📖 Book Review ~ The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman

Arrow Books

12 November 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

ONE WILD PARTY. FOUR COUNTS OF MURDER.

A mansion in Beverly Hills is leased out to host an event wild enough to herald the end of days.

The next day there isn’t a living soul to be seen. In the driveway sits a super-stretch limo, unlocked, with four bodies inside it. Nothing links the victims together. Each has been killed in a different way.

Now it’s up to brilliant psychologist Alex Delware and LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis to begin their grisliest and most baffling case yet.

As they struggle to make sense of the mass slaying, they will be forced to confront a level of evil that nothing can prepare them for.

📖 My thoughts..

I'm very late to the party with this series as Museum of Desire is now the #35 book in the Alex Delaware series and as this is my first time reading of the partnership between psychologist Alex Delaware and LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis I entered this 35th crime scene with an air of trepidation just in case I couldn't pick up the back story. I needn't have worried as from the dramatic start to the story, with the discovery of a gruesome crime scene, I was completely hooked in by the story.

 

That this is a complex murder investigation is obvious as the story gets under way. Four bodies, all seemingly unconnected to each other, are found after a party has taken place at a prestigious mansion in Beverley Hills, and the more Sturgis investigates the more questions are raised which is why he relies heavily on psychologist Delaware helping out with profiling the perpetrator of this heinous crime. Both Delaware and Sturgis work well together as each complement the other and when one starts to falter the other gives the much needed boost needed to carry on with the complex investigation.

The story moves along at a cracking pace and there is never a moment when the momentum lapses or the tension lessens and I found that I really couldn't stop reading until I had discovered just why these disparate characters all ended up dying together in such dreadful circumstances. The author writes with knowledgeable conviction and has obviously invested such time and energy into the series that everything just gels beautifully together.

Museum of Desire is a fast action crime thriller with a decidedly gritty edginess so it's not for the faint hearted. However, I am sure that fans of the Alex Delaware series will find much to enjoy in this latest crime investigation.

About the Author

Jonathan Kellerman is the Number One New York Times bestselling author of more than forty crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher's Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer's Daughter.

Website

@ArrowBooks

Review ~ Never Tell by Lisa Gardner

Century
21 February 2019
Detective DD Warren #10

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book 

One death might be an accident.

Two deaths looks like murder.

A man is shot dead in his own home, and his pregnant wife, Evie, is found with the gun in her hands.

Detective D.D. Warren instantly recognises her. Sixteen years ago, Evie also shot her own father. That killing was ruled an accident.

D.D. doesn’t believe in coincidences. But this case isn’t as open and shut as it first appears, and her job is to discover the truth.

Evie might be a victim.

Or she might be about to get away with murder again.

My thoughts..

Detective Warren and her team are called to investigate a shooting in which the perpetrator seems clear cut from the start but as the story progresses it becomes more obvious that all is not as it first appears, and the added complication that the alleged perpetrator has already been suspected of a previous killing only lends excitement to what is a rather tense plot line.

Since this is book number 10 in the Detective DD Warren series of crime stories, and I am new to the series, it took a little while for me to feel comfortable with the main character and the way that she goes about her investigations. However, once I started to feel more settled with the way the story was unfolding, I found Never Tell to be quite a gripping read. The many twists and turns certainly kept my attention and there were several investigative avenues which I didn't see coming.

Overall, I found Never Tell to be an exciting and action packed thriller, written by an author who has definitely streamlined this crime series into something rather special, and, I count this as a really good sign, that even as the story ended I found myself wondering if I had time to go back to the beginning and start reading this compelling series from the very start.

About the Author

Lisa Gardner is a #1 New York Times bestselling crime novelist. A self-described research junkie, she has parlayed her interest in police procedure and twisted minds into a streak of twenty thrillers. Her latest, NEVER TELL features Detective D.D. Warren joining forces with vigilante Flora Dane to investigate the murder of known associate of Flora's infamous kidnapper.

Website

Twitter @LisaGardnerBks #NeverTell


@PenguinBooksUK

Review ~ The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd

Century
January 2018

The Innocent Wife introduces us to Samantha, a Bristol schoolteacher, who becomes obsessed with Dennis Danson, a thirty-something man who is currently twenty years into his Death Row sentence in an American prison. A recent true-crime documentary suggests that Dennis may not be the one responsible for the brutal murder of a young girl in Florida's Red River County and Samantha is so convinced Dennis's of innocence that she starts a progressively more intimate correspondence with him.

