Blog tour: 21 to 28 September 2026

Synopsis

The war may have ended, but the cover-ups never did.

Israel 1950. SIB Captain Ash Carter is called into the British ’embassy’ to report on the death-in-service of a consular officer. Despite assurances that there is nothing suspicious, Carter begins a challenging investigation – one that the authorities disprove of. And the deeper he digs, the more complex it appears.

Meeting an Israeli private detective, investigating a linked crime, Carter forms an uneasy alliance. Together, they uncover something too shocking to be believed without hard proof. With the highest of political stakes, distrust at every turn, deceit, kidnapping and murder, Carter must find a balance between the law, justice and revenge.

Dead Man’s Run is the fifth historical crime novel in the Ash Carter Near East series but can be read as a standalone.

My review

It’s 1950 in Tel Aviv in Israel and Captain Ash Carter has been summoned to the British ’embassy’, a small administrative office with a dozen staff. He’s asked to look into the death of James Morton, a consular officer, who has passed away at his desk. It’s not thought to be suspicious as, even though he was only in his forties, he worked too hard and had been complaining of chest pains for a couple of months.

Ash Carter is tasked with investigating what happened, speaking to all the staff in the embassy and arranging for somewhere to store the body so that it can be studied carefully. With the UK’s formal recognition of the State of Israel only months away, they can’t afford for there to be any scandal so everything has to be handled discreetly, without informing the local authorities, police or press.

Carter is an investigator at heart and can’t wait to get started. He’s instantly suspicious of everything and everyone and determined to uncover what happened to Morton, especially when he discovers that Sir Gregory Ashworth, the ambassador-to-be, removed a handwritten note from the man’s desk.

When a detective inspector from the Tel Aviv police headquarters, and a close friend of Ash Carter, is stabbed to death, things take an even more disturbing turn, especially as DI Rosen had been investigating several murders.

When another shocking revelation is revealed, Ash Carter realises he’s got his work cut out putting all the facts and clues together and trying to discover if things are linked.

Ash Carter is a great character – he’s intelligent, an expert investigator and someone who does what it takes to get results, even if this means pushing boundaries and crossing the line sometimes! He can be a little reckless at times and often gets himself into sticky situations, but has the nous to get out of trouble. It all makes for a tense, dramatic and gripping read as you’re never sure what’s going to happen next, and if Ash is going to be followed, threatened, attacked or come across someone else from his past. He definitely needs to be wary at all times and trust no one.

In the time period and area in which the book is set, there are political and military tensions and lots of diplomacy and calmness is required in this volatile environment. The locations are well described and I can really imagine what it would actually have been like.

Overall, Dead Man’s Run is an action-packed, well-researched and astutely written book! The author cleverly weaves the story together with other threads of the plot and it’s all very entertaining and fast paced! There are startling twists and turns and some brutal and violent scenes, but all in keeping with the story.

The original Ash Carter mystery thrillers are excellent and very intriguing and I’d recommend you check out all the author’s other books too!

Buy the books in the series

Dead Man’s Run by Murray Bailey is available on Kindle and can also be bought in paperback from Amazon.

It was published in September 2026 and there are four other books in the Ash Carter Near East Crime-Thriller series: Cyprus Kiss (2021), The Killing Crew (2022), The Troodos Secret (2022) and The Prisoner of Acre (2024).

About the author

Murray Bailey is the author of the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father’s experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s. From the prequel series, based in Cyprus and Israel, The Prisoner of Acre won the 2025 Page Turner Award. A post-Singapore series is based in the Philippines. The Heretic Cypher is the first book of a trilogy featuring a young Robert Langdon-type character decrypting secret messages written by an ancient Egyptian.

Murray is well travelled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However, he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.

Murray was born in Manchester and now lives on the south coast of England with his family and two dogs, Teddy and Muffin.

Twitter: @MurrayBaileybks
Facebook: @MurrayBaileyAuthor
Instagram: @murraybaileyauthor
Website: https://murraybaileybooks.com/

Blog tour

Thanks to Murray Bailey for my digital copy of Dead Man’s Run and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 20 July to 9 August 2026

Synopsis

She knows every killer twist.
She won’t see this one coming …

Bestselling crime author Marian Lane is surrounded by adoring readers when she learns that her husband Dane is dead.

Marian returns home in shock to discover a stranger on her doorstep. A woman who not only claims she’s Marian’s biggest fan but says that she comforted Dane in his final moments.

At first, this woman, Mary, is a source of comfort. Until she admits Dane confessed a secret. One she can’t quite remember; one Marian is desperate to learn.

But Mary is a storyteller too. And though Marian knows every twist in the genre, she won’t see this one coming …

My review

While taking part in the Danesgate Crime Writing Festival, bestselling cosy crime writer, Marian Lane, is horrified to discover that her husband, Dane Prentice, has died in a tragic accident at their home.

She’s struggling to come to terms with everything when a rather strange lady called Mary Ann Katherine Hannigan, who lives in the nearby flats, speaks to Marian and confesses that she was with Dane when he died and he spoke to her.

From a very difficult upbringing, living in poverty with a horrible father, to her university days, which ended with the murder of a friend, Marian hasn’t had an easy life, especially with the death of several close family members. Writing is Marian’s escape but even this has its problems as her latest and final book in the Maddie Malone Mysteries series hasn’t been well received by her publisher.

And Mary Hannigan has also had a traumatic upbringing, living in foster care and experiencing awful suffering.

The rather complicated but fascinating story is told from the points of view of Marian, with flashbacks to her school and university days, and Mary, via her diary. Both are rather unreliable narrators and I found myself second guessing everything they were saying!

All of the characters were hiding secrets and there were lots of twists and turns and revelations along the way. Just when I thought I’d figured out what was going on, something else would happen to make me question everything.

Looking back, there were hints and clues scattered throughout the book, in the style of Agatha Christie with her deceptively simplistic, character-driven stories with well-engineered plots. It was all very cleverly done!

Overall, this was a gripping and well-written read and kept me entertained throughout. I loved the way that elements of the story were slowly revealed and we built up a bigger picture of what had happened over the years. It was all very dark, tense and intriguing and culminated in an excellent and shocking finale.

This was the first book I’ve read from the author but I’ll definitely check out his Scott Jericho series, which also has great reviews.

Buy the book

The Woman Who Wasn’t There by William Hussey can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Booksearch.

About the author

William Hussey is the award-winning author of over a dozen novels, including the Crime Fest award-nominated Hideous Beauty and The Outrage. Born the son of a travelling showman, he has spent a lifetime absorbing the history, folklore and culture of fairground people, knowledge he has now put to work in his Scott Jericho thrillers.

William lives in the seaside town of Skegness with his faithful dog Bucky and a vivid imagination.

Facebook: @WilliamHusseyWrites
Instagram: @whusseyauthor
Website: williamhussey.co.uk
X: @WHusseyAuthor

Blog tour

Thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for my digital copy of The Woman Who Wasn’t There and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 16 to 31 July 2026

Synopsis

If these walls could talk, they’d scream …

When Ellie moves into 1 Delaney Row, all she has to her name is the house, a small suitcase and the terrible secrets she’s desperate to keep. But what she doesn’t know is that her new home is already hiding someone else’s secrets – and the people determined to keep them are watching her.

When a grim discovery prompts Ellie to find out more about the house’s past, she unwittingly puts herself on a deadly collision course not just with her new home’s history, but with her own as well …

Inspired by so-called ‘stigmatised properties’ – houses with dark and violent pasts – Buyer Beware is an intricate puzzle-box of a thriller with a pulsing emotional heart, from an author at the very top of her game.

My review

The novel starts with Ellie, who’s in her early 40s and single, moving into 1 Delaney Row, one of three red-brick Victorian cottages in a terrace in Dublin. Right from the beginning, we learn that the house is hiding secrets and so is Ellie, especially as she doesn’t have many belongings and is concerned about an ex who now lives in Australia. Worryingly, people keep trying to either peer or break into the house – Ellie isn’t sure which or if it’s the same person.

We also meet Erin and her timeline begins in 2000, when she’s in her final year at school in Cork and thinking about applying for college, while Hannah’s story starts in 2015, when she’s happily single, living in a lovely apartment in Dublin and running a successful company. Both women end up meeting the same man.

The multiple points of view and different timelines make for an interesting, mysterious and chilling novel. I was suspicious of all the characters and was constantly second guessing everyone and trying to figure out who they were and what secrets they were hiding. There were hints and clues along the way but I was really surprised by the twists and turns at times.

I really liked the premise of the novel – stigmatised properties are houses or buildings that people avoid due to for historical reasons rather than their physical condition or features. These reasons can include the death of an occupant, murder, suicide, a history of violent crime, notorious ownership, previous illicit activities and even the belief that a house is haunted.

Overall, this was an intriguing and tense read. The house was the focal point of the novel and I was curious to see how the three women whose viewpoints we follow were linked across the periods of time and how everything fitted together. I had to concentrate to keep track of everyone but the book was cleverly written and kept me entertained throughout.

I’m a fan of the author’s books and remember reading The Liar’s Girl first. My favourite is The Nothing Man, though I’m yet to read 56 Days, which has recently been turned into an eight-part TV series. The settings of her novels are varied and I always look forward to seeing what she writes about next.

Buy the book

Buyer Beware by Catherine Ryan Howard can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Catherine Ryan Howard is the author of eight novels including number one bestsellers The Nothing Man, 56 Days and The Trap.

Her work has been shortlisted for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Novel, the Crime Writers Association New Blood and Steel Daggers, and Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year multiple times.

The screen adaptation of her lockdown thriller, 56 Days, aired on Prime Video in February 2026. She lives in Dublin.

Facebook: @catherineryanhoward
Instagram: @cathryanhoward
Website: catherineryanhoward.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my digital copy of Buyer Beware and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 13 to 18 July 2026

Synopsis

Chinese New Year 1952

British ex-military investigator, Ash Carter finds himself in the middle of a political game between the army, the police and a Triad-style gang. Someone intends to attack Singapore and Carter is tasked to stop it. But Carter is more intent on solving the mystery of who and why someone killed his friend.

My review

Set in the Singapore in 1952, Singapore 52 is the first book in the Ash Carter mystery thriller series and was originally published in 2017. This review is part of a reboot of the original blog tour in 2022 to celebrate the updating of the e-book, which is perma free on Kindle.

It’s 1 February 1952 and Ash Carter has just arrived in Singapore. He mysteriously left Israel and resigned from the Special Investigations Branch of the British Army in a hurry and headed to Singapore after receiving a rather cryptic telegram from his old friend, Tom Silverman.

Before he has even checked into his hotel, Ash intervenes in a confrontation between three British soldiers and another man in an undercover market and ends up getting involved in a fight and being arrested by the Royal Military Police!

While being questioned at Government House, a man called Secretary Coates who is responsible for internal security mentions to Ash that he needs someone independent who can work with the Army and the police. They’re concerned about an imminent security threat on the island – a plan to attack involving stolen military guns – and Coates wants Ash to investigate.

Ash decides to think about the surprising proposition and asks to be driven to the docks at Keppel Harbour. It’s here that he’s shocked to learn his old school friend, Tom Silverman, was killed in a car crash 10 days ago, the day after Ash received the telegram from him.

The scene is now set and Ash must juggle investigating the imminent attack with discovering what happened to Tom Silverman. The author cleverly weaves the story together with other threads of the plot and there’s never a dull moment in the book!

Trouble seems to follow Ash Carter around and he’s constantly looking over his shoulder, checking to see if he’s being followed or about to be attacked by someone! It makes for a tense and dramatic read and there’s a constant sense of menace, danger and suspense.

Overall, Singapore 52 is a well-researched, action-packed and gripping read! It’s cleverly plotted and nicely paced with lots of action, lots of tension and some shocking twists and turns. There are startling revelations and some brutal and violent scenes, but all in keeping with the story. The characters are well drawn and the main protagonist, Ash Carter, is intelligent but also rather reckless at times, which adds to the excitement as you never know what he’s going to do next! He likes to push the boundaries and sometimes cross the line, even though he knows he shouldn’t!

There are lots of military and political tensions in the period and area in which the book is set and it’s all very tense and volatile. I could really picture the location and found it well described. There’s such a sense of tension and peril and no one can be trusted, even those close to Ash. While reading, I was on edge the whole time, waiting for someone to be threatened or attacked!

The original Ash Carter mystery thrillers are excellent and very intriguing and I look forward to reading the books that I haven’t got round to yet, including the novellas.

Buy the books in the series

Singapore 52 by Murray Bailey is currently free on Kindle and can also be bought in paperback and hardback from Amazon.

It was first published in 2017 and there are now five other books in the Ash Carter Mystery-Thriller series: Singapore Girl (2018), Singapore Boxer (2018), Singapore Ghost (2019), Singapore Killer (2020) and Singapore Fire (2021). As well as three novellas: Singapore Rain (2024), Singapore Worlds (2024) and Singapore Blood (2026).

About the author

Murray Bailey is the author of the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father’s experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s. From the prequel series, based in Cyprus and Israel, The Prisoner of Acre won the 2025 Page Turner Award. A post-Singapore series is based in the Philippines. The Heretic Cypher is the first book of a trilogy featuring a young Robert Langdon-type character decrypting secret messages written by an ancient Egyptian.

Murray is well travelled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However, he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.

Murray was born in Manchester and now lives on the south coast of England with his family and two dogs, Teddy and Muffin.

Twitter: @MurrayBaileybks
Facebook: @MurrayBaileyAuthor
Instagram: @murraybaileyauthor
Website: https://murraybaileybooks.com/

Blog tour

Thanks to Murray Bailey for my digital copy of Singapore 52 and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 21 February to 9 March 2026

Synopsis

An ancient code. A deadly killer. A truth buried beneath the sands of time.

FBI Special Agent Charlie Rebb thought the Surgeon – a notorious serial killer – was a ghost from the past. But when a new series of murders erupts, each marked with strange, arcane symbols, the trail leads Rebb across continents to Egypt … and to a chilling revelation: the Surgeon has returned, and this time, his killings follow a pattern – one tied to a purpose more terrifying than anyone imagined.

Meanwhile, in Egypt, Alex MacLure has uncovered more encoded messages in ancient tablets. An ancient Egyptian was searching for a forgotten symbol. His name appears in a programme written by a brilliant AI student. The student reaches out with a wild theory – but before MacLure discovers the truth, he’s arrested for a murder he didn’t commit.

Thrown together by fate and hunted by forces beyond their understanding, Rebb and MacLure must unlock an ancient secret. They must stop the Surgeon before he unleashes a plan, millennia in the making.

My review

The Mark of Eternity is the second book in the Egyptian Stones trilogy and it’s another absorbing story!

In Atlanta, Georgia, FBI special agents Charlie Rebb and Peter Zhang, along with local detective Nick Garcia, are investigating the shocking discovery of the bodies of several men underneath a church. They soon realise that it’s the work of the Surgeon, a serial killer who carried out the murders of eight men in the Panola Mountain state park three years ago. On the trail of their number one suspect, Rebb heads to Cairo in Egypt in an attempt to track him down.

Meanwhile in Egypt, Egyptologist Alex MacLure continues to study ancient stone tablets to try and decipher the meaning of the encoded messages hidden within them. MacLure is contacted by a mysterious caller who asks to meet him in Cairo to discuss something important that he’s discovered. In a disturbing twist, Alex ends up being arrested for murder but he doesn’t have a clue who the victim is.

The two strands of the story become linked when Rebb and MacLure’s paths cross in the pursuit of their goals and what follows are fascinating and detailed investigations with some shocking revelations. Both protagonists end up at the heart of the action and become involved in some tense and frightening moments. They meet lots of different characters along the way as they try and work out what they’re involved in by figuring out various types of clues, from symbols and cryptic numerical codes and sequences to more generic detective work!

Overall, The Mark of Eternity is an intelligently written story and really made me think. It’s well researched, action packed and fast paced and cleverly layered. At times, I was rather baffled by some of the theories and clues but was really gripped by the story and desperate to find out how things were going to be resolved. While reading, I was often on edge, waiting for something to happen!

As with all Murray Bailey novels, the characters are fascinating and well drawn and the geographical locations are clearly described and I could really picture the settings and became immersed in the various strands of the investigation, with the constant sense of menace, danger and suspense.

This was another gripping and fast-paced contemporary story in the series, and an interesting change from the author’s usual thrillers set in 1950s Singapore, and I’m excited to read the final book in the trilogy next year.

Buy the books in the series

The Mark of Eternity (The Egyptian Stones, book 2) by Murray Bailey was recently published in paperback, hardback and e-book. The first book, The Heretic Cypher, was published in July 2025 in paperback, hardback and e-book, and the third book, Codex of the Gods, will be published in spring 2027.

About the author

Murray Bailey is the author of the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father’s experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s. From the prequel series, based in Cyprus and Israel, The Prisoner of Acre won the 2025 Page Turner Award. A post-Singapore series is based in the Philippines.

