📖 Blog Tour ~ The First Widow by Rob Starr

Just Once Publishing
29 August 2024

Kiara Fox #1

Over a hundred husbands dead.

One prisoner. Countless secrets.

The most horrifying case of Kiara Fox’s career . . .

Kiara Fox leads a seemingly ordinary life as a highly respected fraud investigator. With a loving husband and twin daughters, her world seems perfect. But when a life insurance claim involving a wealthy man named Martin Powers lands on her desk, she senses something is off.

Forced by her employer to pay the claim, Kiara discovers that Martin Powers’ folder has vanished. In a shocking twist, she finds the missing folder hidden within another investigator’s files – Michael Hall from the Bristol office. It’s identical to her own case, sparking her determination to uncover the truth.

As innocent people begin to die, she realises there’s more behind this than first meets the eye. Torn between protecting her own family and uncovering whoever is behind the killings, Kiara faces an impossible choice.

📖 My Review..

Kiara Fox is a successful fraud investigator and whilst extremely good at her job she does tend to get over involved in some of her more substantial cases, however, with huge sums of money being paid out Kiara knows that you can never be too careful. When one case in particular starts to ring alarm bells Kiara is soon on the hunt for what she perceives is a fraudulent insurance claim, little does she know that this is only the tip of a very big iceberg. The story moves along at a fast pace and as we get deeper into Kiara's investigation so the tension starts to mount to high and emotions are heightened in a story which grips from its intense opener, to the thrilling conclusion. 

I enjoyed getting to know Kiara Fox, the author describes her well so that the immersion into her business life, her family and those who seek to 'quieten' her is done with a fine eye for detail and a thrilling sense of adventure. The author writes well and controls a complicated plot with ease, all the characters are well drawn, some extremely unlikable and downright evil, but then that's all part the charm of this complicated thriller. With an almost overriding sense of doom, The First Widow is a great introduction to this feisty investigator who, should the ending be a clue, we may well get to see again in a further thrilling adventure.

About the Author

Rob Starr owns and runs SEICO Insurance & Mortgages since 1991 and has offices in Brighton, London and South Africa. His first book What The Tide Brings Back was published on 4th January 2022.

In 2008, he lost his father to cancer and set up a charity in his honour. His business covers all the running costs of the charity and as such his small team raises what they can from local events and gives it away as grants to Young People who simply need a chance to be the best that they can be and need someone to believe in them. So far, they have raised and given away over a Million Pounds to over 4000 young people. Rob is Chairman and the lead at the charity - www.starrtrust.org

Away from insurance, charities and writing, Rob loves a challenge. In 2012 he swam the English Channel. In 2013 he cycled up Le Mont Ventoux. Between 2014-2020 he did 21 Olympic Triathlons. In 2021 he completed two half Ironman Triathlons as well as his first full Ironman. And in 2022 he completed his 52×52 Challenge. This is 52 Olympic Triathlons in 52 consecutive weeks.

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📖 Book Review ~ Uncle Digit and the Truth about Magic by Jeremy Hullah

Digit Publications

January 2024

Thanks to Cameron Publicity for my copy of this book

Confined to a wheelchair, 11-year-old Finn looks forward to the visits of his Uncle Henry and the unbelievable stories of his adventures. When Henry goes to the Arctic to look for his father's lost ship, the stories become increasingly fantastical, straining even Finn's desire to believe everything his uncle tells him, until he joins in the adventure himself!

Expect aliens, a wise-cracking fox, singing bears, the most powerful device in the universe and some very peculiar snow.

📖 My Review..

Eleven year old Finn was injured in a car accident and is now a wheelchair user. He lives with his mother, who loves cooking, in a large terraced house which has belonged to his family for many years. Finn seems quite a lonely child who looks forward to visits from his Uncle Henry, a photojournalist, who tells him of adventures and magic. Facing his difficulties means that Finn is often an easy target for bullies but listening to the tales of his Uncle Digit (aka Henry) takes him into an entirely different world of legend, adventure and fantastical magic.