From the opening chapter you get a sense that this story does not bode well and yet, Samantha with dogged determination and little regard for her own safety travels to America to be closer to Dennis.

What then follows is a fascinating, and at times deeply disturbing, story of dark obsession and cruel manipulation. Interspersed with witness transcripts from the original investigation, the story gives a unique insight into the facts behind the case and gives voice to those characters who knew Dennis when he was younger and also gets into the mind-set of those people who are determined to try to prove his innocence.

Intricately plotted, The Innocent Wife caught my attention from the start and compelled me to turn the pages so quickly that I had finished the book in just a few short hours. The author does a great job of bringing Samantha with all of her complex vulnerability to life, whilst at the same time getting into the mentality of a young man whose life has been twisted by the tragic circumstances of his dysfunctional bringing. The action is well paced throughout and there are more than enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the story's unexpected ending.

The Innocent Wife was chosen as The Daily Mail's First Novel Competition winner in 2016 and introduces us a remarkable new talent in crime thriller writing.

About the Author

Amy Lloyd studied English and Creative Writing at Cardiff Metropolitan University Her writing combines her fascination for true crime and her passion for fiction. She lives in Cardiff with her partner and two cats.

Twitter @AmyLloydWrites #TheInnocentWife

Review ~ A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis

Mulholland Books
11 January 2018

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

 FBI Agent Elsa Myers is sitting in a hospital north of New York City with her dying father when she receives a telephone call alerting her that a teenage girl has gone missing from Forest Hills, Queens. As a Child Abduction specialist Elsa knows that the first few hours in any abduction case are critical and although torn between love and duty, she knows that she must help in the investigation. Combining forces with the investigative team led, at the Forest Hills precinct, by Detective Lex Cole, they cover as much ground as they can, but the clues are muddled and the missing girl's friends are less than helpful.

When then follows is a complex and convoluted investigative drama with multiple layers and differing viewpoints which all add to the tension and help to keep the momentum of the story alive. Particularly intriguing are the glimpses into the somewhat troubled background of Elsa herself, whose own brand of demons threatened, at times, to overshadow the main body of the mystery.

Reading a crime novel, particularly one set in an unfamiliar area, is always fascinating, and I think that the place and people in A Map of the Dark are especially well described. As with any new police procedural series there is a certain amount of getting to know the main characters especially when they are as complex and enigmatic as Elsa Myers. I especially liked the burgeoning relationship she has with Detective Lex Cole and would hope that this duo are explored more in future novels. I am never likely to visit this corner of America but I feel like I followed in Elsa's shadow as she made her way around and was especially intrigued by her return to her family home and the painful memories that evoked.

There is no doubt that the author writes well and can control a complicated plot, and whilst I thought the latter half of the novel was decidedly more attention-grabbing, I really enjoyed the introduction to the characters and seeing how the investigative groundwork was set out in early sections of the novel.

Overall, this is a really good start to a promising new FBI series.

About the Author

Karen Ellis is a pseudonym of author Katia Lief, the author of several internationally best selling crime novels including The Money Kill, which was nominated for a Mary Higgins Clark Award, and One Cold Night was was one of the UK best selling digital publications in 2012.

Website 

Twitter #mapofthedark

Amazon UK

A Map of the Dark will be published by Mulholland Books on the 11th January 2018

Blog Tour ~ Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting today's stop on the Bluebird, Bluebird Blog Tour

A Conversation with Attica Locke

Welcome to Jaffareadstoo, Attica.

Bluebird, Bluebird is the first in a new series set along Highway 59, Texas. What draws you to this setting? 

My whole family – on both my mother’s and father’s side – come from towns along this highway. I grew riding up and down Highway 59 several times a month, visiting relatives in East Texas. In some ways, I think I became a writer on Highway 59. Before iPads and all that technological distraction, my entertainment on long car rides through the country was solely my imagination as I stared out the window. East Texas was a rural fantasia full of towns like Cut and Shoot and Gun Barrel City, lush ranches and poor trailer park cities, all of thread through with bayous and creeks tucked in the piney woods. As a child, I would make up stories about this world. 

The novel touches on some very timely issues, with race relations in America particularly key to the plot and setting. What do you think of race relations in America today? 