The Mark of Eternity is the second book of a trilogy featuring a young Robert Langdon-type character decrypting secret messages written by an ancient Egyptian.

Murray is well travelled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However, he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.

Murray was born in Manchester and now lives on the south coast of England with his family and two dogs, Teddy and Muffin.

Twitter: @MurrayBaileybks
Facebook: @MurrayBaileyAuthor
Instagram: @murraybaileyauthor
Website: https://murraybaileybooks.com/

Blog tour

Thanks to Murray Bailey for my digital copy of The Mark of Eternity and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 26 January to 13 February 2026

Synopsis

A fresh, funny and deeply affecting novel about a thirty-something woman who begins stalking a celebrity crush – and about what happens when it all becomes a bit too real. Perfect for fans of Baby Reindeer.

You’re the love of Esther’s life. You just don’t know it yet …

Esther first sees Ted walking in a park in London. They lock eyes and for a fraction of a second, she feels something she’s never felt before.

She starts by reading up about his life in Canada and his work as an actor. Then she watches every interview with him online. It isn’t long before she’s joined Ted’s fan site online where her and the ‘Tedettes’ stalk his every move.

When Ted gets a new celebrity girlfriend, Esther decides that things have gone far enough. She leaves her husband, takes all their savings, and buys a one-way ticket to Canada.

After all, Ted might not know it yet, but they are meant to be together – he just needs a little bit of persuading …

At its heart, Esther is Now Following You is a fresh, funny and deeply affecting novel about what happens when life gets too much and what we do to cope. It combines the humour of Fleabag and Green Dot’s unattainable obsession, told with the propulsion of Baby Reindeer.

My review

Right from the start, this was an intriguing read! After a traumatic event in her life, Esther feels lost and is struggling to cope. When she spots Canadian actor, Ted Levy, in a local park, she’s drawn to him and follows him on social media and joins his other fans, the Tedettes. They discuss Ted’s films, talk about his life and his girlfriends, and share any sightings they find in the media.

Before long, a mild crush becomes obsessive and Esther can’t think of anyone or anything else. Struggling to relate to her husband, friends or family, and convinced she shared a moment with Ted in the park, Esther impulsively decides to spend her savings on a one-way flight to Toronto in the hopes that he’ll fall in love with her too.

Esther is behaving completely irrationally and is unable to listen to anyone but the voice inside her head telling her to connect with Ted as he’s the solution to her unhappiness.

This was an uncomfortable read and I really feared for Esther throughout the novel. She is setting herself up for a big fall and seems incapable of stopping to think about what she’s doing and talking properly to her husband or anyone else. Rather than try and get help, Esther is in denial about things and ends up hurting herself and others around her by her actions.

This is a really thought-provoking and emotional storyline. I was drawn into Esther’s world and I laughed, cried, cringed and looked on in horror as she turned her life upside down in the inadvisable pursuit of a minor, not particularly nice, celebrity.

Overall, this was an excellent novel. It was cleverly written and the storyline was revealed in an intriguing manner – just when I thought I’d sussed out how things were going to play out, there was another revelation to surprise me! The book was very tense and disturbing at times and I was shocked by the actions of some of the characters.

The premise was rather different but very of the moment and it was frightening to see how easily someone can be pulled into the toxic side of social media and be influenced by others.

I have to mention the amazing cover, which is very colourful, striking and memorable. Definitely one that catches the eye and stands out on the shelves!

Buy the book

Esther is Now Following You by Tanya Sweeney can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an e-book from Kobo and Apple Books. See also Penguin Books and Bookshop.org.

About the author

Tanya Sweeney is an Irish journalist, columnist and regular contributor to radio and TV. Her personal columns focus on a variety of subjects including parenting, pregnancy, friendship, culture, and body issues.

She currently works on the Weekend magazine at the Irish Independent, and her experience working in the music, film and TV industries helped inspire her debut novel.

Tanya is based in County Kildare.

X: @tanyasweeney
Instagram: @tanyasweeney
Instagram: @estherfollowsyou

Blog tour

Thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours and Bantam Books (Transworld Books) for my digital copy of Esther is Now Following You and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 10 to 25 October 2025

Synopsis

A gripping noir thriller that exposes the dark heart of a nation in turmoil.

Journalist Martin Gillie has vanished, and his wife wants him found. It seems like a straightforward case for newly arrived Ash Carter. But in post-war Philippines, nothing is ever straightforward.

Carter follows a trail that leads from the smoky boxing rings of Manila to the rebel-haunted provinces. And as Carter digs, with each uncovered clue, the stakes rise higher. The police can’t be trusted. The military has its own agenda.

Carter begins to wonder: Is Martin Gillie hiding from something – or someone? And if Carter finds him, will either of them live to tell the story?

My review

No Safe Place to Hide is the first book in the Philippines Thrillers series and it’s a fascinating story! I’m a big fan of Murray Bailey’s books and was keen to read this story, which is set in the Philippines eight years after the end of the Second World War and follows on from the Ash Carter Singapore Mysteries series.

It’s January 1954 and Ash Carter is on a ship from Singapore to Hong Kong that is forced to divert to the harbour of Manila in the Philippines with engine trouble. While waiting for the repairs to be carried out, he gets involved in a political protest, which he doesn’t know anything about, but he protects a woman from a police baton and is arrested.

He’s eventually released when he promises to return to his ship the following day and he later discovers that his friend, Bill Wolfe, is in Manila and runs a bar called the Crazy Bear. He decides to head there and catch up with Bill but he’s surprised to discover him brawling with three other men in the bar. Wolfe doesn’t even recognise Ash as he’s far too drunk.

The men haven’t seen each other for over three years and they’re both keeping quiet about events from their pasts.

After leaving the army and the Middle East, Ash Carter arrived in Singapore two years ago. He briefly worked for the government and liaison with the army then set up a detective agency.

Bill Wolfe had also started a detective agency, then bought the bar and both businesses had been doing well but he had money troubles and ended up bounty hunting.

It turns out that Bill’s last investigation went badly wrong, his detective business failed and he’s ended up an alcoholic and his bar is facing closure too. Ash, meanwhile, left Singapore under a cloud too after a disastrous liaison with a femme fatale.

A rather attractive Filipina woman enters the bar looking for Bill as her husband, Martin Gillie, who is a reporter for the Manila Times, is missing. His wife, Rena, asks Bill to help find him but he refuses and Ash offers to help instead, hoping he can persuade Bill to join him.

And so begins Ash’s first case in Manila and he soon finds himself involved in all kinds of trouble as he tries to discover what has happened to the missing man and pull the various threads of the story together, with help from Bill’s barman and assistant, Quick, and Martin Gillie’s colleague, another reporter called Hilary Wigglesworth, as well as several other interesting characters!

As the novel progresses, Ash finds himself visiting numerous different locations in Manila, and even dabbles in a bit of boxing, as he realises that Martin Gillie was involved in something a lot bigger than he imagined and he’s not really sure what he’s going to discover at the end. Ash faces some terrifying situations and I genuinely couldn’t see him escaping some of them and was wondering when his luck was going to run out!

Overall, No Safe Place to Hide is an engaging and fascinating read. It’s well plotted and action packed with action, tension and some frightening twists and turns. There are startling revelations and I was shocked at the way things turned out at times!

The characters are well drawn and the main protagonist, Ash, is cunning and intelligent. I loved the way his brain works and how he manages to put the clues together and figure out what’s happening, especially when things are at a dead end.

I don’t know anything about the Philippines but I could really picture Manila and the author is so good at creating a sense of place and researching all the historical, political and societal detail of the region. This is another location where the threat of danger is just around the corner at all times – there’s an underlying edge of menace and suspense to the story and, while reading, I was on edge the whole time, waiting for something to happen! I definitely didn’t feel like anyone could be trusted and became more suspicious of everyone as the plot unfolded!

This was a gripping and fast-paced story, and an interesting change in setting and direction from the author’s 1950s Singaporean thrillers, and I’m excited to see where the series goes in the next book.

Buy the book

No Safe Place to Hide (The Philippines Thrillers, book 1) by Murray Bailey is out now in paperback and published on 24 October in e-book.

About the author

Murray Bailey is the author of the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father’s experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s. From the prequel series, based in Cyprus and Israel, The Prisoner of Acre won the 2025 Page Turner Award. A post-Singapore series is based in the Philippines.

Murray is well travelled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However, he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.

Murray was born in Manchester and now lives on the south coast of England with his family and two dogs, Teddy and Muffin.

Twitter: @MurrayBaileybks
Facebook: @MurrayBaileyAuthor
Instagram: @murraybaileyauthor
Website: https://murraybaileybooks.com/

Blog tour

Thanks to Murray Bailey for my digital copy of No Safe Place to Hide and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 14 to 31 July 2025

Synopsis

When Egyptologist Alex MacLure’s friend and mentor dies he’s stunned to discover she’s left a message – hidden, encoded, and meant only for him.

With a mysterious artifact and a trail of cryptic symbols, Alex is thrust into a deadly race against time. What begins as a quest to finish her research quickly spirals into a chilling conclusion: her death was no accident. She was murdered for what she discovered.

Now he’s the next target.

Hunted by a ruthless adversary, Alex finds himself swept from the academic halls of London to the heart of Egypt’s oldest sites.

As he races to decode a forgotten truth buried beneath centuries of deception, powerful enemies close in – willing to kill to protect a secret – a revelation so explosive, it could rewrite everything we know about ancient Egypt and religion.

My review

The Heretic Cypher is the first book in the Egyptian Stones trilogy and it’s a fascinating story! I really enjoy Murray Bailey’s other series about Ash Carter and BlackJack and was excited to read this tale about ancient Egypt.

Egyptologist Alex MacLure is shocked to learn of the sudden death of his university friend and mentor, Dr Ellen Champion, at her home near Newbury. It seems to be a tragic accident, but Alex is not convinced as he learns more about what Ellen had been working on and discovers that she’d left him some numerical clues about her research on the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon.

Alex decides to try and figure out what Ellen was trying to decode, but, right from the start, he runs into difficulties as he can’t find her laptop or any sign of her research, and the police are rather suspicious of him too.

With help from a couple of people who I wasn’t entirely sure could be trusted, Alex gets in touch with a few of Ellen’s research contacts and, after some tense and shocking moments in London, he ends up at the heart of the action in Egypt! Can he discover the truth before others put a stop to his investigations?

Alex sets off to figure out Ellen’s work, cleverly interpreting various symbols and cryptic numerical codes and sequences, and meets lots of different characters along the way. Some people are more helpful than others and most of them definitely shouldn’t be trusted.

As the novel progresses, Alex finds himself involved in something a lot bigger than he imagined and he’s not really sure what he’s going to discover at the end. He faces some terrifying situations and I genuinely couldn’t see him escaping some of them and was wondering when his luck was going to run out!

Overall, The Heretic Cipher is a well-researched, action-packed and fascinating read! It’s well plotted and fast paced with action, tension and some terrifying twists and turns. There are startling revelations and I was shocked at the way things turned out at times!

The characters are well drawn and the main protagonist is clever and really interesting. I loved the way his brain works and how he manages to put the clues together and figure out what’s happening, especially when things are at a dead end.

The story is intelligently written and really made me think. I was rather baffled by some of the Egyptian theories and clues and couldn’t figure out the puzzles, either the numbers or graphical ones, but I was really immersed in the story and just went with it!

I could really picture Egypt and it was well described. There’s such a sense of menace, danger and suspense to the story and no one can be trusted, even those close to Alex. While reading, I was on edge the whole time, waiting for something to happen!

This was a gripping and fast-paced contemporary story, which was an interesting change from the author’s usual thrillers set in 1950s Singapore, and I’m excited to see where the series goes in the next book.

Buy the book

The Heretic Cypher (The Egyptian Stones, book 1) by Murray Bailey was published in paperback and eBook in July. The second book, The Mark of Eternity, will be published in eBook and paperback in March 2026.

About the author

Murray Bailey is the author of the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father’s experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s. From the prequel series, based in Cyprus and Israel, The Prisoner of Acre won the 2025 Page Turner Award. A post-Singapore series is based in the Philippines.

The Heretic Cypher is the first book of a trilogy featuring a young Robert Langdon-type character decrypting secret messages written by an ancient Egyptian.

Murray is well travelled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However, he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.

Murray was born in Manchester and now lives on the south coast of England with his family and two dogs, Teddy and Muffin.

Twitter: @MurrayBaileybks
Facebook: @MurrayBaileyAuthor
Instagram: @murraybaileyauthor
Website: https://murraybaileybooks.com/

Blog tour

Thanks to Murray Bailey for my digital copy of The Heretic Cypher and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 9 to 20 June 2025

Synopsis

Twenty years ago, a group of students each wrote themselves a letter – Dear Future Me – confiding their deepest dreams and their very darkest secrets.

Now the letters, thought long discarded, have begun to drop through letterboxes. For some they will make them re-evaluate the decisions they’ve made, the person they could have been.

For others, the letters could be deadly …

A compulsively gripping thriller of regret, hidden secrets and the deepest betrayal, Dear Future Me is the unmissable new book from the lauded author of The Dangerous Kind and The Captive.

My review

Right from the start, this was an intriguing read! A group of students writing letters to their future selves – what could possibly go wrong?!

In 2003, Mr Danler, an English teacher at a school in Saltburn in North Yorkshire, set a creative writing task for his class and asked the 17-year-old pupils to write letters to themselves about what they wanted to have achieved 20 years in the future.

By the time the letters start arriving in 2023, a lot of people have forgotten they’d even written them; whereas for others, their teenage words evoke some horrible memories, which they’d tried to repress, and have awful repercussions.

When Audrey’s best friend, Miranda, receives her letter, shockingly, she rushes from her house leaving husband, Marcel, and children, Enid (7) and Edward (5) behind.

In flashbacks to 2003 and extracts from various letters, we learn more about what happened around the time they were written. Audrey must try and piece together all the elements of the past to try and work out why Miranda reacted the way she did.

A lot of Miranda and Audrey’s classmates still live locally and their secrets are slowly revealed as the novel progresses. Audrey is tenacious and determined to discover the truths of the current day and the events that occurred 20 years ago. Interestingly, everyone’s recollections are slightly different and they manage to convince themselves that they’re innocent of any wrongdoing.

Overall, this was an excellent read! It was cleverly written and the storyline was revealed in an intriguing manner – just when I thought I’d sussed out what was going on, there was another revelation to surprise me! The book was very tense and emotional at times and I was shocked by the actions of some of the characters – in the past and the present!

The premise was very thought-provoking and realistic and it was fascinating to see what high hopes everyone had and how their lives had actually turned out. It was disturbing and upsetting to discover how their lives were shaped by what had happened when they were still children.

I first read one of the author’s books, The Dangerous Kind, on the now-defunct reading platform called The Pigeonhole and really enjoyed it and look forward to catching up on her other two novels very soon.

Buy the book

Dear Future Me by Deborah O’Connor can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Deborah O’Connor is a writer and TV producer responsible for well-loved programmes such as ‘Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds’ and ‘A League of Their Own’. She lives in North Yorkshire with her husband and daughter. Deborah’s first novel was the bestseller, My Husband’s Son, and she followed this with The Dangerous Kind and The Captive.

Twitter: @deboc77
Instagram: @deborahleighoconnor

Blog tour

Thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers and Bonnier Books for my digital copy of Dear Future Me and for place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 31 March to 6 April 2025

Synopsis

I first saw her on the platform on my way home from work a few weeks ago. She had an aura about her that made people stop and stare. Then I saw her again. And again. Our twice weekly commute into London Waterloo in sync. She was always so poised, so pretty, so perfect.

Everything I’m not.

In my head, her name’s Lucia, and she’s a glamorous catwalk model from Milan who commutes from Winchester to attend casting calls in the city. But this morning she’s late, barely making the train as the doors close. She doesn’t take her usual seat, instead staying close to the doors …

Then it hits me – she looks terrified.

I feel compelled to help her, and against my better judgement I stand up and move towards her. It’s then the illusion crumbles. Her name’s not Lucia, but Allie. Not a model, but a woman in need of dire help. She tells me she’s in danger, that she’s done something dreadful and I don’t know why I do it, but I promise to keep her safe.

But I shouldn’t make promises I know I can’t keep.

Because my life isn’t as picture perfect as I like to pretend, and I can’t stop wondering if maybe I’m not the only one pretending …

My review

Graphic designer Jenna Morgan commutes to work on the train twice a week from Southampton to Waterloo in London. She’s married to Brett, an author struggling to write his second book, who she met at university, and they have two children, Luke (9) and Caley (7). Jenna begins to notice another woman on her commute and she’s so glamorous that she imagines she’s a catwalk model.

One morning, the woman rushes on to the train when it stops at Winchester and is really distressed. Despite being autistic and rather nervous about approaching the woman, Jenna speaks to her and learns that her name is Allie Davis and she thinks that she’s killed her boyfriend, Clark.

