror and childhood obsession. They say they attempted to murder their friend to protect themselves and their families from Slenderman, an internet meme that the girls believed was real.
I am a devourer of true crime. I read it, I watch it and I listen to it. When I first heard of the Slenderman stabbings back in 2014 I was shocked and appalled. Not only at the ages of the perpetrators, but of the sheer brutality and violence of the attack. As I learned of the detailed planning of the crime and watched the interview tapes of Morgan and Anissa I was even more disturbed. My own children were only a few years younger than these three girls and the idea of my sons being on either side of this crime was horrifying. My instinct was to agree with the decision to charge them as adults and say that the book needed to be thrown at them. Lock them up for the rest of their lives. But I didn’t know the whole story.
In her fascinating, illuminating and compelling book, Kathleen Hale reveals the truth behind the headlines; the lesser known details that emerged in the hours, days, months and years following the stabbings. She explores how mental illness can affect people’s actions and shines a light on how mental illness is treated – or rather untreated – within the justice system. It is exquisitely written, never sensationalising or glorifying the crime yet not shying away from the truth. And while she doesn’t focus on the gory details of the attack and life-threatening injuries Payton Lautner suffered, it is detailed and makes for uncomfortable reading.
But it isn’t this that I think people will find most unnerving and hard to read. Ms. Hale gives the reader an insight into the minds of Morgan and Anissa, reminding us that these were impressionable children that day. Children whose brains had not yet fully developed, and with decision making-skills that were immature. And though it is made clear multiple times that Payton was an innocent victim who not only bravely fought for her life that day, but still lives with the physical and mental scars of that day, a lot of the focus is on Morgan and Annisa, exploring what life was like for them following their crime, the illnesses they were later diagnosed with that led to them committing the attack, and asks us to consider morally complex and uncomfortable questions about the desire for justice versus the need for vengeance. Were Morgan and Anissa two cold-hearted, evil monsters or troubled young girls who needed help? Can both of these be true? And what price should they pay for what they did?
This is a case that is so much more complex and emotionally fraught than I’d realised going into reading this book. I’d watched the documentaries, interviews and court appearances, and I’d read a number of articles, yet I was still unprepared for the conflicting emotions this book would stir within me. We learn that Morgan was suffering from early onset schizophrenia and was removed from reality at the time of the stabbings. Following her crime she completely lost touch with reality until finally being diagnosed and treated for her illness. Meanwhile, Anissa was eventually also diagnosed with an illness that distorted her perception of reality at the time of the stabbing, making what happened not simply a case of good versus evil. As a mother my heart first goes out to the victim, but I couldn’t stop putting myself in the shoes of Morgan and Anissa’s parents, imagining how I’d react and feel if it had been my kids and the pain it must cause when the child you love so much commits such an atrocious act. I also felt a huge amount of compassion for Morgan suffering from schizophrenia and for some of the things Anissa went through. I struggled with the question of whether they should have been tried as adults and how long they should serve for their crime. This is a case with no easy answers and no winners, only losers.
Unflinching, powerful and moving, I think this will become a true crime classic. It is meticulously researched, balanced and will stay with you long after reading. There is an overwhelming grief that pervades every page, not only because of Payton and all she suffered, but for the many lives changed that terrible day. A difficult read that is also hard to put down, I’d recommend this to anyone who is interested in true crime.
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Kathleen Hale is the author of two young adult novels and one essay collection. She has written for Vanity Fair, the Guardian, Hazlitt, and Vice, among other outlets, and is a writer and producer for Outer Banks on Netflix. She was born in Wisconsin and lives in Los Angeles.
We’re edging closer to the end of the year and the number of releases is slowling down a little, but there are still a number of exciting books to look forward to. Here are the ones I’m most excited about being released next month.
SYNOPSIS: Secrets. Suspicion. Survival. No one writes relationships better than B.A. PARIS
THEN
Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a career for herself in the magazine industry, she meets, and agrees to marry, Ned Hawthorne.
NOW
Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned?
In true B.A. Paris style, The Prisoner is a gripping survival story, a twisted love story and at its dark heart a thriller to keep you up all night.
SYNOPSIS: A book with all of life’s answers, if only you can find it…
‘Extravagant, sexy and compelling. I loved it.’ LAUREN BEUKES
Rare book dealer Lily Albrecht has just been given a tip-off about The Book of the Most Precious Substance, a 17th century manual rumoured to be the most powerful occult book ever written, if it really exists at all.
With some of the wealthiest people in the world willing to pay Lily a fortune to track it down, she embarks on a journey from New York to New Orleans to Munich to Paris.
If she finds it, Lily stands to gain more than just money. This could erase the greatest tragedy of her life. But will Lily’s quest help her find some answers, or will she lose everything in search of a ghost?
Published: November 8th Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Dark Fantasy, High Fantasy
SYNOPSIS: I am the monster. I am the shield. I am the knife in the dark.
Ranka is tired of death. All she wants now is to be left alone, living out her days in Witchik’s wild north with the coven that raised her, attempting to forget the horrors of her past. But when she is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride to the human kingdom of Isodal, her coven sends her south with a single directive: kill him. Easy enough, for a blood-witch whose magic compels her to kill.
Except the prince is gentle, kind, and terrified of her. He doesn’t want to marry Ranka; he doesn’t want to be king at all. And it’s his sister – the wickedly smart, infuriatingly beautiful Princess Aramis – who seems to be real threat.
But when witches start turning up dead, murdered by a mysterious, magical plague, Aramis makes Ranka an offer: help her develop a cure, and in return, she’ll teach Ranka to contain her deadly magic. But as the coup draws nearer and the plague spreads, Ranka is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her power, her past, and who she’s meant to fight for. Soon, she will have choose between the coven that raised her – and the princess who sees beyond the monster they shaped her to be. But as the bodies pile up, a monster may be exactly what they need.