Uncle Digit and the Truth about Magic is aimed at the young adult market, but is equally enjoyable for all ages, including adults, who enjoy being whisked away into another world. Beautifully imagined, with an incredible adventure which grips from the start I found so much to enjoy in this lovely story which helps you to believe in the wonder of story telling and the joy of adventures. Coming in at over 300 pages it’s quite long but is easily broken up into short bite sized chapters which make it a perfect ‘read before bedtime’ sort of story.

Uncle Digit and the Truth about Magic has all the magical ingredients needed for a memorable story, with convincing characters, especially the polar bears, who stay with you long after the last page is turned.

About the Author

JEREMY HULLAH grew up in the rural Midlands, where he spent a lot of time dreaming about being a pianist or a writer, or something equally unattainable without the required level of effort. After school he moved to London where he worked on building sites for a few years before retraining in IT. He ended up working for a bank in the City, writing books on the train to and from his home in East Sussex. Jeremy Hullah is now retired, but still enjoys cycling around the countryside and dreaming up ideas for new books to keep his two boys entertained.

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📖 Book Review ~ The Head Teacher by H. M. Lynn

Boldwood Books

15 August 2024

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book

The higher you climb, the harder the fall.

I would never have been hired if they knew what I’d done. My past.

St Ann’s is a strict environment, and after one year in the coveted position of head teacher, I know I can’t put a foot wrong.

Some don’t think I deserve this. Others are desperate for the job themselves.

And one of those people wants to bring me down.

Whoever this person is, they know things about me. Secrets I’ve barely told anybody.

And I’m scared what they might uncover if they delve a little deeper.

And what they might do to me – and my family – if I don’t get to them first…

📖 My Review..

Settling into her second year as head teacher at a prestigious Catholic school Liz knows that there are those on the staff who are determined to get the better of her but with steely determination she is not going to let anyone bring her down. With her days filled with endless administration and with a PA who is less then helpful Liz always feels that she is catching up on herself and so, when things start to go awry, Liz must work out for herself who, on the staff, wishes her harm.

With a plot which grips from its intense prologue The Head Teacher is one of those stories which quickly becomes hard to put down and I found that I was so engrossed in the plot that I read the book in one sitting. As not only does the book focus on a very realistic interpretation of school life but it also focuses on Liz's complicated family life and especially her relationship with Sasha, her troubled teenage daughter. The family have a secret which, if discovered, will expose them all to intense scrutiny and yet, as we discover, secrets have a way of being exposed. Fast paced, engrossing and with a surprise ending I didn't see coming this is psychological suspense at its best.

About the Author

H. M. Lynn writes tense, gripping psychological thrillers with her signature engaging and emotionally rich storytelling. She also writes in many other genres including romance as Hannah Lyon.

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📖 Blog Tour ~ Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton

Random House /Transworld
15 August 2024

Elise King #2

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book
and the invitation to the blog tour

Three women. One Killer.

Talking to strangers has never been more dangerous...

When the body of forty-four-year-old Karen Simmons is found abandoned in remote woodland, journalist Kiki Nunn is determined this will be the big break she so desperately needs.

Because she has a head start on all the other reporters. Just a week before Karen was killed, Kiki interviewed her about the highs and lows of mid-life romance. Karen told her all about kissing strangers on the beach under the stars, expensive meals, roses. About the scammers and creeps...

While the police appear to be focusing on local suspects, Kiki sets out to write the definitive piece on one woman's fatal search for love. But she will soon learn that the search for truth can be just as deadly...

📖 My Review

When the body of Karen Simmons is discovered in a woodland setting journalist Kiki Nunn is horrified to discover that she has recently interviewed this woman as part of her investigation into the pitfalls of finding love in mid life. With the police focusing on finding the perpetrator, Kiki starts her own search into Karen's death and in doing so opens herself up to danger.

