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.