Tag: psychological thrillers

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – February 2020

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 22nd Jan 2020
No Comments on Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – February 2020

February is even busier than January for books and it was much harder to slim down the ones I’m most excited about. This long list is the smallest I could make it and there were easily at least another six books I could have included. At the time of writing, I have read two of the books on this list – The Foundling and Firewatching – and they more than deserve their places here.

BEHIND EVERY LIE by Christina McDonald

Published: February 4th, 2020
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
SYNOPSIS:
If you can’t remember it, how do you prove you didn’t do it?

Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened but the police are highly suspicious of her.

Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London–Kat’s former home–for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.

Told in alternating perspectives from Eva’s search for answers and Kat’s mysterious past, Christina McDonald has crafted another “complex, emotionally intense” (Publishers Weekly) domestic thriller. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell’s I Found You and Karin Slaughter’s Pieces of Her, Behind Every Lie explores the complicated nature of mother-daughter relationships, family trauma, and the danger behind long-held secrets.

THE FOUNDING by Stacey Halls

Published: February 6th, 2020|
Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre
Genre: Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction.
SYNOPSIS:
Two women, bound by a child, and a secret that will change everything . . .

London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London’s Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst, that Clara has died in care, she is astonished when she is told she has already claimed her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl – and why.

Less than a mile from Bess’s lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend – an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital – persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart.

From the bestselling author of The Familiars comes this captivating story of mothers and daughters, class and power, and love against the greatest of odds . . .

SAVING MISSY by Beth Morley

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Genre: Humourous Fiction.
SYNOPSIS:
Prickly. Stubborn. Terribly lonely.

But everyone deserves a second chance…

A dazzling debut for 2020 – are you ready to meet Missy Carmichael?

Missy Carmichael’s life has become small.

Grieving for a family she has lost or lost touch with, she’s haunted by the echoes of her footsteps in her empty home; the sound of the radio in the dark; the tick-tick-tick of the watching clock.

Spiky and defensive, Missy knows that her loneliness is all her own fault. She deserves no more than this; not after what she’s done. But a chance encounter in the park with two very different women opens the door to something new.

Another life beckons for Missy, if only she can be brave enough to grasp the opportunity. But seventy-nine is too late for a second chance. Isn’t it?

THE MERCIES by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Picador
Genre: Historical Fiction.
SYNOPSIS:
On Christmas Eve, 1617, the sea around the remote Norwegian island of Vardø is thrown into a reckless storm. As Maren Magnusdatter watches, forty fishermen, including her father and brother, are lost to the waves – the menfolk of Vardø wiped out in an instant.

Vardø is now a place of women.

Eighteen months later, a sinister figure arrives. Summoned from Scotland to take control of a place at the edge of the civilized world, Absalom Cornet knows what he needs to do to bring the women of Vardø to heel. With him travels his young wife, Ursa. In Vardø, and in Maren, Ursa finds something she has never seen before: independent women. But Absalom sees only a place flooded with a terrible evil, one he must root out at all costs.

Inspired by the real events of the Vardø storm and the 1621 witch trials, Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s The Mercies is a story about how suspicion can twist its way through a community, and a love that may prove as dangerous as it is powerful.

THE SISTER’S GRIMM by Menna van Praag

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Bantam Press
Genre: Fantasy
SYNOPSIS:
There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of sisters Grimm on Earth.

You may well be one of them, though you might never know it.

This is the story of four sisters Grimm – daughters born to different mothers on the same day, each born out of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire.

They found each other at eight years-old, were separated at thirteen and now, at nearly eighteen, it is imperative that they find each other once again.

In thirty-three days they will meet their father in Everwhere. Only then will they discover who they truly are, and what they can truly do. Then they must fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love. Three will live, one will die.

You’ll have to read on to find out who and why . . .

THE ALIBI GIRL by C. J. Skuse

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: HQ
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Dark Comedy, Coming-of-Age Fiction.
SYNOPSIS:
JOANNE HAYNES HAS A SECRET.

THAT IS NOT HER REAL NAME.

And there’s more. Her flat isn’t hers. Her cats aren’t hers. Even her hair isn’t really hers.

Nor is she any of the other women she pretends to be. Not the bestselling romance novelist who gets her morning snack from the doughnut van on the seafront. Nor the pregnant woman in the dental surgery. Nor the chemo patient in the supermarket for whom the cashier feels ever so sorry. They’re all just alibis.

In fact, the only thing that’s real about Joanne is that nobody can know who she really is.

But someone has got too close. It looks like her alibis have begun to run out….

PERFECT KILL (DI Callanach Book 6) by Helen Fields

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Avon Books
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural.
SYNOPSIS:
He had never heard himself scream before. It was terrifying.

Alone, trapped in the darkness and with no way out, Bart Campbell knows that his chances of being found alive are slim.

Drugged and kidnapped, the realisation soon dawns that he’s been locked inside a shipping container far from his Edinburgh home. But what Bart doesn’t yet know is that he’s now heading for France where his unspeakable fate is already sealed…

DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach are working on separate cases that soon collide as it becomes clear that the men and women being shipped to France are being traded for women trafficked into Scotland.

With so many lives at stake, they face an impossible task – but there’s no option of failure when Bart and so many others will soon be dead…

GROWN UPS by Marian Keyes

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Genre: Humourous Fiction.
SYNOPSIS:
They’re a glamorous family, the Caseys.

Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, their beautiful, talented wives and all their kids spend a lot of time together – birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, weekends away. And they’re a happy family. Johnny’s wife, Jessie – who has the most money – insists on it.

Under the surface, though, conditions are murkier. While some people clash, other people like each other far too much . . .

Everything stays under control until Ed’s wife Cara, gets concussion and can’t keep her thoughts to herself. One careless remark at Johnny’s birthday party, with the entire family present, starts Cara spilling out all their secrets.

In the subsequent unravelling, every one of the adults finds themselves wondering if it’s time – finally – to grow up?

THE HOUSE OF TRELAWNEY by Hannah Rothschild

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre: Domestic Fiction, Saga, Satire
SYNOPSIS:
The seat of the Trelawney family for over 800 years, Trelawney Castle was once the jewel of the Cornish coast. Each successive Earl spent with abandon, turning the house and grounds into a sprawling, extravagant palimpsest of wings, turrets and follies.

But recent generations have been better at spending than making money. Now living in isolated penury, unable to communicate with each other or the rest of the world, the family are running out of options. Three unexpected events will hasten their demise: the sudden appearance of a new relation, an illegitimate, headstrong, beautiful girl; an unscrupulous American hedge fund manager determined to exact revenge; and the crash of 2008.

A love story and social satire set in the parallel and seemingly unconnected worlds of the British aristocracy and high finance, House of Trelawney is also the story of lost and found friendships between three women. One of them will die; another will discover her vocation; and the third will find love.