Told in a three person narrative we get to meet again with Detective Inspector Elise King who heads the police investigation with her usual skill as she picks up all the hidden nuances of a complicated investigation. We also get to know Annie a rather sad woman who is mourning her own loss, and together with Kiki Nunn, who is a force to be reckoned with, we are thrown into a compelling story with lots of twists and turns which kept me guessing, until an ending I didn’t see coming.

Whilst this is now the second book featuring DI Elise King in her role as lead detective it is perfectly possible to read Talking to Strangers as a standalone story. Fast paced with never a dull moment, and with a plot which is both exciting and insightful, the story had me gripped from start to finish.

About the Author

Fionna Barton's debut, The Widow, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, and has been published in thirty-seven countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, and her third, The Suspect, were both bestsellers. Born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives on the south coast in West Sussex. Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards. While working as a journalist, Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. She interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery, and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most...

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📖 Blog Tour ~ Legacy of the Runes by Christina Courtenay

Headline Review
Runes #6

15 August 2024

Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the book
and invitation to the blog tour.

A Bond that even time cannot break

Storm Berger has never forgiven himself for his younger sister Madison's disappearance. Suspecting she's travelled back to the ninth century in the footsteps of other family members, Storm can only make sure she's safe by going after her.

Raised unconventionally as her father's only child, Freydis has never been content to simply accept her fate. So, when she's promised in marriage to a tyrant, she's determined to find a way out of the arrangement. Help comes in the form of a mysterious and attractive stranger stranded on her island's shores: Storm.

The only way Freydis can truly be free is for Storm to marry her himself. But that would mean entwining lives that, until now, have been separated by centuries...

📖 My Review ..

When Storm Berger's sister Maddie goes missing Storm suspects that she has time travelled back to Iceland in the ninth century. Desperate to find her, Storm embarks on a time travel journey himself only to discover that he is stranded on a remote island in a small Viking community. Storm soon finds himself immersed in the life of the island and also becomes increasingly attracted to Freydis, a feisty young woman who is soon to be married to a dangerous and vindictive man. What then follows is a fascinating time-slip adventure which looks at love, and life, in this Viking period.

There is no doubt that the author has done her research as the ninth century world  flourishes in stories which brings to life small Viking communities. Everything feels wonderfully authentic with danger never being far away and yet there is also a glimpse of family life and the complexity of relationships when one partner comes from a very different time. The time-slip element has been done well and whilst each story has been different, and can be read comfortably as a standalone, for those familiar with the series there is also lovely sense of continuity with glimpses of characters from previous novels.

Legacy of the Runes concludes this wonderful time-slip series and I am quite sorry to say goodbye to the characters which linger in the imagination. These stories have all been an absolute delight to read and Legacy of the Runes certainly allows the series to finish with a flourish.

 

About the Author

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association, now a Vice President, and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. SHADOWS IN THE ASHES (dual time/timeslip romance published by Headline Review 18th January 2024) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

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📖 Blog Tour ~ What the Lady Wants by Emma Orchard

Boldwood
19 August 2024
The Runaway Heiress #3

My thanks to the publishers and Rachel's Random resources for the invitation to the tour

Autumn, 1816...

Lady Ashby is grieving the death of her beloved husband, just two years earlier. Although still young and beautiful, Isabella is resolved never to marry again, and plans to leave London, return to her parents’ Yorkshire house, and resign from society before the year is over. But first, she wants one more taste of life…

Isabella has written a list, the contents of which, if discovered, would create a scandal that neither she nor her family would recover from. A list of things she would like to experience, just once more, before she surrenders herself to the life of a widow. And she knows just the man to help her friend, handsome and honourable Captain Leo Winterton.

But Captain Winterton has a secret of his own. He is in love with Isabella – and when she makes her most improper proposal to him, he is powerless to resist her, even if she is resolved never to love again. Can he persuade her they are destined to be together? Or will their impropriety be discovered, to the ruin of both?

My Review..

