📖 Book of my Month ~ In the Family Way by Laney Katz Becker

HQ
3 June 2025
Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Ohio, 1965. Every week a group of suburban housewives meet for their Tuesday card game, sharing gossip, advice and confidences.

Lily Berg has the perfect life. She’s married to a doctor, with an infant daughter and another on the way. She can’t let her husband know she’s struggling but she knows she can trust her friends. Becca, Lily’s best friend and next-door neighbour, is everything Lily isn’t. She’s messy and brash and never on time for anything. When she falls pregnant with a fourth child she desperately can’t afford, she turns to Lily. Although Lily’s little sister, Rose, got married last year, she’s not ready to give up her independence. Her modern marriage appears to be perfect, but behind closed doors things are very different. And Betsy is fifteen, pregnant and frightened. When Lily takes her in, from the local home for unwed mothers, she has no idea how much it will shake up all of their lives.

Over six months, the group will be put to the test by secrets, forced to make impossible decisions and face up to a society that isn’t ready for women to have their own dreams and ambitions.

📖 My Review

Set in suburban Ohio in the mid-1960s, this is the poignant story of a group of women who meet regularly to play canasta where they share the small details of their daily lives and gossip about what’s going on in their community. However, scratch beneath the surface and each of the women are facing their own problems which will have devastating consequences in a world which offers women little independence or freedom. Marriage and motherhood is seen as the pinnacle of success but as Lily, Rose, Becca, Sarah and fifteeen year old Betsy discover pregnancy comes with consequences and sometimes painful decisions need to be made.

Reproductive health is a thread which runs through the story binding each of the characters together in such a unique way and as each of their personal challenges are revealed so a common sisterhood is forged and strengthened. Each character resonated, their individual stories both heartbreaking and uplifting, each expressing an emotional commitment in a powerful story about strong women who did what they had to do regardless of the consequences. 

Impeccably researched, In the Family Way is a story about women, for women and acts as a timely reminder of how far we have come in terms of being in control of our reproductive health and yet it also reiterates that marriage, pregnancy, abortion, domestic abuse, rape and divorce are as relevant today as they were then, and that women are just as vulnerable when choices are taken away from them, or even denied them. The story had such an emotional and powerful impact on me that I am delighted to make it the Book of my Month for June.

About the Author

Laney Katz Becker is a award winning author and writer. A native Ohioan , she now resides on the east coast of South Florida with her husband.

 X@HQStories #LaneyKatzBecker #InTheFamilyWay

📖 Blog Tour ~ The Puppet Maker by Jenny O'Brien

 

Storm
17 October 2023

Detective Alana Mack #1

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book
 and to Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to the blog tour

The scrap of paper looked as if it had been torn from a diary. The words written in faint pencil. The letters rounded, almost childlike: Please look after her. Her life and mine depend on you not trying to find me.

When Detective Alana Mack arrives at Clonabee police station, in a small Irish seaside town on the outskirts of Dublin, she doesn't expect to find a distressed two-year-old girl sobbing on the floor. Abandoned in a local supermarket, the child tells them her name is Casey. All Alana and her team have to go on is a crumpled note begging for someone to look after her little girl. This mother doesn't want to be found.

Still recovering from a terrible accident that has left Alana navigating a new life as a wheelchair user, Alana finds herself suddenly responsible for Casey while trying to track down the missing mother and solve another missing person's case… a retired newsagent who has seemingly vanished from his home.

Forced to ask her ex-husband and child psychiatrist Colm for help, through Forensic Art Therapy, Alana discovers that whatever darkness lies behind the black windows in Casey's crayon drawing, the little girl was terrified of the house she lived in.

Then a bag of human remains is found in a bin, and a chilling link is made – the DNA matches Casey's.

Alana and her team must find the body and make the connection with the missing newsagent fast if she is to prevent another life from being taken. But with someone in her department leaking confidential details of the investigation to the media, can Alana set aside her emotional involvement in this case and find Casey’s mother and the killer before it's too late?

Heart-pounding and totally addictive, The Puppet Maker is the first in the Detective Alana Mack series that will have fans of Ann Cleeves, Angela Marsons and LJ Ross racing through the pages late into the night.

📖 My Review..

