Tag: 4.5*

4.5*, blog tours, book review, debut author

#BlogTour #BookReview Dead Inside by Noelle Holton. @nholten40 @BOTBSPublicity @KillerReads #DeadInside

if only I could read faster

It is finally my stop on the blog tour for Dead Inside by Noelle Holten. Noelle is a well known book blogger at Crimebookjunkie and she also works for Bookouture as a publicity manager. So she is very well known within the book world and when she decided to turn her hand to writing her own book she got loads of support with everyone convinced that her book would be brilliant.

That must have put a lot of pressure on Noelle, but you wouldn’t know that when you read Dead Inside. I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour for such a confident debut. I received a copy of Dead Inside by Noelle Holten, I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

My Review:

I was very excited to read Dead Inside by Noelle Holten, a fellow book blogger who writes brilliant reviews and is very well known in the book world. But I was also a little bit worried, what would I do if I didn’t like the book? Or if it was poorly written?

Of course when it came to it I didn’t have to worry, Dead Inside is a confident debut novel that is very well written and a great read.

This book is the first in the DC Maggie Jamieson series, Maggie has just transferred to a different team, one that focuses on domestic violence. She’s looking forward to the break from murder but it isn’t long before she discovers that her new role won’t be as easy as she thinks when people start dying.

Lucy Sherwood is a probation officer, by day she works with abusers who treat women terribly and she manages to stand strong and not let them intimate her. But when she goes home in the evening, Lucy is a very different person as she is living with a man who is just as bad as those she works with.

Despite this being a Maggie Jamieson novel I felt that the book was more about Lucy and she was the one that I enjoyed reading about the most. Her job is interesting and I loved hearing about her work and how she justified her home life and staying with her abusive partner. But when men linked to Lucy start dying Maggie and her team must look at her and whether she is capable of murder.

This book really kept me guessing, I couldn’t work out who was killing these men and why. There were too many people who wanted them dead and so many people appeared guilty and potentially capable of doing it.

The writing is confident and the author’s experience of working in probation clearly shows. The domestic violence angle made me think and further understand the difficulties people have and why leaving is so hard.

I am looking forward to book two, but I really hope that Lucy will be returning too.

Blurb:

‘Kept me hooked … excellent pace and a very satisfying ending’ Angela

‘An excellent read’ Martina Cole

‘A brilliant debut – gritty, dark and chilling. Noelle Holten knows her stuff’ Mel Sherratt

A dark and gripping debut crime novel – the first in a stunning new series – from a huge new talent.

The killer is just getting started…

When three wife beaters are themselves found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet.

The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood – who is connected to all three victims – is a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered.

And he is Lucy’s husband.

Now the police are running out of time, but can Maggie really believe her friend Lucy is a cold-blooded killer?

About The Author:

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and a regular reviewer on the Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast. Noelle worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of cases including those involving serious domestic abuse. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, author-stalking and sharing the booklove via her blog. 
Dead Inside is her debut novel with Killer Reads/Harper Collins UK and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.

Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noelleholtenauthor/

Twitter: (@nholten40) https://twitter.com/nholten40

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18489795.Noelle_Holten

Blog: https://www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk

Instagram: @crimebookjunkie  




Dead Inside by Noelle Holten is out now and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

4.5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview The River by Peter Heller. @wnbooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n #TheRiver

if only I could read faster

Today it is my pleasure to kick off the blog tour for The River by Peter Heller. I read the blurb for this book and really wanted to read it, and then I saw the amazing cover and knew that I had to read it. So thank you to Tracy Fenton for inviting me to be part of the blog tour. I received a copy of The River by Peter Heller from the publisher via Netgalley, I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

My Review:

First I have to say how much I love the cover for the UK version of this book, it’s stunning and really drew me to wanting to read this book.

I love books like this, a fight for survival when you’re in the middle of nowhere with nobody other than yourself and your travel companions to get you out of there. And I love books set in the wilderness where I’m taken to a whole other world that I will likely never go to myself. So this book was already winning in my eyes.

Wynn and Jack are best friends who love spending time in the outdoors together, they have done so many times over the years they have been friends and so they know each other so well they barely need to speak as they navigate a dangerous river.