BEAST (Six Stories Book 4) – Matt Wesolowski

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Orenda Books
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Horror, Crime Fiction, Coming-of-Age Fiction. SYNOPSIS:
Elusive online journalist Scott King examines the chilling case of a young vlogger found frozen to death in the legendary local ‘vampire tower’, in another explosive episode of Six Stories… In the wake of the ‘Beast from the East’ cold snap that ravaged the UK in 2018, a grisly discovery was made in a ruin on the Northumbrian coast. Twenty-four-year-old Vlogger, Elizabeth Barton, had been barricaded inside what locals refer to as ‘The Vampire Tower’, where she was later found frozen to death. Three young men, part of an alleged ‘cult’, were convicted of this terrible crime, which they described as a ‘prank gone wrong.’ However, in the small town of Ergarth, questions have been raised about the nature of Elizabeth Barton’s death and whether the three convicted youths were even responsible. Elusive online journalist Scott King speaks to six witnesses people who knew both the victim and the three killers to peer beneath the surface of the case. He uncovers whispers of a shocking online craze that held the young of Ergarth in its thrall and drove them to escalate a series of pranks in the name of internet fame. He hears of an abattoir on the edge of town, which held more than simple slaughter behind its walls, the tragic and chilling legend of the ‘Ergarth Vampire’… Both a compulsive, taut and terrifying thriller, and a bleak and distressing look at modern society’s desperation for attention, Beast will unveil a darkness from which you may never return…

WRECKAGE by Robin Morgan-Bentley

Published: February 6th 2020
Publisher: Trapeze
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
SYNOPSIS:
Things will never be the same again…

Ben is driving on the motorway, on his usual commute to the school where he works.

A day like any other, except for Adam, who in a last despairing act jumps in front of Ben’s car, and in killing himself, turns the teacher’s world upside down.

Wracked with guilt and desperate to clear his conscience, Ben develops a friendship with Alice, Adam’s widow, and her 7-year-old son Max.

But as he tries to escape the trauma of the wreckage, could Ben go too far in trying to make amends?

Gripping and sinister, The Wreckage is guaranteed to keep you up all night…

STRANGE HOTEL by Eimear McBride

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Genre: Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
At the mid-point of her life a woman enters an Avignon hotel room. She’s been here once before – but while the room hasn’t changed, she is a different person now.

Forever caught between check-in and check-out, she will go on to occupy other hotel rooms, from Prague to Oslo, Auckland to Austin, each as anonymous as the last, but bound by rules of her choosing. There, amid the detritus of her travels, the matchbooks, cigarettes, keys and room-service wine, she will negotiate with memory, with the men she sometimes meets, and with what it might mean to return home.

THE FORGOTTEN LETTERS OF ESTHER DURRANT by Kayte Nunn

Published: February 6th, 2020
Publisher: Orion
Genre: Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
A forgotten woman…

1951. Esther Durrant, a young mother, is committed to an isolated mental asylum by her husband. Run by a pioneering psychiatrist, the hospital is at first Esther’s prison but soon becomes her refuge.

A cache of unsent love letters…

2018. When free-spirited marine scientist Rachel Parker is forced to take shelter on a far-flung island off the Cornish Coast during a research posting, she discovers a collection of hidden love letters. Captivated by their passion and tenderness, Rachel is determined to find the intended recipient.

A dangerous secret…

Meanwhile, in London, Eve is helping her grandmother, a renowned mountaineer, write her memoirs. When she is contacted by Rachel, it sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to reveal secrets kept buried for more than sixty years.

THE ANTIDOTE FOR EVERYTHING – Kimmery Martin

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Berkley US
Genre: Medical Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
Urologist Georgia Brown’s sense of self-preservation is kicked into high gear after she’s sexually harassed by a male surgeon at her medical clinic, but her outrage grows when her best doctor friend, Jonah, is dismissed for treating transgender patients. After traveling to Amsterdam to attend a medical conference, Georgia concocts a plan to persuade the board to reverse their decision about Jonah. But when her scheme to teach the hospital administration an important lesson begins to spiral out of control, Georgia worries she’s caused more harm than good. After a medical crisis involving one of her friends, she learns that love and friendship are the antidotes for all the ills in her life.

THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
On an island off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater.

Old friends.
Past grudges.

Happy families.
Hidden jealousies.

Thirteen guests.
One body.

The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped.

All have a secret. All have a motive.

One guest won’t leave this wedding alive . . .

THE HOLDOUT by Graham Moore

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Orion
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Legal Thriller, Mystery
SYNOPSIS:
One juror changed the verdict. What if she was wrong?

‘Ten years ago we made a decision together…’
Fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, heiress to a billion-dollar fortune, vanishes on her way home from school. Her teacher, Bobby Nock, is the prime suspect. It’s an open and shut case for the prosecution, and a quick conviction seems all but guaranteed.

Until Maya Seale, a young woman on the jury, persuades the rest of the jurors to vote not guilty: a controversial decision that will change all of their lives forever.

Ten years later, one of the jurors is found dead, and Maya is the prime suspect.

The real killer could be any of the other ten jurors. Is Maya being forced to pay the price for her decision all those years ago?

GRACE IS GONE by Emily Elgar

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
Meg and her daughter Grace are the most beloved family in Ashford, the lynchpin that holds the community together.

So when Meg is found brutally murdered and her daughter missing, the town is rocked by the crime. Not least because Grace has been sick for years – and may only have days to live.

Who would murder a mother who sacrificed everything, and take a teenager away from the medication that could save her life? Everyone is searching for an answer, but sometimes the truth can kill you . . .

DEAR EDWARD by Ann Napolitano

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Viking
Genre: Coming-of-Age Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
A luminous, life-affirming novel about a 12-year-old boy who is the sole survivor of a deadly plane crash

One summer morning, a flight takes off from New York to Los Angeles. There are 192 passengers aboard: among them a young woman taking a pregnancy test in the airplane toilet; a Wall Street millionaire flirting with the air hostess; an injured soldier returning from Afghanistan; and two beleaguered parents moving across the country with their adolescent sons, bickering over who gets the window seat. When the plane suddenly crashes in a field in Colorado, the younger of these boys, 12-year-old Edward Adler, is the sole survivor.

Dear Edward depicts Edward’s life in the crash’s aftermath as he struggles to make sense of the meaning of his survival, the strangeness of his sudden fame, and find his place in the world without his family. In his new home with his aunt and uncle, the only solace comes from his friendship with the girl next door, Shay. Together Edward and Shay make a startling discovery: hidden in his uncle’s garage are sacks of letters from the relatives of the other passengers, addressed to Edward.

As Edward comes of age against the backdrop of sudden tragedy, he must confront some of life’s most profound questions: how do we make the most of the time we are given? And what does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?