This first book in the series hits the ground running and introduces a new investigator on the scene, namely Alana Mack, who is a detective in the small Irish seaside town of Clonabee. Alana is still coming to terms with the after effects of an accident which has confined her to a wheelchair. Alana does not see this as a disability and is determined to be unfazed by anything that comes her way but when a missing person case suddenly becomes much more complicated, Alana and her team of detectives are set a difficult challenge to find out just what evil is afoot in this sleepy seaside town.

I thought this was a good thought out mystery which had everything I wanted to find in a psychological thriller. At the centre there’s a genuinely heart breaking story line concerning an abandoned two year girl and as the alternative chapters are narrated by Alana and the girl’s mother we get an interesting perspective on what is happening. Add a series of mysterious disappearances into the mix and pretty soon the story is awash with spills and thrills, twists and turns, all of which kept me guessing and I enjoyed trying to put together all the pieces of this complex puzzle.

As this is the first book in a new series involving Detective Alana Mack, we didn’t get to know absolutely everything about her in this first novel and I enjoy the anticipation of discovering more about the whole investigative team as the series progresses.  The Puppet Maker, whilst quite dark in places, is an enjoyable crime thriller which kept my attention from first page to last.

About the Author

Born in Dublin, Jenny O'Brien moved to Wales and then Guernsey, where she tries to find time to write in between working as a nurse and ferrying around 3 teenagers.

In her spare time she can be found frowning at her wonky cakes and even wonkier breads. You'll be pleased to note she won't be entering Bake-Off. She's also an all-year-round sea swimmer.

Twitter @ScribblerJB #ThePuppetMaker

Blog Instagram

@StormBooks_co

@rararesources

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ The Unforgiven Dead by Fulton Ross

 

Inkshares
27 July 2023

My thanks to the publishers and to Laura Sherlock for my copy of this book

You could have saved her. Sure as the tide against his Highland shores, the refrain beats into Constable Angus ‘Dubh’ MacNeil’s mind. For years it has haunted him, accompanied by the faces of those he could not save—the Burned Man, the Strangled Woman, the Drowned Boy. All witnesses to a secret he cannot share and a gift he now refuses to embrace. 

You could have saved her. The refrain drives Angus to the seashore at dawn, where a girl lies on the unblemished sand. She wears a green cloak and cradles a corps creadha , a Highland voodoo doll. She has suffered a ritualistic, three-fold death—her head bludgeoned, her throat cut, and symbolically drowned. 

It is Faye Chichester, daughter of an American billionaire whose mission to reintroduce wolves to the Highlands has embroiled the village of Glenruig. But even as media and police swarm the area, that refrain— you could have saved her —echoes in all Angus’s thoughts. For he carries a burden, a blessing, a curse, a secret— dà-shealladh , the second sight of Gaelic lore. Gills MacMurdo, noted folklorist, academic, and Angus’s oldest friend, confirms what the dà-shealladh is warning. Just as Faye’s death was three-fold, so must the murder victims fulfil the ancient pattern. More will die, unless Angus does what he must—close his eyes and see.

📖 My Review

The Scottish Highlands are a place of secrets and shadows and this is captured in this mystery drama which incorporates the myths and legends of folklore and places them firmly into a sophisticated thriller. With its short sharp chapters I was quickly drawn into a murder/mystery which seems to have one foot in superstition, and the other in the drama of local animosity. 

Constable Angus ‘Dubh’ MacNeil carries the burden of having second sight. Plagued by dreams which interrupt his sleep and tear at his soul, and tormented by those victims he couldn't save, Angus is drawn to the beach early one morning where he discovers the body of a young woman. This macabre discovery, plunges Angus right into the heart of the mystery surrounding Faye Chichester's brutal, and ritualistic, death.  What then follows is a tightly packed drama which offers new insight into the popular Scottish Noir genre and combines dark and mysterious with a complex police investigation. However, this is no ordinary police investigation and the small community in the village of Glenruig, a place Angus calls home, is very much part of the developing drama.

The Unforgiven Dead is an atmospheric and brooding crime drama which starts slowly and builds into an imaginative picture of a place riven with secrets, and of a troubled man tormented by his past and of the victims he couldn't save. It is an interesting debut novel by an emerging writer and as it's already been optioned for television I look forward to seeing the story brought to life on screen.

About the Author

Fulton Ross is a writer and journalist from the Scottish Highlands. A graduate in Scottish Literature and History from Glasgow University, he has worked on national newspapers for more than a decade. Inspired by Gaelic folk tales, The Unforgiven Dead is his debut novel. Fulton now lives in Northern Ireland with his wife and three children.