Jenna gets swept up in the situation and eventually ends up inviting Allie to stay at her house, despite Brett’s initial misgivings. It all seemed a bit much and too kind a thing to do for a complete stranger!

As the story progressed, I read it with a growing sense of unease! Jenna was far too quick to allow Allie into her life and some of her decisions made me feel really uncomfortable and I feared for the Morgan family and how everything was going to pan out! I definitely wouldn’t have been as trusting of Allie as Jenna was!

Allie seemed to know a lot about Jenna and her past and was far too keen to ingratiate herself in the family. Brett and the kids were all quick to become rather friendly with Allie and she even gets on with Brett’s mum, who is quite rude about her daughter-in-law.

Overall, this was a gripping and chilling read! I was thoroughly engrossed in the storyline and had to put it down at times as Jenna made numerous bad decisions in an attempt to be kind and caring! Allie was far too cunning and it was frustrating how she had an answer for everything and was good at wrapping people around her little finger.

This tense and suspense-filled story was twisty and disturbing with lots of shocks and revelations. I really enjoyed it and had no idea how it was all going to be resolved.

This was my first book by the author as M.A. Hunter but I’ve read a Stephen Edger book and will definitely be checking out his other books!

Buy the book

The Woman on Platform 8 by M.A. Hunter is published by Boldwood Books and can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle (for only 99p) and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and Apple Books (both only 99p).

About the author

M.A. Hunter is the author of psychological and crime thrillers, including The Boat Party, One Wrong Turn and Every Step You Take. Born in the north-east of England, he now lives in Southampton where many of his stories are set, allowing him to use his insider knowledge to deliver realistic and unsettling suspense on every page.

Away from writing, M.A. loves to read anything that will keep him awake at night. He’s also a passionate advocate for contemporary cinema and binge-watching the latest offerings from streaming services. He is married with a son and a daughter, and two dogs.

M.A. also writes under the name Stephen Edger.

Twitter: @AnAutieAuthor
Facebook: @AnAutieAuthor
Instagram: @AnAutieAuthor
Newsletter: bit.ly/MAHunterNews
BookBub profile: bookbub.com/authors/m-a-hunter

Blog tour

Thanks to Boldwood Books and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for my digital copy of The Woman on Platform 8 and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 24 to 31 October 2024

Synopsis

The lies of the past …

When an anonymous tip lands on his desk, DS Adam Tyler is intrigued in spite of himself. The disappearance of a young mother twenty-four years ago was big news, but the case was never solved – this tantalizing new lead is something he simply can’t ignore. But the letter has set in motion a dangerous chain of events, and Tyler’s search for the truth soon leaves him fighting for his life.

… live in the present

With Tyler out of action, DC Mina Rabbani must step up to lead the Cold Case Review Unit in his absence, retracing Tyler’s steps and uncovering his secrets to figure out what he was working on. But as she begins to put the pieces together, the case starts to hit frighteningly close to home. Without DS Tyler to protect her, Mina realises that now she’s the one with hard choices to make.

And this time she’s on her own.

My review

Sleeping Dogs is actually the fourth book in the Tyler and Rabbani series, following Firewatching, Nighthawking and Cold Reckoning, but it’s the first one that I’ve read and, being a big fan of police procedurals, I was excited to dive in!

When DS Adam Tyler finds an envelope containing a handwritten note on his desk, he’s intrigued but also confused! The note seems to refer to the disappearance of a young woman 24 years ago, but he struggles to make sense of the wording as it’s rather nonsensical.

Tyler ends up following the tip to an abandoned 1920s cinema, where he has a fall while exploring and sustains serious injuries and is rushed to hospital.

DC Mina Rabbani, Tyler’s colleague in the Cold Case Review Unit, has no idea what he was working on as he kept the note from her, but she is determined to get to the bottom of things, despite their bosses insisting that Tyler’s fall was probably just an unfortunate accident.

As Mina delves deeper into the case, she feels uneasy and discovers some startling revelations as the investigation progresses. She retraces Tyler’s steps and speaks to various characters, including a former burglar, Harry, and an intriguing lady called Ruth, who is hiding information about her past and torn about sharing it with Mina.

Told over the course of six days, with flashbacks to events over the last six months, Sleeping Dogs is a gripping and engaging police procedural story with lots of twists and turns and some rather shocking reveals.

I enjoyed the way the story switched between the past and the present and we slowly learnt more about what Tyler had been doing and were able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It was also interesting to find out a bit more about Tyler and Mina and their backstories, especially as a newbie to the series.

Overall, this was an intriguing, well-written and cleverly plotted book, with lots of twists and turns! It certainly had me gripped in suspense as I kept reading just one more chapter, desperate to find out how it was all going to be resolved.

I’m excited to read the other three books in the series now and look forward to the next instalment!

Buy the book

Sleeping Dogs by Russ Thomas can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle for 99p and in paperback and hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Russ Thomas was born in Essex, raised in Berkshire and now lives in Sheffield. He grew up in the 80s reading anything he could get his hands on at the library, writing stories, watching large amounts of television, playing videogames, and largely avoiding the great outdoors. He spent five years trying to master playing the electronic organ and another five trying to learn Spanish. It didn’t take him too long to realise that he’d be better off sticking to the writing.
 
After a few ‘proper’ jobs (among them: pot-washer, optician’s receptionist, supermarket warehouse operative, call-centre telephonist and storage salesman), he discovered the joys of bookselling, where he could talk to people about books all day.

Twitter: @thevoiceofruss
Facebook: @russthomasauthor
Instagram: @thevoiceofruss
Website: russthomasauthor.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Sarah Harwood for my lovely hardback copy of Sleeping Dogs and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 21 to 27 October 2024

Synopsis

How well do you really know the people you love the most?

The leafy village of South Langley is the sort of place where someone might kill to live. The Griffiths family has the best home of all – the climbing ivy framing their double bay windows. You can always spot Eve laughing with her husband and their sixteen-year-old-son. And Eve’s best friend Lisa and her teenage daughter Annie live in a charming cottage right across the street. Everything is perfect… Until one night something unthinkable turns the peaceful neighbourhood upside down.

Annie is found on the tiled floor of Eve’s kitchen struggling to breathe. As the blue flashing lights of police cars shatter the quiet streets, everyone is looking at the Griffiths family for answers.

With Annie’s life hanging in the balance, Eve is determined to find out what happened. But as she gets closer to the truth, she begins to question who she can really trust. Because someone is lying to her – is it her best friend, her husband or her son?

After all, we all have secrets. But how many of us would kill to keep them?

My review

Eve and Noah Griffiths’ son, Joe, is turning 16 and desperate to have a few friends round their house one evening to celebrate his birthday. His mum reluctantly agrees but makes sure that her and Noah are close by, at her best friend Lisa’s cottage on the other side of the village green. Lisa’s sensible daughter, Annie, will also be attending the party but Eve still has misgivings and feels uneasy; she’s very protective of her only son and also worried that gate crashers will turn up!

A few hours later, Eve gets a distressed phone call from Joe to say that something has happened to Annie, her goddaughter, and the three of them race over to discover her pale, with a faint pulse and struggling to breathe. An ambulance is called and Annie is rushed straight to hospital, desperately unwell, with her life hanging in the balance.

The fallout from the awful incident is immediate, with Lisa blaming Joe and refusing to allow Eve to go to the hospital with them. Also, the rest of the people in the village are looking for someone to blame and they turn on the family and some even tell them to go back to London, despite the fact they’ve lived in South Langley for over 16 years!

Noah, Eve, Joe and the teenagers who were at the party are all questioned by the police and Eve ends up carrying out her own investigations in a bid to clear her family’s names and uncover the truth about what happened that night. Eve has always been really protective of Joe but slowly begins to realise that he has been keeping things from her and she doesn’t know her son as well as she thought. She’s also worried about what her husband has been getting up to as well!

Noah runs his own education recruitment consultancy agency, while Eve is head of maths at the local girls’ grammar school and her headteacher is not impressed to learn about what has happened.

It’s a gripping and twisty storyline and there’s definitely more to everyone than meets the eye. Eve uncovers some disturbing secrets as she talks to various people and she puts herself in danger too. There are some big shocks along the way and I raced through the book in less than a day, desperate to find out the truth and see how everything was resolved!

This was an emotional and tense read and the characters were relatable and well drawn. I felt all kinds of emotions and frustrations as the compelling story progressed and things went from bad to worse for all concerned!

Overall, I really enjoyed this fast-paced, well-plotted domestic thriller and will definitely be checking out the author’s other books very soon!

Buy the book

Everyone Has Secrets by A.J. McDine can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback.

Audible
UK: https://ow.ly/MNGo50TKVwX
US: https://ow.ly/NAcE50TKVwU

Listen here: https://ow.ly/Z16u50TKVwV

About the author

A.J. McDine was a journalist and police press officer until she realised writing fiction was much more fun.

She lives in Kent in the UK with her husband, fellow thriller writer, A.J. Wills, their two sons and three rescue cats.

The author of seven dark, domestic thrillers, she loves to keep her readers guessing till the very last page.

Her debut thriller, When She Finds You, was followed by Should Have Known Better, No One I Knew, The Promise You Made and The Invite.

Her sixth thriller, The Baby, reached the Amazon top 20 in the UK and the Amazon top 100 in the US. This was followed by The Photo in July 2024. Her eighth thriller, Everyone Has Secrets, is out now.

Facebook: @ajmcdineauthor
Instagram: @ajmcdineauthor
Goodreads: A.J. McDine
Website: ajmcdine.com
Bookouture email sign-up: bookouture.com/subscribe/a-j-mcdine

Blog tour

Thanks to Noelle Holten at Bookouture for my digital copy of Everyone Has Secrets and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 23 September to 4 October 2024

Synopsis

Chester Newton is a successful racehorse syndicate organiser and his company, Victrix Racing, is having its best year yet. When his prized horse, Potassium, wins the world-famous Epsom Derby, Chester is set to become the next big thing in British horse racing.

But one phone call changes everything.

Someone hiding behind a voice scrambler and an untraceable phone is demanding he fixes a race – and they’re willing to go after Chester’s family if he fails to comply.

Chester’s business is the only thing in his life that isn’t falling apart. With his marriage on the rocks and his children growing increasingly distant, he is not willing to let someone destroy the success he’s spent his life building.

Then his daughter is kidnapped and, very suddenly, it’s not just his livelihood that’s on the line. Now Chester must discover just how far he will go to protect his family …

My review

This was my first book by Felix Francis and I haven’t read any by his father, Dick Francis, either. The main character of Syndicate has the same name as my son so I was keen to read the book!

Chester Newton is a horse racing syndicate organiser and his company, Victrix Racing, owns 40 horses. He buys horses at the bloodstock sales in the UK and Ireland and then encourages others to join his syndicates and become joint owners of the horses, along with 12, 15 or 25 others. People pay thousands for the privilege and access to the impressive but rather decadent world of horse racing. For many, it’s all about the prestige of owning a horse and seeing it do well and they like to place bets on a win too!

Chester’s home life is difficult. His children, James (21) and Amanda (19), are both on the verge of spreading their wings and leaving home. His wife, Georgina, has rather lost interest in racing and the constant expectation to be on show and keep up appearances and make small talk with others at various races, parties and events.

After Chester’s horse, Potassium, wins the Epsom Derby, he’s back in the spotlight (after a few years of poor form) and becomes the target of criminal activity. His daughter goes missing during a party to celebrate his wedding anniversary and his children’s birthdays and he becomes embroiled in some rather tricky situations, which could end up wrecking his entire career and reputation.

I don’t really know that much about the racing industry and knew nothing about syndicates but the author did a really good job of explaining various terms and elements in a clear and concise way.

This was an entertaining and fast-paced read and I really enjoyed my foray into the world of horse racing! The story was action packed, tense and gripping and I was fearing for Chester’s family’s lives at times! I had a few ideas about who was to blame for the kidnapping and other criminal activities and I’m pleased to say that I was partially right!

The chapters were fairly short, usually ending in a cliff hanger, and had me turning the pages frantically and I read this well-plotted book in a couple of days, keen to know how it was all going to pan out!

Overall, I really enjoyed Syndicate and have already purchased another of the author’s books to read! The series of books is definitely worth a look, whether you’re a fan of horse racing or not!

Buy the book

Syndicate by Felix Francis can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Felix Francis is the bestselling author of the Dick Francis novels.

The younger of the two sons of Dick and Mary Francis, after 17 years as a teacher, Felix took on the role of managing his father’s affairs in the 1990s. His importance to the franchise grew from that day, culminating in the pair co-writing Under Orders, the first book Dick wrote after a five-year hiatus. At his father’s insistence, Felix was credited as a full co-author on Dead Heat and the subsequent three books. The last book the pair worked together on was Crossfire, published in 2010, the year of Dick’s death.

Since his father’s death, Felix has taken over the literary reigns from his father and Dick’s legacy will live on through the Dick Francis novels. He has delivered a string of thrillers, acclaimed by fans and press alike.

Felix is a passionate cricketer and a regional chairman for the Lord’s Taverners, a qualified pilot, and enjoys playing golf badly and scuba diving rather better. He shuttled back and forth to the Caribbean regularly while his father was alive, but now divides his time between Oxfordshire and Devon.

Twitter: @felix__francis
Facebook: @felixfranciswriter
Website: felixfrancis.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for my digital copy of Syndicate and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 12 to 22 August 2024

Synopsis

Three women. One Killer.
Talking to strangers has never been more dangerous …

When forty-five-year-old Karen Simmons is found lifeless, abandoned in remote woodland, journalist Kiki Nunn is determined to beat every other reporter to the story.

And she already has a head start. Just days before Karen’s murder, Kiki interviewed her about the highs and lows of mid-life romance. Karen told her about the expensive gifts and the starlit rendezvous. About the scammers and the creeps …

While police stay focused on local suspects, Kiki starts to write the definitive piece on one woman’s fatal search for love. But she will soon learn that the search for truth can be just as deadly …

My review

Taking place over the course of 17 days, after the shocking murder of 45-year-old hairdresser, Karen Simmons, Talking to Strangers is a gripping and compelling read! It’s the second book featuring Detective Elise King and I read the first one, Local Gone Missing, a couple of years ago but it works perfectly well as a standalone crime thriller.

Set in the town of Ebbing in Sussex, the story is told from the points of view of Elise King, journalist Kiki Nunn and a former resident of the town, Annie Curtis.

DI Elise King is very good at her job but still recovering from breast cancer and struggles to focus at times and keep all the strands of the investigation under control. She has an understanding colleague, DS Caro Brennan, who has her back and encourages and supports her during the weeks of the case.

When Erica (Kiki) Nunn’s news editor boss, Miles, tells her that a body has been found in Knapton Wood, she’s horrified to discover that she interviewed the victim, Karen Simmons, who ran a singles group called the Free Spirits, the previous week for an article and learned all about her dating life. She’s hopeful that she can write a story for Sussex Today about the murder that will get her recognised by the national press.

Annie Curtis and her family left Ebbing 15 years ago after a traumatic event in their lives. Karen used to cut their hair and Annie is shocked to learn what has happened to her.

The small town element of the story is interesting – a lot of people know Karen and have their own opinions on her dating behaviour. There’s lots of gossip and some rather misogynistic comments from local men. The storyline is very current with its mention of online dating and how people behave today.

Over the two weeks of the investigation, there are breakthroughs and dead ends and moments when it feels like nothing is going to be resolved, but slowly and surely, with the input and hard work of several characters, things start coming together!

The short chapters moved the story along well and I was keen to read just one more chapter before I put the book down! It was very gripping, and tense at times, and I was really engaged in the investigation. I enjoyed the way that we learnt key facts about the case from various characters but, frustratingly, this information wasn’t always shared!

Overall, this is a brilliant police procedural and I really enjoyed it. The story was well paced and intense and had some great twists and turns and shocking revelations. I read it over a couple of days and didn’t want to put it down! I’ll definitely be checking out the author’s other books: The Widow, The Child and The Suspect.

Buy the book

Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle (currently only 99p) and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Fiona Barton‘s debut, The Widow, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been published in 37 countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, and her third, The Suspect, were both bestsellers.

Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards.

While working as a journalist, Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. She interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery, and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most …

Born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives on the south coast in West Sussex.

Twitter: @figbarton
Facebook: @fionabartonauthor
Website: fionabartonauthor.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Bantam (Transworld Books) and Sophie and Poppy at Ransom PR for my proof and hardback copies of Talking to Strangers and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 5 to 11 July 2024

Synopsis

Her husband is dead. But his secrets live on …

When Constance hears the knock on her door, her heart misses a beat in fear. She ushers the police into the lounge, and they tell her to sit down. It’s hard to stop her legs from shaking and their words buzz in her ears as they tell her that Daniel – the husband she has always loved – has been found dead in what they believe is a tragic suicide.

As Constance breaks the news to her teenage daughter Cathy, her thin shoulders shake with sobs. She says that her father had everything to live for and he wouldn’t have left them behind. Constance knows this is true. Because she also knows about Maya, the other woman he would do anything for, the woman she has been following, the woman he argued with the day he died.