Dawnlands by Philippa Gregory(Fairmile Series Book 3)
Published: November 8th Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK Genre: Historical Fiction, Myths, Fairy Tale, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS: The spellbinding Fairmile series continues as the fiercely independent Alinor and her family find themselves entangled in palace intrigue, political upheaval, and life-changing secrets in seventeenth-century England.
It is 1685, England is on the brink of a renewed civil war against the Stuart kings and many families are bitterly divided. Ned Ferryman cannot persuade his sister Alinor that he is right to return from America with his Pokanoket servant Rowan to join the rebel army. Instead, Alinor has been coaxed by the manipulative Livia to save the queen from the coming siege. The rewards are life-changing: the family could return to their beloved Tidelands, and Alinor could rule where she was once lower than a servant.
Alinor’s son, Rob, is determined to stay clear of the war, but when he and his nephew set out to free Ned from execution for treason and Rowan from a convict deportation to Barbados, they find themselves enmeshed in the creation of an imposter Prince of Wales – a surrogate baby to the queen.
From the last battle in the desolate Somerset Levels to the hidden caves on the slave island of Barbados, this third volume of an epic story follows a family from one end of the empire to another, to find a new dawn in a world which is opening up before them with greater rewards and dangers than ever before.
Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan (The Celestial Kingdom Book 2)
Published: November 10th Publisher: Harper Voyager UK Genre: Fairy Tale, High Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Myths & Legends, Fantasy Series
SYNOPSIS: The stunning conclusion to the Celestial Kingdom Duology
An unspeakable terror is sweeping across the realm as the Celestial Emperor tightens his grip on power. The fragile peace Xingyin fought so hard for when freeing her mother is under threat.
Forced to flee her home, Xingyin ventures into the unexplored lands of the Immortal Realm to seek aid in her fight, but, with alliances shifting quicker than the tides, she has to overcome past grudges and enmities to forge a new path forward, seeking aid where she never imagined.
Xingyin must uncover the truth of her heart and claw her way through devastation – to rise against evil before it destroys everything she holds dear, and the worlds she has grown to love … even if doing so demands the greatest price of all.
The stunning sequel to the Sunday Times bestselling Daughter of the Moon Goddess delves deeper into beloved Chinese mythology, concluding the epic story of Xingyin – the daughter of Chang’e and the mortal archer Houyi – as she battles a grave new threat to the realm, in this powerful tale of love, sacrifice, and hope.
Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict
Published: November 10th Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Holiday Fiction, Adventure Fiction
SYNOPSIS: **COULD YOU SOLVE THE CASE? PRE-ORDER NOW FOR THE PUZZLING CHRISTMAS MYSTERY OF THE YEAR**
Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands is derailed, along with the festive plans of its travellers. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere, a killer stalks its carriages, picking off passengers one by one. Those who sleep on the sleeper train may never wake again.
Can former Met detective Roz Parker find the killer before they kill again?
All aboard for . . . Murder on the Christmas Express
Published: November 10th Publisher: Orenda Books Genre: Thriller, Medical Thriller, Police Procedural
SYNOPSIS: A young man wakes from a coma to find himself targeted by the men who killed his parents, while someone is impersonating a notorious New Zealand serial killer … the latest chilling, nerve-shredding, twisty thriller from the author of The Quiet People…
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James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.
But between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help … especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…
Published: November 10th Publisher: Orion Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Horror Fiction, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS: AN OLD ENEMY IS LAID TO REST . . . AND A NEW CRIME IS DISCOVERED
Florence Lovelady, the most senior serving policewoman in Britain, visits convicted serial killer Larry Glassbrook in prison. Larry is coming to the end of his life but has one last task for Florence: to learn the identity of the remains discovered at children’s home Black Moss Manor. The town Florence escaped narrowly with her life still holds many secrets. Will she finally learn the truth? Or will time run out for her first?
The latest Florence Lovelady thriller, set shortly after the bestselling first novel The Craftsman in the chilling, new series from Richard and Judy bestseller Sharon Bolton
Published: November 10th Publisher: Scribe UK Genre: Historical Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Could you marry a man you’ve never met? Three Korean women in 1918 make a life-changing journey to Hawaii, where they will marry, having seen only photographs of their intended husbands.
Different fates await each of these women. Hong-ju, who dreams of a marriage of ‘natural love’, meets a man who looks twenty years older than his photograph; Song-hwa, who wants to escape from her life of ridicule as the granddaughter of a shaman, meets a lazy drunkard. And then there’s Willow, whose 26-year-old groom, Taewan, looks just like his image …
Real life doesn’t always resemble a picture, but there’s no going back. And while things don’t turn out quite as they’d hoped, even for Willow, they do find something that makes their journey worthwhile ― each other.
Published: November 10th Publisher: William Morrow Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Adventure Fiction
SYNOPSIS: For fans of Lucy Foley and Liane Moriarty, a twisty, escapist suspense about a mysterious retreat center harboring violent secrets.
A perfect paradise? Or a perfect nightmare?
On a river deep in the Mexican jungle stands the colossal villa Xanadu, a wellness center that’s home an ardent spiritual group devoted to self-help guru Paul Bentzen and his enigmatic wife Kali. But when Paul mysteriously dies, his entire estate—including Xanadu—is left not to Kali, but to his estranged niece Sveta.
Shocked and confused, Sveta travels from New York City to Mexico to pay her respects. At first, Xanadu seems like a secluded paradise with its tumbling gardens, beautiful people, and transcendent vibe. But soon the mystical façade wears thin, revealing a group of brainwashed members drunk on promises of an impossible utopia, guided by a disturbing belief system and a charismatic, dangerously capable leader.