Twitter @FultonLRoss #The UnforgivenDead

@inkshares

@laurasherlock21

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ All of Us are Broken by Fiona Cummins

 

Macmillan
25 July 2023

DC Saul Anguish #2

My thanks to the publisher and Laura Sherlock PR for my copy of the book

It’s been a long time since the Hardwicke family has been on holiday. But thirteen-year-old Galen has wanted to see the wild dolphins at Scotland’s Chanonry Point for as long as she can remember, and her mother Christine – a lone parent since her beloved husband left – is determined she gets her wish. But their serene trip is about to be interrupted.

When DC Saul Anguish is called to investigate the shooting of an ex-police officer in Midtown-on-Sea, Essex, he quickly discovers that this is the first in a string of killings by Missy and Fox, a damaged young couple hell-bent on infamy, their love story etched in blood. In pursuit, Saul follows their trail north.

The paths of the Hardwickes' and the deadly couple are about to collide. When Saul and his forensic linguist partner, Blue, arrive on the scene, they witness the unthinkable: a mother forced to make an impossible choice.

Saul must uncover the truth about the couple. But can he find the strength to lay the ghosts of his past to rest before they break him?

📖 My Review..

The dramatic, and nail-bitingly chilling, opening chapter sets the scene perfectly for this roller coaster of a drama which never loses pace or fails to serve up an emotional thriller which pulls you in and doesn't let go until the dramatic ending. Missy and Fox are perhaps two of the most unlikable protagonists I have ever come across and yet this talented author makes you feel an emotional connection to them even as their killing spree takes the story to a whole new level of horror. Countered against this evil is the inevitability of the lovely Hardwicke family, who have their own share of troubles, and who are inadvertently drawn into Missy and Fox's trajectory by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When I was reading this fabulously addictive crime novel all I could think of was what a wonderful TV drama it would be as both Missy and Fox, a modern day Bonnie and Clyde, would translate to television very well. By the time the story was done, and I read it over the space of one sitting as I literally couldn't put the book down without carrying it from room to room so I could snatch a few minutes to read some more, I felt like I had travelled everyone one of the hundreds of miles that Missy and Fox take towards their own inevitable destiny.

I won't spoil All of Us Are Broken by giving away any details about the plot as this is one story you really should read with no idea of what is about to happen next, so all I will say is that this is 320 pages of sheer brilliance, and it is, without doubt, my crime read of the year.

Twitter @FionaAnnCummins #AllOfUsAreBroken

@panmacmillan

@laurasherlock21

📖 Publication Day Book review ~ The Lies She Told by Lynda Renham

Bloodhound Books
5 July 2023

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book

A brutal attack in a quiet English village sets one police detective against another, in this thriller by the bestselling author of Remember Me.

In the quiet Cotswold village where DS Beth Harper has lived for most of her life, the crime rate is extremely low, and that’s how everyone likes it. Then, soon after her new boss, DI Tom Miller, arrives from London, a local schoolteacher is brutally attacked and left for dead in her home. The victim—a friend of Beth’s—remembers nothing.

Beth finds herself clashing with Tom and worrying that a recent tragedy will affect his judgement as a police officer. But there may be an even bigger question: Is it a burglary gone wrong that’s turned the village upside down—or could the violence be connected to something far more deadly?

📖 My Review.

It seems that nothing much happens in the sleepy Oxfordshire village of Stonesend until DI Tom Miller is transferred there and then, suddenly, things seem to go sharply wrong when Kate Marshal, a local school teacher is brutally attacked in her home. DS Beth Harper is at first resentful of the arrival of Tom Miller because as her senior officer he encroaches on what Beth considers to be her patch, especially as the Stonesend villagers are well known to her and the woman now fighting for her life is Beth's best friend.

Intelligently woven within the police investigation into Kate Marshall's attack is the story of Mae and Blanche Lethbridge, a mother and daughter who also live in Stonesend and who seem to have more than their share of troubles. Their individual stories become more and more fascinating as the mystery continues. 

Beautifully written, with fascinating characters who all seem to have something to hide, I raced through the story in quick time, eager to put together all the jigsaw puzzle pieces of this clever crime thriller. By the end of the story, I could quite easily see this developed into a crime series as I am sure there is more to explore in the relationship between DI Tom Miller and DS Beth Harper.