They had expected the rapids to be the risky part of their trip, but they were wrong and it quickly becomes clear that this trip will be one where they will have to fight to survive.

One thing that struck me as I read The River was how it read differently to many books, I kept thinking that I was reading a book written many years ago and then Wynn and Jack would suddenly talk about satellite phones and I was reminded that this book is set in the present and not the past.

The writing is very descriptive, I really felt as though I could see the river, hear the birds and smell the smoke as I read. The pace is slow at first and then suddenly, BAM, you’re sucked in and desperately reading to find out what was going to happen. The chapters are very long but I quite liked that and found that it fitted well with the story.

There were many things to like about The River by Peter Heller, it was a different read but one that felt so real and made so much sense. The author clearly has a vast amount of knowledge about rivers, camping and surviving in the wild and this enhances the readers experience when reading the book.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read more from the author.

Blurb:

TWO FRIENDS
Wynn and Jack have been best friends since their first day of college, brought together by their shared love of books and the great outdoors.


THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME 
When they decide to take time off university and canoe down the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate the ultimate wilderness experience. 


No phones. No fellow travellers. No going back. 


A HELLISH RIDE
But as a raging wildfire starts to make its way towards them, their expedition becomes a desperate race for survival. And when a man suddenly appears, claiming his wife has vanished, the fight against nature’s destructive power becomes a much deadlier game of cat and mouse.

THE RIVER by bestselling author Peter Heller is a gripping thriller about the beauty of the great outdoors and the dangers of the wild with a page-turning story that builds up to a shocking finale and keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

About The Author:

Peter Heller is an award-winning adventure writer and the author of four bestselling novels, including the New York Times bestseller THE DOG STARS, a Guardian, San Francisco Chronicle andAtlantic Book of the Year. Born and raised in New York, he attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire where he became an outdoorsman and white-water kayaker. He has travelled the world as an expedition kayaker, writing about challenging descents in the Pamirs, the Tien Shan mountains, the Caucuses, Central America and Peru. A keen adventurer, he has navigated some of the most dangerous rivers in the world, including the Muk Su River in the High Pamirs of Tadjikistan. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he received an MFA in fiction and poetry, and won a Michener fellowship for his epic poem ‘The Psalms of Malvine’.

The River by Peter Heller is out now and is available from Amazon UK. 

4.5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview The Ringmaster by Vanda Symons. @OrendaBooks @vandasymon #NewZealandNoir #TheRingmaster #SamShepard

if only I could read faster

I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour for The Ringmaster by Vanda Symon. I reviewed the first book in the Sam Shepard series, Overkill, which I absolutely loved so I was excited to read book two. I received a copy of The Ringmaster by Vanda Symon to read, I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

My Review:

I really, really enjoyed Overkill by Vanda Symon so I was very excited to read book two in the series. I have a big soft spot for books set in New Zealand and this series fits the bill perfectly.

Part of what I loved about Overkill was that it was set in a small NZ town and the book really showed the claustrophobia that goes with living in a small town where everyone knows everyone and all about them.

In The Ringmaster, Sam Shepard, has moved to Dunedin which is a proper town and so doesn’t have that same feel. I have to admit that I really missed the small town atmosphere from the first book. But being set in a larger town means that there is more scope for storylines and characters.

Sam’s flatmate from Overkill returns which I was pleased about, they have good chemistry and she makes me laugh.

I really like Sam Shepard as a character, she is a damn good police officer but somehow manages to annoy a lot of people in the process. I loved her connection with the elephant in the circus that features in the story, along with her horror at the fact that an elephant and lions were being kept by the circus.

New Zealand has one travelling circus with live animals, including lions and an elephant. Hard to believe really and I guess that it is good that the book brings that to light.

Once again Sam manages to save the day, her gut instinct is strong and she has faith enough in it to follow it. I did find the whole who done it slightly surprising, it didn’t seem to really fit somehow. I’m not sure it was really believable that the person who did it, did it. If that makes sense.

But the book was fun to read, I loved getting to know Sam more and her interactions with others, friends, work colleagues and someone who perhaps will be more.