FIREWATCHING – Russ Thomas

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Police Procedural
SYNOPSIS:
ONE WRONG MOVE

A body is found bricked into the walls of a house. From the state of the hands, it’s clear the dead man was buried alive. Soon, the victim is linked to an old missing person’s case and DS Adam Tyler is called.

WILL IGNITE

As the sole representative of South Yorkshire’s Cold Case Review Unit, Tyler recognises his role for what it is – a means of keeping him out of the way following an ‘incident’. When this case falls in his lap, he grabs the opportunity to fix his stagnating career.

THE CITY

And then Tyler discovers he has a connection to the case that hopelessly compromises him. He makes the snap decision not to tell his superiors, certain that he and only he can solve the crime. But now Tyler must move carefully to find out the truth, without destroying the case or himself.

Meanwhile, someone in the city knows exactly what happened to the body. Someone who is watching Adam closely. Someone with an unhealthy affinity with fire. . .

A taut investigative thriller bursting with character and tension, introducing an enigmatic, fresh lead detective unlike any you have met before – Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler – for fans of Adrian McKinty, Tana French, Steve Cavanagh and Sharon Bolton.

THE MEMORY WOOD by Sam Lloyd

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Bantam Press
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
SYNOPSIS:
Elijah has lived in the Memory Wood for as long as he can remember. It’s the only home he’s ever known.

Elissa has only just arrived. And she’ll do everything she can to escape.

When Elijah stumbles across thirteen-year-old Elissa, in the woods where her abductor is hiding her, he refuses to alert the police. Because in his twelve years, Elijah has never had a proper friend. And he doesn’t want Elissa to leave.

Not only that, Elijah knows how this can end. After all, Elissa isn’t the first girl he’s found inside the Memory Wood.

As her abductor’s behaviour grows more erratic, Elissa realises that outwitting strange, lonely Elijah is her only hope of survival. Their cat-and-mouse game of deception and betrayal will determine both their fates, and whether either of them will ever leave the Memory Wood . . .

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MIND by Kerry Daynes

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Cassell
Genre: Autobiography, True Crime
SYNOPSIS:
Welcome to the world of the forensic psychologist, where the people you meet are wildly unpredictable and often frightening.

The job: to delve into the psyche of convicted men and women to try to understand what lies behind their often brutal actions.

Following the footsteps of Kerry Daynes, one of the most sought-after forensic psychologists in the business and consultant on major police investigations.

Kerry’s job has taken her to the cells of maximum-security prisons, police interview rooms, the wards of secure hospitals and the witness box of the court room.

Her work has helped solve a cold case, convict the guilty and prevent a vicious attack.

Spending every moment of your life staring into the darker side of life comes with a price. Kerry’s frank memoir gives an unforgettable insight into the personal and professional dangers in store for a female psychologist working with some of the most disturbing men and women.

THE SUN DOWN MOTEL by Simone St James

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Berkley US
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Horror
SYNOPSIS:
Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden there. Upstate NY, 2017. Carly Kirk has always been fascinated by her aunt Viv who disappeared from the Sun Down before Carly was born. Using a small inheritance from when her mom dies, Carly leaves college to go to Fell to figure out what happened to her aunt thirty-five years ago. Soon, Carly is mirroring her aunt’s life, working as the night clerk at the motel, which hasn’t changed since 1982. The guest book is still handwritten, the rooms still have actual keys, and a haunting presence still lingers. Carly discovers that Viv had been trying to unravel mysteries of her own – including a possible serial killer working in Fell. If Carly can find the answers Viv was searching for, she might be able to solve the mystery that has haunted her family for years.

THE TEMPLE HOUSE VANISHING by Rachel Donohue

Published: February 20th, 2020
Publisher: Corvus
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Coming-of-Age Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
Power. Jealousy. Desire.

Twenty-five years ago, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace…

When Louisa arrives at Temple House, an elite catholic boarding school, she quickly finds herself drawn to sophisticated fellow pupil Victoria and their young bohemian art teacher, Mr Lavelle. The three of them form a bond that seems to offer an escape from the repressive regime of the nuns who run the cloistered school. Until Louisa and Mr Lavelle suddenly vanish.

Years later, a journalist with a childhood connection to Louisa determines to resolve the mystery. Her search for the truth will uncover a tragic, mercurial tale of suppressed desire and long-buried secrets. It will shatter lives and lay a lost soul to rest.

The Temple House Vanishing is a stunning, intensely atmospheric novel of unrequited longing, dark obsession and unintended consequences.

DEAD RINGER by Nicola Martin

Published: February 27th, 2020
Publisher: Contraband
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
SYNOPSIS:
A pair of doppelgängers. A pack of lies.

The idea is simple, vain, exciting. Tap the app, upload a picture of yourself, find your lookalike. Set up a meeting to see whether you have anything else in common. When Ella and Jem meet, the physical resemblance is uncanny, but their lives couldn’t be more different. One is from a tiny island in a deprived Northern community – pretty much the back of beyond – where she has no job, no boyfriend, limited prospects. The other is a London socialite, an aspiring actress living in a multimillion-pound mansion. By all appearances, she’s living a charmed life, but she’s got some serious sh*t to run away from. Both of them have. Can either hide in her double’s skin? And at what cost? Will it solve any of the problems, or merely compound them? This is an all-too-believable, twisty, compelling story that will leave you reeling.

Tags Ann Napolitano, Autobiography, Avon Books UK, Bantam Press, Beast, Behind Every Lie, Berkley Publishing, Beth Morrey, Bloomsbury UK, Bonnier Zaffre, book series, C. J. Skuse, Christina McDonald, Coming of Age fiction, Contraband, Corvus, crime fiction, Crime series, Dark Comedy, Dead Ringer, Dear Edward, debut novel, DI Callanach, Domestic Fiction, Eimear McBride, Emily Elgar, Emma's Anticipated Treasures, Faber & Faber, Fantasy, favourite authors, February 2020, February books, Firewatching, Five star reads, Gallery Books, Gothic Fiction, Grace is Gone, Graham Moore, Grown Ups, Hannah Rothschild, Harper Collins UK, Helen Fields, historical fiction, Horror, HQ, Humorous Fiction, Kayte Nunn, Kerry Daynes, Kimmery Martin, Legal Thriller], Literary Ficton, Lucy Foley, Marian Keyes, Matt Wesolowski, medical fiction, Menna van Praag, Michael Joseph, mystery, Nicola Martin, Non-Fiction, Orenda Books, orion books, Perfect Kill, Police Procedural, psychological thrillers, Rachel Donohue, Robin Morgan-Bentley, Russ Thomas, Saga, Sam Lloyd, Satire, Saving Missy, Simon & Schuster UK, Simone St James, Six Stories Series, Sphere, Stacey Halls, Strange Hotel, suspense, The Alibi Girl, The Antidote For Everything, The Dark Side of the Mind, The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant, The Foundling, The Guest List, The Holdout, The House of Trelawney, The Memory Wood, The Sister's Grimm, The Sun Down Motel, The Temple House Vanishing, thriller, Trapeze Books, true crime, Viking, Wreckage

Blog Tours book reviews

Firewatching by Russ Thomas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 16th Jan 2020
8 Comments on Firewatching by Russ Thomas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: February 20th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, Kindle
Genre: Mystery, psychological thriller, suspense, police procedural.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this debut thriller. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part, and to Simon & Schuster UK for the gifted copy of the novel.