The cleverness of the plot, and the tense, and at times, quite shocking revelations certainly make The Lies She Told into an intriguing and tightly plotted mystery.

About the Author

Lynda Renham is author to many popular romantic comedy and gripping psychological thriller novels. She lives in Oxford, UK. She has appeared on BBC radio discussion programs and is a prolific blogger, Twitter and when not writing can usually be found wasting her time on Facebook.

Twitter @Lyndarenham #TheLiesSheTold

Blog

Amazon UK

@Bloodhoundbooks

 

📖 Paperback Publication Day Review ~ The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys by Jack Jewers

 

Moonflower Publishing
11 May 2023

My thanks to the publisher and Midas for my copy of this book

Samuel Pepys Diary has enthralled readers for centuries with its audacious wit, gripping detail, and indecent assignations. Pepys stopped writing at the age of 36. Or did he? This action-packed historical thriller imagines what might have happened next.

The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys by Jack Jewers picks up a week after Pepys’ last diary entry, and follows Pepys on a mission to investigate the death of a Crown agent in Portsmouth – the home of the Royal Navy. Events spiral out of control, embroiling Pepys in a deadly plot that reaches higher than he ever could have imagined. And along the way he is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about who he is and what he really believes…

Jack Jewers re-imagines one of Britain’s greatest historical figures through a 21st century lens. Readers will love how Pepys not only turns detective but must confront his own prejudices along the way. What better allies for one of history’s most infamous womanizers than a secret society of dangerous outlaws, made up entirely of women?

📖 My Review..

We have just witnessed Coronation of King Charles III and as we enter this new Carolean age this clever historical mystery takes us back to the time of King Charles II and to the secretive world of the diarist, Samuel Pepys. I have read tiny snippets of his famous diary so it has been fascinating to imagine, along with the author, just could have happened to Pepys after he wrote his last diary entry in 1669. 

The Restoration period was a time of great change for England with the King newly restored to his throne it should have been a time of stability and growth however, a series of catastrophic disasters which started with the Great Fire in 1665, followed by the devastation wrought by the plague in 1666, decimated the country. We enter into the novel during the Anglo-Dutch conflict and it is this world which the author captures in such interesting detail as Samuel Pepys is sent undercover to Portsmouth to discover what trouble lurks within the confines of the Royal Navy.

Pepys is a great raconteur, witty and sardonic and yet has a meticulous eye for the minutiae of detail which lends itself perfectly to this shadowy tale of danger and deadly intrigue. The mystery at the heart of this historical novel brings an interesting, and rather unconventional, perspective which opens up a world of crime and leads Pepys and his trusted companion, Will Hewer, into a very different world to the one they have left behind in London. 

Nicely recreating the Restoration age, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys is a well written debut and the start, should the author so choose, of what could be an interesting series with Pepys and Will at the center of the adventure. 

About the Author

Jack Jewers is a filmmaker and writer, passionate about history. His career has been spent telling stories across every form of media, and his body of work includes film, TV, and digital media. His films have been shown at dozens of international film festivals, including Cannes, New York, Marseille, Dublin, and London’s FrightFest, garnering multiple accolades, including an award from the Royal Television Society and a nomination from BAFTA Wales for Best Short Film. The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys is his first novel.

Twitter @JackJewers

@moonflowerbooks

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ The Hiker by M J Ford

 

Avon Books 
10 November 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

In the wilderness, it’s kill or be killed…

MISSING

When Gemma Kline is reported missing after setting off on a solo hike in the remote Pennines, her sister, Sarah, is dumbfounded. How can someone disappear without a trace?

PRESUMED

Travelling to the isolated town where Gemma was last seen, Sarah discovers it’s not the first time a young woman has vanished from the hills in mysterious circumstances. As she digs deeper, it quickly becomes apparent that neither disappearance is what it first seems – especially when unwelcoming locals share chilling tales about what’s really lurking on the moors…

MURDERED

Whatever has happened to her sister, one thing is clear: this town has secrets someone would kill to keep. But even on the fells, nothing stays buried forever…

📖 My Review

When Gemma Kline is reported missing her sister, Sarah is surprised by this and even though she has estranged from her sister following a family argument, Sarah is determined to find out why Gemma has disappeared without trace. However, this is not the first time that a young woman has gone missing in this remote part of the northern hills around County Durham and the forbidding nature of the area is as  much part of the story as the disappearance of Gemma especially as the local people aren't very helpful.

