One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall

SquadPod review

Synopsis

If most men say they’re one of the good guys, then why are so many women afraid to walk alone at night?

Cole is the perfect husband: a romantic, supportive of his wife, Mel’s career, keen to be a hands-on dad, not a big drinker. A good guy.

So when Mel leaves him, he’s floored. She was lucky to be with a man like him.

Craving solitude, he accepts a job on the coast and quickly settles into his new life where he meets reclusive artist Lennie.

Lennie has made the same move for similar reasons. She is living in a crumbling cottage on the edge of a nearby cliff. It’s an undeniably scary location, but sometimes you have to face your fears to get past them.

As their relationship develops, two young women go missing while on a walk protesting gendered violence, right by where Cole and Lennie live. Finding themselves at the heart of a police investigation and media frenzy, it soon becomes clear that they don’t know each other very well at all.

This is what happens when women have had enough.

My review

One of the Good Guys tells the story of Cole who has recently split up with his wife, Mel, following failed IVF treatment and decides to leave London and have a complete change of scenery. He moves to an isolated cottage on a remote stretch of coast in the south of England and takes up a job as a wildlife ranger. He meets Lennie, who lives in an old coastguard cottage nearby, and is also a newbie to the area, and the two quickly get close and start a relationship.

When two 23-year-old women, Molly and Phoebe, go missing close by while on a sponsored walk for a domestic abuse charity, suspicion falls on both Cole and Lennie, who end up becoming entangled in the investigation. It turns out that neither of them are what they seem and are both hiding secrets. It’s all very intriguing!

The book is written in three parts and we move from Cole’s viewpoint to his ex Mel’s account of what happened in the past, with some narrative from Lennie, then the final section is a mix of emails, social media posts, podcasts, news reports and articles, as we learn exactly what has happened over the course of the novel. It all makes for a fascinating, if disturbing, read!

This intriguing book was very cleverly plotted – I thought I’d worked out how the story was going to play out but was shocked to discover that I’d got it totally wrong and there were lots of twists and unexpected developments. It’s really relevant to today’s attitudes and society and very eye opening and quite chilling! It made me feel angry about what women have to face and the nasty, aggressive and degrading comments that are made on social media about them.

Overall, this was a thought-provoking feminist thriller that makes for uncomfortable reading for all! Right from the start, the book was an unsettling read and several red flags were waving as I took in the creepy and disturbing comments that were made by some of the main characters, one of whom especially had an over-inflated opinion of themselves. None of them were particularly likeable.

I’ve read two of the author’s books now and really enjoyed them so must put her other books on my wanted list!

Buy the book

One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall 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

Araminta Hall has worked as a writer, journalist and teacher. She’s a writer of thrillers and a lover of stories.

Her latest book, One of the Good Guys, was inspired by a groundswell of anger she’d been feeling herself and amongst the women she knows. Because if women don’t feel safe in the world, then it’s still a very unequal world. This is her answer to what happens when women have had enough of being scared. This tense story is set in a remote seaside location.

Araminta has published five other novels: Everything and Nothing (2011), Dot (2013), Our Kind of Cruelty (2017), Imperfect Women/Perfect Strangers (2019) and Hidden Depths (2021).

She teaches creative writing at New Writing South in Brighton, where she lives with her husband and three children.

Twitter: @AramintaHall
Instagram: @aramintahall

Thanks

Thanks to Laura Sherlock and Pan Macmillan for my copy of One of the Good Guys for the SquadPod reviewer group.

A Third is Darkness by Murray Bailey

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.

Committed by Chris Merritt

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.

The Beach Party by Nikki Smith

Social tour: 20 July to 28 August 2023

Synopsis

Six friends.
The holiday of their dreams.
One night that changed it all …

1989: The tunes are loud and the clothes are louder when a group of friends arrives in Mallorca for a post-graduation holiday of decadence and debauchery at a luxury villa.

A beach party marks the pinnacle of their fun, until it isn’t fun any longer. Because amidst the wild partying – sand flying from dancing feet and revellers leaping from yachts – an accident happens. Suddenly, the night of a lifetime becomes a living nightmare.

Now: The truth about that summer has been collectively buried. But someone knows what happened that night.

And they want the friends to pay for what they did.

My review

It’s July 1989 and six friends (Aiden, Claire, Nina, Seb, Will and Zoe) have just finished university and head to Deià in Mallorca to spend a fortnight at Nina’s parents’ luxury villa. They’re looking forward to relaxing, drinking and partying hard, especially as they’re there during the Correfoc, a one-night festival of fire where you can dance with the devil! Terrifying!