Constance tries to put her grief and anger aside and find out what happened for the sake of her daughter. But as she digs deeper into Daniel’s death, it looks as if he isn’t the only one who has been hiding things …

What did Cathy know about her father and his other woman? What really happened the day Daniel died?

Constance is desperate to learn the truth … but will it destroy what remains of her family?

A heartbreaking and powerful novel about family secrets and the decisions we never think we will have to make. Perfect for fans of Imogen Clark, Amanda Prowse and Susan Lewis.

My review

Irish couple, Daniel and Constance, and their 15-year-old daughter, Cathy, move from Galway to Flagstaff in Arizona after Daniel is offered a real estate job by his brother, Liam. He’s been out of work for over six months and, after recent events, feels this is a great opportunity for a new start for the whole family.

While Daniel and Cathy throw themselves into life in Arizona, Constance is less keen and struggles to make friends and adapt to the heat. She’s homesick for Galway and still reeling from the short affair Daniel had a few months before.

The couple’s relationship goes from bad to worse with Daniel working hard to try and impress his older brother, Cathy making friends but turning into a sullen and difficult teenager, and Constance ends up feeling unloved and unwanted by them both. Daniel soon becomes embroiled in another, passionate, affair with an artist called Maya.

Told from the points of view of Constance, Maya, the Grand Canyon park ranger, Katarina Nolan, who found Daniel’s body, and a mysterious fourth voice, this is a gripping and engaging read. The story switches between months before and days after Daniel’s disappearance and we learn more about the various characters and the timeline of what happened and how and why he ended up dead. It made for fascinating reading as I tried to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and work it all out!

The settings of Galway and Arizona were well described – I could imagine the contrast between the green, leafy and rainy Ireland and the dry and arid heat of the Grand Canyon.

The characters were rather intriguing, even those who had a smaller role to play in the story, like Liam’s wife and Maya’s ex-boyfriend, as they all seemed to be hiding secrets from each other and weren’t being honest. There was such a range of emotions and themes – from Maya’s passion and free spiritedness to Constance’s anger and betrayal and Daniel’s arrogance and cheating – and it made for uncomfortable reading at times. The characters combined to create an engaging and well-paced read, which I finished in a couple of days, keen to know how it would all be resolved!

Overall, this was a great family drama/thriller with some surprising twists and turns! The police assumed Daniel’s death was suicide but soon Constance and Maya are being questioned. I had a few theories but was surprised how events unfolded and didn’t see the ending coming!

This is the first book by the author that I’ve read but I’ll definitely be checking out Noelle’s other books, which all sound brilliant!

Buy the book

The Man I Can’t Forgive by Noelle Harrison can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Noelle Harrison is an Irish author who’s been writing novels and plays for nearly 30 years. Her books have been published in over 12 different countries. She is also published under the pen name Evie Blake and her Valentina trilogy hit the Der Spiegel Bestseller List in 2013.

In 2014, she was one of 56 Irish writers included in the anthology and exhibition, Lines of Vision: Irish Writers on Art at the National Gallery of Ireland, and published by Thames & Hudson.

She has also written five plays: Northern Landscapes, Black Virgin, Runaway Wife, The Good Sister, and Witches’ Gets, which featured in Cymera and Audacious Women Festivals in Edinburgh to sold-out houses.

She currently lives in Edinburgh in Scotland, and is one of the founders of Aurora Writers’ Retreats, and part of the wellness hub, The Space To BE.

If you like stories written from the heart, historical with contemporary timeslip, family mysteries and secrets, and always, always a love story set against evocative landscapes, you might like to pick up one of her books. Her aim is to tell women’s stories from the past and present and to give voice to those who are rarely heard.

Twitter: @NoelleHarrison
Facebook: @NoelleCBHarrison
Instagram: @noelle.harrison5
Website: noelleharrison.com
Bookouture email sign-up: bookouture.com/noelle-harrison

Blog tour

Thanks to Noelle Holten at Bookouture for my digital copy of The Man I Can’t Forgive and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

SquadPod blast: 4 to 13 June 2024

Synopsis

It seems too good to be true …

When struggling writer Sebastian finds a room to let in a palatial Hampstead residence he cannot believe his luck. The rent is ridiculously cheap and he immediately feels a connection with his beautiful widowed landlady, Adriana.

It is.

Things take a dark turn when he finds out what happened to the last lodger. Could this be why the house is a fortress of security, and why Adriana seems so fragile? Adriana doesn’t want to talk about the death and sadness that seem to follow her wherever she goes and Sebastian has secrets of his own.

Now someone is watching their every move and there is nowhere to hide.

This house of light becomes a dark nightmare as the threat ramps up – what does the watcher want? And how far will they go to get it?

My review

Twenty-five-year-old Sebastian (Seb) Walker, a struggling writer and bar worker, decides to move to London for some inspiration to help him with his writing. He searches on a private rental website and is amazed to find an affordable room in an incredible six-bedroom property in trendy and expensive Hampstead, an area known for its literary connections.

The set up is a bit strange as he’ll be the lodger for a lady called Adriana Wentworth, who is 39 and was widowed seven years ago when her husband, Charles, died of a heart attack. Her last lodger, a young City law firm trainee called Ethan, died accidentally in tragic circumstances a few months ago. Adriana has some strange house rules but Seb thinks the house is perfect for his needs.

Right from the start of the novel, it’s clear that both Seb and Adriana are hiding some dark and disturbing secrets. The story is told in the first person and both characters allude to traumatic events in their past that have affected them deeply. They’ve both had difficult childhoods and their parents have passed away.

We also hear from a creepy, menacing third voice, who appears to be stalking Adriana and watching her every move inside and outside the house obsessively, and there are also flashbacks to ‘before’, where we meet 11-year-old Scarlett, who has friends called Xavier and Eve.

As Seb gets to know more about the enigmatic and security-conscious Adriana in her locked-down fortress, he begins to wonder what he’s letting himself in for, especially when he’s warned off by various people. Death seems to follow Adriana around and she’s very introverted, secretive and delicate, perhaps understandably so.

I didn’t trust either of them and felt that they were both unreliable narrators and I wasn’t sure what on earth was bubbling away beneath the surface!

Overall, this was a cleverly plotted and well-paced story and very engaging! There was lots of tension and I felt quite frightened and fearful at various points – the story was dark and chilling and made for uncomfortable reading at times.

It was such a tense and gripping novel and very twisty – there were lots of shocking revelations; most of which I was totally surprised by!

As the tension and suspense rose, I couldn’t put this compelling book down! The complex characters fascinated me and I was curious to try and put all the clues together and find out how everything was going to reach its dramatic climax.

I’ve read and enjoyed A.A. Chaudhuri’s earlier legal thriller series (The Scribe and The Abduction) and The Final Party, and must check out her two other psychological thrillers, She’s Mine and The Loyal Friend soon!

Buy the book

Under Her Roof by A.A. Chaudhuri is published on 13 June and can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

A.A. Chaudhuri is a former City lawyer turned thriller writer, born and raised in Portsmouth, but who now lives in Surrey with her family. Once a highly ranked British junior tennis player, competing in the national championships and a member of the national squad, she went on to tour the women’s professional satellite circuit as a teenager and achieved a world ranking of 650.

The Scribe and The Abduction, published by Lume Books in 2019, are her first crime book series, plunging readers into London’s glamorous legal world and featuring series’ heroine, Maddy Kramer, fiction’s first female City lawyer amateur sleuth, who teams up with charismatic DCI Jake Carver to solve a gruesome series of murders and a puzzling abduction.

As well as Under Her Roof, A.A. Chaudhuri has written three other psychological thrillers with Hera Books: She’s Mine (2021), The Loyal Friend (2022) and The Final Party (2023).

Besides being an avid reader, she enjoys fitness, films, anything Italian and a good margarita!

Twitter: @AAChaudhuri
Facebook: @AAChaudhuri
Instagram (author): @a.a.chaudhuri
Instagram: @aachaudhuri
Website: aachaudhuri.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Hera Books for my digital copy of Under Her Roof and to The SquadPod Collective for my place on the book blast.

See the banner below for more stops on the SquadPod blast.

Blog tour: 27 May to 7 June 2024

Synopsis

When 3-month-old Max is abducted, his parents are plunged into their worst nightmare. Devastated mum Sarah only took her eyes off him for a second, but that doesn’t stop her guilt. Even husband Jake can’t hide his anger that their little boy went missing on her watch.

By contrast there are smiles and celebration at a caravan park in Lincolnshire, as baby Blaze is introduced to the Star family. Jenna and Gary are delighted with the new addition to their family. He is their fourth child and a real object of delight to their eldest – fifteen-year-old Willow – who once again will raise the child.

But trouble is brewing for the Star family. Willow is concerned by the desperate online appeals from Sarah and Jake, baby Max has neonatal diabetes and without regular treatment will die. As baby ‘Blaze’ becomes seriously ill, Willow makes a shocking discovery. What is the truth about her family? And how far will they go to hide their deadly secret?

My review

With three children under three years old and a husband, Jake, who is never around because he’s just been promoted to deputy head at the local comprehensive school, Sarah Barratt is struggling. Their three month old, Max, has neonatal diabetes and constantly cries and Sarah is at the end of her tether and concerned about the future.

After a rather fractious and upsetting lunch with Lisa, her friend and former work colleague, Sarah heads to the nearby nature reserve with a screaming baby Max to feed him and zone out for a bit. She has her headphones on with music playing loudly and ends up getting distracted and Max is abducted.

Meanwhile, the rather unconventional Star family are celebrating the arrival of their new baby boy, who they name Blaze. They live in Nomad, a vintage showman’s van, and travel around the country visiting various campsites and farmers’ fields but they don’t consider themselves to be typical travellers, referring to themselves as special, and stay away from the Normals. The Star family consists of mum Jenna and stepdad Gaz plus Willow (nearly 16), Tiger (10) and Moon (5). The children don’t go to school, instead learning lots of different practical skills, and they live a hippy-type lifestyle with no access to TV, radio or internet and no phones.

Told from the viewpoints of Sarah, Jake, Jenna and Willow, we learn more about the two families as the shocking story unfolds in this gripping and fascinating read! Poor Sarah is vilified by everyone – her rather useless husband, Jake, his parents, the local police and people nationwide (online trolls) condemn her for her actions and carelessness and accuse the poor woman of all kinds of terrible things. She’s supported by family liaison officer, PC Leila Hassan, but struggles to hold it all together as days pass with no news of her baby son, who is in danger of becoming critically ill without his diabetic medication.

I really enjoyed this tense and unusual novel – the premise and characters were different from the norm and the rather dark story was cleverly plotted, well paced and very entertaining. The book has lots of relevant and emotional themes and I found the Star family’s traveller-type lifestyle particularly interesting. All the main protagonists were intriguing and they developed well as the novel progressed and I couldn’t wait to find out how everything would be resolved, racing through the book in two days, desperately hoping Max was going to be found in time!

I felt a range of emotions as poor Sarah was attacked from all quarters and hounded by the press and I was shocked by the disturbing and twisted behaviour of Jenna, who talks about freedom but is actually so controlling of everyone. Willow was amazing, so brave and wise beyond her years. She’s growing up and starting to question everything more, particularly her upbringing and her mum’s rather erratic decisions and behaviour. Jake’s actions left a lot to be desired and he was so unsupportive of Sarah and really weak at times! Other characters like Joan and Zack were lovely too and played important roles in the story.

The various locations were well described and I was excited to discover that the novel is partially set in Thetford Forest in Norfolk as I’m from near there originally and it’s unusual to find the town mentioned!

Overall, this was a brilliant read and I found it engaging and very tense at times. I wasn’t expecting some of the twists and turns and there were some shocking revelations, which had me gasping in horror and surprise! I was really hoping that all the pieces of the jigsaw were going to fall into place in this desperate race against time.

The Wrong Child is written by two authors and it was fascinating to learn how their process works. They are part of an Orion Crime Writers’ Room project that’s led by M.J. Arlidge, who is working in collaboration with Julia Crouch, Steph Broadribb, Lisa Hall, Alex Khan and Andy Maslen. M.J. Arlidge came up with the ideas for the five standalone novels but each author works with him to hone the plot, characters and style and they then write their story with input, guidance and feedback from Arlidge at each stage of the process. It sounds like a fascinating concept and I’m looking forward to reading the other four books.

I haven’t read any books by either of the authors before but will definitely be checking out their backlists now!

Buy the book

The Wrong Child by M.J. Arlidge and Julia Crouch can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle (currently only 99p) and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the authors

M.J. Arlidge has worked in television for the last 20 years, specialising in high-end drama production, including prime-time crime serials Silent Witness, Torn, The Little House and, most recently, the hit ITV show Innocent. In 2015, his audiobook exclusive Six Degrees of Assassination was a number-one bestseller. His debut thriller, Eeny Meeny, was the UK’s bestselling crime debut of 2014 and has been followed by 10 more DI Helen Grace thrillers, all Sunday Times bestsellers.

Twitter: @mjarlidge
Facebook: @MJArlidge
Instagram: @m_j_arlidge

Julia Crouch is the author of seven internationally published crime novels: Cuckoo, Every Vow You Break, Tarnished, The Long Fall, Her Husband’s Lover, The New Mother and The Daughters. She has also written 11 plays and is developing a screenplay. She teaches for UEA, Faber Academy and the National Centre for Writing.

Twitter: @thatjuliacrouch
Facebook: @JuliaCrouchAuthor
Instagram: @juliageek

Blog tour

Thanks to Orion and Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for my digital copy of The Wrong Child and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 22 to 28 April 2024

Synopsis

Your father is on death row. You have seven days to save him. But do you want to?
Alice knows her father is guilty of many things.
He’s guilty of abandoning her.
He’s guilty of being unfaithful to her mother.
But is he guilty of murder?

Now on Death Row, he has seven days to live.
Some people want him released.
Others will kill to keep him just where he is.
Alice has only one chance to save him. But should she?

My review

There are 13 years in age between Alice Logan and her sister, Fiona Sharp, and the women haven’t always had the easiest of relationships since their parents split up. Alice was the one who told their mum that their dad, Jim, was having an affair with a woman called Mariella Serrano and Fiona has always blamed her sister for splitting up the family and her parents’ 19-year marriage.

When, out of the blue, Fiona reveals to Alice that she’s heard from Mariella and their estranged father is on death row in Raiford in Florida and due to be executed by lethal injection in seven days’ time, both women are shocked and confused, especially as they haven’t been in touch with their dad for over 14 years.

Jim Sharp was accused and found guilty of the murder of a small-time drug dealer called Manny Castillo. The evidence against him sounds conclusive but Jim has spent the last 11 years maintaining his innocence and appealing.

Fiona pleads with her sister to help investigate the case and see if there’s any way that their father can be saved. Alice was a criminal attorney in New York but returned to their hometown of Whitley Bay after their mum had a stroke four years ago and now works as a lawyer for a law firm.

Reluctantly, Alice agrees to help and what follows is a whirlwind week as she races from the North East of England to Paris to New York to Florida! It’s a race against time as Alice has just seven days to try and find something to help her father and save him from death row. She’s tenacious and brave, putting herself in dangerous situations, asking probing questions of various people and using her contacts in the UK and US to try and figure out what’s been going on.

It’s a gripping, fast-paced, exciting and cleverly plotted thriller that would make a great TV series or film! There were lots of twists and turns, and I was never sure who to trust and was suspicious of everyone. The case took a frightening turn and things escalated in dramatic fashion.

There were some shocking revelations and some intense and terrifying scenes in which I was scared for all of the characters involved! I was holding my breath at times. Such an entertaining read!

Seven Days is compulsive and tense reading and the short chapters made me want to read just one more! I raced through it in a couple of days and didn’t want to put this brilliant book down! I’m looking forward to the next book from the author and will definitely be checking out his Porter and Styles series, written as Robert Scragg.

Buy the book

Seven Days by Robert Rutherford can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Robert Rutherford had a random mix of jobs before taking the dive into crime writing; he’s been a bookseller, pizza deliverer, karate instructor, football coach and HR manager. He lives on the North-East coast with his wife, children and overly needy dog, and is a founding member of the Northern Crime Syndicate crime-writers group.

Robert’s work has also seen him win the Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction in 2021, as well as being shortlisted for a CWA Dagger in 2021 and 2022, and longlisted in 2024.

He also writes as Robert Scragg, with What Falls Between the Cracks, the first in his Porter and Styles series, being chosen as a New Writing North pick in the 2019 Read Regional books of the year.

Twitter: @rutherfordbooks
Facebook: @robertscragg
Instagram: @robertrutherfordwrites

Blog tour

Thanks very much to Alainna Georgiou at Hodder & Stoughton for my hardback copy of Seven Days and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 11 to 26 April 2024

Synopsis

‘We’re not famous anymore. We’re notorious.’

For over a decade, the Lancasters were celebrity royalty, with millions tuning in every week to watch their reality show, Living with the Lancasters.