Overall, The Ringmaster by Vanda Symon is a great read, I love the setting and the characters and the twisty turns. Roll on book three!

Blurb:


Death is stalking the South Island of New Zealand…
Marginalised by previous antics, Sam Shephard, is on the bottom rung of detective training in Dunedin, and her boss makes sure she knows
it. She gets involved in her first homicide investigation, when a university student is murdered in the Botanic Gardens, and Sam soon
discovers this is not an isolated incident. There is a chilling prospect of a predator loose in Dunedin, and a very strong possibility that the
deaths are linked to a visiting circus…Determined to find out who’s running the show, and to prove herself, Sam throws herself into an investigation that can have only one ending…
Rich with atmosphere, humour and a dark, shocking plot, The
Ringmaster marks the return of passionate, headstrong police officer,
Sam Shephard, in the next instalment of Vanda Symon’s bestselling
series.

About The Author:


Vanda Symon is a crime writer, TV presenter and radio host from Dunedin, New Zealand, and the chair of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. The Sam Shephard
series has climbed to number one on the New Zealand bestseller list, and also been shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award for best crime novel. She currently lives in Dunedin, with her husband and
two sons.

The Ringmaster by Vanda Symon is out now and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

4.5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview Only Daughter by Sarah Denzil. @sarahdenzil @bookouture #OnlyDaughter

if only I could read faster

I’m very excited to be part of the blog tour for Only Daughter by Sarah A Denzil. I really enjoyed Sarah’s book, Silent Child, which I reviewed on my blog. That review is the most viewed post on here, and for some reason it made it to the first page of Google results when you searched for the book. I wish that I knew how that happened so that I could do it again but I have absolutely no idea. Anyway, Silent Child was a great read so I was keen to read Only Daughter too.

My Review:

Having loved some of the authors previous books I was keen to read Only Daughter and started reading it without knowing what it was about, the blurb didn’t matter because I knew that I wanted to read a book written by Sarah A Denzil.

The book started with a bang and the twists and turns kept going from there. Kat’s beloved daughter is dead and the police are refusing to look into her death as they are convinced that it was a simple suicide. But Kat is adamant that her daughter wouldn’t have done that and so starts on a determined search for the truth.

What she discovered was not what she had ever expected, her daughter wasn’t the kind and happy girl that Kat thought and she is forced to question everything.

This was such a clever book, Kat is a flawed character who seemed to be so aware of that and I felt that added a clever element to the story as Kat discovers just as much about herself as she does about her daughter.

I’m not going to give too much away but if you like twisty books that keep you guessing and wondering and thinking then this is a book for you. Sarah Denzil really is an author to look out for and I’m looking forward to reading her next book!

Thank you to Bookouture for a copy of Only Child by Sarah A Denzil. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

The must-read psychological thriller for 2019 from the million-copy-bestselling author of Silent Child.

‘Your daughter is dead.’

When Kat Cavanaugh hears the words every mother dreads, her perfect world shatters. She takes in the beautiful long blonde hair, torn yellow dress and chipped blue nail-varnish. It can’t be real.

And then the police add the word ‘suicide’. But Kat refuses to believe them. 

Even when they show her the familiar looping handwriting and smudged ink on the note her little girl left behind. She knows her bubbly, vivacious daughter would never take her own life.

As she searches Grace’s perfume-scented room, filled with smiling photos, she uncovers secrets her little girl had been hiding. Secrets that could put her in terrible danger too.

But Kat’s determined to find out what really happened to Grace on the night she died, whatever it takes…

This addictive and heart-pounding psychological thriller will keep you gripped late into the night.

About The Author:

Sarah A. Denzil is a British suspense writer from Derbyshire. In her alternative life–AKA Sarah Dalton–she writes speculative fiction for teenagers, including The Blemished, Mary Hades and White Hart.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather. 

Saving April, Sarah’s debut suspense thriller, is a psychological look into the minds of the people around us who we rarely even consider – our neighbours. What do we really know about them, and what goes on when the doors are closed?