Right from the start, there’s tension among the group and it’s clear there are lots of secrets to be revealed. They don’t seem to like each other very much and things are bubbling beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed, as they begin to irritate each other and forget to be on their best behaviour.

The chapters are short and snappy and focus on each of the characters in turn so that we learn more about them gradually. Throughout, there are hints and forewarnings of things to come, and it makes for an uncomfortable and tense read as you try and untangle what each of the characters has been up to. It’s all rather toxic and disturbing behaviour and it’s clear that things aren’t going to end well for anyone, especially after they’re involved in an incident that has awful repercussions for all of them.

After the first few chapters, I became accustomed to the style and raced through the book and couldn’t put it down, desperate to work out who, what, where, when and why! Very quickly, things started to get out of control. There was so many revelations and just when I thought I’d figured things out, another twist would totally surprise me!

The story is mainly set 33 years ago but there are also chapters from the present day, in which we learn that each of the characters has been sent a threatening email requesting that they return to the Mallorcan villa to discuss the events of July 1989. Who sent the message and what do they want?

Overall, this was a gripping, claustrophobic, dark and engaging read with an excellent cast of horrible characters! I certainly wouldn’t like to be friends with any of them; you’d need to watch your back! There are lots of threads to the story and I enjoyed trying to put everything together and work out what on earth had happened in the past; there was so much we didn’t know about the characters when we first met them and lots to uncover. This was definitely a page turner and a perfect, if rather exhausting, summer read!

I loved the references to fashion, music and products from the late 1980s and was very excited to discover there’s a playlist for The Beach Party on Spotify! The cover is brilliant too – so striking and eye catching – and very appropriate for the storyline and setting.

This was actually my first novel by the author but I’ll definitely be checking out her other books, All in Her Head and Look What You Made Me Do, and eagerly looking out for her next one, which is due out next year!

Buy the book

The Beach Party by Nikki Smith 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

Nikki Smith studied English literature at Birmingham University, before pursuing a career in finance. Following a ‘now or never’ moment, she applied for a Curtis Brown Creative course on which she started writing her debut novel, All In Her Head, which was pre-empted by Orion in a two-book deal. It went on to be an Amazon bestseller, was nominated for the Guardian ‘Not The Booker Prize’ and has been optioned for TV.

Her second novel, Look What You Made Me Do was published on 1 April 2021 and was also optioned for TV. She followed her editor and moved to Viking who will publish her third novel, The Beach Party in July 2023, with The Guests to follow in 2024.

She is represented by Sophie Lambert at C&W and lives near Guildford with her husband, two teenage daughters and a cat who thinks she’s a dog.

Twitter: @Mrssmithmunday
Facebook: @nikkismithauthor
Instagram: @nikkismith_author
Website: nikkismithauthor.com

Blog tour

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

Thanks to Ellie Hudson at Viking Books for my copy of The Beach Party and for my place on the social tour.

Don’t Close Your Eyes by P.S. Cunliffe

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.

Murdle by G.T. Karber

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.

Coming to Find You by Jane Corry

Social tour: 15 June to 14 July 2023

Synopsis

You can run away from your life.
But you can’t run away from murder.

When her family tragedy is splashed across the newspapers, Nancy decides to disappear. Her grandmother’s beautiful Regency house in a quiet seaside village seems like the safest place to hide. But the old house has its own secrets and a chilling wartime legacy …

Now someone knows the truth about the night Nancy’s mother and stepfather were murdered. Someone knows where to find her. And they have nothing to lose …

So what really happened that night? And how far will she go to keep it hidden?

My review

I’m a big fan of Jane Corry’s books and my first ever blog tour was I Looked Away, so I was keen to be involved in the social tour for Coming to Find You! Set in two different time periods, it tells the stories of two women, Nancy Greenfield and Elizabeth Montague.

In the present day, after her stepbrother, Martin Greenfield (39), is found guilty of the murder of her mother, Violet, and stepfather, Duncan, in their Sussex farmhouse, Nancy (36) decides to get away from all the media attention (and her ex-fiancé, Alex), and head to their Devonshire family holiday home, Tall Chimneys. The beautiful three-storey white Regency house in the coastal town of Sidmouth was left to Nancy by her mother and it originally belonged to her grandmother, Adeline, who inherited it in the 1950s from her friend, Elizabeth.