SYNOPSIS:

ONE WRONG MOVE

A body is found bricked into the walls of a house. From the state of the hands, it’s clear they were buried alive and had tried to claw their way out before they died. Soon, the victim is linked to a missing person’s case and DS Adam Tyler is called.

WILL IGNITE

THE CITY

When he discovers he has a connection to the case that that hopelessly compromises him, he makes the snap decision not to tell his superiors. With such a brutal and sadistic murder to unpick, Tyler must move carefully to find out the truth without destroying the case or himself.

Meanwhile, someone in the city knows exactly what happened to the body. Someone who is watching Adam closely. Someone with an unhealthy affinity with fire…

A taut investigative thriller bursting with character and tension, introducing an enigmatic, fresh lead detective unlike any you have met before – Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler.

MY REVIEW:

Whoa-oh-oh. This book is on fire. Like what I did there? I’m still trying to catch my breath after finishing this heart-pounding debut. I love a good crime series, and Firewatching is the first in what I have no doubt will become one of my favourites. I’ll admit that I was enamoured by the fact it’s set in my hometown of Sheffield, but that isn’t why I loved it so much. The author had me hooked from the first page, his magnificent writing making me putty in the palm of his hands. I couldn’t put it down, read every spare minute possible as I tried in vain to predict what would happen next.

DS Adam Tyler is called to the discovery of a body that was buried alive by being bricked into the wall of a house. The house’s owner, Graham Cartwright, had vanished six years ago amid high-profile scandals. Solving this case could be Adam’s way to salvage his career so he’s determined to be on the case. But he doesn’t work well with others, so this also becomes his chance to prove to his boss that he can be a team player. As he works the case with old-school copper DI Jim Doggett, the original investigator in the disappearance, and Amina Rabbani, a young police officer who sees the case as her chance to finally make it into CID, it soon becomes clear that there are people who’ve been keeping secrets that they want to remain hidden and that this will be a more complex case than they initially imagined. As his professional and private life seep together, Adam finds himself in a fight not only for his career, but for his life.

Part of the genius of this book is that everyone is a suspect. I literally had all but about three characters on my suspect list at one point or another, including the protagonist. You don’t know what to think, who to trust and where it is going next, leaving you on the edge of your seat as your mind fizzes with questions and suspicion. The author has created a vast array of characters who all feel fleshed out and vivid, each illuminating the story in their own unique way. I liked that Tyler wasn’t beloved by everyone or a team player. His battle to be treated like the other male officers because of his sexuality and the trauma of his father’s suicide gives him not only the spikiness that was fun to read, but also made me feel warmth towards him for those struggles . I enjoyed the banter between him and the other officers and how reluctantly they worked together to solve the case. Real life means having to work with people you can’t stand sometimes and the author certainly used it to his advantage in this book. The antagonist hides in the shadows until the tense finale and I loved being in the dark as much as the investigating officers. I honestly couldn’t pinpoint a clear suspect and was completely blindsided when they were revealed.

I loved the inclusion of the blog posts by the arsonist. They were mysterious, bizarre, creepy and fascinating. You got a real sense of how twisted and traumatised this person was and they increased the foreboding atmosphere that hung in the air. In the beginning they read like stories but slowly the readers see that there is more to them and realise how sick and twisted the writer is. But their identity remains a mystery, known only by the name The Firewatcher.

Firewatching is an outstanding, atmospheric, claustrophobic and surprising debut. It has everything you want in a great thriller and leaves you wanting more, just as a good series should. It is a must-read for anyone who enjoys this genre. I can’t wait for the next installment. Russ Thomas Author Pic

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Russ Thomas was born in Essex, raised in Berkshire and now lives in Sheffield. He grew up in the 80s reading anything he could get from the library, writing stories, watching large amounts of television, playing videogames, and largely avoiding the great outdoors. He spent five years trying to master playing the electronic organ and another five years trying to learn Spanish. It didn’t take him too long to realise that he’d be better off sticking to writing.

After a few ‘proper’ jobs (among them pot-washer, optician’s receptionist, supermarket warehouse operative, call-centre telephonist and storage salesman) he discovered the joys of bookselling, where he could talk to other people about books all day.

His debut novel Firewatching is the first book in the DS Adam Tyler series.

Tags book series, Crime series, debut novel, Firewatching, Five star reads, January 2020, mystery, psychological thrillers, recommended books, Russ Thomas, Simon & Schuster UK, suspense

Blog Tours book reviews

The Mothers by Sarah J. Naughton ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 15th Jan 2020
2 Comments on The Mothers by Sarah J. Naughton ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Publisher: Orion
Published: January 9th, 2020 (Kindle)
April 30th, 2020 (Paperback)
Genre: Mystery, thriller.
Trigger Warnings: Mental health issues, postnatal depression

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this brilliant thriller. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers Tours for the invitation to take part, and Orion and NetGalley for the eBook ARC of this novel.

SYNOPSIS:

Five Women.

They meet at their NCT Group. The only thing they have in common is that they’re all pregnant.

Five Secrets.

Three years later they’re all good friends. Aren’t they?

One Missing Husband.

Now the police have come knocking. Someone knows something.

And the trouble with secrets is that someone always tells.

MY REVIEW:

Wow! What an exhilarating read this turned out to be! Sizzling with tension, this had me on the edge of my seat and up until the wee hours as I couldn’t put it down. The author threw some clever curveballs to throw us off track and I found myself unable to guess where it was going or who I should suspect. A heady mix that made this a delight to read.

When banker Ewan Upton is reported missing Iona and her partner are called in to investigate. His wife Bella is a mess. She has no idea where he could be and his missing passport indicates he planned to disappear. But there’s something niggling at Iona and she thinks there is more to the case. The night before Ewan vanished Bella had been out with a group of friends known as the Mother’s Club. The five women have been meeting regularly since having their babies three years ago but seem to not like each other or have much in common. Though they all have a framed copy of the same photo, taken the night of their first meeting, on display in their homes. Does Bella know what happened to her husband? And do the other mothers, who don’t seem to like each other, know the secret too?