Lady Isabella Ashby is grieving the loss of her husband and whilst determined to remain a widow she can't help but want just one more taste of the spicier things of life and the man she chooses to help her achieve her desire is the handsome Captain Leo Winterton. There is no doubt that Isabella would be totally ostracised from polite society if her connection to Leo Winterton were ever discovered as what is deemed acceptable for a gentle young lady in Regency England is certainly not included in  the contents of Isabella's rather risqué list of  experiences. 

What the Lady Wants doesn't stop at the bedroom door but pushes us firmly inside to witness every intimate detail between Isabella and Leo and there's no denying the sexual chemistry between them however, that's not all the story gives us. It's also a gently unfolding love story between two characters who steal their way into your heart. As we have come to expect from this author the Regency setting is done well, all the constraints placed on women during this time in history is well known, so it was good to have a woman who set about getting what she wanted albeit in a way which ultimately would see her have make some difficult choices. 

I have enjoyed travelling back to this world which the author recreates with a fine eye for detail and a fun sense of style.  What the Lady Wants is now the third book in this series and whilst it is perfectly possible to read as a standalone story there are characters from previous books making an appearance which adds a nice sense of continuity. Perfect escapism from start to finish.

About the Author

Emma was born in Salford and studied English Literature at the universities of Edinburgh and York. Her first job after graduating was as a Copy-Editor at Mills & Boon, where she met her husband in a classic enemies-to-lovers romance. Emma has worked behind the scenes in television and as a Literary Agent, and in 2020 started writing Georgette Heyer fan-fiction.

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📖 Blog Tour ~ Whispers of the Dead by Lin Anderson

Macmillan
1 August 2024

Rhona MacLeod #18

My thanks to the publishers and Random Things Tours for my copy of the book
and the invitation to the tour

A gangland slaying. A missing movie star. When an actor goes missing in Glasgow, the clue to his whereabouts could be in the film script itself. Whispers of the Dead is a gripping thriller from Lin Anderson.

In the dead of night, a man’s body is found strapped to a chair in Glasgow’s Elder Park, his identity unknown. As forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod examines the scene, the violence on display suggests a gangland feud could be the cause. At the post-mortem, a bullet engraved with a snake’s head is found in the man’s stomach, lending weight to the theory.

Elsewhere in the city, a major Hollywood movie is being filmed. But shooting comes to a standstill when its lead actor is reported missing. As the news spreads, Police Scotland believe the two cases may be connected.

DS Michael McNab thinks the key to finding those responsible could be the film itself. A storyline playing out in real-life on the streets of Glasgow with a killer intent on revenge at any cost. A vendetta which must be paid in blood.

📖 My Review..

When a man's body is discovered in horrific circumstances in a Glasgow park it has all the hallmarks of a gangland killing and yet, as forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod discovers, there is a lot more to this gruesome murder than could ever have been imagined. Linking everything together is what this author does best, and with clues which seem to have no connection it takes a while before all the pieces in this complex puzzle start to come together. 

This series just goes from strength to strength and even though this is book number eighteen in the series the plot is a fresh as ever with new detail in the narrative and the return, as always, of old friends. The investigation is fast and furious, with characters who stay with you and as their thoughts echo through the pages so the story grips every tighter. The triumvirate of MacLeod, McInsh and McNab is as tight as ever and even though some of the story is rather grim, these familiar characters, with their complicated relationship to each other, brings a sense of continuity and at times humour into the plot.

I've now read every book in this Scottish crime series and have also listened to them on audio - they are brought expertly to life by narrator, Sally Armstrong, and whilst they can be enjoyed as standalones it does make sense to get to know Rhona MacLeod from the beginning as she's as complex as the cases she so meticulously investigates. Whispers of the Dead had everything I wanted from this series in an unputdownable story of murder, hidden secrets and dreadful lies. 

 

 I can't wait for book number nineteen...😉

About the Author

Lin Anderson is a Scottish author and screenwriter known for her bestselling crime series featuring forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod.