Nancy gets to know a few of the other locals in town but isn’t really sure who she can trust and soon finds that she can’t escape the press, recent events or the past.

In the other strand of the story, it’s 1941 and Elizabeth and her husband, Henry, run Tall Chimneys as a boarding house. Their only son, Phillip (17), has enlisted to fight and he heads off to war as the novel begins. Elizabeth is desperately worried about him. Her best friend, Adeline, persuades her to take in a couple of evacuees, Maisie and Shirley, and their teacher, Mr Smith.

This is a fascinating novel and it was intriguing to see all the various strands of the story come together and discover how everything was connected and what had happened in the past. There were lots of shocks and revelations in both parts of the story and I had no idea how everything was going to work out!

There were several dysfunctional relationships and I felt anger at the rather unpleasant characters of Martin and Henry who were both abusive and had a hold over Nancy and Elizabeth, respectively, and were coercing them to do what they wanted. I also wasn’t sure about Nancy’s ex, Alex, who had secrets of his own and was behaving a bit strangely at times!

Coming to Find You is a well-written and cleverly plotted tale! Just when I thought I had things sussed out, there would be another twist that I hadn’t expected! The book had a great pace and intrigue to it and it kept my attention throughout, with never a dull moment. It cleverly switched between Nancy and Elizabeth’s stories, interspersed with flashbacks to the night of the murder, and it was an interesting look at relationships and made me really care about both women, especially Elizabeth who experienced a lot during the war years. It was interesting to get to know more about her, especially her work for Churchill’s Secret Army, and learn the secrets that she’d been hiding for decades.

The Regency house, Tall Chimneys, was like a character in its own right and it was fascinating to read about it in the two different time periods and hear about what had happened over the years. The house certainly had a few tales to tell!

Overall, I really enjoyed this gripping and entertaining domestic thriller and raced through it in a couple of days. I’ve read four of Jane Corry’s books now and enjoyed them all and I always look out for her next novel!

Buy the book

Coming to Find You by Jane Corry 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

Jane Corry is a writer and journalist (Daily Telegraph and women’s magazines) who worked for three years as the writer-in-residence of a high-security male prison. This experience helped inspire her The Sunday Times Penguin bestsellers My Husband’s Wife, Blood Sisters, The Dead Ex, I Looked Away, I Made A Mistake, The Lies We Tell and We All Have Our Secrets. She has now sold over a million copies of her books worldwide.

Jane worked as an RLF Fellow at Exeter University and is a former creative writing tutor at Oxford University. She also writes short stories as well as a weekly digital column about being a granny for My Weekly. In addition, she is a regular contributor to The Daily Telegraph and speaks at literary festivals all over the world. Many of her ideas strike during morning dog-jogs along the beach followed by a dip in the sea – no matter how cold it is!

Twitter: @JaneCorryAuthor
Facebook: @authorjanecorry
Instagram: @janecorry
Website: https://www.janecorryauthor.com

Social tour

Thanks to Ellie Hudson from Penguin Books UK for my proof of Coming to Find You and for inviting me to join the social tour.

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

The Final Party by A.A. Chaudhuri

Book blitz: 16 to 24 May 2023

Synopsis

SIX FRIENDS.
In a luxury villa set high in the hills above the glamorous town of Sorrento, southern Italy, three couples gather for the perfect 40th birthday celebration.

ONE BODY.
Before the week is out, one of them is dead.

COUNTLESS LIES.
Their perfect reunion quickly becomes the holiday from hell when one of the group starts receiving anonymous messages, threatening to expose a dark secret from their university days.

As old friendships are tested to the limit, it’s clear that what happens in the dark past won’t stay buried …

My review

Set in early August 2019 in the gorgeous Italian location of Sorrento, The Final Party tells the story of six friends (three couples) who have known each other for years. They’ve gathered at a stunning villa to celebrate Vanessa’s upcoming 40th birthday.

Padma is married to Nick, Vanessa (Ness) is married to Marcus (who she met at work), and Lana is married to Johnny. Four of them were at the University of Oxford together: Johnny, Nick, Padma and Vanessa. Lana and Padma were at primary school together and Johnny and Vanessa are childhood friends. They’re all very connected and know each other well – Johnny is also Padma’s ex! Two of the three couples have children.

In their final year of university, in 2001, something bad happened to Padma and it still affects her now. This period of time has particular significance in the story and there are regular flashbacks to the events that took place. The story is told from the points of view of each of the six characters, which gives the reader a great insight into what each of them has been up to and their deepest, darkest thoughts and fears.