The story is told in dual timelines; in the present day the police are investigating the disappearance of Ewan Upton, and in flashbacks we get to know Bella and the other mothers. They are an eclectic mix of people. All very different and not who you’d put together without the commonality of having babies at the same time. Though Ewan’s disappearance is the mystery that needs to be solved, it was in the flashbacks that the best storytelling occurs and we see the raw, no-holds-barred life of each of the women as they struggle with new motherhood, the changes to their relationships, to their bodies, and the fact that their life is now completely different. Their struggles are different and unique but they are all very relatable and true to life. I found these parts of the story emotional at times as they discuss some often brushed-over or hidden parts of parenthood. They were also my favourite parts as get to know each woman on a deeper level, which helped when the tension soared in the present day as we could understand their actions.

Bella is a mousy, downtrodden wife who’s let herself go since her son, Teddy was born. She suffers from postnatal depression which included hallucination when he was very young and lives in fear of it returning and maybe losing her precious boy. She is lacking in confidence, something that isn’t helped by her controlling, douchebag of a husband, Ewan. God I hated him! My spidey senses told me something was off about him from the start and he turned out to be an awful husband, father and human being who treated everyone like dirt and was only out for himself. I felt increasingly sad for Bella and angry at Ewan, hoping he didn’t return home so that she could have some chance of a happy life once she’d come to terms with his leaving.

This was the first time I’ve read a book by this author and I was blown away by the intricate, clever, riveting and twisty plot. She kept the reader in the dark about so much for most of the book and I loved that I was in the same position as Iona and her colleagues, trying to figure out if the Mothers Club were telling the truth and what had happened to Ewan. I was stumped. While I had some faint suspicions I was mostly clueless which made it all the more amazing when revelations and twists came and things began to fall into place. I was thrilled when Bella’s inner tigress awakened and things begin to turn in the story. The tension soared and it felt like I was on a rollercoaster ride I didn’t want to get off, unable to put the book down until I reached the end and discovered the truth at last.

If you like well-written and surprising psychological thrillers then read this book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sarah Naughton’s debut novel, The Hanged Man Rises, was shortlisted for the Costa children’s award. It was followed by a second young adult thriller, The Blood List. Her thrillers for adults, Tattletale and The Other Couple (Orion) are Amazon bestsellers. Sarah lives in London with her husband and sons.

Tags 4.5 star review, Compulsive Readers Tours, January 2020, mystery, NetGalley, orion books, psychological thrillers, Sarah J. Naughton, The Mothers, thriller

book reviews

Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 14th Jan 2020
1 Comment on Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: Penguin UK
Published: January 9th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, Kindle.
Genre: Psychological thriller, suspense.

SYNOPSIS:

Three hours is 180 minutes or 10,800 seconds.

It is a morning’s lessons, a dress rehearsal of Macbeth, a snowy trek through the woods.

It is an eternity waiting for news. Or a countdown to something terrible.

It is 180 minutes to discover who you will die for and what men will kill for.

In rural Somerset in the middle of a blizzard, the unthinkable happens: a school is under siege. Told from the point of view of the people at the heart of it, from the wounded headmaster in the library, unable to help his trapped pupils and staff, to teenage Hannah in love for the first time, to the parents gathering desperate for news, to the 16 year old Syrian refugee trying to rescue his little brother, to the police psychologist who must identify the gunmen, to the students taking refuge in the school theatre, all experience the most intense hours of their lives, where evil and terror are met by courage, love and redemption

MY REVIEW:

Ms. Lupton, you’ve broken me. This has got to be one of, if not the most, emotionally fraught books I’ve ever read. It has seeped into my soul.

From the first page we jump into the action as headteacher Matthew Marr is shot by a masked gunman stalking the halls of his school. The story then follows the stories of staff, students, parents and police, that play out simultaneously over the 108 minutes that the school is at their mercy. The writing is evocative, alluring, and almost lyrical; barely a word is wasted as you’re drawn into the living nightmare so vividly that I found myself actually holding my breath.

As a mother, this story is one of my worst nightmares; I can not begin to imagine the terror of having one of my children held hostage by gunmen, and pray I never have to. The author pulled me in, immersing me in the story and making me feel the characters’ terror. I saw myself in the frightened mother and the police woman, saw those who’ve taught my children in the teachers, and, most gut-wrenching of all, I saw my children in the students.

While at first glance this is a book about a school shooting, it is actually so much more. It is a multilayered novel that is also a statement on our political landscape and the hate culture being fostered by racists and extremists on both sides. The author also explores what drives the to commit such atrocities. How are they driven to violence, destruction and revenge? And how do they mask that hatred so the people around them never see it? She shows the harsh truths of these incidents, such as some people immediately pointing the finger of suspicion at the two refugee Muslim students and how, when the identities of the gunmen are revealed, they are seen as less than human and blame is put upon their parents for not doing their job right. She helps break down these stigmas and shows the beating heart behind those who some can be so quick to dehumanise. She also reminds us it is not only “bad” parents whose children commit evil acts and they are usually as shocked and distraught by what their child has done as everybody else.

But this isn’t a maudlin book, it is also incredibly uplifting at times as we are shown examples of astounding bravery, selflessness and sacrifice despite their fear. The very best of humanity versus the very worst. A reminder that there is more good in the world than bad, and what extraordinary things we can do when pushed to our limits and those we love are in danger.

I was left with a major book hangover after finishing this powerful masterpiece and cannot recommend it highly enough. YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. It is a breathtaking, intense, harrowing, moving and exceptional novel. I included Three Hours in #EmmasAnticipatedTreasure for January and it more than deserves not only it’s place there, but every bit of the hype it’s generating right now. Don’t miss what I think will be one of the best books of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK for the eBook of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Tags Emma's Anticipated Treasures, favourite books, Five star reads, January 2020, January books, NetGalley, Penguin UK, psychological thrillers, Recommended authors, recommended books, Rosamund Lupton, suspense, Three Hours

Blog Tours book reviews

The Other You by J. S. Monroe ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 12th Jan 2020
1 Comment on The Other You by J. S. Monroe ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: January 9th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, Kindle.
Genre: Psychological thriller, suspense, medical fiction.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this fantastic thriller. Thank you to Amber at Midas PR for the invitation to take part and to Head of Zeus my gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

The Other You follows Kate, a former Super Recogniser for the police, who suffers a brain injury from a devastating car crash and loses her memory.

Kate meets Rob just after her accident, and he nurses her back to health, in his high-tech, modernist house on the Cornish coast. When she’s with him, the nightmares of the accident fade.

Until, one day, Kate looks at Rob anew. And knows, with absolute certainty, that the man before her has been replaced by an impostor. A doppelgänger. Is she right? Have her old recognition skills returned? Or is it all in her damaged mind?

MY REVIEW:

“We’ve all got a double out there somewhere, watching, waiting. Shadowless.”

Would you know if the person closest to you was replaced by a doppelgänger? That’s the question posed by this clever, original, sinister and twisty psychological thriller. It had me on the edge of your seat, my heart pounding so hard I felt like your chest was going burst from the excitement.