Four of her novels have been longlisted for the Scottish Crime Book of the Year, and in 2022 she was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association Dagger in the Library Award.

Lin is the co-founder of the international crime writing festival Bloody Scotland, which takes place annually in Stirling.

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📖 Blog Tour ~ The House of the Witch by Clare Marchant

 

Boldwood
9 August 2024

My thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random resources for the invitation to the blog tour

Now: When Adrianna arrives at the small, run-down cottage, near the sea in rural Norfolk, she can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Here she can forget her life in the city, and the problems she’s left behind there, at least for a while.

But – like Adrianna herself – the cottage holds secrets. And when Adrianna finds a mysterious bundle of notes hidden under a floorboard, she can’t shake the idea that they’ve been waiting for her. Especially when – in the rambling, overgrown garden – she then finds a strangely-carved stone, drawing her into a centuries-old mystery…

1646: Between her work as the village midwife and the medicines she sells from her cottage, Ursula has no need for a man. But this ideal leaves her unprotected in a world where just one accusation of witchcraft can mean certain death. So when she catches the eye of a powerful new local doctor, she must use every part of her cunning, or risk becoming his prisoner.

Can the two women – their paths bound by place and history – each find the keys to their own destiny?

📖 My Review...

Leaving her boyfriend behind in London, Adrianna escapes to rural Norfolk in order to recharge and take stock of her life. However, the cottage she rents is a place of secrets and shadows and with a sense of the past lingering, Adrianna soon becomes immersed in the story of Ursula, a local wise woman, who lived in the cottage during the middle years of the seventeenth century. 

This time slip novel captures beautifully the indecision of Adriana in the modern time and explores her reasons for leaving London, whilst at the same time we are seamlessly whisked back to a troubled time in our past when vulnerable woman were at the mercy of unscrupulous men who were hell bent on revenge, and during the time when the witch hunts were at their most venomous.

I've really enjoyed spending time in both time frames which are brought to life with meticulous detail and it was interesting to see similarities playing out in the lives of both of these young women. Heart breaking and consuming in equal measure, I followed Ursula's story with a sense of foreboding and yet was equally consumed with Adrianna's very modern dilemma in the present. The House of the Witch weaves together two different time-frames and yet does so with a fine eye for detail and a strong sense of both history and destiny.

About the Author

Clare Marchant is the author of dual timeline historical fiction. Her books have been translated into seven languages, and she is a USA Today bestseller. Clare spends her time writing and exploring local castles, or visiting the nearby coast.

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📖 Book Tour ~ The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley

 

Simon & Schuster
1 August 2024

Thanks to the publishers and Random Things Tours of the invitation to the blog tour

He is tasked with the most dangerous of missions. She is only there from duty.

But in the face of treachery and injustice, might they need each other more than they could know…?

1613: Scotland and England, unified under one crown, are reeling from the sudden death of King James’ popular eldest son, Henry, as rumours swirl that the prince was poisoned.

Andrew Logan, one of the King’s Messengers, is sent north with secret orders to find and arrest the man the king suspects.

Phoebe Westaway cannot abide Andrew Logan. But when her ageing father is tasked with helping Logan, Phoebe finds herself with no choice but to join them in their quest to capture Sir David Moray, once Prince Henry’s trusted courier, and carry him to London to stand trial for the prince’s murder.

It’s a journey rife with complications. Sir David has no intention of allowing himself to be delivered to London, and as he draws them deeper into the dark web of court alliances and rivalries, Phoebe realises she might have more need of Logan than she believes.

A story of justice, honour, truth and love – and survival against impossible odds…

📖 My Review..

In The King's Messenger we meet the enigmatic Andrew Logan who is charged with travelling to Scotland to arrest Sir David Moray and bring him back to London where King James I wants to question him about the death of Prince Henry who has recently died, aged eighteen. Logan takes his role as King's messenger very seriously and prefers to work alone, he is therefore dismayed when he finds that travelling with him to Scotland is a scrivener and his daughter Phoebe Westaway. The journey, both to and from Scotland is filled with danger but it is on the return journey where we get to know more about each of the characters and their reasons for the journey.