Right from the start, the atmosphere was awkward and unpleasant and the holiday seemed destined for disaster. I was surprised that everyone was still friends – most of them didn’t seem to like each other particularly, even the couples! They were all hiding secrets, with varying degrees of severity, from each other and, over the course of a few days, the tension rose and things reached boiling point very quickly! The majority of them had spent the last 18 years beholden to each other, lying to/for the others and hiding secrets; such a stressful way to live.

I was a little confused by all the different characters at first but, once I’d worked out who they all were, I was transfixed. This was such a tense and gripping novel and so twisty – there were lots of shocking revelations; most of which I was totally surprised by!

Overall, this was a cleverly plotted and well-paced story and very engaging! All the characters were pretty horrible and there was so much tension, lots of seething emotions and so many unsaid words. I couldn’t put the book down as they all fascinated me and I was curious to put all the clues together and find out how everything was going to reach its dramatic climax and who was going to end up dead!

I’ve read and enjoyed A.A. Chaudhuri’s earlier legal thriller series (The Scribe and The Abduction) and can’t wait to read her two other psychological thrillers, She’s Mine and The Loyal Friend.

Buy the book

The Final Party by A.A. Chaudhuri is released on 25 May and can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Booksearch.

About the author

A.A. Chaudhuri is a former city lawyer. After gaining a degree in history at University College London, she later trained as a solicitor and worked for several major London law firms before leaving law to pursue her passion for writing.

She is the author of The Scribe and The Abduction, books 1 and 2 of her Kramer and Carver legal thriller series featuring the feisty Maddy Kramer, which is also published in audio.

Her first highly acclaimed psychological thriller with Hera Books, She’s Mine, was published on Kindle, paperback and audio in August 2021 and in April 2022 was named the LJ Ross Book Club pick of the month. The Loyal Friend was published on 23 June 2022 and has received widespread praise.

She lives in Surrey with her family, and loves films, all things Italian and a good margarita!

Twitter: @AAChaudhuri
Facebook: @AAChaudhuri
Instagram: @A.A.Chaudhuri
Website: aachaudhuri.com

Thanks

Thanks to The SquadPod Collective for my place on the book blitz.

After Paris by Nicole Kennedy

SquadPod review

Synopsis

Three best friends. A weekend away. And a whole lot of baggage.

Alice, Nina and Jules have been best friends for twenty years. They met in Paris and return there once a year, to relive their youth, leave the troubles of home behind, and indulge in each other’s friendship and warmth. But this year, aged thirty-nine, the cracks in their relationships are starting to show …

After their weekend together in Paris, the three women never speak again. Each claims the other two ghosted them. But is there more to the story?

My review

We first meet Alice, Julia and Nina in 1999, when they’re all aged 19, at the rather unusual occasion of a debutante ball in Paris! The trio end up being in the same toilets at the venue, Hôtel de Crillon, and become firm friends after the event. They decide to stay in touch and meet up every year in Paris.

We jump to 2019 and it’s been three years since the women last meet up. Much has happened over the last 20 years and we learn more, in flashbacks to past years, as the novel progresses. The story is told from the points of view of each of the women and it’s an excellent way of getting to know them better. Alice is now married to Teddy, who was her childhood friend and also at the ball, and they have three children. Alice has recently started her own interior design business. Jules and her husband, Paul, are both investment bankers. They’ve struggled to conceive for years and have undergone numerous rounds of IVF. Nina runs La City Pâtisserie with her close friend and flatmate, Luca, and his partner.

Alice, Jules and Nina meet up and travel by train to Paris and they’re looking forward to relaxing and catching up. Unfortunately, it’s an uncomfortable weekend as they’re all hiding significant secrets from each other and have been for years. They really need to get things into the open and listen to each other but too much has happened since they first met and the three of them struggle to talk honestly and frankly.

I thought this was going to be a light and funny book but it actually covers some serious themes. The women have each had a torrid time of it over the years and much has happened in their lives. This current trip to Paris is the culmination of everything and a crunch/peak moment for them all. A lack of talking and some miscommunication means that two of the women head home separately on the Eurostar and they don’t speak again for months. Is this the end of their friendship or will they manage to swallow their pride and get back in touch with each other?

Overall, this is a really thought-provoking and well-written read and I enjoyed getting to know Alice, Julia and Nina (and their significant others) and learning about all the key moments in their lives, in the beautiful setting of Paris with its delicious food and drink and stunning sights. The novel highlighted really well the complexities of women’s friendships and the highs and lows they have to navigate, both personally and collectively, in their private and work lives, as they grow older.