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahadenzil/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahdenzil

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marmiteandbooks/

Website: https://www.sarahdenzil.com/

Only Daughter by Sarah Denzil is out now and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

4.5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer. @KelRimmerWrites @headlinepg #BeforeILetYouGo #KellyRimmer #addiction #book

if only I could read faster

Before I let you go

I’m so pleased to be part of the blog tour for the paperback release of Before I Let You Go by the fabulous Kelly Rimmer.

My Review:

I’m a big Kelly Rimmer fan, every book of hers that I have read have been a brilliant read and one of them in particular completely blew me away.

So I was excited to read her latest book Before I Let You Go, and wanted to read it based only on who wrote it, the blurb really didn’t matter. As it turned out if I had read the blurb then it would have been a book that I wanted to read. Although there might have been some hesitation because when a book features someone in active addiction it can often misrepresent addiction or even glamourise it.

Not that that happens here, one of the best parts of the book is the accurate portrayal of addiction, how hard it is the break and the heartbreaking consequences that it can bring.

The relationship between sisters Lexie and Annie is delightfully complex, when they were young they both needed each other and had a wonderful relationship, but Lexie moved out and was unable to have contact with Annie for a few years. In that time both girls changed and things between them were never quite the same again.

Lexie still feels responsible for her sister and tries, again and again, to help Annie to break her addiction. Finally, Lexie must cut ties in order to keep herself safe and allow her to live her life, which she is finally getting back when Annie contacts her again.

It is hard to say no to family when they need help, and when Lexie finds out that Annie is pregnant she becomes determined to do everything that she can to support Annie to get clean and so that she can keep her baby. But what will the consequences be for Lexie?

I really did enjoy reading Before I Let You Go, the characters were realistic and I cared about what was going to happen for them. Kelly Rimmer really is a skilled author whose books I will continue to read, enjoy and possibly shed a tear over.

Thank you to Kelly Rimmer and Headline for a copy of Before I Let You Go. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

Before I Let You Go CoverYour sister or her baby. Who do you choose? A moving page-turner with a heart-pounding dilemma. As children, Lexie and Annie were incredibly close. Bonded by the death of their beloved father, they weathered the storms of life together. When Lexie leaves home to follow her dream, Annie is forced to turn to her leatherbound journal as the only place she can confide her deepest secrets and fears… As adults, sisters Lexie and Annie could not be more different. Lexie is a successful doctor and happily engaged. Annie is an addict – a thief, a liar and unable to remain clean. When Annie’s newborn baby is in danger of being placed in foster care, Annie picks up the phone to beg her sister for help. Will Lexie agree to take in her young niece? And how will Annie survive, losing the only thing in her life worth living for?

About The Author:

Kelly Rimmer Author Picture

Kelly Rimmer is the USA Today bestselling women’s fiction author of five novels, including Me Without You and The Secret Daughter. She lives in rural Australia with her husband, two children and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages.

 

 

Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer is out now in ebook and paperback and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

4.5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview The Dark Place by Stephanie Rogers. @steph2rogers1 @BooksManatee @Tr4cyF3nt0n #TheDarkPlace

if only I could read faster

Dark-Place-Blogtour

Today it is my stop on the blog tour for The Dark Place by Stephanie Rogers. I had no idea what I was in for when I started reading the book but what a ride it turned out to be.

My Review:

I’m a bit unsure about where to start with this review, there is a lot that I want to say about the book but I don’t want to give any spoilers! Which I won’t do so you are safe to read on.

The story is told to us by Jon and Mel, a couple who clearly have their struggles, not least three year old Noah who lives with them while his mum, and Jon and Mel’s daughter, goes to University.

It is clear from the start that Mel struggles with Noah, understandably she felt that her days of parenting a toddler were over and she missed her job and the life that she had before Issy got pregnant at 15. Jon, on the other hand, appears to be happier with his life and he is especially excited that Issy is coming back from University for a visit, he can’t wait to see her.

We hear briefly from Issy at the start, but we don’t really understand why she is doing what she is doing. That is a puzzle that continues throughout the book as Issy’s parents try to work out why their daughter apparently killed herself.