We are in the most depressing state in my lifetime. The election of Donald Trump revealed an ugliness and a hard-heartedness among white folks who feel resentment about demographic shifts in the country. We’ve always known it was there, but I am so disheartened by the fact that those feelings of resentment would allow so many voters to overlook Donald Trump’s obvious shortcomings as a leader. But he gave a certain segment of the population permission to express publicly feelings that were usually reserved for the privacy of one’s own home. And that was worth more to them than access to adequate health care or having a leader who might not tweet us into WWIII. It’s mind-boggling, the power of racism that still exists in America. 

How does your work as a Hollywood screenwriter influence your work as a crime novelist? 

I think they influence each other. Screenwriting helps make my prose very visual (I hope), and it’s a reminder that even though you could explain every thought a character is having, maybe don't. Drama works when the audience has to figure out a character only by their actions and the words they say. I hope being a novelist makes me a more courageous screenwriter, willing to tackle difficult subjects with honesty. And I hope it makes me more descriptive in the ‘action’ lines.

Serpent's Tail
28 September 2017

Southern fables usually go the other way around. A white woman is killed or harmed in some way, real or imagined, and then, like the moon follows the sun, a black man ends up dead.

But when it comes to law and order, East Texas plays by its own rules - a fact that Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger working the backwoods towns of Highway 59, knows all too well. Deeply ambivalent about his home state, he was the first in his family to get as far away from Texas as he could. Until duty called him home.

So when allegiance to his roots puts his job in jeopardy, he is drawn to a case in the small town of Lark, where two dead bodies washed up in the bayou. First a black lawyer from Chicago and then, three days later, a local white woman, and it's stirred up a hornet's nest of resentment. Darren must solve the crimes - and save himself in the process - before Lark's long-simmering racial fault lines erupt.

About the Author

Attica Locke is an Orange Prize-shortlisted author and is the writer of the hit TV show Empire. Her previous novel, Pleasantville, was also longlisted for the Baileys two years ago.

Website

Follow on Twitter @atticalocke  #BluebirdBluebird

My thanks to the author for being my guest today and also to Jess at Profile Books for her invitation to be part of this tour and for my e-copy of Bluebird, Bluebird.

Blog Tour runs until the 7th October. Do visit the other stops for more blog tour content

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Review ~ Legacy by Bill Mesce, Jr

** Paperback Publication Day **

Impress Books
17 July 2017

What's it all about...

Dante DiMarchese is a forensic psychologist, an expert in the workings of the criminal mind and the man responsible for putting the Bailey Beach serial killer behind bars. When a soldier home from a tour in Afghanistan is charged with manslaughter, Dante is immediately called on to help. Meanwhile, the Bailey Beach killer is threatening to smear Dante's name, while Dante's persistent ex-brother-in-law ropes him into an inheritance dispute between a still-living father and his family. In the heart of New York, will Dante's unravel the legacies and lies that others have left behind? Can he contain his own deceptions?

What did I think about it ...

To be honest, it took me a little while to get into this story, but once I had settled to the characters, and into the writer's unique style of presentation, I found that the story started to move along quite decisively, which may have something to do with the fact that the story originally started off its life as a screenplay. Within the story are some wonderfully descriptive passages which I could well image being translated to screen or theatre.

I enjoyed getting to know the central character. Dante DiMarchese is a forensic psychologist who understands the intricacies of criminal psychology, a subject which is as complex and intricate as the story in which he plays an active role. DiMarchese is a complicated protagonist, a multi-layered character who strips away the minutiae of the cases he works on with precise and specific concentration. I’m not sure I liked him over much, but then I guess that what makes reading about the way he operates so interesting.

I read a great deal of British psychological suspense, so it's always fascinating for me, as a reader, to note the difference in style and presentation between a novel, for example, set in the UK and one set in the US. The noticeable similarities and spotting the differences are what make Legacy all the more enjoyable to read.

Best read with... Dante's chocolate chunk cookies...

About the Author

Bill Mesce, Jr. is an award-winning author and playwright, as well as a screenwriter.

My thanks to Natalie at Impress Books for my review copy of Legacy

~***~

Blog Tour ~ To Kill The President by Sam Bourne

Jaffareadstoo is thrilled to be hosting today's stop on the


 To Kill The President Blog Tour

Harper Collins
2017

What's it all about...

If a president is out of control, who will take the ultimate step?

Maggie Costello is back to uncover an assassination plot against the US’s tyrannical new president, facing the ultimate moral dilemma.