The Hiker is told from the point of view of both sisters which gives a unique insight into both of their lives and there is more than enough detail to keep you turning the pages.  The story has a complex plot which took me a while to get into but as the twists and turns get ever more complicated I found that there was much to consider and even though the ending was unexpected, overall, I enjoyed trying to guess where the story was heading.

The Hiker is an atmospheric and rather creepy story which is perfect for reading on a wintery night, curled up by the fire.

☕Best read with..a comforting cup of hot chocolate and maybe a few marshmallows 

About the Author

M.J. Ford lives with his family on the edge of the Peak District in the north of England. He has worked as an editor and writer of childen’s fiction for many years.

 Twitter

@MJFordBooks # TheHiker

@AvonBooksUK

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ The Boleyns: From the Tudors to the Windsors by Amanda Harvey Purse

 

Amberley Publishing 
15 October 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was executed on May 19, 1536. Her sister Mary, rumored mistress to the monarch, lived on and survived the king’s wrath. But this is not the end of the tale of the Boleyns and the British Royal family – their stories have remained entwined for almost 500 years, through countless wars, crises and triumphs.

In this book, Amanda Harvey Purse delves into the archives to tell the remarkable story of a number of individuals who form part of the Boleyn bloodline, spanning the worlds of the military, art and politics. Among those featured are Robert Devereux, executed for treason after leading an army against the government in the early seventeenth century; Lettice Knollys, banished from the court of Elizabeth I after marrying the wrong man; and Cecilia Nina Bowes Lyon, the godmother to Elizabeth II who scandalised society when marrying Claude Bowes Lyon and played a significant role in the convalescence of soldiers during the First World War.

📖 My Review

Any mention of King Henry VIII and before too long the name Boleyn crops up and not just because of Anne Boleyn’s ill-fated marriage to the irascible monarch but also because of her family’s deep involvement in Tudor court life. In this comprehensive look at the Boleyn bloodline the author has put together, in fascinating detail, how this family shaped their own destiny.

For the continuation of the Boleyn bloodline after Anne’s untimely death we need look to her sister, Mary Boleyn, herself a prominent player in Tudor life albeit more on the sidelines after her family’s dramatic fall from grace. Through Mary’s children, the Boleyn bloodline continues with Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex and Leicester who courted Elizabeth I’s anger when she married the Queen’s  favourite, Robert Dudley, in a secret marriage service, and then onwards throughout the generations until the familial link falls upon the Bowles-Lyon family from whom Queen Elizabeth II is descended.

The book takes us on a very readable journey through some of the momentous years of the last 500 years of British history and gives a credible account of those historical figures who played such prominent roles. The early section of the book, with its focus on the Boleyn family, is particularly interesting and even though I thought I knew quite a lot about the family, and Anne Boleyn in particular, I found that I discovered snippets about the family I hadn’t previously known.

To connect a family through half a millennium takes an extraordinary amount of research and the author has done a great job in presenting the factual details without ever getting too complicated with facts and figures and whilst there are a lot of dates to take in it really does give a comprehensive account of a dynamic family who survived through the generations and against all the odds managed to succeed.

About the Author

Amanda Harvey Purse is an author and historical researcher for London-based museums. She has spent the last twenty-five years studying the Victoria period and is a member of The Royal Historical Society. She has studied the Tudors at the University of Roehampton and is the founder of Tudor Secrets and Myths.

Foreword by Dr Owen Emerson is curator at Hever castle, the seat of the Boleyn Family.

Twitter @amberleybooks

📖 Publication Day Review ~ The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy

 

Pan Macmillan
15 September

Thanks to the publishers and Laura Sherlock for my copy of this book

The Other Side of Night begins with a man named David Asha writing about his biggest regret: his sudden separation from his son, Elliot. In his grief, David tells a story.

Next, we step into the life of Harriet Kealty, a police officer trying to clear her name after a lapse of judgment. She discovers a curious inscription in a secondhand book—a plea: Help me, he’s trying to kill me. Who wrote this note? Who is “he”?

This note leads Harri to David Asha, who was last seen stepping off a cliff. Police suspect he couldn’t cope after his wife’s sudden death. Still, why would this man jump and leave behind his young son? Quickly, Harri’s attention zeroes in on a person she knows all too well.