I felt that this book was really well written, the grief that Jon and Mel went through felt so real and raw and painful. They both knew that they needed to find out more, and so they set about finding out about Issy’s life and realised how little they knew their daughter.

Some of it was hard to read, as it became clear just how unhappy Issy had been the pain that caused her parents, and especially her dad was immense. I worked out right near the start why she had done it, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book and when Mel and Jon finally worked it out I gave a cheer that they’ finally got there.

I really enjoyed this book, the relationship between Mel and Jon really was great to read, and I loved that how things ended up for them wasn’t what you’d necessarily expect but it felt so right.

This is the first book that I’ve read by Stephanie Rogers but it certainly won’t be the last!

Thank you to Manatee Books for a copy of The Dark Place by Stephanie Rogers. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

The Dark Place

When you look at those you love, what do you see?

When Issy, young mother and beloved daughter, seemingly kills herself her family is devastated.

Believing she would never leave son Noah willingly, Jon and Mel determine to discover what really happened to Issy. As they and the rest of the family struggle to come to terms with tragedy, Jon and Mel start to realise Issy’s secrets come from a very dark place…

 

About The Author:

 

I have always lived in Yorkshire, migrating a whole three miles over the border from South to North Yorkshire and have always loved reading. As a kid, I was always reading when I should have been doing something else and nothing has changed (uncooked or burnt dinners being commonplace in my house – cooking’s overrated anyway). For most of my adult life I’ve worked as a dog groomer, interspersed with bouts of working as a musician, playing drums and saxophone, which has taken me to Germany and Israel. They’re not that compatible really, dog grooming and music – dogs hate the noises saxes and drums make (well mine do; or maybe it’s how I play them.) I have been and always will be, unashamedly, a rock chick.

After ignoring the urge to write for a long time (too busy, no time, kids to feed, books to read) I finally did a creative writing course with Writers’ Bureau, which I loved. I’ve written two thrillers, which is my favourite genre to read, and a couple of children’s books. I’ve also sold short stories to Take-A-Break’s Fiction Feast.

The Dark Place by Stephanie Rogers is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

4.5*, blog tours, book review, debut author, psychological thriller

#BlogTour #BookReview Lies Between Us by Ronnie Turner. #LiesBetweenUs #whereisbonnie @HQDigitalUK @Ronnie__Turner

if only I could read faster

LiesBetweenUs_BlogTourBanner3

How exciting is this?!!! Ronnie Turner, a fabulous book blogger has written a book! I can’t begin to say how happy I am for her that she not only wrote the book and finished it (something that I am struggling with) but also got it published with the rather brilliant HQDigital. When Ronnie asked whether her fellow book bloggers wanted to be part of the blog tour for her book we all jumped at the chance, I think that there are about 70 blogs taking part which is pretty crazy! But I’m delighted to be one of them.

My Review:

I really, really wanted to like Lies Between Us by Ronnie Turner but was a little bit scared that I wouldn’t. Thankfully from about page five, I was sucked into the story and for the rest of the book, I was hooked.

The story is told from different points of view with each chapter told by one person. I have to admit that I struggle with multiple characters like that and when there are more than about three or four it takes me a while to get into it and remember who everyone is. I suspect that might be because of my dyslexia but I’m not sure. So although I was enjoying the book and the characters it did take me some time to put it all together.

Some of the chapters were set in the past and others in the current, we have no idea how these stories connect, but we know that they do.

I really liked Maisie, the intensive care nurse who gives everything to her patients and their families, she seemed really nice but there was a vulnerability to her, we knew that there was a sadness there but it takes a while for us to work out the cause.

Miller is a young boy who is, quite frankly, deeply disturbing. I quite enjoyed reading about him because I just knew that he would grow up to be a really evil man and the twisted part of me wanted to know what he was going to do.

And then there was John, a man who loves his wife but is besotted with his daughter Bonnie. John’s world falls apart when Bonnie goes missing, vanishing from their front room. John and his wife are tortured with photos of Bonnie hurt, the police have no idea where she is or who might have her, will they find her in time? I have to admit that at times when reading about Bonnie (and Miller), I wondered about the author and how she had managed to come up with some of it, let alone write about it and put her characters through it.