The unthinkable has happened. The United States has elected a volatile demagogue as president, backed by his ruthless chief strategist, Crawford ‘Mac’ McNamara. When a war of words with the North Korean regime spirals out of control and the President comes perilously close to launching a nuclear attack, it's clear someone has to act, or the world will be reduced to ashes.

Soon Maggie Costello, a seasoned Washington operator and stubbornly principled, discovers an inside plot to kill the President – and faces the ultimate moral dilemma. Should she save the president and leave the free world at the mercy of an increasingly crazed would-be tyrant – or commit treason against her Commander in Chief and risk plunging the country into a civil war?

 I am excited to welcome the author, Sam Bourne to Jaffareadstoo

Photo Credit : Philippa Gedge

As the title suggests, the book is about a US president, and US politics. There is a lot of fodder for a novel in current affairs, so why this particular focus?

I’ve been covering US politics as a journalist since the 1990s – and I’ve found it compelling for even longer than that. In recent months, I think the world has seen that politics in America can be lurid, wild, tense and extraordinarily dramatic. It can also be frightening to watch - but it’s ideal as a setting for a thriller that aims to be packed with suspense.

Is it easy to detach yourself enough from current politics to write a political thriller? Or is it a struggle to separate fact from fiction?

I don’t find it a struggle. On the contrary, I find the real world fuels and feeds the fiction. It constantly prompts me to ask: what if?

Is there a pattern to your writing day?

I always plan to start early, but rarely do. Admin and emails tend to get in the way. It can take me till 11am to really get going, but once I’ve started I like to dig in for a long session: it can be three or fours before I stop and eat a late lunch. Then I go back at it until the early evening. I try to hit a target word-count for the day – but that target shifts.

Who would play the President on the big screen? And Crawford ‘Mac’ McNamara?

The President is rarely seen in this novel: he’s off-stage for most of it. Still, I could see Jon Voight in that role. Meanwhile, 'Mac’ would be a really juicy part for someone. I could see Brendon Gleeson playing him brilliantly. Or Jeff Bridges would also be brilliant.

Who would you invite to your ideal dinner party?

John Lennon, Hedy Lamarr, Thomas Jefferson, Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen, Nancy Astor.

What’s next for Sam Bourne, are there any future book ideas you can talk about?

An idea is beginning to take root. But far too early to talk about…

About the Author...

Sam Bourne is the pseudonym of award-winning journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Freedland, who writes a weekly column for the Guardian and is the presenter of BBC Radio 4’s contemporary history series, The Long View. He served for four years as the Guardian’s Washington correspondent, covered the 2016 US election campaign and is a widely respected commentator on American affairs. His previous six internationally bestselling novels have sold over 2 million copies and been published in over 30 languages.

Discover more about the author on his website by clicking here

Follow on Twitter @Freedland
@fictionpubteam harp

My thanks to the author for  input today and also to Emilie at Harper Collins for her help in facilitating this interview.

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Review ~ The Fourth Monkey by J D Barker

HQ
June 2017

What's it all about..

For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorised the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realise he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive.

As the lead investigator Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unravelling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own.

With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer’s identity remains a mystery. Time is running out and the Four Monkey Killer taunts from beyond the grave in this masterfully written fast-paced thriller.

My thoughts about it...

The story gets off to a dramatic start and although it appears that the perpetrator is found almost before the story starts,there is so much more exciting action to come which grabs your attention and doesn't let up the pace, or the drama, until it is all concluded.

The author writes really well and conjures time and place quite vividly. There's some quite dark and twisted stuff going on in the story, particularly in the diary entries, which make for uncomfortable reading. However, having said that, I think, that for me, the diary entries were quite the most compelling and addictive part of the story, and in some perverse way I looked forward to gaining more insight into the mind of this serial killer.

The author has done a really excellent job of cranking up the tension in what is a taut and tight psychological thriller. The drama is heightened throughout and leaves no room for guesswork as lead detective, Sam Porter tries to keep one step ahead of this very complex and deadly investigation and as time ticks down so the excitement hitches up a notch or two.

There's such an abundance of action in The Fourth Monkey that to say too much about the plot would be to give too many spoilers away and, believe me,  it's not one of those books that is easy to review without revealing far too much. So, my advise is to read it for yourself.

About the Author

J. D. BARKER is the international best-selling author of Forsaken, a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Debut Novel. In addition, he has been asked to co-author a prequel to Dracula by the Stoker family. Barker splits his time between Englewood, Florida, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Follow on Twitter #4MK

My thanks to Sahina at Harper Collins for my review copy of The Fourth Monkey

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Blog Tour ~ The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman by Mindy Mejia

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting today's stop


The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman Blog Tour 

Quercus
March 2017

What's it all about..