Ben Elmys: once the love of her life. A surrogate father to Elliot Asha and trusted friend to the Ashas.

Ben may also be a murderer.​

📖 My Review 

This is an interesting and rather unusual book with a reveal I cannot reveal without adding major spoilers so I won't even dare go there. What I can say is that The Other Side of Night is a cleverly written story which tests the limits of your imagination and reveals a complex plot which moves along at a considered pace and reveals its secrets slowly and carefully.

Many have said that The Other Side of Night is a book to read with no prior knowledge of where it is going and I have to agree with that premise and that is why this review is rather vague. Defying genre and refusing to conform to any stereotype, this is a cleverly put together story about love and sacrifice and whilst it caught my attention it frequently left me feeling a little bit puzzled.

Did I enjoy The Other Side of Night? Well now, there's the dilemma, I both did, and didn't, and maybe if you read it, you'll understand why.

About the Author

Adam Hamdy is a Sunday Times bestselling novelist and screenwriter best known for his thrillers, including the Scott Pearce series and the Pendulum trilogy. A finalist for the Glass Bell Award for contemporary fiction and previously selected for BBC Radio 2’s Book Club, Adam receives critical acclaim from peers and media alike. Previously a strategy consultant advising global businesses in the medical systems, robotics, technology and financial services sectors, he now works with studios and production companies on both sides of the Atlantic in addition to writing.

Twitter @adamhamdy #TOSON

@panmacmillan

@laurasherlockpr

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ In Little Stars by Linda Green

Quercus
6 September 2022 (ebook and audio)

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Two families divided by hate. A love that will not die.

Sylvie and Donna travel on the same train to work each day but have never spoken. Their families are on different sides of the bitter Brexit divide, although the tensions and arguments at home give them much in common.

What they don't know is that their eldest children, Rachid and Jodie, are about to meet for the first time and fall in love. Aware that neither family will approve, the teenagers vow to keep their romance a secret.

But as Sylvie's family feel increasingly unwelcome in England, a desire for a better life threatens Rachid and Jodie's relationship. Can their love unite their families - or will it end in tragedy?

📖 My Review..

Rachid and Jodie are about to meet for the first time when they are both travelling to Leeds on the same train. Their lives are about to implode as the attraction between them is instant and real. However, regardless of how powerful the attraction, the impact that their relationship will have on their individual families will have far reaching consequences.

In a fractured North of England, reeling from years of political neglect, there is an undercurrent of discontent. Brexit has split families apart but there is also strong racial tension which rears its ugly head and which becomes such a strong theme throughout the story. In Little Stars brings these divisions in our once united nation into sharp focus and there is much to ponder over with characters and situations which feel scarily authentic, and which are so realistically portrayed that the sense of unease and creeping disquiet, from both sides of the divide, makes for uncomfortable reading. 

There is very quickly an emotional connection made with Rachid and Jodie, both are lovely young people who just want to make their way in the world and whose shared hopes, dreams and love for the music of Prince really resonate, but as is the way with star crossed lovers, life has a nasty habit of biting back and, without revealing any spoilers, Linda Green doesn't pull her punches when it comes to what happens next.

I was both visibly shaken and emotionally drained by the conclusion of In Little Stars. Without doubt  this powerful family drama will stay with me for a long time to come.

🍷Best Read with..a mug of tea and a Bakewell slice

About the Author

Linda Green is the bestselling author of eleven novels. She is an award-winning journalist and has written for The Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and the Big Issue. Linda lives in West Yorkshire. 

Website

Twitter @LindaGreenisms #OneMoment

@QuercusBooks

@MillsReid11

📖 Publication Day Review ~ A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin

 

Harper Collins
 12 May 2022

My thanks to the publishers for my invitation to read this book

The debut of the season

The season is about to begin – and there’s not a minute to lose...

Kitty Talbot needs a fortune. Or rather, she needs a husband who has a fortune. This is 1818 after all, and only men have the privilege of seeking their own riches.

With only twelve weeks until the bailiffs call, launching herself into London society is the only avenue open to her, and Kitty must use every ounce of cunning and ingenuity she possesses to climb the ranks.

The only one to see through her plans is the worldly Lord Radcliffe and he is determined to thwart her at any cost, especially when it comes to his own brother falling for her charms.

Can Kitty secure a fortune and save her sisters from poverty? There is not a day to lose and no one – not even a lord – will stand in her way…

📖 My Review..

