Tag: thriller

5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview Twisted by Steve Cavanagh. @SSCav @orionbooks #Twisted #ThisBookIsTwisted #thrillerread #whoisjtlebeau @PoppyStimpson @orion_crime

if only I could read faster

I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour for Twisted by Steve Cavanagh. This is a mammoth five week tour which just shows how many book bloggers love Steve’s writing. I’ve previously reviewed Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh on here and it was one of the cleverest books I’ve read in a long time. But will Twisted meet everyone’s high expectations?

I received a copy of Twisted by Steve Cavanagh from the publisher, Orion Books. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own. Thank you to Tracy Fenton for having me as part of the blog tour.

My Review:

JT LeBleau is the world’s best selling author, their books have been translated into many different languages and fans eagerly await the next book. But everyone has one question, who is JT LeBleau?

I loved this premise, and I loved how Cavanagh approached this story and revealed the truth to the reader. Quite often I thought that I had it all worked out, but then I would doubt myself, and change my mind before going back to what I thought first and then going round it all again. The twists in this book were thrown at the reader thick and fast.

It was hard to know who to like, who to trust and who was what they said they were. This book can be gruesome, but what is fiction and what is real?

I will not spoil it for you, but if you enjoy thrillers and you like lots of twists then this book is for you. If you haven’t read the genre before then this is a great book to start with as it really is well done and I’m sure that it will convince many just how much fun the thriller genre can be.

Blurb:

BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK 
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THREE THINGS:

1. The police are looking to charge me with murder.
2. No one knows who I am. Or how I did it.
3. If you think you’ve found me. I’m coming for you next.

After you’ve read this book, you’ll know: the truth is far more twisted…

About The Author:

Steve Cavanagh was born and raised in Belfast before leaving for Dublin at the age of eighteen to study Law. He currently practices civil rights law and has been involved in several high profile cases; in 2010 he represented a factory worker who suffered racial abuse in the workplace and won the largest award of damages for race discrimination in Northern Ireland legal history. He holds a certificate in Advanced Advocacy and lectures on various legal subjects (but really he just likes to tell jokes). He is married with two young children.

Find out more at www.stevecavanaghbooks.com or follow Steve on Twitter @SSCav.

Twisted by Steve Cavanagh is out now and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

4*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #Review The Retreat by Mark Edwards. @mredwards #bookreview #bookblog

if only I could read faster

The Retreat by Mark Edwards Blog Tour banner final

I’m delighted to be on the blog tour for The Review by Mark Edwards.

My Review:

I agreed to read The Retreat without knowing much about it based solely on the fact that it was written by Mark Edwards. His book The Magpies was brilliant and since I read it I’ve been wanting to read more of his books.

The Retreat is set in a secluded cottage near a small village in Wales. The owner, Julia, suffered a huge tragedy and has turned her cottage into a writers retreat and author Lucas soon arrives, desperate to get some writing done after producing a best seller but struggling to come up with an idea for his next book. Three other authors are already staying and together they make up a mixed bunch that would never normally be together.

Soon strange things start happening and the visitors aren’t sure what’s going on and why. Lucas has picked up on the sad story behind Julia and is determined to investigate what happened in order to give Julia closure. This quickly gets him into trouble, taking the rest of the visitors with him. The question is who will survive?

I don’t like horror books, I used to but as I’ve grown older I have to admit that I no longer enjoy being scared. The Retreat isn’t really a horror book, but it is definitely spooky and I’m sure that some might find it scary so be warned.

I really liked the first-person account of Lucas’ journey and the story is predominately told by him. The story sucked me right in and kept me hooked and although I thought that the ending was a little bit neat and tidy I enjoyed reading The Retreat.

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer for a copy of The Retreat by Mark Edwards. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

Edwards-TheRetreat-21954-CV-FTA missing child. A desperate mother. And a house full of secrets.

Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident. Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found—and Julia believes Lily is somehow still alive.

Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers’ retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a horror novelist, who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lily. But within days of his arrival, the peace of the retreat is shattered by a series of eerie events.

When Lucas’s investigation leads him and Julia into the woods, they discover a dark secret—a secret that someone will do anything to protect…

What really happened that day by the river? Why was Lily never found? And who, or what, is haunting the retreat?

From the bestselling author of Follow You Home and The Magpies comes his most terrifying novel yet.

About The Author:

Mark Edwards_72dpiMark Edwards writes psychological thrillers in which scary things happen to ordinary people. He is inspired by writers such as Stephen King, Ira Levin, Ruth Rendell and Linwood Barclay. 

Mark grew up on the south coast of England and started writing in his twenties, teaming up with Louise Voss to co-write Killing Cupid and Catch Your Death, which topped the UK bestseller chart in 2011.