Eighteen-year-old Hattie Hoffman is the brightest star of her small town – until she is brutally murdered on the opening night of her high school play. Set across eight months before and after her murder, we flick between three narrators, Hattie, her high school English teacher Peter and local town sheriff Del Goodman, to find out what secrets this small town is hiding and what really happened to Hattie Hoffman.

What did I think about it...

It's no spoiler to say that, Hattie Hoffman, the  eponymous protagonist of the story meets an untimely death fairly early on the story but what then follows is the why and wherefore of how this terrible act was allowed to happen. Following Hattie's life very closely during the previous eight months we start to build up a picture of her life and also of the people who live alongside her in the small Mid-Western American town of Pine Valley in rural Wabash County.

Told in the voices of three narrators; that of Hattie, Peter Lund her high school English teacher, and Del Goodman, the local sheriff who has known Hattie since she was new-born, together their unique perspectives allow the story to take flight.

Expertly plotted and with several twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and just as many red herrings, this is a murder mystery which captures the imagination from the very beginning. The complex police procedural part of the story is well done, especially the limitations imposed on Del and his team who try to piece together the limited amount of clues in the full spotlight of a small town for whom a murder investigation is a complete anathema. Del finds out to his cost that Pine Valley doesn't give up its secrets easily and as the story progresses it becomes obvious that some secrets are buried so deep that they are going to be almost impossible to locate.

It's difficult not to fall in love with Hattie. She's as bright as a button, filled with the joie de vivre that can only come from being nearly eighteen and wanting everything that the world can offer. The author does a great job of bringing Hattie's vibrant personality to life. We share in her triumphs and watch as she takes the first tentative steps towards what will ultimately bring about her doom.

The author has captured the essence of small town America very well. Pine Valley is overwhelmingly provincial in its outlook and blinkered and stifled when it comes to letting one of its brightest birds flee the nest. Hattie was a star just waiting to fly until the fickle finger of fate intervened and cut short her life so horribly that it hurt to see her go.

The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman is this author's first book to be published in the UK. I look forward to reading more from this talented author.

Best Read With...Chicken and Mushroom potpie and a cool glass of Pinot Grigio..

About the Author

Mindy Mejia received her MFA from Hamline University and published her first novel, The Dragon Keepers, with Ashland Creek Press. She lives and writes in Minnesota. 

Follow on Twitter @MejiaWrites #HattieHoffman @QuercusBooks

My thanks to Olivia at Quercus for the invitation to be part of this  blog tour

Blog Tour runs 6th -17th March

The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman is published on the 9th March 2017

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Blog Tour ...What You Don't Know by JoAnn Chaney

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be taking part in the 

What You Don't Know Blog Tour

I am delighted to welcome the author

JoAnn Chaney

Hello JoAnn and thank you for spending time with us on your blog  tour...

Where did you get the first flash of inspiration for What You Don’t Know?

My first inspiration came when I saw an article about Jerry Sandusky—an American child molester. The article was actually about his wife, and asked whether or not she’d actually known about the crimes her husband was committing against kids, and if she had, why she’d kept the secret for so long. This article was the seed that grew into WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW.

Mantle
2017

As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated with the idea that everyone keeps secrets. From each other, and for each other, and even the lies they tell themselves. These are all reoccurring themes that occur in my writing.

Without revealing too much, what can you tell us about the story?

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW is about the years following a serial killer’s arrest and is told by three people who were each connected to the murderer: the killer’s wife, the detective who broke the case, and the reporter who covered it for the paper. The story begins when a copycat murderer begins operating, and they are all once again drawn together to relive the old nightmare.

Where do you get your inspiration from – are you inspired by people, places or do you draw purely from your imagination?

I’d have to say that it’s a combination of all three. WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW is set in Denver, where I’ve lived previously, and there are specific locations and businesses that I mention in the book. I’ve read books that happen in locations I recognize, places I’ve been—and it’s a huge thrill. It gives the reader a personal window into the story, and I love inviting readers in like that.

I also love to people-watch—it’s one of my favorite things to do when I have a chance. I work in retail, so I’m with people all day, and I’ll sometimes take notes on the little quirks and habits I notice from customers that I will later work into my characters. I’d also say that I’m inspired by the news—I spend a huge amount of time online, catching up on headlines and social media, and I’ve found that truth is often stranger than fiction, and usually makes for great stories.