Regency novels have long been my guilty pleasure ever since I read my first Georgette Heyer novel way back in my teens, so to have a Regency novel by a debut novelist to look forward too is a real delight.

With her family fortune in dire straits, Kitty Talbot has no option but to seek a marriage with a wealthy man in order to save her younger sisters from a life of penury. With only twelve weeks before the bailiffs take away all their possessions, Kitty, and her younger sister Cecily, set out for London where they take up residence with Aunt Dorothy who launches the sisters into high society but warns Kitty to keep her options open. However, with complete disregard, Kitty quickly targets the rather hapless, but wealthy, Archie de Lacy, a plan which seems to be going well until the arrival of Archie’s older brother,the taciturn, Lord Radcliffe, who seems hellbent on thwarting Kitty’s best laid plans.

What then follows is a delightful Regency style romance which brings to the page all of the constrained notions of polite society in 1818. The historical background feels authentic, there are evenings at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, scintillating soirées and gentle walks in the park to keep the atmosphere alive. Kitty is a feisty heroine and her interaction with Lord Radcliffe adds an interesting dimension to what is, after all, is a sweet and gentle Regency romance.

🍷Best Read with.. a glass of cooling lemonade 

A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting is published today by Harper Collins and is availablefrom wherever you buy books.

Twitter @SophieHIrwin #LadysGuide 

@HarperCollins

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ Detective Dachshund and the Fluffy Thief by Decima Blake

Nightingale Books

Pegasus Publishing

28 April 2022

My thanks to the publishers and author for my copy of this book

Detective Dachshund of Battersea Police wears a smart blue hat and a matching fleece.

He has boundless energy for fighting crime, but his detective skills, sadly, are far from sublime.

Now, Detective Dachshund one night was told, to catch a fluffy thief who was sneaky and bold.

The thief went by the name of Clawdius Cat... and should our detective trust Reece the Rat?

Wanted posters showed the cat's cheeky face, blowing raspberries from lamp posts all over the place!

Officers had already scoured the city... how could Detective Dachshund find this bad kitty?

📖 My thoughts..

I've just spent a delightful hour in the company of Detective Dachshund as he is given the task of tracking down a decidedly dastardly cat burglar who goes by the wonderful name of Clawdius Cat. The story really comes to life in well written verse with delightful illustrations, all of which give the animals such strength of character, Reece the Rat, in particular, just made me laugh out loud whenever he appeared on the page.

The verse, which flows so well, had me turning the pages, in eager anticipation, to discover if Detective Dachshund would get to the bottom of the mysterious goings on. I also enjoyed the twist in the tale, which made me smile. Given the success, and general appeal of this latest case, I am sure this is not the last we have seen of Detective Dachshund's adventures with the Battersea Police 😃

I especially enjoyed the expressive nature of the story and whilst the book is aimed at young readers who like an adventurous story, Detective Dachshund and the Fluffy Thief would also appeal to those who enjoy reading bedtime stories to their children.

🍺Best read with...a sleepy child and a cup of milk

In recognition of Detective Dachshund's home turf and all the fantastic work undertaken to care for animals in need, a percentage of royalties will be donated to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

About the Author

Decima Blake, author of the Hingston series, has a long-standing interest in child protection and is deeply passionate about child victims of crime. Hingston: Smoke and Mispers is the second in the series, following Hingston's Box which was published in 2016. Decima combines historical research, accurate police procedure and a touch of spookiness to provide readers with an immersive experience as they join Hingston on his race to solve cases involving missing persons and murder. Decima's first illustrated children's book, Detective Dachshund and the Fluffy Thief, is published on 28 April 2022.

Twitter: @decimablake

Instagram: @detectivedachs

@PegasusPublish

Goodreads 

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ Breakneck Point by T Orr Munro

 

HQ
14 April 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

CSI Ally Dymond follows the evidence – wherever it leads.

Her commitment to justice has cost Ally her place on the major investigations team. After exposing corruption in the ranks, she’s stuck working petty crimes on the sleepy North Devon coast.

Only when the body of nineteen-year-old Janie Warren turns up in the seaside town of Bidecombe can Ally put her skills to good use. Yet the evidence she discovers contradicts the lead detective’s theory. And no one wants to listen to the CSI who landed their colleagues in prison.