Kate is still recovering after a car accident that left her with severe brain injuries. She is no longer able to do her job as a super recogniser for the police and wonders if she’ll ever be her full self again. The only good thing to come out of it is her relationship with Rob, who she met while in hospital. But then one day he seems different, and Kate is struck by the feeling that she’s never seen this man before; that an imposter has taken over her boyfriend and stolen his life, just as he always feared. But she doesn’t know if she can trust her damaged brain and must figure out a way to discover the truth.

This complex thriller was a mind-boggling read. I was quickly addicted and fully immersed in the story, disappointed that at the half-way point I had to put it down to go out for date night as all I wanted to do was keep reading (sorry Chris). I was desperate to find out where this was going and if the theories swimming in my head were right. But I couldn’t have foreseen how twisted, intense and jaw-dropping things were about to get.

The author has created wonderfully unreliable characters which means the reader never knows what to believe and is kept guessing throughout. I liked Kate and felt for her as she struggled to feel like herself again after the accident. She was a likeable character and I liked how she grew in strength over the course of the book, becoming more like who she was before the accident. I went back and forth with my thoughts on her sanity and if something so far fetched could be really happening. The author magnificently portrayed Kate’s own anguish over the whole dilemma and it jumped from the pages making me feel it along with her. Rob is a mysterious character from the very start and I liked the decision to not make him one of the narrators as it added to that air about him and made the reader consider the possibility he had been taken over by an imposter. I thought he was well written and I would vacillate between seeing him as a loving, protective boyfriend and a malevolent villain she should be running from.

The Other You is a phenomenal psychological thriller that will leave you breathless. Well plotted, pacy and crackling with a tense, ominous atmosphere, you don’t know who to trust or what will happen next as you’re hit with twist after twist. I was left with a huge book hangover after reading and would recommend this as a must-read for any thriller lover.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J. S. Monroe read English at Cambridge, worked as a foreign correspondent in Delhi, and was weekend editor of the Daily Telegraph in London before becoming a full-time writer. Monroe is the author of six novels, including international bestseller Find Me.

BUY LINKS:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2B5lxA9
iBooks: https://apple.co/3286CkM
Kobo: https://bit.ly/35nDd8h
GooglePlay: https://bit.ly/35nDd8h

FOLLOW J. S. MONROE:
Twitter: @JSThrillers
Facebook: @JSMonroeFindMe

FOLLOW HEAD OF ZEUS:
Twitter: @HoZ_Books
Facebook: @headofzeus
Instagram: @headofzeus
Website: http://www.headofzeus.com

Tags Five star reads, Head of Zeus, J. S. Monroe, January 2020, January books, medical fiction, psychological thrillers, recommended books, suspense, The Other You

book reviews

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 28th Dec 2019
No Comments on Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SYNOPSIS:

Five years ago Geo’s first love was revealed as a terrible serial killer.

But he escaped and went on the run.

Now, bodies have started turning up, killed in exactly the same way as before.

The message is clear: he’s making his way to her, one murder at a time…

MY REVIEW:

Deftly written, evocative, bold and breathtaking, Jar of Hearts is one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read. It consumed me and I flew through the pages, unable to get enough as I devoured the story quickly. But it isn’t for the faint hearted. It was gruesome and stomach-churning at times and chilled me to the bone. But it was a work of sheer brilliance with the author’s vivid imagery and heady mix of mystery and terror filling every page.

Geo is trying to put her life back together after spending 5 years in prison for her part in her best friend Angie’s murder. Gone is her high-paying career, the luxuries she enjoyed and even her fiance. Instead she’s had to move back in with her dad and is unemployed because no one wants to hire her after what she did. She is lonely, isolated and is finding freedom harder than prison where she at least had friends, a routine and wasn’t reviled. She was a complex character who made some bad decisions but after the truth about her relationship with Calvin is unveiled, you can understand her choices were made out of fear. Overall I liked her and particularly enjoyed the humour from her inner monologue that punctuated the fear and tension. Nevertheless, I had a nagging feeling that there was something more lurking beneath the surface, that she wasn’t the person she wanted us to think she was and it was only a matter of time before we learned the truth.

As we learn about the relationship between Calvin and Geo we gradually see how he controlled and abused her as their relationship quickly became toxic. Their dynamic echoed that of an abusive relationship in my past and the author’s descriptions of how it felt for Geo took be straight back to that time – making rationalisations about how it was my fault, thinking that the passion means the whole relationship will be intense, and accepting that walking on eggshells and living with fear is the price you must pay to be with this man you love so fiercely.

Calvin was a classic sinister villain. Better known The Sweetbay Strangler, his movie star looks and charm mask his true obsessive, controlling and abusive nature. We only see Calvin through other people’s eyes which added to his dark, menacing and enigmatic magnetism ad made him even more frightening and mysterious. The threat of him hung in the air and it felt like he was always lurking in the background, just waiting to pounce.

Jar of Hearts is a phenomenal thriller that took my breath away and immediately secured its place as not only one of my favourite books this year, but of all time. The author repeatedly delivered jaw-dropping twists and revelations that made me question everything I thought I knew. I read in breathless anticipation as I approached the startling conclusion; my heart pounding and filled with the urge to scream warnings to the characters on the page. Disturbing, tense, gripping and unflinching, this is a must-read for any thriller lover.

Out now.

Tags Corvus Books, favourite books, Five star reads, Jar of Hearts, Jennifer Hillier, psychological thrillers, recommended books

Blog Tours book reviews

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 17th Dec 2019
1 Comment on The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Today is my stop on the blog tour to celebrate the paperback release of this intoxicating thriller. Thank you to Amber at Midas PR for the invitation to take part and to Orion for the gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

I love him so totally, completely, sometimes it threatens to overwhelm me.

Sometimes I think –

No. I won’t write about that.

ALICIA

Alicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet – and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can’t bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain.

Until, late one evening. Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.

THEO

Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced that he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia’s silence goes far deeper than he first thought.

And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?

MY REVIEW:

On a scorching summer night, 33-year-old painter Alicia Beresford is discovered covered in blood, standing rigid and frozen in her living room, while the body of Gabriel, her husband of seven years, sits tied to a chair. She had shot him five times in the head with his rifle and then slit her wrists to attempt suicide. She is taken to hospital but doesn’t make any statements of guilt or innocence, in fact Alicia doesn’t speak at all. Her only “statement” was a painting she did after she was under house arrest while awaiting trial. It is self portrait named Alcestis, after the greek heroine, and its meaning remains a mystery. Six years later psychotherapist Theo Faber, who has been obsessed with the case since it occurred, applies for a job at the hospital she’s being treated. He is sure he can reach her, get her to speak again and discover the truth about what happened that night.

I was so excited to read this book. From the middle of 2018 there was a lot of buzz on Bookstagram and it immediately caught my eye. I was fully immersed in this book from the first page and flew through it, unable to put it down or stop thinking about it when I wasn’t reading.