His solo thrillers, The Magpies and Because She Loves Me were also No.1 bestsellers in the UK. Like these previous novels his fourth solo book, Follow You Home, was inspired by a real-life experience, in this case a ‘trip from hell’ around Europe.

He lives in the West Midlands, England, with his wife, their three children and a ginger cat.

The Retreat by Mark Edwards is out on 10th May 2018 and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

4*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour 66 Metres by J.F.Kirwan @kirwanjf @UKCarina @rararesources

if only I could read faster

66 Metres Full Banner

So when I was asked to take part in the blog tours for a new series I was a little hesitant about committing to read and review three books by a new author, after all, what if I didn’t like them? So I agreed to read and review the first two and asked for content to post for the third blog tour, just in case. I’ll tell you now that I kinda regret that, I think that I will be asking them if I can change and do a review for book three too. Thankfully the gamble paid off!

My Review:

I am often a bit reluctant about starting a new series because often they start good and go downhill or they just mean that I’m committed to reading too many books in order to keep up. There aren’t that many series that I read and follow but something about the blurb for 66 Metres appealed to me.

I have dived before, quite a few times before I unfortunately got the bends (long story but it was because I was dehydrated from being seasick rather than anything I did) but that scared me enough to put me off diving again. But I loved doing it and so I have to admit that I really enjoyed the diving scenes in this book, of which there are many, they felt realistic and the author clearly knows what he is talking about. My dives were more about looking at pretty fish so not really similar to the dives in the book, although I did do a shipwreck dive, but because I’m not a spy there was none of the excitement as there was in the book.

Nadia was a character that I wasn’t completely sure about. Although she was forced into the situation that she was in in order to protect someone that she loves she has a constant battle with herself over whether she was a good person or if she could be a killer. She’s clearly smart and desperate to be out of the situation that she is in but will that desperation cause her to break her own ethics and will she drag totally innocent people into her dangerous world in order to complete her mission?

The book is well paced, there is plenty of action to keep the reader hooked but there are also slower sections where we learn more about the main characters. I really enjoyed reading 66 metres and I’m really looking forward to finding out what comes next for Nadia in book two.

Thank you to the publisher Carina for a copy of 66 Metres. All thoughts are my own and I was under no obligation to review.

Blurb:

66 metres

The only thing worth killing for is family.

Everyone said she had her father’s eyes. A killer’s eyes. Nadia knew that on the bitterly cold streets of Moscow, she could never escape her past – but in just a few days, she would finally be free.

Bound to work for Kadinsky for five years, she has just one last mission to complete. Yet when she is instructed to capture The Rose, a military weapon shrouded in secrecy, Nadia finds herself trapped in a deadly game of global espionage.

And the only man she can trust is the one sent to spy on her…

About The Author:

KIRWAN Barry 01 ret 6x8J. F. Kirwan is the author of the Nadia Laksheva thriller series for HarperCollins. Having worked in accident investigation and prevention in nuclear, offshore oil and gas and aviation sectors, he uses his experience of how accidents initially build slowly, then race towards a climax, to plot his novels.

An instructor in both scuba diving and martial arts, he travels extensively all over the world, and loves to set his novels in exotic locations. He is also an insomniac who writes in the dead of night. His favourite authors include Lee Child, David Baldacci and Andy McNab.

66 Metres by JF Kirwan is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

5*, book review

Book Review: Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton @AuthorSJBolton @TransworldBooks

if only I could read faster

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Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton.

So, this is my final review of 2017. I can’t believe that the year is over already, I’ve got so caught up with everything that I haven’t even started my book of the year post. Bad me. I have definitely been neglecting my lovely blog over the last few weeks but I endeavour to do better.

The worst thing about this review is that I actually read it months ago, how I forgot to review it I don’t know because I really enjoyed this book. Bad me again.

My Review:

I really, really like Sharon Bolton. She is a great author whose writing is so solid and real that I often think that her characters are real life people. There are still some of her books that I am yet to read but I am determined to make my way through all of them. My favourite so far is, without a doubt, Little Black Lies and I very much doubt that any of her books will beat that!

Dead Woman Walking gripped me from the very start, the balloon ride that goes horribly wrong when they see a woman being killed below. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time! When the murderer chases the balloon which soon crashes out of the sky in a spectacular fashion leaving just one survivor the tension is cranked right up.

That tension barely let up through the book as the sole survivor fights for survival, not so easy when they have no idea who they can trust. I haven’t given anything away that isn’t in the blurb and I really don’t want to do that, so if you enjoy thrillers where the story twists and turns and you’re never quite sure who is who and who to trust then this book is one for you. I’m looking forward to reading the authors next book.