But then an old video emerges of one of their legendary parties. Suddenly, they’re in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: witnesses swore they’d seen missing teenager Bradley Wilcox leaving the Lancaster family home on the night of the party, but the video tells a different story.

Now true crime investigator and YouTuber Tom Isaac is on the case. He’s determined to find out what really happened to Bradley – he just needs to read between the Lancasters’ lies …

Because when the cameras are always rolling, it won’t be long until someone cracks.

Told exclusively through interviews, transcripts and diary entries, Clickbait is an incisive, compelling, and gripping thriller. It explores fame, deception and ruthless ambition, asking whether reality TV has created a generation of people in the public eye who are famous for being famous, and what dangers come with trying to stay in the public eye. With an increasing demand for clicks and views, popular news sites and national newspapers are as much at risk of attention-grabbing behaviour as those we call influencers. But just how far would you go to retain your celebrity status?

My review

The reality TV show, Living with the Lancasters, first aired on YouTube in April 2007. It features mum Lynn (43), and her three children, Taylor (20), Locke (17) and India (14). Their dad and Lynn’s husband, Ed, a former Manchester Utd footballer died in 2004.

Nineteen years after Ed’s sudden death, in a tribute to his dad, Locke shares a video of him dancing at his 40th birthday party at the family home in 2003 and inadvertently opens a big can of worms! In the background is 18-year-old Bradley Wilcox who went missing that night and hasn’t been seen since.

Bradley’s sister, Cassie, has been trying to discover the truth about his disappearance for the last 20 years, setting up a missing persons charity called Never Give Up. She enlists the help of true crime investigator and YouTuber, Tom Isaac, to try and finally get to the bottom of what happened two decades ago.

Right from the dramatic opening, this was a gripping and intriguing thriller and I couldn’t wait to find out how the story was going to unfold. Written in the form of video transcripts, news articles, police interviews, personal interviews, private emails and diary entries, it makes for fascinating reading!

The book was cleverly plotted and it flows so well, with lots of twists and turns and some shocking reveals. It’s fast paced and deviously written; just when I thought the investigation was slowing down, something else would happen and we’d be heading off in another direction!

It was an intense and absorbing read and unpredictable too as I had no idea how the story was going to be resolved and whether Bradley was going to be found or not. I had some theories but was mostly barking up the wrong tree!!

I’m not usually a fan of reality TV but the setting was great and I was horrified by the kinds of things everyone was getting up to in the series! Surely it couldn’t be real and was all staged? Some awful behaviour, ruthless ambition and their egos were ridiculous!

None of the members of the Lancaster family were particularly likeable, which meant that I suspected them all of various misdemeanours at one point or another! I read the book over the course of a couple of days, quickly turning the pages and desperate to finish just another section!

I’ve now read several of the author’s books and they’re always engaging and compelling stories. This one was brilliant! It’s very readable and particularly enthralling too and I couldn’t put it down! I’m looking forward to reading The Ugly Truth next for my monthly book club readalong in The Bookload on Facebook.

Buy the book

Clickbait by L.C. North can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

L.C. North studied psychology at university before pursuing a career in public relations. Her book club thrillers, The Ugly Truth and Clickbait, combine her love of psychology and her fascination with the celebrities in the public eye.

When she’s not writing, she co-hosts the crime thriller podcast, In Suspense. She lives on the Suffolk borders with her family.

L.C. North is the pen name of Lauren North.

Twitter: @Lauren_C_North
Facebook: @LaurenNorthAuthor
Instagram: @Lauren_C_North
Website: lauren-north.com
Newsletter: bookouture.com/lauren-north

Blog tour

Thanks to Transworld Books and Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my proof copy of Clickbait and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 6 to 12 April 2024

Synopsis

When Shelley Woodhouse wakes up in hospital from a coma, the first thing she says is that her husband must be arrested.

He’s the reason she’s in here. She knows it. She remembers what he did. Clearly as anything.

But there are things Shelley has forgotten too, including parts of her childhood. And as those start to come back to her, so do other memories. Ones with the power to change everything.

But can she trust these new memories, or what anyone around her is telling her? And who is the mysterious hospital volunteer who brings her food and keeps making her smile? Is it possible to find your future when you’re confused about your past?

My review

I’ve read and enjoyed all the author’s books and couldn’t wait to sign up for the blog tour and read The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up too!

When Shelley Woodhouse comes round, she’s shocked to discover that she’s in the intensive care unit at her local hospital. She’s been injured in some kind of incident but she’s not sure what happened and everyone seems to be reluctant to tell her the truth.

Shelley believes that her husband has attacked her and caused the injuries but no one is forthcoming about what happened and her requests to see a police officer fall on deaf ears. We later discover that Shelley became distressed when friends and hospital staff tried to tell her what had happened and she asked that she be allowed to regain her memories by herself.

While recovering, Shelley tries to figure out why she’s in the hospital and the story is told in the then and now as she thinks back to her childhood with her mum, Tina, her Granny Rose, her mum’s boyfriend, Mick, and various schoolfriends.

Shelley has a dedicated nurse, Angela, who looks after her, a physiotherapist called Fern, and also has visits from her friend, Dee, and a lovely volunteer called Matt, who runs the restaurant in the hospital. All the characters were well written and I could really imagine them all so clearly.

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up is a gripping and intense read and I was fascinated by Shelley’s rather sad past as well as her present life. The book was so emotional and heart-wrenching in places and I was angry with how Shelley and her mum had been treated by certain people over the years and keen to work out how and why she’d ended up in hospital.

The book was cleverly written, with lots of little hints and clues about the past, but I really wasn’t sure where things were going as I read and the mystery of the story was definitely intriguing!

I love the style of covers for the author’s books too – they’re very recognisable and go well together.

This was another excellent read from Laura Pearson – very poignant and beautifully written – and I raced through it, eagerly turning the pages. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Buy the book

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up by Laura Pearson can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle, paperback and hardback and as an eBook from Kobo. See purchase link for Apple and Amazon. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Laura Pearson is the author of five novels. The Last List of Mabel Beaumont was a Kindle number one bestseller in the UK and a top 10 bestseller in the US. Laura lives in Leicestershire, England, with her husband, their two children, and a cat who likes to lie on her keyboard while she tries to write.

Twitter: @LauraPAuthor
Facebook: @LauraPAuthor
Instagram: @laurapauthor
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Blog tour

Thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for my digital copy of The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 8 to 14 March 2024

Synopsis

The end of our marriage was only the beginning …

Last night, we celebrated our anniversary. Over candlelight, we talked about the children, our work, and I was so happy, and felt so loved.

But the next morning, when I check my phone, there is a message. From a friend. And a string of photos appear of my husband, Will, with another woman: walking along the street holding hands. Going into fancy hotels. Standing at a window, his arms around her, her head on his shoulder …

I beg Will to tell me what’s going on. But all he can say is that it’s not what I think. As if the betrayal wasn’t bad enough, he won’t even be honest with me.

And now there’s someone watching our house. Will is acting like a stranger and I think he’s following me. I can’t trust him anymore, and I desperately need to know who sent me those photos and why.

But maybe Will is telling the truth.
Maybe it’s not what I think.

Because the more our pain stops us talking, and the more the two of us tear each other apart, the more I wonder if I ever knew him at all – and what I’ll have to risk to protect my children.

And when at last the secrets are revealed, will the truth save our family, or destroy us all?

A thrilling, gripping page-turner about a marriage falling apart and the darkness love can contain. Readers who love Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware and Shari Lapena will be hooked by The Split.

My review

The night after celebrating their seventh anniversary, Jessica discovers husband, Will, has been cheating when ‘a friend’ messages her a whole series of photos of him with another woman. The marriage is over as far as she’s concerned, and she asks him to leave. There’s no coming back, especially as her father was a cheat too.

Will swears that things aren’t what they seem and it appears that this isn’t your average affair but Jessica is adamant that she’s not giving him a second chance.

The couple have been together for 15 years and have two young children, Cassie (6) and Charlie (4). Will is a house husband and also works part time as a life coach, while Jessica works full time in London, doing 12-hour days, attending meetings and going out for drinks after work.

After their split, Will is staying at a local Travelodge in Brentford when he meets a man called Ian Robbins, who offers him a place to stay, but right from the start I was rather suspicious and wary of him. Things all seemed too good to be true and it felt like Robbins was grooming him for something!

The novel is told from Will and Jessica’s points of view and alternates between the two and, as the story progresses, things just seem to get worse and worse for them both! Jessica spots someone watching their house and struggles to do her demanding job and look after the children, even with help from her mum and best friend, Lena.

Lena acts like she is supportive but I had my doubts at times and wondered if she had feelings for Will. Also, several of the mums from school keep appearing throughout and I was curious if they were involved somehow. It all made for fascinating reading!

Will and Jessica make some awful decisions. Will is naive and far too trusting. They’re both really stubborn and don’t communicate properly at all. If they’d sat down and talked properly about things, they could have avoided a lot of the heartache that followed, but the novel would have been a lot shorter!

Overall, this was a gripping and well-plotted read, with multiple twists and turns! It’s fast paced, tense and intense and kept my interest throughout as I was trying to second guess what on earth was going on with all the characters. I was suspicious of everyone and kept thinking of lots of different scenarios but could never quite figure out what was going on – the author was always one step ahead!

I was genuinely quite scared for several characters at various points and was wondering how everything was going to be resolved in this intriguing tale. The story was a little far-fetched at times but I liked that – I’m always happy to suspend disbelief while reading!

I’ve read four of the author’s books now and they’re always entertaining and engaging reads that have me turning the pages quickly and I don’t want to put them down!

Buy the book

The Split by S.E. Lynes can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

S.E. Lynes is the author of Amazon number one best seller, The Housewarming, plus best-selling psychological suspense novels such as Valentina, Mother, The Women, Her Sister’s Secret, The Baby Shower, The Ex, The Summer Holiday and many more!

A former BBC producer, she has lived in France, Spain, Scotland and Italy and is now settled with her family in Greater London. After completing her MA, S.E. Lynes taught creative writing at Richmond Adult Community College for 10 years. She now combines writing, mentoring and lecturing in Richmond Borough.

Lynes has also published thrillers in Italy, Germany, Poland and Croatia, and has also published three children’s books in Italy: Il Leopardo Lampo, La Coccodrilla Ingamba and the bilingual La Scimmia Spiritosa/The Funny Monkey.

Twitter: @SELynesAuthor
Facebook: @susie.lynes
Instagram: @selynesauthor
Website: susielynes.wixsite.com/website
Bookouture email sign up: bookouture.com/se-lynes

Blog tour

Thanks to Sarah Hardy and Noelle Holten at Bookouture for my digital copy of The Split and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 23 to 27 February 2024

Synopsis

On an ordinary Friday afternoon, popular teacher Mrs Walker and her eight-year-old son leave the school playground. But they never make it home …

Being called in as a substitute teacher to replace a missing teacher – and mother – is the hardest job I’ve ever done. Cate Walker should still be here, in the role she loves. Her son Archie should be sitting in class with his friends. But instead they’ve disappeared and nobody has heard from them since …

At drop-off and pick-up, the other parents are hunched together anxiously. I can see the confusion in their children’s faces. The whole village is full of whispered rumours: that Archie and Cate will never be found, that someone else will soon be next … and that Cate’s charismatic husband, Oliver – our headteacher – is involved.

After the chilling way Oliver looked at me on my first morning, the thought makes my blood turn to ice. I’m determined to uncover what’s really happened to Cate and Archie, especially after I find photos in Cate’s classroom cupboard that change everything …

Then an anonymous note turns up threatening me. My home is broken into while I sleep. I know the longer I stay at this school, the more danger I’m in.

But whoever’s trying to scare me doesn’t know who I am – or why I’m really here.

Or just how far I’ll go to expose the truth …

My review

Right from the start and the very chilling prologue, this was a gripping and intriguing read and I couldn’t wait to find out how the story was going to unfold.

Teacher, Cate Walker, and her eight-year-old son, Archie, left Leedham Primary School as normal on Friday but haven’t been seen since. Cate’s husband, Oliver, the headteacher, is behaving rather strangely and seems to be hiding something. As does supply teacher, Lexi Mills, who is covering for Cate. She’s newly arrived to the area, from Brighton, and seems to be running away from her past.

Set over a couple of weeks, the story is told from the point of view of Oliver, Lexi, another teacher called Gemma and curtain-twitching neighbour, Jeanie, who is hiding something (or someone?) in her spare room! There are also interludes from a mysterious and disturbing character who seems to be the one responsible for the disappearance of Cate and Archie.

The book was very well plotted and there were lots of twists and turns and moments of misdirection. Just when I thought that I’d got things sussed, something else would happen that changed my mind! It was an intense and absorbing read and unpredictable too as I had no idea how everything was connected and how the story was going to be resolved and whether Cate and Archie were going to be found or not.

The small village setting was great and I loved the claustrophobic feel and how everyone wanted to know each other’s business and they all enjoyed gossiping about each other. The rumour mill is strong in Leedham!

None of the characters were particularly likeable, which meant that I suspected them all of various misdemeanours at one point or another! There were some very creepy and harrowing moments with several characters and I was frantically turning the pages at times!

I’ve now read several of the author’s books and they’re always engaging and compelling stories. This one was very readable and particularly tense too and I couldn’t put it down!

Buy the book

The Teacher’s Secret by Lauren North can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback.

About the author

Lauren North writes psychological suspense novels that delve into the darker side of relationships and families. She has a lifelong passion for writing, reading, and all things books. Lauren’s love of psychological suspense has grown since childhood and her dark imagination of always wondering what’s the worst thing that could happen in every situation.

Lauren studied psychology before moving to London where she lived and worked for many years. She now lives with her family in the Suffolk countryside.

Twitter: @Lauren_C_North
Facebook: @LaurenNorthAuthor
Instagram: @Lauren_C_North
Website: lauren-north.com
Newsletter: bookouture.com/lauren-north

Blog tour

Thanks to Jess Readett at Bookouture for my digital copy of The Teacher’s Secret and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 12 February to 1 March 2024

Synopsis

If you can’t trust your head, can you trust your heart?

If she had been found moments later, Amelia’s heart would have stopped and never recovered. Instead she was taken from the desolate beach to the nearest hospital just in time to save her life. When her sister Lexi arrives from New York, Amelia’s heart is beating, but the accident has implanted a series of false memories. These memories revolve around a man named Sam, and a perfect love story that never existed.

Determined to help her sister, Lexi enlists the help of Nick, a local vet who bears a striking resemblance to Sam. Together, Lexi and Nick recreate and photograph Amelia’s dream dates in the hopes of triggering her true memories.

But as love starts to stir between Lexi and Nick, they must navigate a complex web of emotions. How can Lexi fall for Amelia’s dream man without hurting her sister?

My review

When Amelia is found unconscious and suffering from hypothermia on the mudflats near her Somerset cottage at 5am one freezing cold January morning, it’s touch and go if she will survive. Fortunately, her rescuers manage to revive her and she’s rushed to hospital.

Her younger sister, Lexi, who lives in New York, receives a phone call from their mum in the middle of the night and frantically books the next available flight and dashes to be by Amelia’s bedside.

Amelia comes round but is very dazed and confused – she’s behaving strangely and thinks she’s married to a man called Sam, but she’s actually single. She gets upset by her family’s insistence that he doesn’t exist and is just a false memory and draws a picture to show them what Sam looks like.

When Lexi meets a vet called Nick (and his Old English Sheepdog, Mabel) on the beach, she is shocked to realise that he matches her sister’s description and drawings of Sam but he has no idea who Amelia is and is definitely not her husband!

While Amelia is trying to recover, Lexi keeps up the pretence of Sam’s existence, against medical advice, and takes photos of herself and Nick recreating key moments that her sister has described, hoping that Amelia’s real memories will return. While going on these pretend ‘dates’ with Nick, the pair of them get close and it’s clear there’s a strong mutual attraction.

Amelia and Lexi share a special and unusual bond, despite being eight years apart in age, and are close with their mum, Esme. Their father, an angler, died in a tragic accident when Lexi was only eight years old.

The story is told from the point of view of Lexi and it was lovely to see her close relationship and strong connection with her sister. Their love for each other was clear, despite the traumas they were both experiencing. Lexi’s growing friendship with Nick was a joy to read too – their banter, witty remarks, in jokes and the ‘will they, won’t they’ aspect!

Amelia’s gruff neighbour, retired fisherman Tom, was a lovely character and I liked the part he played in the story and how he grew in confidence. Nick, the handsome vet, had me swooning as well and I was really hoping that there was going to be a happy ending for him and Lexi, despite the circumstances and everything that had gone on.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Memory of Us. I had to suspend disbelief at times but it was an emotional and entertaining read, and the pacing and reveals were well done. I felt real empathy for all the characters and was in tears at certain points! It was a gripping and engaging read and cleverly written as I had no idea how things were going to pan out. There were certainly some shocks and surprises along the way!