Are you a plotter...or ...a start writing and see where it takes you sort of writer?

This question makes me laugh, and here’s why: I’m not a plotter at all, but my editors are trying to shape me into one.

This is my normal writing routine: I’ll sit down with an idea and just write, without any idea of where it’ll go. This is the fun part of the writing for me, the best part. Just the writing, pure and simple, without any worry about where the story is heading. But this sort of free-form writing causes issues, and leaves plot holes a mile wide. And since I tend to write stories with lots of characters with intricate backstories doing complicated things, I really should plot so I don’t have to do extensive rewrites.

For WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW, there were plenty of plotlines that didn’t make sense with the first draft, so I ended up rewriting it three or four times over the course of a year. I have all the extra stuff that didn’t make final cut saved in a document, hidden away where no one will ever see it—it’s about 200,000 extra words that’ll never see the light of day. I feel a little ill just saying that.

For the book I’m working on now, I’ve written a pretty detailed outline to follow as I write, but it’s not working out as well planned. Instead, I tend to go off in different directions with the plot as I write, which then screws the whole thing up, and then the outline has to be rewritten. And my editors have asked me not to write until I have a solid outline, and I end up sending emails that say things like CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP as a joke although I’m completely serious. I’m like an addict who can’t back away from the keyboard.

If my editors are reading this, I’m sorry. I’m trying to become a plotter, I swear.

What were the challenges you faced whilst writing this novel?

Besides my issues with plotting, my writing challenge is always this: time management. I hold a full-time job, I have three kids and a husband; I have a lot of things going on. I always have to carve out time to write—sometimes it’s during my lunch break, or late at night after everyone is in bed, but it’s always in those odd moments when not a lot is going on.

Fortunately, I write fast.

Whilst researching the novel, did you discover anything which surprised you?

I ended up doing a lot of research on serial killers for this novel—obviously John Wayne Gacy, and Ted Bundy—and I was surprised to learn that these were men people liked, they were respected, they seemed to be normally functioning members of society. If you’d met these men on the street, you wouldn’t have had a clue they were killers. That scares me, and fascinates me.

Can you tell us if you have another novel planned?

I do, and I’m very excited about it! It doesn’t have a title yet, and without giving too much away it’s the story of a marriage gone wrong—I’ve had it compared to THE WAR OF THE ROSES by early readers, but without any of the funny bits the movie had.

Thank you, JoAnn  for answering my questions so thoughtfully and for giving such a fascinating insight into how and why you write. 

You can find out more about JoAnn on her website by clicking here

Visit her on Facebook or Follow on Twitter @joann_chaney

Thanks to JoAnn for her informative answers to my questions and also to Abbie at Macmillan for sending a copy of What You Don't Know to me and for the invitation to be part of this blog tour.

Blog Tour runs 6th -14th February

#whatyoudontknowbook

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Giveaway ~ The Bone Tree by Greg Iles

Available now from Harper Collins

Greg Iles continues the electrifying story begun in his smash New York Times bestseller Natchez Burning in this highly anticipated second installment of an epic trilogy of blood and race, family and justice, featuring Southern lawyer Penn Cage.

Former prosecutor Penn Cage and his fiancée, reporter and publisher Caitlin Masters, have barely escaped with their lives after being attacked by wealthy businessman Brody Royal and his Double Eagles, a KKK sect with ties to some of Mississippi’s most powerful men. But the real danger has only begun as FBI Special Agent John Kaiser warns Penn that Brody wasn’t the true leader of the Double Eagles. The puppeteer who actually controls the terrorist group is a man far more fearsome: the chief of the state police’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, Forrest Knox.

The only way Penn can save his father, Dr. Tom Cage—who is fleeing a murder charge as well as corrupt cops bent on killing him—is either to make a devil’s bargain with Knox or destroy him. While Penn desperately pursues both options, Caitlin uncovers the real story behind a series of unsolved civil rights murders that may hold the key to the Double Eagles’ downfall. The trail leads her deep into the past, into the black backwaters of the Mississippi River, to a secret killing ground used by slave owners and the Klan for over two hundred years . . . a place of terrifying evil known only as “the bone tree.”