As always this author brings history alive, the danger of the times, the constant intrigue and the eventual story of David Moray's involvement in the life of Prince Henry is done with a skilful observation of all the complicated nuances of history. Told in several voices we follow Andrew, David and Phoebe as they each make sense of their growing friendship and of the task ahead of them. I particularly enjoyed travelling the length of the country, not an easy task on horseback and with men following who are determined to do all they can to prevent Moray being delivered into the hands of the King. Whilst I knew a little about the untimely death of Prince Henry, I was intrigued to discover more, especially the uneasy relationship that King James had with Henry and of the fragmented relationship the Prince had with his mother, Queen Anne of  Bohemia. The political intrigue is contrasted nicely with the growing relationship between Phoebe and Andrew who seem at odds with each other for most of the journey. 

Beautifully written, and intricately crafted, it has been an absolute delight to be back in Scotland with this talented author who always brings history so gloriously alive.

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley is a former museum curator who loves restoring the lost voices of real people to the page, interweaving romance and historical intrigue with modern adventure.

Over 1.5 million copies of her books have been sold and have been translated into over 25 languages.

Her writing career began in 1993 when her then-unpublished novel Mariana won the Catherine Cookson Ficon Prize. Since then she has writyen twelve novels and won various awards, and has twice made the final of Romance Novel of the Year awards.

She lives near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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📖 Blog Tour ~ A Lady's Fortune by Jane Dunn

Boldwood
4 August 2024


My thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to the blog tour

In Regency England, twenty-seven-year-old Leonora Appleby is considered by many – herself included – to be beyond her most eligible marrying years. With her childhood home, Hasterleigh Manor, soon to be taken over by the heir to the land, George Lockwood, Leonora has happily resigned herself to a quiet life as a country Miss.

But life has a way of springing surprises and the return of the brooding war hero Earl Rokeby, presumed dead on the French battlefields, to the magnificent neighbouring Rokeby Abbey has the village atwitter with speculation. Earl Rokeby has returned, scarred in mind and body, with news for Leonora’s best friend Charlotte Blythe – news that will change everything.

Now Charlotte and Leonora must travel to Town for the Season and take their futures and fate into their own hands in the whirl of balls, parties and gossip. But will either of them return to Hasterleigh with a husband and a fortune, and what other secrets does the devastatingly dashing Alistair Rokeby have up his silken sleeves...

📖 My Review..

Resigned to her future as a spinster, Leonora Appleby, is content to live at her beloved manor in the pretty village of Hasterleigh. However, soon Leonora’s home will be given over to the new owner of the manor, Mr George Lockwood, and Leonora must adapt to a very different way of life. A chance meeting with the enigmatic Earl Rokeby, owner of the nearby Rokeby Abbey, and newly returned from the Napoleonic War, turns Leonora’s life upside down and in so many ways her quiet life is about the be changed forever.

This is a really lovely story with all the trademarks of Regency life which this author describes so very well. The characters soon steal their way into your heart and you can’t help but want everything to work for all of them. I especially loved Leonora, who deserved such happiness, and also her young friend Charlotte whose exuberance for life is about to be so challenged with news that will change her life forever. The sensible Nanny Priddy made me smile and I so wanted to see the finished result of her interminable knitting as she acted as chaperone to the young ladies.

From the gentle peace of an English country village, to the excitement of the grand salons of Regency London, A Lady’s Fortune is another Regency masterclass from this talented writer who brings us history, and gentle romance, in a story which lingers long in the imagination.

About the Author

Jane Dunn is an historian and biographer and the author of seven acclaimed biographies, including Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters and the Sunday Times and NYT bestseller, Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens. She comes to Boldwood with her first fiction outing – a trilogy of novels set in the Regency period, the first of which, The Marriage Season, is to be published in January 2023. She lives in Berkshire with her husband, the linguist Nicholas Ostler.