There were some intriguing and clever twists and I was rather surprised by events, some of which had been cleverly hinted at throughout! It was a heart-wrenching and emotional read at times and I was curious to see how everything would get resolved by the end of the novel.

I really enjoyed this compelling story and must read the author’s debut novel, Everything’s Perfect, soon!

Buy the book

After Paris by Nicole Kennedy can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle, hardback and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Nicole Kennedy grew up in Essex and studied Law at Bristol University. She has always loved to write but her efforts were waylaid by work as a corporate lawyer in London, Paris and Dubai. During Nicole’s second maternity leave she began writing poems on motherhood and family life. She completed her first novel during her third maternity leave (by then it was easier than leaving the house) and her second during the pandemic (by then she wasn’t allowed to leave the house).

Nicole lives in Kent with her husband and three sons.

Twitter: @nicolekkennedy
Facebook: @nicolekennedywriter
Instagram: @nicole_k_kennedy
Website: nicolekennedy.com

Thanks

Thanks to Aria Fiction for my paperback copy of After Paris for the SquadPod celebrations.

The Little Board Game Café by Jennifer Page

SquadPod review

Synopsis

When Emily loses her job, house and boyfriend all within a matter of days, she’s determined to turn a negative into a positive and follow her dream of running a small café in the gorgeous Yorkshire village of Essendale.

But she quickly finds she’s bitten off more than she can chew when the ‘popular’ café she takes over turns out to secretly be a failing business. Emily desperately needs a way to turn things around, and help comes from the unlikeliest of places when she meets local board game-obsessed GP Ludek. But when a major chain coffee shop opens on the high street, Emily is forced to question if she’ll ever be able to compete.

Has she risked everything on something destined to fail? Or can a playful twist, a homely welcome, and a sprinkle of love make Emily’s café the destination she’s always dreamed of?

My review

The story opens with Emily going through the most stressful time – she’s been made redundant from the engineering firm where she works, she’s split up with her fiancé, Peter (who’s also her boss!), and has had to move out of their lovely house in Essendale in the West Yorkshire Pennines and into her best friend Kate’s house.

Emily spots a café up for sale in a nearby street and, with encouragement from Kate, she decides to buy it and open up her own café, which has always been an ambition of hers. Unfortunately, she’s been rather misled on the popularity of the café and things don’t go well initially, with only a handful of customers, including an older man called Stan Baranski and her ex-former-mother-in-law, Florence. It’s only after she gets closer to local board game fanatic and doctor, Ludek, that things start to improve but it’s not a smooth journey and there are several ups and downs along the way.

The book is full of brilliant characters who were all endearing and unique in their own way and helped to make the story so compelling. They’re all rather different but they work together to support each other and help Emily. Kate is always there looking out for her and she makes new friends in Ludek and Mr Baranski and gets back in touch with her former neighbour, Marjory.

The descriptions of food were mouthwatering and I loved imagining the café, the amazing cakes and all the different board games, especially as I take my children to a board games and breakfast club at a local church every Saturday morning!

It was lovely that Emily is a fan of books too and I liked the way the ‘books by Emily’s bedside’ (her charity shop purchases) changed to match her mood and fears as the story developed.

Overall, this was a well-written and engaging read. The story was heartfelt and touching and I was rooting for the main character, Emily. I really enjoyed reading her journey as she grows in confidence, finds herself and follows her childhood dreams. The café sounds brilliant and I wish I could actually visit and play a game, eat a delicious cake and meet all the characters! Emily is very kind and considerate and really looks after her customers.

The cover looks great too – very colourful, eye catching and appealing! I’ll definitely look out for the author’s next book as I really enjoyed this one.

Buy the book

The Little Board Game Café by Jennifer Page 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

Jennifer Page wrote her first novel – a book about ponies – when she was eight. These days she prefers to write romance. When she isn’t writing, Jennifer can usually be found playing board games which are the inspiration for her first novel. She has worked as a television producer, a music teacher and has even run a children’s opera company. She now lives near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire with her husband and his large collection of games.

Twitter: @jenpagewrites
Facebook: @jenniferpagewrites
Instagram: @jenniferpagewrites
Website: jenniferpage.co.uk

Thanks

Thanks to Aria Fiction for my paperback copy of The Little Board Game Café for the SquadPod celebrations.