As the sinister forces surrounding Sveta become apparent, she realizes, too late, she can’t escape. Frantic and terrified, she discovers her only chance of survival is to put her confidence in the very person she trusts the least.
Published: November 10th Publisher: Apollo Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Regency Romance
SYNOPSIS: The rich and atmospheric new novel from prize-winning author Sally Gardner, set in the 18th century between the two great Frost Fairs.
Neva Friezland is born into a world of trickery and illusion, where fortunes can be won and lost on the turn of a card.
She is also born with an extraordinary gift. She can predict the weather. In Regency England, where the proper goal for a gentlewoman is marriage and only God knows the weather, this is dangerous. It is also potentially very lucrative.
In order to debate with the men of science and move about freely, Neva adopts a sophisticated male disguise. She foretells the weather from inside an automaton created by her brilliant clockmaker father.
But what will happen when the disguised Neva falls in love with a charismatic young man?
It can be very dangerous to be ahead of your time. Especially as a woman.
Murder Most Royal by S. J. Bennett (Her Majesty Investigates Book 3)
Published: November 10th Publisher: Zaffre Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy Mystery Series
SYNOPSIS: THE ROYALLY BRILLIANT THIRD BOOK IN THE HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN INVESTIGATES MYSTERY SERIES ____________________
Christmas at Sandringham is going to be murder . . .
A human hand and a bag of drugs are found washed up on a beach next to the Queen’s estate at Sandringham
The Queen identifies the 70-year-old victim, Edward St Cyr, from his signet ring. But the search for his killer is not so straightforward. Suspects include the Queen’s horse groom, a shady land agent, an aristocrat neighbour, as well as the victim’s many cousins and relations.
The investigation leads the Queen – and her trusted assistant, Rozie – to a local pigeon racing club, back to London, and to the ancient, moated Godwick Hall. But how do the seemingly disparate pieces of the puzzle fit together? And who is the next victim?
Agatha Christie meets The Crown in MURDER MOST ROYAL, the much-anticipated third book in the ‘Her Majesty The Queen Investigates’ mystery series by SJ Bennett – for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin.
Published: November 10th Publisher: Harper Collins UK Genre: Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Humorous Fiction, Holiday Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Ever wished it could be Christmas every day?
Wish again…
Newly single lawyer Gwen Baker is hoping that a family Christmas – countryside, a mountain of food and festive films – will salve the sting of her career hanging by a thread and her heart being trampled on. Because everyone else has their life sorted: even Dev, her boy-next-door crush, is now a tall, dark and handsome stranger with a fiancée. She can’t help wishing her future was clearer.
Then Gwen wakes up to discover it’s Christmas day all over again. Like Groundhog Day but with turkey. And family arguments. On repeat.
As she figures out how to escape her own particular Christmas hell, Dev is the one bright spot. He might be all grown-up but underneath he’s just as kind and funny as she remembers.
Maybe, just maybe, her heart can be mended after all.
But how do you fall in love with someone who can’t remember you from one day to the next?
SYNOPSIS: Olivia fled her abusive marriage to return to her hometown and take over the family beekeeping business when her son Asher was six. Now, impossibly, her baby is six feet tall and in his last year of high school, a kind, good-looking, popular ice hockey star with a tiny sprite of a new girlfriend.
Lily also knows what it feels like to start over – when she and her mother relocated to New Hampshire it was all about a fresh start. She and Asher couldn’t help falling for each other, and Lily feels happy for the first time. But can she trust him completely?
Then Olivia gets a phone call – Lily is dead, and Asher is arrested on a charge of murder. As the case against him unfolds, she realises he has hidden more than he’s shared with her. And Olivia knows firsthand that the secrets we keep reflect the past we want to leave behind - and that we rarely know the people we love well as we think we do.
SYNOPSIS: SHE WAS THE LAST PERSON TO SEE THE BABY…
You may not know Betty Gow’s name – but ‘the Lindbergh nanny’ is infamous.
In 1932, all eyes are on Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the most glamorous and intriguing couple in America. But who was paying attention when, one evening in early March, their baby son was stolen from the family home?
The Lindbergh nanny is the first person to discover Charlie missing… and the last to see him that night.
With the world watching on, Betty must discover the truth about what really happened to young Charlie, to clear her own name – and to find justice for the little boy she loves.
A propulsive re-imagining of America’s most notorious crime of the twentieth century, told through the eyes of the young woman who found herself at the heart of the case.
SYNOPSIS: Ruby Mills is ruthlessly ambitious, strikingly beautiful – and one of the Forty Thieves’ most talented members.
Harriet Littlemore writes the women’s section in a local newspaper. She’s from a ‘good’ London family and engaged to an up-and-coming Member of Parliament – but she wants a successful career of her own.
After witnessing Ruby fleeing the scene of a robbery, Harriet develops a fascination with the elusive young thief that extends beyond journalistic interest. As their personal aspirations bring them into closer contact than society’s rules usually allow, Ruby and Harriet’s stories become increasingly intertwined.
Their magnetic dynamic, fraught with envy and desire, tells a compulsive, cinematic story about class, morality and the cost of being an independent woman in 1920s London.
SYNOPSIS: A disenchanted man struggles to get beyond the first chapter of the books he’s writing, and to separate fact from fiction in his own life. His friend’s suicide changes everything … The mind-blowing, heart-rending new thriller from cult bestselling author Will Carver.
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Eli Hagin can’t finish anything.
He hates his job, but can’t seem to quit. He doesn’t want to be with his girlfriend, but doesn’t know how end things with her, either. Eli wants to write a novel, but he’s never taken a story beyond the first chapter.