The story is told in the past tense by Alicia’s psychotherapist, Theo. It also contains extracts from the diary her husband Gabriel had encouraged her to write in the weeks leading up to his death. These pages give us an insight into who she is, or was, why she remains silent, and enables the reader to learn things such as lies being told by some of those closest to Alicia. But this book is as much a story about Theo as it is about Alicia and Gabriel. He feels an affinity with her that is his motivation and conviction that he alone can help her find her voice again. But he keeps breaking the rules and seems increasingly obsessed with his patient. Is he using the case as a distraction from the difficulties in his private life or is there more going on?

I loved how well-written and researched this novel was. I found the information about psychology and trauma both fascinating and informative and loved how the author could convey so much from the little things such as a description of Alicia’s facial expressions or her hands shaking. It is a book filled with flawed, twisted, damaged and broken the character, which are always great fun to read. Alicia was an alluring enigma who puzzled me; I could never quite work out if she was a malevolent calculating killer or a tragic victim of an as-yet-unknown horror. I liked Theo from the start and was rooting for him to be able to break Alicia’s silence and discover the truth of what happened. There were two characters I was suspicious about and that I thought might be involved in Gabriel’s death, perhaps even framing Alicia in some way. I was convinced I knew where the story was going and what would happen but I couldn’t have been more wrong….

The novel is ingeniously written as with one chapter, a paragraph and finally a short sentence, the writer mercilessly takes your breath away. He transforms this novel from a great book into a mind-blowing and sensational book with a twist you truly couldn’t have foreseen. THIS is the book I would call the crime debut of 2019. What a magnificent and electrifying debut. Everyone will be talking about this book and that twist. Whatever genre you enjoy, you need to read this book.

Out now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alex Michaelides is an author and screenwriter born in Cyprus to a Greek-Cypriot father and English mother. After graduating from Cambridge with a degree in English, he received an MA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. He wrote the film The Devil You Know, starring Rosamund Pike, and co-wrote The Brits Are Coming, starring Uma Thurman and Tim Roth. The Silent Patient has sold in 44 territories so far – a record for a debut novel – the film rights for which were recently acquired by Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B.

Tags Alex Michaelides, debut novel, favourite books, Five star reads, Midas PR, orion books, psychological thrillers, recommended books, The Silent Patient

book reviews

I Dare You by Sam Carrington ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 16th Dec 2019
No Comments on I Dare You by Sam Carrington ⭐⭐⭐⭐

SYNOPSIS:

AN INNOCENT GAME. A SHOCKING CRIME. A COMMUNITY FULL OF SECRETS.

Mapledon, 1989.

Two little girls were out playing a game of dares. Only one returned home.

The ten-year-old told police what she saw: village loner Billy ‘Creepy’ Crawley dragged her friend into his truck and disappeared.

No body was found, but her testimony sent Crawley to prison for murder. An open and shut case, the right man behind bars.

The village could sleep safe once again.

Now…

Anna thought she had left Mapledon and her nightmares behind but a distraught phone call brings her back to face her past.

30 years ago someone lied. 30 years ago the man convicted wasn’t the only guilty party.

Now he’s out of prison looking for revenge. The question is, who will he start with?

MY REVIEW:

What a roller-coaster ride! I was quickly gripped by this exhilarating thriller and found myself reading fervently, desperate for answers about what happened to ten-year-old Jonie Hayes, how the narrators were connected to it all, and what secrets the residents of Mapledon were hiding.

The story is told in dual timelines and is narrated by two women – Anna and Lizzie. We soon learn that both women lived in Mapledon as children but left for very different reasons: Anna because of bad memories of her childhood friend’s murder and feeling stifled, and Lizzie because she was taken and put into care for unkown reasons. They both have unanswered questions about what happened thirty years ago and have been affected by the legacy of Billy ‘Creepy’ Crawley and the murder of Jonie. As they look deeper it is clear that nothing is as it seems and are forced to question everything they thought they knew as they unearth secrets they were never meant to find…

This was the second book I’ve read by this author and I was every bit as captivated as when I read The Missing Wife, cementing her place on my must-read authors list. The thing I liked about her writing in this book was how she told the flashbacks to 1989 in reverse chronological order up until the highly anticipated big reveal. This slowly revealed clues to the reader while increasing the tension and slowly revealed the roles everyone played in the tragic events.

Anna and Lizzie were both unreliable protagonists by their own admission. They were children thirty years ago and it is their fuzzy recollection of events that leads them to finally search for the truth. Anna’s relationship with her mother Muriel is fraught and she’s hasn’t been back to Mapledon once since she left. It seems with every day more cracks appear in their relationship and Anna is increasingly sure her mother has lied and hidden the truth from her about what had happened that summer. I definitely had my feelings about Muriel’s character coloured by Anna and only ever saw her as a busybody that was lying to her daughter. I was sure she was entrenched in what happened and felt like screaming at her to just tell her daughter what she knew. Lizzie was a character I had a lot of empathy for but I was torn about how much of the truth I wanted her to discover, especially as it seemed she had the most she could lose by the revelations. All of the characters in this book are fractured and troubled and I often wondered if they would be torn apart even more by the truth rather than healed by it.

I Dare You is a tense, twisty, jaw-dropping thriller about childhood friendships, small town politics, secrets and murder. I guessed some of the twists early on but so much was a mystery to me as we approached the end. The author cleverly wove the clues together until the full picture emerged and rendered me speechless. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves psychological thrillers and can’t wait to see what she writes next.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Out now.

Tags Avon Books UK, Four star reads, I Dare You, NetGalley, psychological thrillers, Recommended authors, Sam Carrington

Blog Tours book reviews

Gone by Leona Deakin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 15th Dec 2019
No Comments on Gone by Leona Deakin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this astonishing psychological thriller. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Transworld Publishing for my gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

Four strangers are missing. Left at their last-known locations are birthday cards that read:

YOUR GIFT IS THE GAME.

DARE TO PLAY?

The police aren’t worried – it’s just a game. But the families are frantic. As psychologist and private detective Dr Augusta Bloom delves into the lives of the missing people, she finds something that binds them all.

And that something makes them very dangerous indeed.

As more disappearances are reported and new birthday cards uncovered, Dr Bloom races to unravel the mystery and find the missing people.

But what if, this time, they are the ones she should fear?

MY REVIEW:

Wow! This phenomenal novel puts the psycho into psychological thriller. It was one of those books where you just know you’re going to love it instantly. From the spine-chilling first chapter I was hooked and I devoured this book in just two sittings, staying up until daft o’clock as I needed to know what happened. Exhilarating, fast-paced, jaw-dropping and addictive, it knocked me out like ten rounds with Mike Tyson.