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📖 Blog Tour ~ The Trap by Ava Glass

 

Penguin
1 August 2024

Alias Emma #3

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book
and the invitation to the blog tour

Edinburgh. The 50th annual G7 Summit is being hosted by the UK, and intelligence agent Emma Makepeace, has less than a week to decode, defuse and disable a deadly threat to the leaders of the free world

The Russians are in town and Emma and her team know a high-profile assassination is being planned. But who is their target? And who is the assassin?

There is only one way to find out. Emma must set a trap using herself as bait.

From the majesty of the Scottish Highlands to Europe’s most lavish hotels, using private jets, phone taps, and her training and instincts honed by three years hunting Russian spies, Emma Makepeace must trick her way into the moneyed, champagne-fuelled playground of the super-rich in order to trap the killer.

But Emma doesn’t count on liking her target, or the fact that he might actually fall for her, and with the clock ticking and her cover wearing increasingly thin, danger looms over her. One false move and they could both be dead.

📖 My Review...

The 50th annual G7 Summit is being held in Edinburgh and Emma Makepeace and the secret intelligence organisation she works for is on high alert, especially when information reaches them that there is an assassination attempt being planned. With time running out Emma takes on one of her most challenging cases, placing herself, and others, in grave danger.

What I enjoy most about this series, and this is now the third book, is the way the author weaves together very plausible scenarios so that right from the start you get pulled into a dangerous plot which will have you on the edge of your seat. Emma Makepeace is a feisty and determined character, she doesn’t suffer fools and is rarely found relying on anyone, and yet in this story, I think we see something of a softer side to her, however, letting her guard down is never really an option.

Whilst The Trap continues the series with characters we have met before, it was good to have new people added into the mix, altering the dynamic and adding an interesting layer to this exciting thriller. The action moves really quickly, from Edinburgh, to Europe in an exciting story which hits the ground running from the very start and doesn’t let up on the action until the very last page. Leaving the story on something of a cliffhanger, I am hopeful that we will meet again with Emma Makepeace in further thrilling adventures, I can’t wait for more…😊

About the Author

The Trap follows Ava Glass’ debut spy thriller The Chase and her critically acclaimed 2023 thriller The Traitor, which was a Grazia Book of the Month, Sunday Times Book of the Year, Washington Post Book of the Year, Cosmopolitan Book of the Year, and Richard & Judy Book Club pick.

Film rights to The Chase and The Traitor have been acquired by the producers of The Night Manager, who are currently working on a pilot, now in the final stages. Next step will be casting!

One of very few women shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, the UK’s spy fiction prize, and one of the vanishingly few female authors writing about spies, Ava Glass is breaking down the door to the most male dominated genres in the English language – the espionage novel.

Ava Glass’ fiction is based on her first-hand experience working with female spies for the British government, which has seen her dubbed “the new queen of spy fiction” by The Guardian. This alongside a decade working as an investigative journalist and crime reporter in America covering homicides for publications including the New York Times and Reuters makes her writing both fresh and dangerously believable.

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The Trap by Ava Glass is published by Penguin in Paperback (£9.99)

 

📖 Book Review ~ After the Storm by G. D. Wright

Avon
1 August 2024

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Two children went into the sea. Only one came out alive.

Introducing Sergeant Mike Adams and DS Sue Willmott, Beachbrook’s best investigators.

When local couple Andrew and Sophie take their daughter and her friend to the beach on a stormy day, they are momentarily distracted leading both children to get washed out to sea. Andrew dives in, but comes back ashore with only one child – his own daughter, Maria. Joe, the son of his best friend and local police officer, Chris, has drowned. But it was just a tragic accident…wasn’t it?