This was actually the first book by Dani Atkins that I’ve read but I realised that I’ve got several of them in paperback and on my Kindle and will be picking up another one soon!

Buy the book

The Memory of Us by Dani Atkins can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. (It’s currently only 99p in all eBook formats.) See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Dani Atkins is an award-winning novelist. Her 2013 debut, Fractured (published as Then and Always in North America), has been translated into over 20 languages and has sold more than half a million copies since first publication in the UK.

Dani is the author of eight other bestselling novels (The Story of Us, Our Song, This Love, While I was Sleeping, A Million Dreams, A Sky Full of Stars, The Wedding Dress, Six Days) and Perfect Strangers, a standalone eBook novella. In 2018, This Love won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award at the RNA awards in London and, in 2022, A Sky Full of Stars won the Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year at the RNA awards.

Dani lives in a small village in Hertfordshire with her husband, a Siamese cat and a very soppy Border Collie.

Twitter: @AtkinsDani
Facebook: @DaniAtkinsAuthor
Instagram: @daniatkinsauthor

Blog tour

Thanks to Sophie Ransom and Poppy Delingpole for my proof and hardback copies of The Memory of Us and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 21 to 28 February 2024

Synopsis

Ash Carter returns to Israel on what should be a straightforward mission. However, there is a mystery. Why did Alfred Duffy go AWOL from the British Army, go to Israel and then hand himself in at Acre Prison?

The mystery deepens when Carter finds that Duffy escaped just as he arrived.

The hunt begins but as the mystery unravels towards an exciting climax, it becomes unclear who is the hunter and who the hunted.

My review

Set in the new state of Israel in the late 1940s, The Prisoner of Acre is the fourth book in the Ash Carter Near East crime thriller series. The series is a prequel to the brilliant Ash Carter mystery thrillers, which are based in Singapore in the 1950s.

It’s April 1949 and Captain Ash Carter, who is in the British Army’s Royal Military Police (in the Special Investigations Branch), has been tasked with finding an AWOL soldier, Sergeant Alfred Duffy, from the Royal East Kent Regiment. Duffy was temporarily assigned to Provost Company 225, based in Cyprus, but went missing after getting a two-day leave pass. A week later, he turns up at Acre Prison in Israel, where he hands himself in, and Carter is sent to Haifa, with two colleagues, to bring Duffy home.

It sounds like a simple task but, knowing this fascinating series, I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy for Ash!! Right from the start, I was waiting for the action to kick off and it didn’t take long for things to go awry!

Carter sets off to find Duffy, cleverly following clues about his whereabouts, and meets lots of different characters along the way. Some people are more helpful than others and most of them definitely shouldn’t be trusted. As the novel progresses, Ash finds himself involved in something a lot bigger than he imagined and he’s not really sure what’s happening and why. He faces some terrifying situations and I genuinely couldn’t see him escaping some of them and was wondering when his luck was going to run out!

Overall, The Prisoner of Acre is a well-researched, action-packed and gripping read! It’s well plotted and fast paced with lots of action, lots of tension and some terrifying twists and turns. There are startling revelations and some violent and shocking scenes, but all in keeping with the story. The characters are well drawn and the main protagonist is intelligent and brave but also rather reckless at times, which adds to the excitement as you never know what he’s going to do next! I love the way his brain works and how he manages to put the clues together and figure out what’s happening, especially when things are at a dead end.

There are lots of military and political tensions in the period and area in which the book is set and it’s all very tense and volatile. I could really picture the location and it was well described. There’s such a sense of menace and danger to the story and no one can be trusted, even those close to Carter. While reading, I was on edge the whole time, waiting for someone to be threatened or attacked!

I was wondering how the story was going to be resolved but things came to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion, which left me wanting to read more! I really enjoyed the original Ash Carter thrillers and this prequel series is intense and absorbing and an excellent addition to the author’s list. I hope there’s going to be another book soon.

Buy the book

The Prisoner of Acre (Ash Carter, Near East crime thriller, book 4) by Murray Bailey is released on 23 February and can be preordered on Kindle from Amazon.

About the author

Murray Bailey got his first taste of success when he was published in The Times at 18 and in his local newspaper. Although he went on to pursue a different career, he continued to write and edit and became the editor of an international magazine and editor of four technical books.

I Dare You was the first of his books to be published in 2016. It was followed by Map of the Dead, the first of the series based on his interest in Egyptology. His main series, however, is the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father’s experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s.

Murray was born in Greater Manchester, England and has been moving south ever since. He now lives on the beautiful Dorset coast with his wife and family.

Twitter: @MurrayBaileybks
Facebook: @MurrayBaileyAuthor
Instagram: @murraybaileyauthor
Website: https://murraybaileybooks.com/

Blog tour

Thanks to Murray Bailey for my digital copy of The Prisoner of Acre and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 5 to 18 February 2024

Synopsis

When her husband suggests a romantic break, Claire feels obliged to say yes but immediately regrets it.

After the tragedy they’ve been through, how can one weekend in Paris save their marriage?

Claire and Ronan aren’t the only people on a make-or-break visit to the City of Love. There is a big-shot movie producer from Hollywood, full of regret for a life ill-lived; a student from Boston, torn between love and duty; a Ukrainian refugee struggling to protect her little sister; and an old woman from Dijon, hoping to be braver than she has ever had to be before.

When their lives briefly intertwine, something extraordinary happens …

My review

Set in Paris over one September weekend, Last Chance in Paris tells the story of multiple characters who are all in the city for different reasons.

A married couple from Cork, Claire and Ronan, are celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary and trying to find each other again after heartbreak; well-known movie producer, Harry, working on his next film, is looking back over his life and regretting some of his choices; US student and bookshop assistant, Dan, is falling in love but unsure if things will work out; Yeva, a Ukrainian refugee, is trying to protect her younger sister; and an old lady called Mireille from Dijon is being brave and facing the past.

It’s a lovely, poignant read as we learn more about their lives and the things they’ve faced over the years. Each of them has a moving story to tell. It was fascinating to see how the story expanded, how their paths crossed and how various connections between the characters were revealed.

The setting of Paris was great – it’s always lovely to spend some time in this beautiful city and visit the sights! I really felt like I was exploring Paris with them all and it reminded me of my visits there.

I liked the fact that there were French and Ukrainian phrases scattered throughout the book. It was a nice touch and I had fun looking them up!

I really enjoyed this book; it was well written, thought provoking and emotional and I enjoyed the way that people’s lives and stories were cleverly woven around each other. It had me guessing about how the characters were linked and wondering how their stories were each going to end. I felt such a range of emotions while reading and I couldn’t put it down as it was so engaging and captivating.

This is the author’s debut novel and I will definitely be looking out for her next book!

Buy the book

Last Chance in Paris by Lynda Marron can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Lynda Marron was born in Dublin and spent her early childhood in a small town called Prosperous in Co. Kildare. At the age of nine, she moved to Cork. She has not yet mastered the language.

In her teens, she learned that reading curbed her anxiety, and that writing swept it clean away. Thus began her addiction to ink.

Lynda graduated from University College Cork in the mid-nineties with two degrees in microbiology, neither of which brought her any closer to her dream of writing a novel. She opted for the longer route, the Life Experience Creative Writing Course, which included teaching English to Italian teenagers, filing letters in a GP’s surgery, writing listicles for an online bookseller, and a 25-year module called Read All the Books.

She has made and raised four lovely humans, each of whom she taught to read. When she isn’t busy writing her second novel, you’ll find her reading, not weeding, in her rewilded garden. Her greatest ambition is to one day plant a forest, or even just an oak.

Last Chance in Paris is her debut novel.

Instagram: @sultanabun

Blog tour

Thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers and Eriu Books for my digital copy of Last Chance in Paris and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 18 to 31 October 2023

Synopsis

Judge not the man.

Charles Balcombe cannot control his alter ego.

BlackJack is killing for fun and DI Munro knows his partnership with Balcombe can’t continue.

While Balcombe seeks help, Munro is asked to work for the Hong Kong governor’s aide-de-camp. He seems to be sidelined as Garrett resumes his hunt for the Squeezed-heart murderer.

But people have secrets and the more Munro investigates, the murkier they seem. When people start dying and with Balcombe’s help, Munro tries to get to the bottom of a conspiracy of silence.

Will he find the truth?
Will Garrett catch his killer?
Will Balcombe learn the truth about himself?

As the psychoanalyst told him: a third of the mind is darkness. If you dig too deep, be prepared. You won’t like what you find there.

My review

In the third book in this series from Murray Bailey, it’s July 1954 in Hong Kong and Charles Balcombe (not his real name) is still struggling to control the murderous urges from his alter ego, the mysterious BlackJack. In fact, things seem to be getting worse and even Balcombe’s passions – free climbing and dalliances with multiple married women – can’t keep the darkness at bay.

Balcombe moved to Hong Kong the previous year to escape his past, change his name and his life. He’s in his mid-twenties and a bit of a player. He used to be a member of the elite Special Investigations Branch of the Royal Military Police.

Inspector Gordon Garrett was taken off the squeezed-heart murder cases but he’s back to challenge Detective Inspector ‘Babyface’ Munro for his job and still suspicious of Balcombe, who he believes is responsible for the killings.

To keep him out of trouble, Munro asks Balcombe to help find a missing 17-year-old woman called Patricia Albright, who is the daughter of the aide-de-camp, the personal assistant to the governor of the island. As he investigates, Balcombe makes lots of interesting discoveries and learns that there’s more to Patricia’s disappearance than meets the eye. He has to investigate far and wide, and question various people and, slowly, vital clues and elements are revealed as the story progresses.

There are startling revelations and some violent and disturbing scenes, but all in keeping with the story. The characters are well drawn and Balcombe is a fascinating protagonist – he’s intelligent and charming but reckless and impulsive and you’re never sure what he’s going to do next. I enjoyed getting to know him again and learning a bit more about his past and seeing the flashes of BlackJack, who he struggles to control in certain situations, especially after a few drinks. It was also interesting to see how he responded to the psychoanalyst, Doctor Swift, who was recommended by his friend, Roy Faulls.

The rickshaw driver called Albert who Balcombe befriended in the first book is an important character and still works for him and is often sent on special undercover jobs. Albert is invisible and very useful, often getting close to people without them realising!

As with other books from the author, the story is set in a rather tense and volatile area. Various gangs add a sense of menace and danger and there are also military and police tensions and elements of corruption and abuse. It’s a clear case of trust no one and I was suspicious of all as I was reading – everyone seems to have their own agenda and is looking out for themselves and can’t be trusted.

Hong Kong, its culture and its various suburbs and areas are richly described and I could really picture the location and the contrast between the richer and poorer areas.

I really enjoy the police procedural element to the BlackJack series of novels. In this book, there are some great twists and turns, as well as clever misdirection, along the way, before we come to the conclusion of everything. With a Murray Bailey book, you know there’s going to be a cleverly plotted ending that catches you by surprise and there were certainly some startling revelations this time round!

Overall, A Third is Darkness is another well-written, action-packed and gripping read! It’s fast paced with lots of tension and shocks, and the short chapters meant that I raced through the book, just wanting to read one more chapter!

I really enjoyed the original Ash Carter thrillers and this follow-on series is gripping, exciting and entertaining but also a slightly different style to the others. It’s an excellent addition to the author’s list and I look forward to reading his next book soon!

Buy the book

A Third is Darkness by Murray Bailey is available in paperback from Amazon now and on Kindle from 3 November.

Set in Hong Kong in July 1954, this is book three of the BlackJack series. The author recommends reading Once a Killer and Second to Sin first.

About the author

Murray Bailey got his first taste of success when he was published in The Times at 18 and in his local newspaper. Although he went on to pursue a different career, he continued to write and edit and became the editor of an international magazine and editor of four technical books.

I Dare You was the first of his books to be published in 2016. It was followed by Map of the Dead, the first of the series based on his interest in Egyptology. His main series, however, is the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father’s experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s.

Murray was born in Greater Manchester, England and has been moving south ever since. He now lives on the beautiful Dorset coast with his wife and family.

Twitter: @MurrayBaileybks
Facebook: @MurrayBaileyAuthor
Instagram: @murraybaileyauthor
Website: https://murraybaileybooks.com/

Blog tour

Thanks to Murray Bailey for my paperback and digital copies of A Third is Darkness and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 9 to 13 October 2023

Synopsis

Six days to stop a deadly attack. And no one else believes it’s real.

Former CIA undercover operative Ellen McGinley is battling to overcome PTSD when she stumbles upon a domestic terror plot. The deadly attack is due to take place in six days and will strike at the very heart of her homeland.

For Ellen, it’s a chance to find redemption for her greatest mistake – one she will never allow herself to forget.

But no sooner than she alerts the authorities, she finds herself diagnosed as delusional and locked in a psychiatric ward. No one believes her story.

She’s the only one who thinks the danger is real, which means she’s the only one who can stop it.

Ellen must draw on all her old skills to escape, stay alive, protect her family, and find those responsible – before all hell breaks loose.

My review

This is the first book I’ve read by Chris Merritt and I loved it! It’s such a gripping read and I couldn’t put it down. I finished it in a couple of days and it only took that long because I had to sleep and work!

When the main protagonist, Ellen McGinley, a former CIA undercover operative, overhears a conversation between two men at the hotel in Washington DC where she’s attending a function, it sounds suspiciously like a terror plot.

A week later, on the way to a meeting in Philadelphia with a contact to discuss what she heard, she realises that she’s being followed. In an effort to protect herself, Ellen goes too far and is arrested and taken in for questioning. No one believes her story and she ends up at the local state-run psychiatric facility when they learn about her past medical history, including her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Set in the US, the story is told over seven days, in the lead up to the terrorist attack, and there are flashbacks to an event in Ellen’s past that happened five years ago and which caused her PTSD. We also hear from the five people planning the attack as well as some mysterious characters who are also involved in the plot but at a higher level. Intriguing stuff!

Ellen is a great character! She’s very brave, strong and intelligent and uses her CIA experience to get herself out of numerous scrapes and difficult situations. She is also mum to six-year-old Josh and wife to Harry, a congress person.

This is an action-packed thriller with lots of twists and turns, and the storyline takes Ellen on a crazy journey as she fights to save herself, her family and all the numerous people who could be injured or killed in a potential terrorist attack. She’s attacked, terrorised and hunted down and constantly watching her back.

Overall, I really enjoyed Committed – it was an intense, gripping and exciting read and I was holding my breath at certain points, terrified about what was going to happen next! It’s very fast paced and tense and had me turning the pages frantically. It would definitely make a great film – I could just imagine watching it at the cinema!

This is the first book of the author’s that I’ve read but I’ll definitely be checking out his other seven books very soon!

Buy the book

Committed by Chris Merritt can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Chris Merritt is a British author whose crime thrillers combine psychology, suspense, and characters you care about.

All his novels are set in London, where he lives. His first trilogy starred Zac Boateng and Kat Jones, two detectives motivated by family, who tackle organised crime and police corruption. Last Witness, the second Boateng and Jones book, reached #13 in the UK Kindle chart in 2019.

His second series features detective Dan Lockhart – an ex-soldier with a missing wife – and psychologist Dr Lexi Green, an American living in London. These novels are darker, more psychological serial-killer cases, with romantic relationships as a central theme.

Chris began writing fiction in 2014, after previous careers as a diplomat, based in Iraq and Jerusalem, and later as a psychologist working with victims and perpetrators of crime. He specialised in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which sparked his interest in telling stories about how people cope when faced with extreme adversity.

Now, he spends most of his time writing novels and drinking coffee while thinking about writing novels. When he’s not writing, Chris loves climbing and playing basketball.

Twitter: @DrCJMerritt
Facebook: @chrismerrittauthor
Instagram: @cjmerritt81
Website: cjmerritt.co.uk

Blog tour

Thanks to Rosie Margesson at Headline Books for my paperback copy of Committed and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 3 to 14 July 2023

Synopsis

One missing person. Ten sleepless nights. Whatever happens, don’t close your eyes …

Catherine is frantic. It’s her husband Simon’s turn to take their son to nursery and he’s nowhere to be seen. He promised he’d be here. So, where is he? And why isn’t he taking her calls?

Her worst fears are soon realised when the police arrive at her door to tell her that Simon is missing, presumed dead. Refusing to accept that he’s gone, Catherine spends her days retracing his last steps, and her nights searching the streets in desperation.

She will not rest, she will not sleep, until she’s put her family back together.

The days merge into one, and things quickly unravel. Then comes another knock at the door. This time, a young woman. A stranger. Who tells Catherine she doesn’t know her husband at all. That their whole life is a lie.

Catherine needs to know the truth. She needs to find Simon more than ever.

The body can’t survive for more than 10 days without sleep. Will Catherine find her husband and uncover the truth, before it’s too late?

My review

Catherine Wells is looking forward to her day: a lie-in, before brunch with her friend, Lydia, at London Bridge at 11, then they’re visiting the Cezanne exhibition at the Tate Modern in the afternoon. Her husband, Simon, is supposed to be getting their four-year-old son, Charlie, ready before taking him to nursery.