Eli also has trouble separating reality from fiction.
When his best friend kills himself, Eli is motivated, for the first time in his life, to finally end something himself, just as Mike did…
Except sessions with his therapist suggest that Eli’s most recent ‘first chapters’ are not as fictitious as he had intended … and a series of text messages that Mike received before his death point to something much, much darker…
Published: November 24th Publisher: Michael Joseph Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS: IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE PARTY OF THE SEASON. BUT SHE NEVER CAME HOME.
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It’s New Year’s Eve. The best night of the year.
As old friends the Wiksells and the Anderssons raise their glasses, their teenage children host their own party across town, finally free to let loose.
But the next morning, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Wiksell is missing.
The hours tick by. The police get involved. And no one knows who to trust.
These two families have a lot to hide. Could the answer to Jennifer’s disappearance lie close to home?
SYNOPSIS: Very few people get the opportunity to stay here. And some don’t get to leave …
Zoey doesn’t remember anything about last night. But she knows something went badly wrong. For she is no longer in New York. She’s woken up in the desert, in a white building she doesn’t recognise, and she’s alone.
When she discovers she’s been admitted to The Sanctuary, a discreet, mysterious, isolated refuge from normal life, to avoid jail, she is stunned. She knows she has secrets, troubles, but she thought she had everything under control. But as she spends more time with other residents, she begins to open up about what she’s running from. Until she realises that not everyone in The Sanctuary has her best interests at heart, and someone might even be a killer . . .
Published: November 24th Publisher: HQ Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story
SYNOPSIS:
Childhood betrayal casts a long shadow…
From the author of The Haven and The Cliff House, this is a devastating thriller set in a Cornish boarding school.
‘A gripping page-turner’ Tammy Cohen, author of The Wedding Party
At a bleak boys’ boarding school in Cornwall in the eighties when bullying is rife, Will and his best friend, Luke, are involved in a horrific incident that results in Luke leaving.
Twenty-five years later their paths cross again and memories of a painful childhood come flooding back to haunt them both.
Will’s wife, Harmony, is struggling after a miscarriage that has hit her hard, and wishes Will would open up about what happened. But as Will withdraws further, she finds herself drawn to the charismatic stranger from her husband’s past, Luke, and soon all three are caught in a tangled web of guilt and desire . . .
From Amanda Jennings, author of The Cliff House, comes a haunting thriller about betrayal and revenge.
Published: November 29th Publisher: Tor Genre: Contemporary Romance, Disability Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Chicago, sometime. Two people meet in the armory of the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. After their meeting, those things do not change.
Everything else, however, is slightly different.
Both obsessive, eccentric personalities, Aldo Damiani and Charlotte Regan struggle to be without each other from the moment they meet. The truth – that he is a clinically depressed, anti-social theoretician and she is a manipulative liar with a history of self-sabotage – means the deeper they fall in love, the more troubling their reliance on each other becomes.
Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake is a glimpse into the nature of love, what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you’re not broken.
Published: November 29th Publisher: Literary Fiction Genre: Scribner UK
SYNOPSIS: From the author of A Little Hopecomes an enormously powerful and life-affirming novel about three individuals whose lives intersect in unforeseen ways.
Set in a close-knit Pennsylvania suburb in the grip of winter, A Quiet Life follows three people grappling with loss and finding a tender wisdom in their grief.
Chuck Ayers used to look forward to nothing so much as his annual trip to Hilton Head with his wife, Cat–that yearly taste of relaxation they’d become accustomed to in retirement, after a lifetime of working and raising two children. Now, just months after Cat’s death, Chuck finds that he can’t let go of her things–her favorite towel, the sketchbooks in her desk drawer–as he struggles to pack for a trip he can’t imagine taking without her.
Ella Burke delivers morning newspapers and works at a bridal shop to fill her days while she anxiously awaits news–any piece of information–about her missing daughter. Ella adjusts to life in a new apartment and answers every call on her phone, hoping her daughter will reach out one day.
After the sudden death of her father, Kirsten Bonato set aside her veterinary school aspirations, finding comfort in the steady routine of working at an animal shelter. But as time passes, old dreams and new romantic interests begin to surface–and Kirsten finds herself at another crossroads.
In this beautifully crafted and profoundly moving novel, three parallel narratives converge in poignant and unexpected ways, as each character bravely presses onward, trying to recover something they have lost. Emotionally riveting and infused with hope, A Quiet Life celebrates humanity in the midst of uncertainty.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the eBook ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
Music and loud voices echo through the woods surrounding her. Wiping her tears, she hears the rustle of leaves close by. Footsteps. She has no time to scream before a hand covers her mouth and her entire world goes black.
In a patch of forest on the outskirts of a small town, five teenage school friends prepare to spend a night away from home. Carrying their tents and sleeping bags, they laugh and joke as they make their way into the darkest part of the woods, away from prying eyes. But as the sun rises the following morning, only four are left alive.
Devastated, Leah’s friends all swear they didn’t see or hear anything. Her best friend sobs as she recounts what she remembers from that night – dancing, roasting marshmallows, sipping warm cans of beer by the fire – but is it grief, or is she hiding something? What happened to Naomi in the hour that no one can account for? And what troubled past lies behind the perfect manners of the boy who organised the trip, and who is prepared to lie to keep it buried?
As the cracks in their stories grow, it’s clear one of them is lying, and one of them is next…
Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh, One Left Behind is a thrilling crime novel that will have you hooked from the very first page!
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MY REVIEW:
“Would their secrets cost them their lives?”