As Sergeant Mike Adams and DS Sue Willmott investigate what really happened in the water that afternoon, the ripple effects of the tragedy start to tear the community apart. The detectives must discover the truth before their colleague – bereaved and desperate father, Chris – takes the investigation into his own hands…

📖 My Review

Andrew and Sophie take their small daughter, Maria and her friend, Joe to the beach. This is a happy relationship as Joe is a frequent visitor to Andrew and Sophie’s house and they are pleased to look after him whilst his parents Chris and Linda are working as a police officer and paramedic. What should have been an idyllic time at the beach is quickly ruined forever when the children get into difficulties in the sea and Andrew can only save one child. What then follows is a harrowing story about the aftermath of this devastating tragedy and of how it impacts on all those who are involved both on a personal and professional level.

A difficult story, and quite heart wrenching in places, the author has done a good job of recreating the tragedy, describing all the follow up in detail whilst at the same time allowing all the heightened emotions to circulate. Sergeant Mike Adams and DS Sue Willmott are the detectives who have the unenviable task of trying to gather together all the complex pieces of this investigation and with emotions heightened it’s never going to be an easy task. The twists and turns, which keep you guessing, and the fast pace of this heartbreaking story, make it into such a page turner, which lingers long after the book is finished.

About the Author

Gary Wright joined Kent Police at the age of 18 and worked in a variety of uniformed roles. At the age of 29 and completely out of the blue, he suffered two cardiac arrests that led to the diagnosis of a life limiting and incurable disease of the heart. He was unable to continue policing and retired at the age of thirty. He bought a coffee shop in Ramsgate Harbour, and spent years looking out over the sea and dreaming up stories. He now writes full time, committing those very stories to paper.

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📖 Book Review ~ The Figurine by Victoria Hislop

Headline 
1 August 2024
Paperback

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Of all the ancient art that captures the imagination, none is more appealing than the Cycladic figurine. An air of mystery swirls around these statuettes from the Bronze Age and they are highly sought after by collectors - and looters - alike.

When Helena inherits her grandparents' apartment in Athens, she is overwhelmed with memories of the summers she spent there as a child, when Greece was under a brutal military dictatorship. Her remote, cruel grandfather was one of the regime's generals and as she sifts through the dusty rooms, Helena discovers an array of valuable objects and antiquities. How did her grandfather amass such a trove? What human price was paid for them?

Helena's desire to find answers about her heritage dovetails with a growing curiosity for archaeology, ignited by a summer spent with volunteers on a dig on an Aegean island. Their finds fuel her determination to protect the precious fragments recovered from the baked earth - and to understand the origins of her grandfather's collection.

Helena's attempt to make amends for some of her grandfather's actions sees her wrestle with the meaning of 'home', both in relation to looted objects of antiquity ... and herself.

📖  My Review..

In 1968, Helena is eight years old when she travels alone to Greece for the first time to spend a holiday with her maternal grandparents and whilst she adores her grandmother, she finds her grandfather a rather cold and distant figure. Gradually over the time we spend with Helena, both as a child, and later as an adult, we understand more about her grandfather and of the politics which influenced him. We also learn more about the rift between Helena’s mother and her grandparents which adds another interesting dimension to this family drama.

There’s a definite sense of time and place which the author describes so vividly that it feels scarily realistic especially when the volatility of civil unrest in the  nineteen seventies curtails Helena's visits to Greece. The author explains the history of the time well and allowed a picture to emerge of a country at war with itself. For me the story really began when Helena becomes an adult and is able to discover more about her Greek heritage. I found the archaeological aspect of the story interesting, especially in the way that antiquities had once been looted for personal gain. Helena learns some unhappy truths about her family and has to come to terms with the sins of the past.

As always this author delivers a good story, The Figurine is a fascinating glimpse into a forgotten time in history. It’s a great holiday read made even better if you read it on a warm, and beautiful, Greek island.

About the Author

Victoria Hislop is the multi-million copy bestselling author of eight books, including The Island, The Return, The Thread, The Sunrise, Those Who are Loved, The Last Dance and Other Stories and Cartes Postales from Greece. Her books have been translated into forty languages.

The Figurine is out in paperback on the 1st August 2024

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