Catherine is woken up by Charlie crying and soon discovers that there’s no sign of Simon. At first, she assumes that he’s gone out jogging, then she remembers that he was going out for work drinks last night. Typical, he’s obviously hungover and has stayed with a colleague!

As she leaves the house to take Charlie to nursery, Catherine is alarmed to find two police officers on the doorstep and even more shocked when they reveal the reason for their visit – her husband is missing, presumed deceased.

Catherine refuses to believe that her husband is dead and she frantically tries to trace his last movements and work out exactly what happened. Her mum helps look after Charlie while Catherine, rather foolishly, fights sleep and refuses to let her mind and body recover and heal. She’s in a state of sleep-deprived delirium as she struggles to put all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together.

There are several secrets to be revealed as we meet friends and colleagues of the couple and the web of deceit grows larger and larger.

The story is mainly told from Catherine’s perspective, as well as a young woman, Sara, who we meet later in the book. There are also flashbacks from that night, when Simon went missing, which slowly and suspensefully reveal what happened.

In another thread to the story, there’s mention of an incident that happened one Friday morning in early August 2018, in which a male jogger pushed a female pedestrian into the path of an oncoming double-decker bus. All very intriguing and I was curious to discover how things were all linked, if at all!

Catherine and Sara were very different characters but were both likeable, if rather naive. Luckily, both women have close friends, in Lydia and Helen respectively, who are there to support them. Simon was an unpleasant character and I really disliked him and was shocked by various revelations concerning his behaviour.

This was a tense and gripping read, and cleverly plotted. I really enjoyed the premise of the story too – it was a bit different and, just when I thought I’d sussed things out, there were a few twists and turns that kept me on my toes! It was a very engaging and absorbing read and I whizzed through it in a couple of days and didn’t want to put my Kindle down!

Overall, I really enjoyed Don’t Close Your Eyes and I can’t wait to read the author’s next book later this year!

Buy the book

Don’t Close Your Eyes by P.S. Cunliffe can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

P.S. Cunliffe is originally from the North-West of England. A musician and artist, as well as a writer, he holds degrees in fine art and creative writing.

He has spent the last 20 years working for some of the world’s biggest websites, and now lives in North London with his wife, Bailey, and his dog, Rufus.

Don’t Close Your Eyes, published by Embla Books, is his debut thriller and tells the story of Catherine, a woman who refuses to sleep until she has found her missing husband. His second book will be published in November 2023.

Twitter: @paul_cunliffe
Instagram: @pauliecunliffe
Website: paulcunliffe.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Embla Books for my copy of Don’t Close Your Eyes and Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 3 to 14 July 2023

Synopsis

From G.T. Karber, the creator of the popular online daily mystery game at http://www.Murdle.com, comes this fiendishly compulsive and absolutely killer collection of 100 original murder mystery logic puzzles. Join Deductive Logico and pit your wits against a slew of dastardly villains in order to discover:

• Who committed the ghastly deed?
• What weapon was used to dispatch the victim?
• Where did the dreadful demise occur?

These humorous mini-mystery puzzles challenge you to find whodunit, how, where and why. Examine the clues, interview the witnesses and use the power of deduction to complete the grid and catch the culprit. Packed with illustrations, codes and maps, this is the must-have detective casebook for the secret sleuth in everyone.

Are you the next Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot? You’ll soon find out, if you dare to Murdle!

Today’s clue

There are three weapons that the murderer might have used in THE MYSTERY OF THE MURDERED MILLIONAIRE: A red herring, a chess board, and a bulletproof vest. With the red herring, if you hold it by the tail, you can get some real momentum behind it. A bulletproof vest would be an ironic weapon to kill someone with. And a chess board presents a game that’s much like a global conspiracy. For example, uh …

The Murdle Detective Agency: Solve a special blog tour murder mystery case by checking out all the blog reviews, starting with @mrsbookburnee on Insta, where you’ll find some instructions to help you on your way. See also @mymidnightbooks, @thevampireslibrary and @susiesbooksreviews (tomorrow). For the remaining clues, visit the bloggers listed on the blog tour banner below.

What is Murdle?

Murdle is a deduction game where you solve mysteries with the logically minded Deductive Logico and his rival, the esoteric Inspector Irratino. Every puzzle can be solved using only your mind, a piece of paper and a pencil.

Join Deductive Logico as he investigates murders at luxury ski resorts, quaint village halls and grand science institutes. (But beware of Logico’s arch rival, Inspector Irratino, of whose clairvoyant mystic methods he deeply disapproves.) Examine the clues, interview the witnesses and complete the deduction grids to catch the culprits.

Together, you’ll uncover a secret buried beneath the murders and a message that can only be decrypted when you’ve solved them all …

My review

With postal delays, my copy of Murdle only arrived yesterday so I haven’t had a chance to get stuck into many of the puzzles yet but they all look great fun! I used to love doing logic puzzles when I was younger and these are even more devilishly devious and really make you think!

There are 100 murder mystery logic puzzles to solve and they gradually increase in difficulty from elementary to occult medium to hard boiled and, finally, impossible! Luckily, there are hints at the back of the book and also the solutions!

Each logic puzzle is a complete murder mystery case and you have to analyse the clues, decode ciphers, examine witness statements and apply your reasoning and logic skills to work out the who, what and where, using the deduction grid provided to bring it all together … and lots of paper in my case! (Make sure you use a pencil and not a pen too!)

The puzzles are cleverly concocted and also humorous too. They’re very moreish – I tried one and, before I knew it, I’d worked my way through several more! I’d definitely recommend them to anyone who’s looking to challenge their mind and blow out the cobwebs!

I hadn’t heard of the Murdle.com online puzzles before and it sounds like I’ve been missing out! I’ll definitely be checking those out every day from now on.

Buy the book

Murdle by G.T. Karber can be purchased in paperback from Amazon, Blackwell’s, Waterstones, Hive, Bookshop.org and independent bookshops. See also Ethical Book Search.

There’s a new Murdle book out in October, Murdle: More Killer Puzzles, as well as a third volume, Murdle: Even More Killer Puzzles, in March 2024.

About the author

G.T. Karber grew up in Arkansas, the son of a judge and a civil rights attorney. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arkansas with a degree in mathematics and English literature before gaining an MFA from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. As the General Secretary of the Hollywood Mystery Society, he has staged more than 30 immersive whodunits in the Los Angeles area.

Twitter: @gregkarber
Instagram: @gregkarber
Website: murdle.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Angie Curzi and Souvenir Press for my copy of Murdle and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 6 to 21 April 2023

Synopsis

How well do your family really know you?

Belle can’t wait to finally have her twins all to herself after their first term at university. But when Kit unexpectedly brings back her boyfriend Ivo, Belle has to welcome him into their home. Charming and confident, Ivo soon wins over the family, but Belle can’t shake a strange feeling. And when Ivo reveals he knows a lot more about Belle than he first let on, she realises his intrusion into their lives could destroy everything she has built. How far is Belle willing to go to protect her family and herself?

My review

It’s the week before Christmas and Annabelle (Belle) and David Walker are looking forward to their twin daughters coming home from university after their first term. It’s been a long three months and they’ve really missed the girls. Jess is at Exeter studying English literature and Kit is doing a public relations degree at Bristol.

The day before they are due to arrive, Kit phones her mum to ask if her new boyfriend, Ivo, can join them. He’s a mature student studying photography at the other university in Bristol but the two met at Kit’s student union where he works. It’s Belle’s 50th birthday two days before Christmas and she would prefer it just to be the four of them, plus Dodge the dog, but can’t refuse Kit’s request.

When Ivo and the twins arrive the following day, David’s 70-year-old mum, Morag, rushes out to greet them. She lives in the self-contained two-bedroom basement flat below their house. Ivo is handsome and has quite a presence and has soon charmed Morag and David. Kit is smitten and can’t keep her hands off her boyfriend.

Belle, on the other hand, is unsure about Ivo as he seems quite intense and she’s worried about the influence he’s having over Kit, especially when she mentions that she’s not very keen on her degree course. Belle finds him unnerving and he makes her uneasy, especially when he calls her ‘Bella’ by mistake and seems to imply that he knows things about her past.

As we get closer to Christmas, the tension rises and bad things start to happen. Belle ends up living a nightmare as she realises that her life as she knows it could be about to implode. How far will she have to get to protect her family?

Living in East Anglia, I was excited to discover that Twin Truths is set in the Suffolk seaside town of Southwold, with its famous beach huts, a place that I’ve visited a few times over the years!

Belle is a keen sea swimmer and each chapter begins with her swim for that day and details of the sea and air temperatures. She’s cautious and always swims with someone else, usually her friend, Nancy, and makes sure that she only stays in the water for 10 minutes, setting an alarm on her watch. Swimming is Belle’s time to clear her mind and the cold temperature of the sea invigorates and revitalises her.

As well as descriptions of Belle’s daily swims, we also get flashbacks (in italicised text), before the twins were born, which revealed some interesting moments in her past.

The characters were well formed and provoked a range of emotions. Ivo is a very creepy character and I found him quite frightening and quietly menacing at times. His character was well written as I couldn’t really put my finger on what I didn’t like about him. He just made me feel uneasy, like he did Belle.

I liked Jess as she seemed the more sensible twin and kind and considerate, even when Kit was being dramatic and unkind. David was also a calming influence and I liked his steady demeanour. Morag was a great character and very shrewd! I was fond of Belle too, despite some of the daft decisions she made, both in the present and past.

Overall, I thought Twin Truths was an excellent book; I really enjoyed this well-written and gripping read! The storyline is very tense and intriguing with lots of twists and turns. I had several different theories as the novel progressed but the author cleverly outwitted me numerous times with some clever plot twists. It was compelling and I couldn’t put the book down and finished it in a couple of days. I had to try and stop myself from turning the pages too quickly so that I could savour all the details! The pacing was very good.

I was lucky enough to win a copy of the author’s debut novel, The Coffin Club, recently and will definitely be reading it soon! And I’m looking forward to her next book.

Buy the book

Twin Truths by Jacqueline Sutherland can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Jacqueline (Jack) Sutherland worked in corporate PR and marketing for over 20 years. She began her debut thriller, The Coffin Club (Point Blank, 2022) when she signed up for the 2020 Faber Academy Write Your Novel course, which she described as the best thing she’s ever done.

Jack lives in Guildford with her husband and their four sons.

Twitter: @writerjac

Blog tour

Thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my digital copy of Twin Truths and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 10 to 22 April 2023

Synopsis

‘It only takes a second to sin,’ Father Thomas said. He believes in saving souls, but Charles Balcombe is beyond saving. His control over his killer instinct appears to be weakening.

BlackJack has killed again and more questions are being asked of Detective Inspector Munro. He is under increasing pressure to solve the murders, especially when he picks up more cases from Kowloon rather than solving his own.

As Balcombe battles with his demon, he investigates the death of a young woman. Was it an accident or did she kill herself? At first Balcombe thinks it’s straightforward but as he digs, other cases reveal an evil in Hong Kong. One that could consume them all.

Set in 1954, this is book 2 of the series. It can be read as a standalone but the author recommends book 1 (Once a Killer) first.

My review

In the second book in this new series from Murray Bailey, it’s 1954 in Hong Kong and Charles Balcombe (not his real name) is again struggling to control the murderous urges from his alter ego, the mysterious BlackJack. It’s been a month since his last gruesome kill and he’s trying to distract himself with gambling, dangerous liaisons with married women and free climbing.

Balcombe moved to Hong Kong the previous year to escape his past, change his name and his life. He’s in his mid-twenties and a bit of a player. He used to be a member of the elite Special Investigations Branch of the Royal Military Police and, in this novel, he often pretends he’s a journalist rather than an investigator.

The rickshaw driver called Albert that Balcombe befriended in the first book is still working for him and is often sent on special undercover jobs. Albert is invisible and very useful, often getting close to people without them realising!

Balcombe attends Mass every Sunday at the local cathedral with his friend, Roy Faulls, who is concerned about Balcombe’s drinking. To keep him busy and to stop him boozing so much, he asks Balcombe to investigate the recent death of a young Catholic woman called Margaret Sotherland. Her death wasn’t registered as a suicide or murder but Faulls has his doubts and wants Balcombe to look into it.

Detective Inspector ‘Babyface’ Munro is working alongside Inspector Gordon Garrett, who is after his job, and has been tasked by Chief Carmichael to solve some of the numerous crimes that have taken place in the region recently. He ends up becoming more interested in the disappearance of a young girl called Karen Vaughn, the case which forced the retirement of his predecessor, Detective Inspector Bill Teags, after a breakdown.

When Munro learns that Balcombe is carrying out his own investigation, he’s keen to help keep him out of trouble, and keep BlackJack in check, and provides Balcombe with useful information from police and pathologist files.

These two strands of Margaret Sotherland’s death and Karen Vaughn’s disappearance from a cinema are separate but, as the two men investigate in their own way and question people, various clues and elements are revealed as the story progresses. I really enjoyed this police procedural element to the novel. There are some red herrings and clever misdirection along the way, before we come to the conclusion of both cases. With a Murray Bailey book, you know there’s going to be a cleverly plotted ending that catches you by surprise!

Overall, Second to Sin is a well-written, action-packed and gripping read! It’s fast paced with lots of tension and some shocking twists and turns but I found it easy to keep track of everything and everyone. There are startling revelations and some violent and disturbing scenes, but all in keeping with the story. The characters are well drawn and both main protagonists are intelligent but also rather reckless at times, which adds to the excitement as you never know what they’re going to do next!

I enjoyed getting to know Balcombe again and seeing the other side to his BlackJack character, especially having read other books in the Ash Carter thriller series in which he played an intriguing role! There’s definitely more to him than meets the eye! Munro is a great character too.

As with other books from the author, the story is set in a rather tense and volatile area. Various gangs add a sense of menace and danger and there are also military and police tensions and elements of corruption and abuse. It’s a clear case of trust no one and I was suspicious of all as I was reading – everyone seems to have their own agenda and is looking out for themselves and can’t be trusted.

Hong Kong, its culture and its various suburbs and areas are richly described and I could really picture the location and the contrast between the richer and poorer areas.

I really enjoyed the original Ash Carter thrillers and this follow-on series is gripping and entertaining but also a slightly different style to the others. It’s an excellent addition to the author’s list and I look forward to the next book in the series, A Third is Darkness, soon!

Buy the book

Second to Sin by Murray Bailey is available on Kindle and can also be bought in paperback from Amazon.

The first book in the series, Once a Killer, is currently free on Kindle.

About the author

Murray Bailey got his first taste of success when he was published in The Times at 18 and in his local newspaper. Although he went on to pursue a different career, he continued to write and edit and became the editor of an international magazine and editor of four technical books.

I Dare You was the first of his books to be published in 2016. It was followed by Map of the Dead, the first of the series based on his interest in Egyptology. His main series, however, is the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father’s experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s.

Murray was born in Greater Manchester, England and has been moving south ever since. He now lives on the beautiful Dorset coast with his wife and family.

Twitter: @MurrayBaileybks
Facebook: @MurrayBaileyAuthor
Instagram: @murraybaileyauthor
Website: https://murraybaileybooks.com/

Blog tour

Thanks to Murray Bailey for my digital copy of Second to Sin and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 1 to 6 March 2023

Synopsis

The perfect holiday or the perfect nightmare …

I sit sipping champagne in the warm water, bubbles frothing around me as I admire the breathtaking view of gorgeous blue skies and mountains. I can’t believe I’m here, at this stunning holiday home. It’s to die for …

My best friend and her husband have invited me and my family to their lakeside property for the weekend, to experience their luxury lifestyle. I’m not envious of their wealth, although I know my husband Ryan is. All I want is to escape from our recent troubles and get my marriage back on track.

Then I overhear Ryan having a whispered conversation late one evening, and he says something that sends a shiver down my spine. In this beautiful paradise, my whole world is turned upside down.

Just when I think things can’t get any worse, I discover a second secret. The truth is even more shocking than I imagine, and now I have no idea who to trust.

This was meant to be the perfect holiday, but someone isn’t going to survive it …

A twist-filled psychological thriller that will keep your heart pounding until the very last page. If you love Behind Closed Doors, Gone Girl and The Housemaid, you’ll be gripped by The Holiday Home.

My review

I’ve been a fan of Daniel Hurst’s writing since his debut novella, 20 Minutes on the Tube, which I found a fascinating read, and I was hooked by his books and have been keeping an eye out for this prolific writer ever since! I love the 20 Minute series and his psychological thrillers, and the Influencing trilogy is great too. When I found out he’d signed with Bookouture, I was keen to read The Holiday Home and take part in the blog tour.

With a dramatic prologue involving gunfire, you’re flung straight into the action in this tense and gripping book, and I couldn’t wait to discover what on earth was happening!