I have to say that I loved The Lies Between Us, it kept me guessing the whole way through and for a debut novel, it is incredibly accomplished. I cannot wait to read what Ronnie Turner writes next.

Thank you to Ronnie Turner and HQDigital for a copy of Lies Between Us, I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

Lies Between UsWill they ever learn the truth?

Three people, leading very different lives, are about to be brought together – with devastating consequences . . .

John has a perfect life, until the day his daughter goes missing.

Maisie cares for her patients, but hides her own traumatic past.

Miller should be an innocent child, but is obsessed with something he can’t have.

They all have something in common, though none of them know it – and the truth won’t stay hidden for long . . .

A gripping psychological thriller for fans of Clare Mackintosh, Shari Lapena and Lisa Jewell.

Lies Between Us by Ronnie Turner is out now and is available from Amazon UK, Google Play, Kobo and iTunes.

About The Author:

Author Photo 2Ronnie Turner grew up in Cornwall, the youngest in a large family. At an early age, she discovered a love of literature and dreamed of being a published author. Ronnie now lives in Dorset with her family and three dogs. In her spare time, she reviews books on her blog and enjoys long walks on the coast. She is currently working on her second novel.

Ronnie’s debut novel, Lies Between Us, will be published by HQ Digital in October 2018.

Twitter:@Ronnie_ _Turner

Facebook: @RonnieTurnerAuthor

Instagram: @ronnieturner8702

Website: www.ronnieturner.wordpress.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/RonnieTurner

4.5*, book review

#BookReview Down To The Woods by M.J. Arlidge. #DownToTheWoods @mjarlidge @MichaelJBooks #HelenGrace #NewForest #crimefiction

if only I could read faster

downtothewoods
Down To The Woods by M.J. Arlidge.

I don’t know about you but when I heard that there was a new Helen Grace book coming I got very excited and it was immediately bumped up to the top of my tbr pile!

My Review:

Finally!! A new Helen Grace book is out. It feels a long time since May 2017 when the seventh book in the series was released so I was really excited to read Down To The Woods. Instead of concentrating on his Grace series, author MJ Arlidge has been busy doing other things, writing a book that doesn’t feature Grace that’s set in America for one. But thankfully he hadn’t forgotten Helen Grace and book eight has finally arrived.

I have to admit that at first I wasn’t sure about Down To The Woods, Grace is a character that I love and thoroughly enjoy catching up with when a new book is released, but I guess with the longer break it took me a little bit longer than normal to get back into the book and the character, and especially the smaller characters who aren’t quite as memorable.

But it didn’t take long before I was sucked into the story which was shockingly gruesome. Although I remain unconvinced that Arlidge can top the shock factor of the deaths in Eeeny Meeny (the first book in the Helen Grace series), he gives it a damn good try in Down To The Woods.

Grace herself seemed a little bit different in this book and I came to the conclusion that after the recent traumatic events that she’d been through Helen had grown up. She finally seemed to stop running and it even seemed that she may finally start to let people into her world and her life. Hurrah! I’m very pleased for her.

By the end of the book I didn’t want it to end, Arlidge has once again given us a twisted tale that terrifies and puts Grace and her team through their paces. For those of you who are new to Helen Grace then I strongly suggest that you start at the beginning. I’m sure that you could read Down To The Woods as a standalone, but it would be a lot better if you have read the previous books, and if you didn’t read them then you’d be missing out on some brilliant stories.

Many series lose their way around about now, but there’s no sign of that with Down To The Woods. I just hope that Arlidge doesn’t find too much else to occupy himself with so that there isn’t too long a way for book nine!

Thank you to the publishers, Michael Joseph at Penguin UK for a copy of Down To The Woods by M.J. Arlidge. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

THE EIGHTH DI HELEN GRACE THRILLER BY BESTSELLING AUTHOR M. J. ARLIDGE

There is a sickness in the forest. First, it was the wild horses. Now it’s innocent men and women, hunted down and murdered by a faceless figure. Lost in the darkness, they try to flee, they try to hide. In desperation, they call out for help. But there is no-one to hear their cries here…

DI Helen Grace must face down a new nightmare. The arrow-ridden victims hang from the New Forest’s ancient oaks, like pieces of strange fruit. Why are helpless holidaymakers being targeted in peak camping season? And what do their murders signify? Is a psychopath stalking the forest? Is there an occult element to the killings? Could the murders even be an offering to the Forest itself? Helen must walk into the darkness to discover the truth behind her most challenging, most macabre case yet.

