Ultimo Press – Emma's Biblio Treasures

SQUADPOD REVIEWS: Lowbridge by Lucy Campbell

Published July 6th, 2023 by Ultimo Press
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction

Welcome to my review of the fantastic debut, Lowbridge, which was one of our Squadpod reads this year. Thank you to Ultimo Press for the copy of the book and chance to review it.

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SYNOPSIS:

A missing girl. Decades of silence. A secret too big to bury.

1987: It’s late summer and a time of change when a 17-year-old girl leaves the local shopping centre in the sleepy town of Lowbridge and is never seen again. Her unsolved disappearance is never far from the town’s memory. There’s those who grew up in the shadow of her loss whose own lives were altered forever, and those who know more than they’re saying.

It just takes an outsider to ask the right questions. 2018: Katherine Ashworth, shattered by the death of her daughter, moves to her husband’s hometown. Searching for a way to pick up the pieces of her life, she joins the local historical society and becomes obsessed with the three-decades-old mystery.

As Katherine digs into that summer of 1987, she stumbles upon the trail of a second girl who vanished and was never missed because no one cared enough to see what was happening in plain sight. Her trail could lead right to Katherine’s door.

In a town simmering with divisions and a cast of unforgettable characters, Lowbridge is a heart-wrenching mystery about the girls who are lost, the ones who are mourned and those who are forgotten.

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MY REVIEW:

“Everyone’s drawn to a good mystery, and Tess’s disappearance is the biggest mystery this place has ever seen.”

Shattered by the death of their daughter, Katherine and James move back to his hometown of Lowbridge. Looking for a way to begin to rebuild her life, Katherine gets involved with the local historical society and comes across a thirty-year-old unsolved mystery that still haunts the small town. Katherine begins to dig deeper into what happened that summer and comes across long-buried secrets that some people will go to extraordinary lengths to keep hidden…

Brilliantly written, steadily paced and compelling, this is a fantastic debut. Lucy Campbell has crafted an intriguing character-driven mystery that explores topics such as grief, motherhood, the essence of life in a small town and how the tragedy is still affecting those who live there decades later. Told in dual timelines, one following Tess in the months leading up to her disappearance in 1987 and the other following Katherine as she tries to solve the mystery thirty years later, there’s a claustrophobic feel to the story that comes from both the small-town setting and the bubble of grief that surrounds Katherine. Keeping us guessing, Campbell slowly unspools Lowbridge’s hidden history and dark secrets, building the suspense to a shocking and unexpected conclusion.

With any character-driven story it is vital to have well-written characters and Ms. Campbell has certainly delivered. While Tess and Katherine are our main protagonists, the story is filled with a cast of authentic, richly drawn characters who draw us into their lives. Campbell makes us feel what each character is going through which ranges from typical teenage angst to much deeper traumas. In the past, everything is happening against a backdrop of us knowing Tess will soon vanish so I found myself searching for clues and trying to figure out who was responsible. But it was Katherine who leapt from the pages most strongly for me, her grief and heartbreak over the loss of her daughter radiating from the pages and seeping into every facet of her existence as she tries to find a way to move forward. It is impossible not to feel heartbroken for her and think anyone who has lost someone close to them will recognise some part of that loss in her. I was rooting for her to succeed in both her quest to uncover the truth about Tess’s disappearance and learning to live again.

Gripping, cryptic and heart-wrenching, Lowbridge is a superb debut I have no hesitation in recommending.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

*DM me for TWs

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lucy Campbell has worked as a writer and sub-editor across magazines, newspapers and non-fiction books. Lowbridge is her first novel. She lives in Canberra with her husband and three children.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxxx

*All purchase links are affiliate links

BLOG TOUR: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

Published: September 15th, 2022
Publisher: Ultimo Press
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this truly original whodunit. Thank you to Tracy at Campulsive Reader Tours for the invitation to take part and Ultimo Press for the eBook ARC.

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SYNOPSIS:

‘And then there is a scream. Ragged and terrified. A beat of silence even after it stops, until we all seem to realise that the Reading Room Rules no longer apply.’

Hannah Tigone, bestselling Australian crime author, is crafting a new novel that begins in the Boston Public Library: four strangers; Winifred, Cain, Marigold and Whit are sitting at the same table when a bloodcurdling scream breaks the silence. A woman has been murdered. They are all suspects, and, as it turns out, each character has their own secrets and motivations – and one of them is a murderer.

While crafting this new thriller, Hannah shares each chapter with her biggest fan and aspirational novelist, Leo. But Leo seems to know a lot about violence, motive, and how exactly to kill someone. Perhaps he is not all that he seems…

The Woman in the Library is an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship – and shows that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

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MY REVIEW:

“And then there is a scream. Ragged and terrified. A beat of silence even after it stops, until we all seem to realise that the Reading Room rules no longer apply.”

Bestselling Australian crime writer Hannah Tigone is creating a new story set in the Boston Public Library. It opens with four strangers sitting at a table when a bloodcurdling scream pierces the silence. A woman has been murdered. Finding themselves under suspicion, the four new friends embark on a quest to find out who killed the woman in the library. But could one of them be the killer?

As she writes, Hannah shares each new chapter with fan and aspiring author Leo Johnson. But there are clues that Leo may not be all he seems…

Entertaining, addictive and suspenseful, The Woman in the Library was a heart-pounding rollercoaster ride. Action-packed, shrewdly choreographed and twist-filled, I flew through it in under a day. Author Sunil Gentill tells the story in a truly unique way. This is a story within a story and the chapters alternate between the murder mystery novel and letters critiquing her work. It is a great concept and she executed it perfectly, the dual narratives working well in tandem and keeping the reader on tenterhooks as she builds things to a shocking crescendo.

Though she is elusive and never features in her own voice, Hannah lingers over every page of the book and I found myself quickly drawn into her fictional storyland with its fascinating characters, exhilarating tension and the compelling mystery that Freddie and her friends were trying to solve. In the letters I got a creepy vibe from Leo early on and was intrigued by his character more than any other. He’s quite the enigma as we know almost nothing about him as all he seems to discuss with Hannah is her work. I loved how Gentill used this to heighten the tension in the novel and created a second mystery for the reader to unravel.

Writing is a theme that is intrinsically woven into the heart of this book. The cast of characters has many authors, aspiring authors and journalists and in addition to Hannah’s novel, we have Leo discussing his ‘opus’ and Freddie writing her novel and using her new friends for inspiration. It was an interesting glimpse into not only the writing process but the kinds of challenges and dilemmas faced before a book makes it into our hands.

A clever multiple whodunit that had my nerves on edge, The Woman in the Library is a riveting read that has the vibe of an old-fashioned murder mystery. Highly recommended.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Sulari Gentill is an Australian author, also known under the pen name of S.D. Gentill. She initially studied astrophysics before becoming a corporate lawyer, but has since become a writer. She is the author of the award-winning Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, a series of historical crime fiction novels set in the 1930s about Rowland Sinclair, the gentleman artist-cum-amateur-detective.

Website

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BUY THE BOOKS:

Waterstones | Amazon | Bookshop.org

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles 😊 Emma xxx