Nicola and her husband, Ryan, and their 11-year-old daughter, Emily, have been invited to stay for the weekend with their best friends, Kim, Lewis and their 15-year-old son, Cole, in their recently purchased four-bedroom luxury holiday home in the Scottish Highlands.

It sounds idyllic – beautiful scenery, a luxurious wooden log cabin with hot tub, peace and quiet – but the two men are irritable, jealous and competitive with each other, teenager Cole is ignoring everyone and even Nicola and Kim, who have been friends since sixth form college, end up sniping at each other after a couple of fractious incidents.

When Nicola overhears a conversation that reveals a shocking secret, the simmering tension in this claustrophobic and uncomfortable environment threatens to overboil in a most dramatic fashion.

It’s a tried and tested trope – a cabin in the middle of nowhere, bad weather, no internet or phone signal and no way to call for help – but the story works well and is very engaging and full of suspense.

Overall, I really enjoyed this well-plotted and tense thriller. There were lots of twists and turns and just when I thought I’d sussed things out, there’d be another revelation and then another one! The intriguing story is fast paced and gripping and, with the short chapters, told from multiple points of view, I sped through the book in a couple of sittings, desperate to find out if anyone would survive.

As ever, I’m keen to see what Daniel Hurst writes next. He’s a very speedy writer and I’m still working my way through the 20 Minute series and have a couple of his other thrillers to read too!

Buy the book

The Holiday Home by Daniel Hurst can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback.

About the author

Daniel Hurst writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full-length novels in his thirties. He lives in the north west of England, returning to his roots after several years away exploring the world and garnering plenty of ideas for future books!

Twitter: @dhurstbooks
Facebook: @danielhurstbooks
Instagram: @danielhurstbooks
Website: https://www.danielhurstbooks.com
Newsletter sign up: https://bookouture.com/daniel-hurst

Blog tour

Thanks to Sarah Hardy for my digital copy of The Holiday Home and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 10 November to 12 December 2022

Synopsis

One couple. Two liars.

You’re a handsome, well-respected professor.

This weekend, you’re heading out of the city with your latest conquest. She’s young and eager to please. Just how you like them. But there’s something about this girl that’s different. You just can’t put your finger on it yet …

You’re a smart, hard-working student.

You’re excited to be whisked away by this experienced man to an isolated cabin. Far from disapproving eyes, you’re crossing boundaries. Which can be dangerous. But you know what you’re doing. Right?

Two lives. One twisted path. A game of cat and mouse.

But who is the hunter? And who is the prey?

My review

When Ellie Masterson and Steven Harding escape New York for a romantic getaway in Chesapeake Bay to celebrate their six-month anniversary, it sounds like the perfect weekend. It’s a chance for them to relax, spend some time together and get to know each other better. Ellie is a 23-year-old student and Steven is a college professor and 15 years her senior.

After a shocking and bloody prologue, the story is told from the perspectives of the couple, interspersed with flashback chapters in which we hear from another person who appears to know Steven and has had a relationship with him in the past.

The house they’re staying at is very modern with big windows but located in a forest and close to the ocean. It’s rather creepy and both Ellie and Steven are unnerved by the darkness and remoteness of the location and there’s a strong sense of foreboding and unease, right from the start. No phone signal – what could possibly go wrong?!

This is no ordinary short break and, before long, Ellie and Steven are both in danger, discovering things they didn’t know about each other and experiencing the weekend from hell! They’re hiding secrets and, as the truths come out, they’re left reeling and confused by the shocking discoveries.

Told over three days, the story is intense, intriguing and cleverly plotted, and the isolated cabin setting is atmospheric and perfect for the situation that unfolds, especially when the temperature drops and the snow begins to fall. The main protagonists are well described too – they’re rather unpleasant and I hated them both at times.

Nobody But Us is a twisted, torrid tale that had me gripped! Full of twists and turns and numerous revelations, it’s a tense, claustrophobic and terrifying read. I was constantly on edge as I frantically turned the pages, racing through the short chapters, never knowing what was going to happen next! What exactly is going on? Are either of them going to get out alive?

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and it had some important themes and definitely stayed in my mind after I’d finished it! I’m looking forward to reading the author’s next book.

Buy the book

Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Laure Van Rensburg is a French writer living in the UK and an Ink Academy alumna. Her stories have appeared in online magazines and anthologies such as Litro Magazine, Storgy Magazine, The Real Jazz Baby (2020 Best Anthology, Saboteur Awards 2020), and FIVE:2:ONE. She has also placed in competitions including 2018 and 2019 Bath Short Story Award.

Her debut novel, Nobody But Us (originally titled The Downfall) was shortlisted for the 2019 First Novel Prize, 2019 Novel London Competition and 2019 Flash 500 Novel Opening. It was published by Michael Joseph in April 2022 and has sold in 14 territories, including Germany, Italy, Norway and the United States.

Laure’s current work in progress, Eden Lost, was longlisted in 2019 Exeter Novel Prize and more recently shortlisted in the 2020 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize.

Twitter: @Laure0901
Facebook: @LaureVanRensburgAuthor
Instagram: @laurevanrensburg
Website: www.laurevanrensburg.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Sriya Varadharajan at Michael Joseph Books for my copy of Nobody But Us and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 15 to 25 November 2022

Synopsis

When catching a killer means betraying a code.

When investigative reporter Jan Mason discovers that a young woman found strangled to death in her Chelsea flat is the daughter of a prominent politician, she knows she has a big story on her hands.

What she doesn’t know yet is that a mystery man has just told a stunned Alcoholics Anonymous meeting nearby that he might have killed his partner in a drunken blackout. And that Jan’s old flame, Frank Phillips, the Metropolitan Police’s deputy head of counter terrorism and a recovering alcoholic himself, was in that meeting – bound by its confidentiality. Soon, a member of the AA meeting will also be found dead, strangled with the same scarf.

Resourceful, well-connected, and always one step ahead of the police, Jan is willing to put herself in harm’s way if it means catching a killer. And landing a front page exclusive.

My review

Set in London, Don’t Talk is the second book in the Jan Mason series and, right from the start, it’s a gripping read as we meet the two main characters – Jan Mason, chief reporter at large at a national newspaper, and her former flame, Frank Phillips, deputy head of counter terrorism at the Metropolitan Police and a recovering alcoholic of 15 years.

When Camilla Carew (38), the daughter of a well-known politician, Peter Carew, is found strangled in her Chelsea flat, Jan Mason receives a tip off from police and begins investigating her death, hoping to be able to break the news about key developments. She’s a great character – fearless, intelligent and never afraid to ask difficult questions and think outside the box. She leaves no angle uncovered and her calm, sympathetic and encouraging manner helps her to coax information from witnesses, sources and suspects alike.

Frank Phillips worked with Jan in the past and they had a short relationship but they haven’t been in touch for many years. Working in counter terrorism, he shouldn’t have any connection with the murder case but while attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, his group is shocked when a new member bursts into their meeting late and confesses he may have killed his girlfriend while suffering from an alcoholic blackout. Frank is bound by the anonymity and confidentiality of the AA meetings and their discussions and feels torn about telling police colleagues what happened that evening, despite the possible link to Camilla Carew’s murder. He really regrets this when another shocking murder is committed and the victim is a member of the AA group and has also been strangled.

As the investigation unfolds, we switch between Jan and Frank’s viewpoints and we also meet DS Deena Campbell, who seems very competent and good at her job. All three are good at bartering and exchanging key information.

I really liked Jan – she’s very relatable: passionate, determined and hard working but stretched in several different directions. She’s trying to date but her work takes up all her time; her mum is deteriorating quickly in a nursing home. It feels like she’s always trying to prove herself, despite past successes, and the threat of redundancy is now rearing its ugly head. She seems rather unlucky in love – not as discerning and switched on in her private life as she is with her work.

Deena was another interesting character and it feels like she is someone to watch in the future and could have a larger role to play in any subsequent novels.

Overall, I really enjoyed this cleverly plotted, engaging and well-written story. The different strands worked really well as we followed the investigation from different angles and Jan, Frank and the police grew closer to the truth, though not always coordinating in the best fashion! I’m sure they could have solved things quicker if they hadn’t been so cagey but that’s the nature of their jobs!

Don’t Talk was a fast-paced and entertaining read and I raced through it in a couple of days, eager to find out how everything was resolved.

With the victim having several past and current partners, there were plenty of motives for murder. I had a few theories about the identity of the killer but was never convinced that I’d sussed things out properly. There were some fascinating twists and turns as we got closer to the end and I was shocked by some of the revelations!

I haven’t read Ian Ridley’s first Jan Mason book, Outer Circle, but I’ve now bought it and I’m looking forward to checking it out! I really enjoyed Don’t Talk and I hope there will be another book in the series soon!

Buy the book

Don’t Talk by Ian Ridley can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Ian Ridley is the author of 12 sports books, including the number one bestselling Addicted, with the former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams, which was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. The follow-up book Sober was published in 2017, 20 years on. Three of his other books have also been nominated in the British Sports Book Awards. His latest is The Breath of Sadness: On love, grief and cricket, which is a poignant account of coping with the death of his wife Vikki Orvice, a trailblazing sports journalist.

Over a 40-year career, Ian has been a sports writer for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer and the Mail on Sunday, for whom he was Chief Football Writer. He was named Sports Journalist of the Year in the 2007 British Press Awards and nominated on two other occasions.

Ian has also written for television, including more than 20 episodes of the Sky One drama series Dream Team, and currently has a film script optioned on the life story of the world champion boxer Darren Barker, based on the autobiography on which the two collaborated, A Dazzling Darkness.

His first novel, The Outer Circle, was published in 2018 and reissued in 2022 as Outer Circle, the first in the series of Jan Mason investigative journalist books.

Twitter: @IanRidley1
Twitter: @JanMasonJourno

Thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my copy of Don’t Talk and for my place on the blog tour.

Blog tour

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 13 September to 31 October 2022

Synopsis

Wren was never afraid of the dark. Until she learned that some monsters are real …

In deep Louisiana, a serial killer with a taste for medical experimentation is completing his most ambitious project yet. The media call him ‘The Butcher’ – and, so far, he’s proved impossible to catch.

With her encyclopaedic knowledge of humanity’s darkest minds, and years of experience examining their victims, forensic pathologist Dr Wren Muller is the best there is. The longer the Butcher’s killing spree continues, the more determined she is to bring him to justice.

And yet, he continues to elude her.

As body after body piles up on Wren’s examination table, her obsession grows. Pressure to put an end to the slaughter mounts. And her enemy becomes more brazen.

How far is Wren willing to go to draw the Butcher into the light …?

An addictive read with straight-from-the-morgue details only an autopsy technician could provide, The Butcher and the Wren promises to ensnare all who enter.

My review

Set in the bayou (swamplands) of Louisiana, The Butcher and the Wren tells the story of a serial killer nicknamed ‘The Butcher’ and a forensic pathologist called Doctor Wren Muller, who we hear from in alternate chapters. This makes for fascinating reading and really helps to ramp up the tension as the cat and mouse chase hots up!

The story is quite fast paced with graphic and realistic descriptions of torture scenes and violence. Rather gruesome and stomach turning in parts! You can definitely tell the author works as an autopsy technician.

I was gripped by this intense and dramatic read and really liked the character of Wren Muller, who is tenacious, brave and determined. She has a good working relationship with the local police force, especially Detective John Leroux, and it’s fascinating to see them working together to try and hunt down The Butcher.

Things grew more frantic as Wren and the police got closer to discovering the truth and I was willing them to catch the serial killer, who was rather to full of his own intelligence and self-importance at times! It was interesting to see things from his point of view and learn how his mind worked and follow him on his awful journey.

The location was really well described and I could really imagine the damp, muggy and soggy atmosphere and environment, despite never having been anywhere similar.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Butcher and the Wren! The short snappy chapters were gripping and I was frantically turning the pages, desperate to see how it was all going to be resolved. The book was well written and cleverly plotted with some clever twists and turns. It was a chilling read at times and certain scenes had me gasping out loud!

I hope this is the start of a series and we get to hear more from the characters in this book. I’d love to get to know them better and find out more about their lives and pasts.

I hadn’t heard of Alaina Urquhart as I don’t usually listen to crime podcasts but my curiosity has been piqued so I’ll definitely check out Morbid and, hopefully, I can look forward to reading another book from the author soon!

Buy the book

The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Alaina Urquhart is the science-loving co-host of the chart-topping show Morbid: A true crime podcast. As an autopsy technician by trade, she offers a unique perspective from deep inside the morgue. Alaina hails from Boston, where she lives with her wonderful husband, John, their three amazing daughters and a ghost Puggle named Bailey.

She is about 75 per cent coffee and truly believes she and Agent Clarice Starling could be friends. Before writing her first psychological horror novel, she received degrees in criminal justice, psychology and biology.

When she isn’t hosting Morbid, she hosts the Parcast original show, Crime Countdown, and a horror movie podcast called Scream!. Her days are usually spent either recording or eviscerating. The way she sees it, when she hangs up her microphone for the day, it’s time to let the dead speak.

Instagram: @alainatothemax
Twitter: @AlainaToTheMax
Twitter: @AMorbidPodcast
Wondery: Morbid: A true crime podcast
Spotify: The Butcher and the Wren playlist

Blog tour

Thanks to Sriya Varadharajan at Michael Joseph for my copy of The Butcher and the Wren and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.

Blog tour: 22 to 26 February 2022

Synopsis

All he has to do is step up.

Matt Spiller drives a souped-up taxi, suffers from SAD, and has a troublesome past.

It’s Christmas Eve, and one of his fares is about to become extremely problematic.

Helen Spiller still loves her husband, but can no longer live with his moods.

She’s a wonderful mum, with a screw quietly working loose in her head.

Now, their eldest daughter has hooked up with a very bad boyfriend.

Spiller thinks he has the skillset to handle all these problems.

He’s dead wrong.

My review

Man Down tells the story of 43-year-old taxi driver, Matt Spiller, who is rather struggling in life. He’s estranged from his wife, Helen, and misses his children, Samantha (17) and Sophie (6). He’s depressed, suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and is an insomniac.

It’s a snowy Christmas eve and Spiller picks up a fare who he later finds out is called Emma. He has a rather unconventional car as his taxi – an Audi S5 Sportback! He drops Emma off at a local park just before midnight and then has to intervene when she is approached by two youths wearing dark clothes, with their hoods up. He ends up teaching them a lesson!

The following morning, after a bad night’s sleep, as usual, Spiller heads to the former family home to see his children for a few hours on Christmas Day. He’s late and his wife isn’t amused, especially as their daughter, Sammy, is missing. She has a new, older boyfriend (of two weeks!) and hasn’t been home since the previous day.

When a tearful Sammy finally turns up a few days later, the police have already been informed and they tell Spiller that his daughter’s 28-year-old boyfriend, Callum Ward, is well known to them and big trouble.

And that’s all I’m going to say about the plot because you really need to read the book yourself to experience this action-packed story, which doesn’t let up! There are certainly some weird and wonderful moments, as well as some rather gory scenes!

I loved the main character, Matt Spiller, who has a great wry sense of humour and, despite the grittiness and violence, the book contains some very funny lines and comments! His wife, Helen, is an intriguing character with ‘a screw quietly working loose in her head’ and Sammy is brave and resilient despite experiencing a torrid time at the hands of her boyfriend.

Overall, I really enjoyed Man Down – it was entertaining, gripping and crazy, in a good way! The story was well written and cleverly plotted with some brilliant twists and turns and a few red herrings. It was unpredictable and fast paced, with lots of action and tension, and I never knew what was going to happen next! I was holding my breath at certain points, willing Spiller and his family to be safe!

When I began reading the book, I had no idea how it was all going to pan out and I could never have guessed the chain of events that would occur! There were a few strands to the story and it was interesting how they all intertwined, with Matt flitting between several groups of menacing and disturbing characters, trying to avoid getting harmed! Little does he know exactly what he’s involved in – there were definitely some startling revelations throughout the book!

Man Down was an excellent read and I’ve already purchased the author’s other novel, Veteran Avenue, which was republished by Red Dog Press in September 2021.

Buy the book

Man Down by Mark Pepper can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback and paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and Google Books. Purchase the hardback, paperback and eBook directly from the Red Dog Press online shop.

About the author

Mark lives in Manchester with his wife of 30 years, Jeannifer, and his daughter, Jade.

In his day job, Mark is an intelligence analyst for a financial regulator in Washington DC. He is a qualified secondary school drama teacher, and worked as an actor for 15 years, having graduated from RADA in 1990. 

His first two novels, The Short Cut and Man on a Murder Cycle, were published by Hodder & Stoughton, and his third, Veteran Avenue, originally published by Urbane and now by Red Dog Press. Veteran Avenue, is mainly set in LA, and is currently being developed as a TV series by the actor Warren Brown. 

Twitter: @PepSixSix
Facebook: Mark Pepper
Website: https://www.markpepper.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Sean Coleman at Red Dog Press for my digital copy of Man Down and for my place on the blog tour.