About The Author:

MJarlidge

M. J. Arlidge has worked in television for the last fifteen years, specializing in high-end drama production, including the prime-time crime serials Torn, The Little House and Silent Witness. Arlidge also pilots original crime series for both UK and US networks. In 2015 his audio exclusive Six Degrees of Assassination was a Number One bestseller. His first thriller, Eeny Meeny, was the UK’s bestselling crime debut of 2014. It was followed by the bestselling Pop Goes the Weasel, The Doll’s House, Liar Liar, Little Boy Blue, Hide and Seek, and Love Me Not.

Down To The Woods by M.J. Arlidge is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

You can read a Q&A that I did with M. J. Arlidge here where you will also find links to my reviews of some of the previous Helen Grace books.

4.5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview Overkill by Vanda Symon. #overkill @OrendaBooks @vandasymon #NewZealandNoir

if only I could read faster

Overkill Blog Tour Poster

Ok, so when I was asked to be on the blog tour for Overkill I pretty much bit Anne Cater’s arm off because when I heard that Orenda Books had signed Vanda Symon I was desperate to read it. Why you wonder? Well, I used to live in New Zealand and I miss the place a lot, a big part of me would love to move back, but for now I make do with being slightly obsessed with all things New Zealandy so the chance to read one of NZ’s top crime authors was something that I wasn’t going to miss! But with such high hopes did the book disappoint?

My Review:

I was so excited to read Overkill by Vanda Symon’s one of New Zealand’s top crime authors, although slightly concerned that my insanely high hopes would mean that I would hate it.

Thankfully I didn’t need to worry about that as from the first to the last page I enjoyed reading Overkill. I loved the small town setting, where everyone knows everyone and how claustrophobic it can feel.

I was surprised to learn how long ago Overkill was written, but it has been updated and so it feels very current, you really wouldn’t know that it was written more than a year or so ago.

The main character, Sam, is a really normal person which made her easy to relate to. The crime that Sam is trying to solve is clever, I love how we know more than she does about it, apart from who had actually done it, but it made reading how she worked it all out enjoyable and somehow satisfying. I was definitely routing for Sam.

There is much to like about Overkill, the pacy read that keeps the reader hooked from the start, the varied characters, Sam’s great relationship with her flatmate and the desire to see justice for the poor woman killed in the most awful way at the start of the book.

I liked the ending too, we know that there is more to come from Sam but we also know that things will be changing. I, for one, am very excited to see what’s next.

Thank you to Orenda Books for a copy of Overkill by Vanda Symon, I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

Overkill Cover

Sam Shephard, a young sole-charge police constable in Mataura, is the main character in a new series of crime novels set in New Zealand. When a young mother in the town is brutally murdered (it seems to be a professional job), Sam is at the heart of the police hunt to find the killer. But then Sam’s past relationship with the dead woman’s husband is revealed. Sam is stood down from the case and is now a prime murder suspect. Frustrated, Sam loses her cool. She can’t stop herself making murder inquiries and gets into serious trouble with her police superiors. But then the young constable stumbles onto something. The murdered woman was working as a journalist and had uncovered a local scandal. She’d been killed to keep her quiet. When Sam enters this world she’s in real physical danger, until at last a conspiracy is uncovered and the killer revealed. Disillusioned, Sam prepares to leave town. What will she do next?

About the Author:

vandasymon
Vanda Symon, taken from her website.

Vanda’s first novel Overkill, was written while juggling the demands of a 6 month old baby and a two year old. She suspects the prologue to Overkill was written in a state of sleep deprivation induced paranoia brought about by middle of the night feeds and imagining every awful thing that could possibly happen to her family. None of them ever did. Reading that prologue still makes her cry.