The ninth book in the Detective Gina Harte series opens with the discovery of the body of a sixteen-year-old girl the morning after a party in the woods with her friends. Sure the teenagers are hiding something, Gina and her team try to discover what really happened that night. But then a second teenager is murdered and it looks like each of them are in the killer’s sights. But why? And can they stop them before anyone else ends up dead?
Wow. Just, wow. Carla Kovach has reminded me why this is one of my favourite crime series and delivered the best installment yet. Exquisitely written, perfectly plotted and filled with flawed and complex characters, it sizzles with tension, mystery and foreboding from the start. Then, with one flawlessly executed, blindsiding twist, she took my breath away. I’m still shook. This is how it’s done, ladies and gentleman.
There are an array of suspects and intriguing subplots, including a mysterious person threatening to expose a dark secret from Gina’s past that could destroy her whole life. Who could possibly know? And can she unveil them before it’s too late? I enjoyed watching Gina battle what is probably one of her most terrifying personal situations while investigating the case. I love how she always rises to whatever challenge is in front of her, giving her all to find a killer no matter the other things she is dealing with.
Fast-paced, intricately woven and irresistible, this is an easy five-stars from me. I couldn’t put this down and devoured it in one sitting, literally reading through the night. A spectacular thriller that I highly recommend.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
TW: Domestic abuse
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Carla Kovach is a crime and horror author from Worcestershire. Her most popular work, the DI Gina Harte series is published by Bookouture. As well as books, she also writes stage and screenplays.
Published: November 24th, 2021 Publisher: Bookouture Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the latest installment in this cosy mystery series. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the gifted eBok ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
Christmas at the castle with holly, handmade gifts, snowflakes and… is that a body under the tree? Someone call Lady Swift!
Winter, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, amateur sleuth and reluctant lady of the manor, has been invited to spend Christmas in Scotland, at the beautiful castle of her dear friends Baron and Baroness Ashley. Even her favourite companion, master of mischief Gladstone the bulldog, is coming along to share a slice of turkey. As snow begins to fall outside, the rather mismatched group are cozy by the roaring fire, sharing a tipple over a plate of Mrs Trotman’s famous mince pies.
But after what was supposed to be a fun party game, Mr Eugene Randall is found dead at the feast. A somewhat unpopular business associate of the Baron’s from across the pond, it seems Mr Randall has certainly upset somebody. Was it what he said about Scottish whisky?
The killer must be in the castle… and when the Baron is arrested, Baroness Ashley begs Eleanor to investigate. Determined not to let her friend down, Eleanor sets about questioning the remaining partygoers.
All too swiftly, someone else is found dead, having apparently fallen from a high balcony. As if one murder wasn’t enough to put a twist in the tinsel! Eleanor knows she’s skating on thin ice now. And when she discovers a hidden document that points the finger of suspicion at the unlikeliest of suspects, she realises there’s more to the story. Can Eleanor catch the killer before it’s time for Christmas dinner?
The perfect cozy mystery to curl up with this winter! Fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss are in for a festive treat.
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MY REVIEW:
Lady Eleanor Swift saves Christmas and solves a murder in the latest installment of this cosy mystery series. Eleanor is in Scotland with her friends Baron and Baroness Ashley to celebrate the holidays when what should have been a fun game of Wink turns deadly. It seems there is a murder in the castle; the ameutur sleuth has another mystery to solve.
This was another fun cosy mystery that I sped through quickly. It was my first festive read this year and had all the perfect ingredients for the ideal Christmassy book to read by the fire. This series has become a real comfort read for me and always evokes a warm glow when reading. Verity Bright never disappoints, creating an atmospheric and compelling story every time.
I loved being back with the familiar characters, particularly Lady Eleanor and her butler Clifford, who can always be counted on to be by her side every step of the way as she investigates. I love their witty banter, black humour and the overall dynamic of their relationship. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of reading their exploits and could enjoy them even if a murder wasn’t invovled as their characters are so entertaining.
So if you’re looking for a lively and lighthearted whodunnit this winter, then this is for you. You don’t have to have read the previous books to enjoy it, but I do recommend them.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humour, before embarking on their first historical mystery.
Welcome to my review of this heartwarming novel. Thank you to HQ for the gifted ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
One small act can make a big difference
Violet Strong is strong by name but not by nature, or so she thinks. She listens but never talks about herself. She’s friendly but doesn’t have many real friends. She’s become good at keeping people at a distance ever since she left home at eighteen and never looked back.
But when Violet is forced to return home to care for her estranged mother, Glenys, she quickly finds out that life as a carer isn’t easy. Feeling overwhelmed, she’s forced to turn to the other local carers, including childhood friend, Adam, for help.
Although returning home still feels like a mistake, maybe it will help Violet right some wrongs. After all, she can’t keep running from her past forever, and in learning to look after others, perhaps Violet can start to finally love herself…
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MY REIVEW:
“Not everyone’s burdens are visible, lots are inside. Trapped. Unseen.”
Sometimes you pick up a book and it is exactly what you need. That was the case when I decided to read this book on a whim at the weekend. Uplifting, heartwarming and tender, this book warmed me from the inside like a bowl of porridge on a cold day.
This is a story of friendship, community and forgiveness. A story about loving yourself and how there is joy to be found in helping those around us. The protagonist, Violet, is forced to move back home to care for the mother she’s not spoken to for 14 years, bringing her face to face with the people and place that she has been running from all that time. The terrible mistake she made haunts her every minute of the day and has left her feeling that she is Bad News and better off alone. Forced to face her demons, can Violet learn to forgive and love herself?