Time is running out to catch a serial killer no one is looking for – no one except Ally. What she doesn’t know is that he’s watching, from her side of the crime scene tape, waiting for the moment to strike. When he does, Ally will be forced to question the true nature of justice like never before..

📖 Book Review ...

When we first meet  CSI Ally Dymond she is giving evidence in a court case which will not go well for some of her police colleagues. With this scandal forever following her, Ally, although a talented and meticulous crime scene investigator, is relegated to mediocre cases which do nothing to test her expertise. However, when a the body of  a young woman is found in the seaside town of Bidecombe, Ally happens to be the first CSI on the scene and therein lies the rest of this fascinating crime thriller.

The story is unusual as we get to know very early on who is responsible for a spate of murders which are taking this sleepy area of Devon by surprise but what the author does so cleverly is to give us a ring side seat as we observe just how cleverly the perpetrator plays cat and mouse, not just with the police, but also with Ally for whom the search for justice gets very personal.

I raced through Breakneck Point, fascinated both at the way the story was unfolding and also eager to discover more about Ally Dymond. She is a fascinating multi-layered character who I am sure we will get to know more about as the series progresses. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.

🐻 Best read with... a packet of Haribo Gold Bears.

About the Author

Tina Orr Munro is a journalist, specialising in writing about policing and security. In another life, she was a police scenes of crime officer. She lives in North Devon.

Twitter @TinaOrrMunro #BreakneckPoint #FollowtheEvidence

@HQStories

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ Snow Widows by Katherine MacInnes

William Collins
14 April 2022

My thanks to the publishers and Alison Menzies PR for my copy of this book

Katherine MacInnes' lively biography Snow Widows retells the story of Scott's expedition to the South Pole from the point of view of the five women closest to the ill-fated party. Her remarkable feat of historical reconstruction reveals a story of press intrusion, media management and the role of newly developed technology in bringing the story home. From fundraising to controlling the narrative, the women's influence runs right through this familiar story. Snow Widows offers a fresh perspective and a fascinating window onto a lost world

This group biography focusses on Kathleen Scott, who campaigned tirelessly to fund her husband's expedition and Catherine Oates, who sent prodigious funds in support of her son; Oriana Wilson, whose marriage was also a true scientific partnership and Empire Emily Bowers who had travelled the world as a missionary teacher; and set apart by her working class origins, Lois Evans, whose pension was a fraction of the other women’s, who suffered to see her husband (the only rating) scapegoated.

📖 My Review ...

We know so much from history about those intrepid Antarctic explorers who risked life and limb to conquer places which, to most of us, still remain out of reach. And yet we rarely give a thought to the women they left behind to follow these ambitious dreams and of the consequences on the lives of their families. Snow Widows seeks to redress the balance and gives a comprehensive look at the five women behind the heroes, wives and mothers who, it must be said, are heroines in their own indomitable way.

Kathleen Scott - Wife

Oriana Wilson - Wife 

Emily Bowers -Mother

Caroline Oates - Mother

Lois Evans - Wife

Scott's ill fated final expedition to the Antarctic in 1912 is well documented but this unique account is shown through the eyes of each of the women who lived with the staunch ambition of their husbands and sons. Snow Widows brings, not only this vision to life in an authentically and meticulously researched account, but it also allows the Edwardian era to come alive with striking perception. I enjoyed getting to know these five very different women and by juxtaposing their individual accounts with what was happening to the Terra Nova we gain a remarkable insight into how much they all sacrificed in order to allow their menfolk the freedom they took for granted.

This is not a book to be rushed as the detail is considerable but it is definitely a fascinating and very readable biographical account by a writer whose passion for her subject shines through with every well written word. I felt immersed in detail, both large and small, transported back to the time of this fateful expedition and to those women who waited, in vain, for their return.

About the Author

Here's Katherine meeting the figurehead of the Terra Nova

©Kate Stuart Photography

Katherine MacInnes was shortlisted for the Biographer's Prize for an early proposal for Snow Widows over a decade agao. Since then she has continued to research the five women, both in the UK and New Zealand, the gateway to Antarctic exploration. Whilst bringing up her family she has written four children's books, three plays and graduated with a Masters degree from Oxford University. Formerly an arts journalist she has written features and reviewed popular literature and given talks on the invisible women behind polar exploration at the Royal Geographical Society. She is a member of the society of authors and the Biographer's Club.

Twitter @WmCollinsBooks

@alisonmenziespr