A little time has elapsed and the six-month old and two-year old are now teenagers. As well as trying to raise two wonderful human beings, she has added three more Detective Sam Shephard novels to the series and written the stand alone psychological thriller The Faceless.

As well as being a crime writer, she hosts a monthly radio show on Dunedin’s Otago Access Radio called Write On, where she interviews local writers, and catches the odd international super-star if they’re in town.

And just to prove that she is a tiger for punishment, she has recently completed a PhD at the University of Otago looking at the communication of science through crime fiction – the perfect subject for a science loving crime writer. She has an undergraduate degree in Pharmacy and enjoyed a career as a community pharmacist and palliative care pharmacist before concentrating on her writing career.

Vanda has been involved with the New Zealand Society of Authors for many years, having been chair of the Otago Southland Branch. She is currently the Otago Southland regional delegate on the NZSA Board. Vanda was also the Chair of Copyright Licensing New Zealand.

When she isn’t writing, Vanda can be found digging around in her garden in Dunedin, or on the business end of a fencing foil. She has fenced since high school and still competes in national and international competitions. As well as competing she coaches, and because she likes to get involved, boots and all, is the president of Fencing South and on the board of Fencing New Zealand.

Vanda is a founding member of the Dunedin Crime Writers Association, whose raison d’etre is for its members to drink beer or wine and talk crime writing at their favourite pub.

Overkill by Vanda Symon is out now in ebook and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US. It will be released in paperback on 6th September 2018.

4.5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview Do No Harm by LV Hay. @LucyVHayAuthor @OrendaBooks #DoNoHarm #TillDeathDoUsPart

if only I could read faster

FINAL DO NO HARM BLOG TOUR POSTER.jpg

My Review:

Do No Harm by LV Hay tells the story of Lily and her husband Sebastian. But Sebastian is not Lily’s first husband, that was Maxwell, a controlling doctor who does not want Lily to be with anyone other than him. Preventing Lily from cutting all ties with her ex is their son, Denny who is six.

Maxwell causes a lot of stress for Lily and Sebastian but can they find a way to stop Maxwell from sabotaging everything? It doesn’t take long before the marriage is being pushed to its limits, between Lily’s ex and Sebastian’s poorly mother life is anything but simple for the newlyweds.

The story is told to us by Sebastian and Lily in alternating chapters. This works well as we get to know what each of them in thinking and how they are reacting to the events happening around them.

I really don’t want to give too much away but this book kept me holding my breath wondering what was going to happen and when Lily and Sebastian would finally realise what was going on. I did get a bit frustrated at them, they made some silly decisions and between them failed to work out what was going on and how to deal with it together.

The characters were definitely flawed but they felt pretty real too, and although I had worked out who was doing it all I still enjoyed reading the book and thought that the ending was great. LV Hay doesn’t take the obvious path with her stories, something that I really admire, and this makes her books interesting and thought provoking.

Thank you to Orenda Books for a copy of Do No Harm by LV Hay. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

D0_NO_HARM_COVER (1)Till death do us part…

After leaving her marriage to jealous, possessive oncologist Maxwell, Lily and her six-year-old son have a second chance at happiness with headteacher Sebastian. Kind but vulnerable, Sebastian is the polar opposite of Maxwell, and the perfect match for Lily. After a whirlwind romance, they marry, and that’s when things start to go wrong…
Maxwell returns to the scene, determined to win back his family, and events soon spiral out of control. Lily and Sebastian find themselves not only fighting for their relationship, but also their lives…
Chilling, dark and terrifying, Do No Harm is a taut psychological thriller and a study of obsession, from one of the most exciting new voices in crime fiction.

About The Author:

Lucy Hay author photoLucy V. Hay is a novelist, script editor and blogger who helps writers via her Bang2write consultancy. She is the associate producer of Brit Thrillers Deviation (2012) and Assassin(2015), both starring Danny Dyer. Lucy is also head reader for the London Screenwriters’ Festival and has written two non-fiction books, Writing & Selling Thriller Screenplays, plus its follow-up Drama Screenplays. Her critically acclaimed debut thriller The Other Twin was published in 2017.

 

Do No Harm by LV Hay is out now and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.