I was a big fan of Jessica Ryn’s debut novel so I was highly anticipating this one. She has a talent for enveloping important life lessons and social commentary in a heartwarming tale, executing it to perfection once more with this novel. Exquisitely written, it draws you into Violet’s world with descriptive, vivid imagery that makes the story leap from the page. I was mesmerised. Ms. Ryn has solidified her place on my list of auto-buy authors with this book for sure.
There is a compelling cast of characters who I loved; each one richly drawn and memorable. I loved Violet and was thrilled that the author made her a book blogger as it immediately gave me a connection to her. I enjoyed the many literary references throughout the book and how she finds solace in the pages of what she reads, something I’m sure we can all relate to. She is a wonderful character and I was desperate to know what she could have possibly done that was worth such self-recrimination. I also had a real soft spot for Tammy and enjoyed watching her blossom as the story went on.
Charming, warm and affecting, this is a hug in book form that will give you all the feels. The perfect read to snuggle under a blanket with this winter.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Jessica Ryn is a former midwife and homeless resettlement worker. She has recently completed her MA in Creative Writing at CCCU, and her stories have been shortlisted for the Kimberly Chambers’ Kickstarter Award, Wordsmag and the Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing. When she’s not scribbling away, Jessica can be found meandering through the woods, reading stories that pull on the feel-strings and eating yoghurt-covered skittles. Jessica lives in Dover with her husband, two children and their high-spirited springer spaniel. The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside is her debut novel and her second book, The Imperfect Art of Caring, will be published in November.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the mesmerising, soulful and addictive Wish You Were Here. Thank you to Kate at Hodder and Stoughton for the invitation to take part and the gifted copies of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
Diana O’Toole’s life is going perfectly to plan. At twenty-nine, she’s up for promotion to her dream job as an art specialist at Sotheby’s and she’s about to fly to the Galápagos where she’s convinced her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose.
But then the virus hits New York City and Finn breaks the news: the hospital needs him, he has to stay. But you should still go, he insists. And reluctantly, she agrees.
Once she’s in the Galápagos, the world shuts down around her, leaving Diana stranded – albeit in paradise. Completely isolated, with only intermittent news from the outside world, Diana finds herself examining everything that has brought her to this point and wondering if there’s a better way to live.
But not everything is as it seems . . .
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MY REVIEW:
“Sometimes it feels like the whole world is holding its breath. If we don’t gasp, soon, we will all pass out.”
Wish You Were Here is a beautiful, heartfelt and absorbing story about resilience, hope and survival. It explores the fear and trauma of the pandemic and the limitless potential of the human mind. Moving between New York and the Galapagos, it follows Diana O’Toole as she goes on an unexpected journey of self-discovery after she finds herself stranded on Isabelle Island as the world shuts down.
Jodi Picoult is my favourite author and can be relied upon to deliver a story I will get lost in. She is a masterful storyteller who knows how to get right to my soul, but all the same I had some fears that it might be too soon for a book that focuses on the pandemic. But while Picoult doesn’t shy away from the raw, unvarnished truth of covid and the effects of the pandemic, this is a story that focuses on finding beauty in the bleakest of times and hope when things seem hopeless.
“The idea of being by yourself on a desert island has a romantic cachet to it, but the reality is less attractive.”
The story takes us back to the early days of the pandemic, vividly conveying the fear, uncertainty and confusion we all felt through Diana’s eyes. It brought back that terror at seeing how things escalated so quickly, that cheerful optimism that it would all be done within a matter of weeks, and the reality that it has changed every one of us forever. I liked that she offered us two very different experiences of the pandemic: Diana stranded alone in paradise, learning how to survive in a place she doesn’t know or speak the language, and Finn’s emails from the front lines in a New York hospital as he helplessly watches hundreds of patients die and works himself to the bone. Both characters are filled with fear, loneliness and desperation but in different ways, which Picoult expertly explores. But at its heart this is a story about self-reflection and self-discovery. About how no matter the plans we make, life will happen, sometimes taking us in the most unexpected directions.
Mesmerising, soulful and thought-provoking, Wish You Were Here is an absolute masterpiece. Ms. Picoult has outdone herself, creating one of her best and most moving stories to date.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Jodi Picoult is the author of twenty five internationally bestselling novels, including MY SISTER’S KEEPER, HOUSE RULES and SMALL GREAT THINGS, and has also co-written two YA books with her daughter Samantha van Leer, BETWEEN THE LINES and OFF THE PAGE. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.
Published: November 19th, 2021 Publisher: One More Chapter Genre: Police Procedural, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Hardboiled, Crime Series Format: Kindle, Audiobook
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this dark and twisty thriller. Thank you to Sarah at Books on the Bright Side Publicity for the invitation to take part and to One More Chapter for the eBook ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
A brutal murder…
When a burned body is found with its teeth missing, DC Maggie Jamieson discovers that the victim may be the husband of one of her probation colleagues.
A dark history…
As the body count rises, the team becomes increasingly baffled by how the victims could possibly be connected until a clue leads them to a historical case that was never prosecuted.
A terrible secret…
In order to catch the killer, Maggie must piece together what happened all those years ago before it’s too late.
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MY REVIEW:
“At least amongst the dead we knew we were safe…”
Dead Mercy packs a punch from the start with a brutal murder where the victim is tortured and burned alive. A dark and disturbing story of secrets and revenge, we follow Maggie and her team as they investigate, uncovering a historic child abuse case and hunting a killer dispensing his own version of justice. As the killer plays a cat and mouse game with the team, can they find him before he completes his deadly plan?
The fifth installment in Noelle Holten’s Maggie Jamieson series is another tense, twisty and compelling thriller. Ms. Holten is adept at crafting sinister and unnerving characters and stories that are also moving and addictive. She knows how to hold the reader in the palm of her hand from beginning to end and make them come back for more. And while she writes honestly, there is also compassion, walking a fine line as she finds some understanding even for those with minds warped by their trauma, as is this case with the killer in this book. She just gets better and better.