The Bone Tree is an explosive, action-packed thriller full of twisting intrigue and deadly secrets, a tale that explores the conflicts and casualties that result when the darkest truths of American history come to light. It puts us inside the skin of a noble man who has always fought for justice—now finally pushed beyond his limits.

Just how far will Penn Cage, the hero we thought we knew, go to protect those he loves?

My review of Natchez Burning can be found by clicking here

About the Author

Greg Iles was born in Germany but spent most of his youth in Natchez, Mississippi His thirteen New York Times bestselling novels have been made into films, translated into more than twenty languages, and published in more than thirty-five countries worldwide. He lives in Natchez with his two teenage children.

Website

Twitter @GregIles

Amazon UK

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Thanks to Felicity at Harper for this fabulous giveaway opportunity.




~**Good Luck **~

Blog Tour ~ Natchez Burning by Greg Iles

I am delighted to feature my review of Natchez Burning by Greg Iles on this global blog tour.

Harper
2014
Penn Cage Book 4

The Sins of the Past Never Die

A bit of blurb...

Raised in Natchez, Mississippi, former prosecuting attorney Penn Cage learned all he knows of honour  and duty from his father, Dr Tom Cage.

But now Tom stands accused of murdering an African-American nurse with whom he worked in the 1960s, when racist violence was at its peak.

As  he hunts for the truth, Penn uncovers a long buried secret that could place his family in mortal danger- a conspiracy of greed and murder connected to a viscous sect of the KKK.

Up against the most powerful men in the state , Penn faces an impossible choice: does a man of honour choose his father or justice?

My review...

Whilst this is book four in the Penn Cage series of novels by this author, Natchez Burning heads the start of a trilogy, which looks in more detail the effects of the racial unrest which happened in the United States, and more particularly, in its Southern States in the early 1960s.

The story opens in 2005 when Penn Cage, a former prosecuting lawyer, has returned to his home town of Natchez in Mississippi. Hoping to find some sort of resolution, Penn has immersed himself in local life and at the start of this novel in 2005, Penn has become Mayor. It’s a position he takes very seriously, as honour and duty are traits that Cage takes to heart. These characteristics, which he has learned from his father, Dr Tom Cage, form the core of Penn’s emotional stability. However, Penn discovers, that there are secrets in in Tom Cage’s past which hark back to the dark days of racial unrest, and when Tom Cage’s friendship with his nurse, Viola Turner, is opened up to scrutiny, dark secrets which have been long buried, start to emerge with disastrous consequences.

Natchez Burning is a forceful novel with a powerful agenda, covering the relationship between a son and his father, about the accuracy of truth and the integrity of justice, and, more importantly, it's about the threat of dangerously volatile secrets, which over time become have become so deep-seated that they become almost too  difficult to vindicate. The book hits the ground running with a hard hitting prologue and makes no allowances for the impact it wants to make ,which then goes on to set the overall tone of the novel.

The novel is long, coming in at over 850 pages, and there is much to absorb both in terms of the actual story line which unfolds gradually but also in the simmering undercurrent of racial conflict which is embarked upon in some considerable detail. There is no doubt that the author has invested a great deal of time and emotion into this narrative, it’s extremely well prepared and contains content which is, at times, quite uncomfortable but, this I think allows great insight into an era which saw huge social and political turmoil.

Natchez Burning is a little out of my comfort zone, as I hadn't read any of the previous books in the series, so I found it best to read chunks of the story in short bursts rather than large sections as this  worked better for me and allowed some necessary time to absorb the finer points without getting too caught up in the sheer length of the story.

If you are familiar with this author and his writing, and have enough time to invest in the trilogy as a whole, I am sure that fans of his work will be delighted with the way that this trilogy continues the Penn Cage story.

Best Read With...A starchily sour Bourbon and a packet of peanut M&Ms...

About the author

Greg Iles was born in Germany but spent most of his youth in Natchez, Mississippi His thirteen New York Times bestselling novels have been made into films, translated into more than twenty languages, and published in more than thirty-five countries worldwide. He lives in Natchez with his two teenage children.

Website

Twitter @GregIles

**Fabulous chance to win a paperback copy of Natchez Burning and a Tote Bag**

My thanks to Felicity at Harper for the invitation to be part of this tour and 

for providing this bumper giveaway opportunity to one UK winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck


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Review ~ All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

Riverrun
May 2016

A bit of book blurb..

Upstate New York, 1980s

The farm stood at the foot of the hill. Around it, an aching emptiness of fields and wind. Within, a weight, a sense of being occupied, with more than its inhabitants. The Clares got it cheap.