Blurb:

Just before dawn in the hills near the Scottish border, a man murders a young woman. At the same time, a hot-air balloon crashes out of the sky. There’s just one survivor.

She’s seen the killer’s face – but he’s also seen hers. And he won’t rest until he’s eliminated the only witness to his crime.

Alone, scared, trusting no one, she’s running to where she feels safe – but it could be the most dangerous place of all . . .

About The Author:

1038226Sharon (formerly SJ) Bolton grew up in a cotton-mill town in Lancashire and had an eclectic early career which she is now rather embarrassed about. She gave it all up to become a mother and a writer.

Her first novel, Sacrifice, was voted Best New Read by Amazon.uk, whilst her second, Awakening, won the 2010 Mary Higgins Clark award. In 2014, Lost, (UK title, Like This, For Ever) was named RT Magazine’s Best Contemporary Thriller in the US, and in France, Now You See Me won the Plume de Bronze. That same year, Sharon was awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library, for her entire body of work.

 

Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

5*, blog tours, book review

Blog Tour & review: An Impossible Dilemma by Netta Newbound.

if only I could read faster

 

animpossibledilemma
An Impossible Dilemma by Netta Newbound.

 

I first read this book almost two years ago. I don’t know about you but I suspect that if you showed me a list of books that I read two years ago I’d have a hard time remembering much about most of them, but I would definitely be able to tell you a good deal about An Impossible Dilemma by Netta Newbound as it is a book that has stayed with me. I’m a big fan of the author and I’m delighted that publishers, Bloodhound Books, have decided to publish this previously self-published book, so when I was asked whether I wanted to take part in the blog tour and post my review I jumped at the chance. However, reading the review now I am going to change it, it seems that two years of writing reviews have, hopefully, improved my review writing somewhat, and because I remember the book so well I feel confident that I can give a review that it deserves.

My 5* review:

How far would you go to save your daughter? Would you sacrifice another person in order to save her? That is the question posed by An Impossible Dilemma.

I am a big fan of Netta Newbound, she has a way with writing that sucks the reader in, her characters are believable and although the situation that Victoria finds herself in is anything but normal, I could always understand her actions, even if I don’t think that I could have done the same.

I actually read this book two years ago, but it has stayed with me and despite that and reading many other books in that time, I still remember clearly how I felt reading this book. Newbound once again crafts a gruesome tale, she really does have a way with words and an imagination that is, I think, unrivalled within the crime writing scene. There are a few scenes in An Impossible Dilemma that stay with me to this day.

The book is easy to read and will definitely grip you and suck you in, and it is bound to give you a lot to think about. If you’re a thriller fan then you are sure to enjoy this and if you have yet to read any books by Netta Newbound then this book is sure to convert you. I’m also sure that you will never look at pigs in the same way again!

Blurb:

An Utterly Compelling Psychological Thriller From a Best-selling Author

Would you choose to save your child if it meant someone else had to die?

Victoria and Jonathan Lyons seem to have everything—a perfect marriage, a beautiful daughter, Emily, and a successful business. Until they discover Emily, aged five, has a rare and fatal illness.

Medical trials show that a temporary fix would be to transplant a hormone from a living donor. However in the trials the donors die within twenty four hours. Victoria and Jonathan are forced to accept that their daughter is going to die.

In an unfortunate twist of fate Jonathan is suddenly killed in a farming accident and Victoria turns to her sick father-in-law, Frank, for help.  Then a series of events present Victoria and Frank with a situation that, although illegal, could save Emily.

Will they take their one chance and should they?

A Sinister and Darkly Compelling Psychological Thriller Novel, this book is intended for mature audiences and contains graphic and disturbing imagery.

Netta Newfound is the best-selling author of The Watcher.

An Impossible Dilemma is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

You can read my review of The Watcher, also by Netta Newbound, here.

 

book review

The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft

if only I could read faster

thegirlyoulost
The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft

The Girl You Lost is another fabulous book from my favourite publishers, Bookouture.

‘The Girl You Lost is the first book by Kathryn Croft that I’ve read, and I’m sure that it won’t be the last.

What I enjoyed most when reading this book was the depth of the characters, they were just so well written and believable. I also really like how the author explained the thought process of the main character, Simone. Rather than just telling you what she thought about something Croft explained why Simone thought that, from the other person’s body language, or from Simone’s previous interactions with them, this made me feel almost part of it, like I was there with Simone or even inside her head.

The Girl You Lost was a suspenseful read, you were never quite sure who did what and why and it kept me going until very close to the end when I worked it out and actually marvelled at how well Kathryn Croft had led up to it.

A gripping read that will have you reading late into the night.

I received a copy of The Girl You Lost from the publishers, Bookouture, via Netgalley in return for an honest review.’

This is a great read, and currently only 99p on Amazon UK.