While I love returning to familiar characters and enjoy Maggie as a protagonist, the star of the show this time around has to be the killer. He is a fascinating character, full of pain, anguish, sorrow and desperation. A man let down as a child by those who were supposed to protect him, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Ms. Holten takes us inside his mind so we can see his turmoil and brokenness and empathise with how he got to this point.
Hard-hitting, menacing and suspenseful, this has everything I could ask for in a thriller. Sharply-written and enthralling, this is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a darker kind of psychological thriller.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of risk cases as well as working in a multi agency setting. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog. Dead Inside – her debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK is an international kindle bestseller and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this deliciously dark and twisted thriller. Thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Orenda Books for the gifted ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
When AA meetings make her want to drink more, alcoholic murderess Maeve sets up a group for psychopaths … The dark, unpredictable, electrifyingly original new thriller from critically acclaimed author Will Carver.
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Maeve has everything. A high-powered job, a beautiful home, a string of uncomplicated one-night encounters. She’s also an addict: A functioning alcoholic with a dependence on sex and an insatiable appetite for killing men.
When she can’t find a support group to share her obsession, she creates her own. And Psychopaths Anonymous is born. Friends of Maeve.
Now in a serious relationship, Maeve wants to keep the group a secret. But not everyone in the group adheres to the rules, and when a reckless member raises suspicions with the police, Maeve’s drinking spirals out of control.
She needs to stop killing. She needs to close the group.
But Maeve can’t seem to quit the things that are bad for her, including her new man…
A scathing, violent and darkly funny book about love, connection, obsessions and sex – and the aspects of human nature we’d prefer to hide – Psychopaths Anonymous is also an electrifyingly original, unpredictable thriller that challenges virtually everything.
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MY REVIEW:
“I don’t have to kill… It’s not a necessity. But I do enjoy it.”
Psychopaths Anonymous is another deliciously dark and sinister offering from the incomparable Will Carver. Not for the weak of heart, this twisted thriller is a character study of the psychopathic mind and a reminder that humans are the scariest of monsters.
The story follows Maeve, a self-confessed psychopath, as she attends AA meetings to feed on the misery of others and kills for kicks. Frustrated with the rules of AA, she sets up her own group for like minded people: Psychopaths Anonymous. But when someone betrays the secrets of the group Maeve is forced to take deadly action.
Told in Will’s singular style, you can expect gruesome scenes, black humour and scathing social commentary, with religion and God facing particular critique this time around. Filled with malice, murder and mayhem, this book is as addictive as his others and I flew through it quickly. It does differ from the other books in the series though as there is no narration from Detective Pace and he is barely featured in the book. It gives this story a slightly different vibe from the others and makes it work even more as a standalone or introduction to the series.
Maeve is a brilliant but terrifying creation. A psychopath with an unquenchable desire for alcohol, sex and murder who also loves reality TV, she is a fascinating and compelling character. She embraces her psychopathy and enjoys being free of the constraints of conscience, guilt and regret. Mr. Carver did a great job of humanising her despite her murderous ways, and even though she’s messed up, I loved her. She is that blend of charisma and crazy that is impossible to resist and up there with my other favourite serial killing character, Rhiannon from Sweetepa.
Bold, gritty, macabre and intoxicating, Will Carver has knocked it out of the park yet again and you need to go read it. You will be horrorstuck, you will be sickened, and you will laugh. You shouldn’t love this book, but you will.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series and the critically acclaimed, mind-blowingly original Detective Pace series that includes Good Samaritans (2018), Nothing Important Happened Today (2019) and Hinton Hollow Death Trip (2020), all of which were ebook bestsellers and selected as books of the year in the mainstream international press. Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for both the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2020 and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for Guardian‘s Not the Booker Prize. 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 children.
Today is my stop on the blog tour for this heart-pounding thriller. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers Tours for the invitation to take part and Trapeze Books for the eBook ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
A MISSING CHILD
Ten years ago, the disappearance of firearms police officer Jonah Colley’s young son almost destroyed him.
A GRUESOME DISCOVERY
A plea for help from an old friend leads Jonah to Slaughter Quay, and the discovery of four bodies. Brutally attacked and left for dead, he is the only survivor. A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH
Under suspicion himself, he uncovers a network of secrets and lies about the people he thought he knew – forcing him to question what really happened all those years ago…
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MY REVIEW:
Do I need yet another crime series to read? No. Have I found one? Hell yes!
When I signed up for the blog tour for this highly anticipated thriller I had no idea it was the first in a new series. But after inhaling this taut, tense and unflinching book I was ecstatic to learn that it is only the beginning, and Jonah Colley will be back for more adventures.
The story packs a punch from the start, opening with the discovery of four bodies and Jonah fighting for his life against an unknown assailant at the aptly named Slaughter Quay. The only survivor, he is immediately under suspicion. The suspicion increases after the police find a possible connection at the scene to the disappearance of Jonah’s son, Theo, ten years earlier. Desperate to prove his innocence, Jonah begins his own investigation, hoping to both clear his name and discover what really happened to Theo all those years ago.
The word unputdownable can be thrown around a little too easily, but this one really was. I had to force myself to put it down at 2am when my eyes could no longer stay open and then read straight through until I’d reached the conclusion when I picked it up the next day. I was addicted. I needed answers. And when I got them they made my jaw drop.