Dr Augusta Bloom and her partner Marcus Jameson are called in to investigate the disappearance of his sister’s friend Lana, leaving her sixteen-year-old daughter Jane behind with no money for food or bills. The police don’t think there’s a case to look into, despite the anonymous birthday card left behind daring her to play a game. As they investigate, they learn that three other people have disappeared in similar circumstances. But they can’t find any commonalities between the victims other than they disappeared on their birthdays and left behind the same card. Who is the card from? And what is so enticing about this game they’d willingly walk away from their life and loved ones?

After speaking to those closest to them Augusta has a theory beginning to take shape. But when she reveals it to Jameson he’s skeptical. As the number of players rises the police finally get involved in the search and Augusta is increasingly sure of her hypothesis. But they still don’t know who’s behind the game or what they want and Augusta begins to think the team are being watched and someone is trying to derail the investigation. Can they find the architect and the players before it’s too late?

I really liked the characters in this book. This new series focuses on Dr Augusta Bloom, a criminal psychologist and private detective, and her partner Marcus Jameson, a former spy, who have been solving mysteries together for five years. I loved this easy-to-like duo. Augusta is elusive and Marcus, her only real friend, doesn’t even know a lot about her. She keeps to herself and her job is her life. Marcus also lives for his job but is more open that Augusta. We meet his sister in the book and it’s clear how important his family is to him which is why I think the choice to have him be personally connected to their case was a good one. It added an extra layer of emotion and urgency and the odds felt higher. My favourite character was Seraphine. At just fourteen years old she knows she’s a psychopath and seems to relish it. She passes for normal by watching those around her and mimicking their behaviour. Her parts were always fun but sinister and eerie.

This was my first time reading a book by this author and it won’t be my last. It is intelligent, sharp and expertly written, and you can tell she knows her stuff as she delves into the darkness that is camouflaged amongst us and offers a fascinating insight into their minds. I loved how the antagonist was written and while I won’t go into specifics to avoid spoilers, I will say they were revealed to be truly twisted and calculated. Another aspect of her writing I enjoyed was the small clues she hid for us to find that you don’t really recognise until much later. For instance, I couldn’t shake a feeling of discomfort about two of the characters. It felt like there was something underlying and hidden. But it wasn’t until towards the end that I pieced it together from the subtle trail of breadcrumbs the author had left behind. She knows how to keep her readers hostage and captivated me from the start right until the last page.

Gone is an immersive, arresting, heat-stopping and clever thriller that is fraught with tension from the first page. Unputdownable can be overused by book bloggers but I can’t think of a more appropriate time to use it than for this book. Insanely twisty, there were shocking and unexpected revelations that left me speechless. 2019 has been a great year for thrillers and Gone has snook in at the last minute to be one of my top books this year. I can’t wait for the second installment and could see this becoming a contender for my favourite crime series. Anyone who loves psychological thrillers needs to read this now!

Out now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Leona draws inspiration for her writing from her own experiences having started her career as a psychologist with the West Yorkshire Police and her successful work in psychology since. She is now an occupational therapist and lives with her family in Leeds. This is her debut thriller.

Tags crime fiction, Crime series, Five star reads, Gone, Leona Deakin, psychological thrillers, recommended books, Transworld Publishing

Blog Tours book reviews

The Pact by Amy Heydenrych ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 4th Dec 2019
No Comments on The Pact by Amy Heydenrych ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this absorbing thriller. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for my invitation to take part and to Zaffre and NetGalley for my copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

What if a prank leads to murder?

When Freya arrives at her dream job with the city’s hottest start-up, she can’t wait to begin a new and exciting life, including dating her colleague Jay.

However, Nicole, Jay’s ex and fellow employee, seems intent on making her life a misery. After a big deadline, where Nicole continually picks on her, Freya snaps and tells Jay about the bullying and together they concoct a revenge prank. The next morning Nicole is found dead in her apartment.

Is this just a prank gone wrong? Or does Freya know someone whos is capable of murder – and could she be next?

MY REVIEW:

“It was just a joke, a little slice of revenge…”

The story at the heart of this book is one that is all too familiar to most women. We all have stories about the male colleague who makes unwelcome suggestive remarks, gets a bit too handsy, holds onto a hug for that little bit too long or makes us feel uncomfortable in a way we can’t put our finger on. I bet there’s someone in your mind that describes right now. I know there is in mine. And what do we do? We usually brush it aside so we don’t cause a problem and tell ourselves it’s harmless fun. And if we do report it then we face the accusations that we led them on, did something to cause it and watch as things are twisted to paint them as the victim and us as the harasser. The #MeToo movement is beginning to change the tides and has inevitably sparked a wave of books and other media that address these issues. The Pact is the best I’ve read yet.

I didn’t expect this to be such a timely book but I am glad this author chose to write this particular story. As well as sexual harassment the book takes a look at other social issues such as bullying in the work place, the inequality between the sexes in certain professions, women being pitted against each other and how the media looks at female victims of crime. All the topics were handled in an honest and sensitive manner that felt realistic and sadly relatable.

The author filled this book an eclectic mix of strong, intelligent but flawed female characters. The narrators, Isla and Freya, are both ambitious and passionate about their chosen field. Both have things in their past that have left them a little fragile and fractured but also gave them strength that I don’t think they recognised in themselves at first. I liked both characters and thought their bad decisions only made them more human and relatable. Nicole was the mean girl. While she’s alive we only see her through Freya’s eyes and, as she is being bullied by her, that’s quite a biased lens. I could see how some people were manipulating things and wondered if there were things we didn’t know about that were contributing to her behaviour. Another thing that happened because we only see her from Freya’s point of view is that it was hard at times to be sympathetic or mournful of her death. The choice to make her both murder victim and villainess, and the author’s ability to evoke in me such constrasting feelings towards her, were a testament to her talent. The characters who manipulated, lied and harassed people were expertly written (I’m not naming them to avoid spoilers). They were classic examples of abusers and narcissist – masquerading behind a veil of charm, charisma, kindness and kinship. Their victims were like lambs to the slaughter at the hands of their expert scheme.

The story is written in multiple timelines and moves somewhat sporadically between them. It felt choppy and confusing at times as a result and I sometimes had to double check what timeline we were in to make sense of things. But as more of the story was told this got better and things flowed more smoothly. There were times I liked the use of multiple timelines as they were used to weave clues through the story and tease the reader before jumping to another point in the story, leaving us in suspense.

The Pact manages to hit all the requirements for a riveting, explosive and involving thriller while also being an acutely observed commentary on some of the most harrowing, difficult and important issues we face. While I did guess some things early on I was left with my jaw on the floor when the author delivered the coup de grace.

Out now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amy is a writer and book blogger based in South Africa. She has been shortlisted twice for the acclaimed Miles Morland African Writing Scholarship. Her short stories and poems have been published in multiple anthologies including Brittle Paper, The Kalahari Review and the Short Sharp Stories anthologies. When she is not writing her own fiction, she ghost-writes books and columns for global tech and financial companies.