George knew why, though he didn't let on- he didn't want to give Catherine any excuses. He'd given her an easy excuse to get married. He wasn't prepared to give away much anymore. 

Catherine, at home, with their young daughter, has the feeling they're not alone. She is helped by the Hale boys, young Cole and his brothers, Though they never tell her what happened to their mother there.

My thoughts...

All Things Cease to Appear is a beautifully written psychological thriller, which is both complex and complicated, spanning, as it does, over twenty years. The story which gradually unfolds is one of lies and deceit, of sadness and heartbreak, and of the unbearable agony of loss. The intricacy of its plot and story development makes it difficult to say anything about the story without giving too much away as this is one of those stories which should be read without any preconceptions.

Right from the start there's a creepy edginess to the story, which is quite unsettling, and that's what makes reading it so absorbing. Multiple points of view, from narrators who can only be described as unstable, invoke a story which is heartbreakingly sad in places , and yet, so disturbing, that in the light of so many different voices, it becomes progressively more difficult to determine who, if anyone, has an accurate viewpoint. And that’s not a criticism of the book, far from it, it’s merely an observation that you have to keep your wits about you as you read, and don’t be put off by the lack of quotation marks or of the exchange between narrators and timescales, as this, in a way, helps to maintain the book's overall stability. So, just relax and let the story wash over you, and all will be revealed.

There is a quiet confidence to the writing which I found rather refreshing. I liked the way that the characters, frustratingly, both forthright and enigmatic in equal measure, were allowed the space to tell their own version of the story. Some I liked more than others, it was difficult not to fall in love with Catherine and Franny, less easy to like George, or to understand what was going on in several marriages which were both fragile and brittle.

For me All Things Cease to Appear is about the power of the unknown, of people and the essence of what’s left behind when we are gone, it’s about the unexplainable and the suggestible, and it’s also about love and loss in all of its many guises. It was such a compelling read that I got through  the first two hundred pages without ever looking up and, believe me ,that interest didn’t diminish until I had read the book to its conclusion in one sitting.

Best Read with …a batch of stained glass cookies and a glass of milk, fresh from the farm

About the Author

ELIZABETH BRUNDAGE graduated from Hampshire College, attended the NYU film school, was a screenwriting fellow at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, and received an MFA as well as a James Michener Award from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.She lives near Albany in upstate New York.

Visit the Author's website

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Amazon UK

My thanks to the publishers and Real Readers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Review ~ Devil's Bridge by Linda Fairstein...

Little Brown Books
2015

Before I start my review, it's only fair to say that even though this is book #17 in the Alexandra Cooper series, this is my first foray into the world of this New York Assistant District Attorney, so my overall opinion of the story may very well differ from a fan who has followed the series from its conception in 1996.

In this novel Alexandra Cooper has gone missing after a night out with her colleagues and it is left to NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace to do their best to find her before it is too late. Obviously, the hunt for Cooper, who has over the years made a myriad of enemies, leads the investigators into dark and dangerous territory which is made all the more complicated by the fact that Chapman and Cooper are lovers.

Initially, I found the story difficult to feel comfortable with, which is largely my own fault, due to coming so late to the series, and because the unfamiliarity of the established characters made it difficult to understand why they reacted as they did. However, once I got used to their modus operandi and settled more into the story, I felt that it worked reasonably well. It is obvious that the author uses her considerable knowledge of the US justice system and writes with conviction. The tension throughout the novel is developed well and the dramatic nature of the story line has enough content to keep you guessing. I liked the New York setting and thought that this area and its criminal underworld really comes alive. 

So overall, Devil's Bridge is a good read with some sharp bursts of criminal observation which I enjoyed, but perhaps, the finer nuances of the series as a whole, without reading from the beginning, are going to be a little bit lost on me.

I'm sure that fans of the series will find much to enjoy in Devil's Bridge, which is told largely from Mark Chapman's point of view, which I think is different from previous stories.



Best read with... Coop's favourite orrechiette con broccoli rabe and a cool glass of Pinot Grigio...


About the Author

Linda Fairstein was the Assistant DA of Manhattan's sex crimes unit before taking early retirement in 2002 to concentrate on her writing. She divides her time between New York and Martha's Vineyard.

Amazon UK

My thanks to Sophie at Edpr public relations and the publishers, Sphere,  for the chance to read and review this novel.

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