Jonah is a great protagonist. Flawed but likeable, he is easy to root for with a tragic yet compelling backstory that piqued my interest from the start. The events surrounding the disappearance of his son are told in flashbacks that are utterly heartbreaking. It is every parent’s worst nightmare, his guilt, pain and anguish tearing my own heart in two. And the hits kept coming for Jonah, a conveyor belt of bad luck and betrayal that doesn’t seem like it will end as his investigation uncovers a twisted web of secrets and lies by those he thought he knew.
The other characters are all equally compelling, the author bringing to life Gavin and Theo from beyond the grave through a combination of flashbacks and Jonah’s memories. Each of the characters are flawed, fractured and fallible. And no one is blameless in this story. I loved this as flawed characters are much more fun to read, especially when written with such skill.
This was my first Simon Beckett book but it will not be my last. Multilayered, flawlessly plotted and sizzling with suspense that builds to a heart-pounding crescendo. I read on tenterhooks, the many twists and turns almost making me dizzy, and was totally blindsided by the big reveal.
Gritty, dark, sinister and addictive, this is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a well-written, twisty thriller. Just make sure you have lots of time free because you aren’t going to want to put this one down.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Simon Beckett is the No.1 International Bestselling author of the David Hunter series. His books have been translated into 29 languages, appeared in the Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller lists and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. A former freelance journalist who has written for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent on Sunday and The Observer, the inspiration for the first David Hunter novel came after a visit to the world-renowned Body Farm in Tennessee introduced him to the work of forensic anthropologists.
As well as co-winning the Ripper Award in 2018/19, the largest European crime prize, Simon has won the Raymond Chandler Society’s ‘Marlowe’ Award and been short-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger, CWA Dagger in the Library and Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year.
In addition to the six David Hunter titles, the most recent of which is The Scent of Death, he has written five standalone novels, one of which, Where There’s Smoke, was adapted into a major ITV two-part drama.
Published: November 11th, 2021 Publisher: Black Swan Genre: Humorous Fiction, Adventure Fiction, Holiday Fiction, Pensioners in the Pages Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
Today is my stop on the tour for this delightful and uplifting book. Thank you to Anne at Random Things tours for the invitation to take part and to Black Swan for the eBook ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
Meet the heroine everyone’s talking about . . .
Fiercely resilient and impeccably dressed, Veronica McCreedy has lived an incredible 87 years. Most of them alone, in her huge house by the sea.
But Veronica has recently discovered a late-life love for family and friendship, adventure and wildlife.
More specifically, a love for penguins!
And so when she’s invited to co-present a wildlife documentary, far away in the southern hemisphere, she jumps at the chance.
Even though it will put her in the spotlight, just when she thought she would soon fade into the wings.
Perhaps it’s never too late to shine?
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MY REVIEW:
‘Penguins,’ I remind her, ‘are not only a source of endless entertainment; they are an example to us all.’
Hazel Prior has done it again. Call of the Penguins is another absolute gem of a book. Full of wit, warmth and wisdom, she reunites us with our unlikely heroine in this delightful sequel to one of my favourite books of last year.
Jumping straight in, the story picks up with Veronica McCreedy back at her house in Scotland by the sea. Her adventures in Antarctica with her beloved penguins are never far from her mind. So when she is offered the chance to venture to Australia and the Falklands to present a wildlife documentary on her favourite bird, she jumps at the chance. It seems the octogenarian’s adventures are not over yet.
My love of this book and it’s protagonist are no secret, so I was thrilled when I learned that Hazel Prior had written a follow up and immediately ordered the book. I couldn’t wait to be back with Veronica, although I admit to a little trepidation that I might not love this book as I did the first one. I need not have worried. Call of the Penguins is filled with the same heartwarming and heart-rending emotions of the first book as the author dives deeper into the lives of these now-familiar characters.
“I am fizzing with excitement like a bottle of vintage champagne.”
87-year-old Veronica McCreedy is the same intrepid, bold, sharp, feisty and determined woman from book one, only with less of the cantankerous protective layer she used to surround herself with. Instead, she is now surrounded by people she loves. And her memories of the penguins. And just like Veronica, the other characters in the book are a colourful, intriguing and richly drawn bunch. I had a particular soft spot for Daisy, a nine-year-old battling cancer. Gutsy, ebullient and utterly compelling, Daisy reminded me a lot of Veronica. It was impossible not to love her, especially during her cute and comical interactions with the penguins.
This is a story about family, self-discovery, self-reflection, unlocking hidden secrets and penguins. Lots of cute penguins. It is clear that not only does Ms. Prior adore these wobbly creatures, but also has a wide range of knowledge about them. This book is filled with even more penguin trivia, this time taking us to the southern hemisphere and featuring a variety of species. It even gave me a new favourite: the Little penguin.
Once again the book also contains commentary on climate change, plastics and our responsibilities to change our habits in order to create a world that is safe for the birds and animals we love. Reading it certainly made me stop and think about my own part in this and left me with a desire to change some of my shopping habits. But it never preachy, instead expertly woven into the story so all you feel is the passion of the characters for this vital cause. I love how she educates while entertaining the reader and I’ve learned so much reading these books.
Utterly addictive, joyous and uplifting, Veronica’s story reminds us all that it is never too late to have an adventure or to make the most of life. It is the perfect book to cosy up with under a blanket on a cold day and totally lose yourself in. After all, that’s what I did. So grab a blanket, hot chocolate and some biscuits, and go read this book.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Hazel is an enthusiastic and experienced harp-player based in Somerset and Exmoor. Her repertoire spans many styles of music and includes singing with harp accompaniment.
Hazel is also an author. Her two bestselling novels, published by Penguin Random House, are described as ‘quirky’, ‘lyrical’ and ‘life-affirming’. AWAY WITH THE PENGUINS (USA tile = HOW THE PENGUINS SAVED VERONICA) is a Richard and Judy and a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.
