Blog tour: 26 to 30 October 2021

Synopsis

You can cover up the truth, but every murder leaves a trail …

The rain was relentless. It stung Ruth Prendergast’s face as she dashed towards her house, desperate to escape the cold and settle down for an early night. But upon entering her bedroom, she finds a man, lying on her bed – a knife buried in his chest.

When Detective Isabel Blood and her sergeant arrive on the scene, Ruth claims she’s never laid eyes on the victim before. But with no sign of a break-in, how did the killer gain access to the house?

Then Ruth disappears, leaving Isabel and her team to fear the worst. Has their lead suspect escaped, or is Ruth in danger herself?

Forensic evidence at the crime scene is sparse, and it’s proving impossible for Isabel to make a breakthrough. With Ruth still missing, time is running out.

But how can you catch a killer that doesn’t leave a trace?

My review

I read the author’s debut, In Cold Blood, for the blog tour last year and really enjoyed it so was keen to read this book when I heard about it!

Without a Trace is set in the fictional Derbyshire town of Bainbridge and the novel’s main protagonist is Detective Inspector (DI) Isabel Blood (56), wife of Nathan and mum to Kate, who lives in nearby Wirksworth, Ellie (14) and son, Bailey (who’s not mentioned in this novel).

Ruth Prendergast has only recently moved to the area after a divorce and getting a new job as an HR manager at a telecommunications company and one January evening, after a hard day at work, she’s shocked to discover the dead body of an unknown man in her bed. She’s got no idea who he is and the police are confused about how he got into the house as there is no sign of forced entry.

The timing of the murder investigation is particularly difficult for DI Isabel Blood who is on her way to the airport – and due to start two-weeks’ leave – when she’s phoned by her colleague, Detective Sergeant (DS) Dan Fairfax. She’s back in touch with her father, Donald Corrington, who she hasn’t seen for over forty years, after he left when she was 14 years old, and he’s visiting from France for a couple of weeks.

The case gets off to a slow start as the murder took place in a quiet cul-de-sac of only five houses called Hollybrook Close in the north side of Bainbridge and there are few witnesses to question. The victim, who was stabbed with a kitchen knife, is eventually identified as a 47-year-old local car mechanic who has a criminal record and is an alcoholic with a difficult past but doesn’t appear to have any particular enemies who would want him dead.

DI Blood delegates all the various tasks of the case well to her colleagues but she struggles to give the investigation her full attention with her dad and half-brother, Fabien, visiting. They’re staying at a local hotel and she’s desperate to spend time together to get to know them both but can’t with a murder to solve. When Ruth Prendergast goes missing, the police are even more confused and desperately try to put all the pieces of the jigsaw together, but struggle with a complete lack of evidence all round.

This was another gripping and well-paced police procedural from the author and I really enjoyed the way the cleverly plotted investigation slowly unfolded, with its frustrations and dead ends, before things eventually came together and the case was solved. It’s a satisfying, engaging read and I raced through it in a few hours.

The story was very entertaining, with some intriguing and surprising revelations. I had several theories about the identity of the killer as we met various suspects and learnt more about their connections to others but didn’t predict how it would all turn out.

I really like Isabel Blood – she’s dedicated to her job, methodical and thorough, and seems quite normal for a police detective with a lovely husband and children but has an interesting past, which adds another dimension to her character’s story.

Overall, I’m really enjoying this series with its good old-fashioned police work and I hope it won’t be too long before there’s another case in Bainbridge to solve! I’m looking forward to seeing how Isabel’s relationships with her father and half-brother develop and it would be good to get to know her colleagues, DS Fairfax and DC Piper, better too.

Buy the book

Without a Trace by Jane Bettany can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle now and in paperback on 6 January 2022, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Jane Bettany is the author of In Cold Blood, a crime novel featuring DI Isabel Blood and set in the fictional Derbyshire town of Bainbridge. The book won the 2019 Gransnet and HQ writing competition, which was for women writers over the age of 40 who had written a novel with a protagonist in the same age range.

In Cold Blood was her first novel, but she has been writing short stories and non-fiction articles for over 20 years, many of which have appeared in women’s magazines, literary magazines, newspapers and online.

She lives in Derby and has an MA in Creative Writing.

Twitter: @JaneBettany
Facebook: @JaneBettanyAuthor
Instagram: @bettanyjane
Website: http://www.janebettany.co.uk

Blog tour

Thanks to Sian Baldwin at HQ Stories for my digital copy of Without a Trace and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 14 to 18 October 2021

Synopsis

Is her family in danger?

When Allie moves to a quaint old cottage with her husband, it’s their dream home. Nestled in the village of Pluckley, it seems a perfect haven in which to raise their two children. But Pluckley has a reputation. It’s known as England’s most haunted village. And not long after the birth of their new son, Allie begins to notice strange things …

What’s the flash of white she sees moving quickly through the woods to the back of their house? And what’s the strange scratching noise coming from the chimney?

As Allie discovers more about the history of their new home, she uncovers a story of witchcraft and superstition, which casts a long shadow into the present day. And not everything is as it seems. Her family might well be in danger, but it’s a danger none of them could have foreseen …

Bestseller Lisa Hall’s The Woman in the Woods is full of creeping unease and nerve-wracking tension, and will have readers on the edge of their seats …

My review

The Woman in the Woods tells the story of Rav and Allie Harper, who move to the village of Pluckley in Kent from Ebbsfleet with their daughter, two-year-old Mina. Their son, Leo, is born soon after they arrive in the place that’s referred to as England’s most haunted village!

Allie is a florist and manager of a shop called The Daisy Chain, which her friend, Naomi, is looking after while Allie is on maternity leave. Rav is a barrister or judge and works long hours, putting cases together and dealing with criminals in court. The couple met in Goa – Rav was visiting his aunts and uncles with his parents and brother and Allie was backpacking with two friends she’d met along the way.

Their house (Gowdie Cottage) in Pluckley is a 400-year-old Grade II listed cottage with an intriguing past. It hasn’t been lived in for years and needs lots of working doing still. With two young children, Allie is exhausted most of the time and getting little sleep as Leo is feeding regularly through the night. She is so tired that she starts seeing people in the woods near their house and she feels watched.

Strange things seem to be happening inside the cottage too. Allie discovers items that have been left by the previous owners and when she learns the cottage’s history, she becomes even more freaked out and feels that a ghostly presence is trying to make itself seen and heard, especially when she finds various symbols of witchcraft and superstition.

As the story progresses, I wasn’t sure if Allie was an unreliable narrator and was imaging things or if the family really was in danger from a supernatural being. Allie’s husband, Rav, was acting very strangely and her friend, Naomi, also seemed to be trying to get too close to the family, especially as she moved to the same village! The pair of them seemed to be gaslighting Allie and questioning her thoughts and actions constantly, and dismissing her worries about the house being haunted by a ghost.

Allie makes some mum friends in the village but they all seem rather cliquey and it often feels like they’re talking about her behind her back. They like to gossip and took great delight in telling her about the history of Gowdie Cottage. It’s difficult for Allie to know who to trust and her mum and Rav’s mum, Avó, also like to interfere too.

Overall, I really enjoyed this disturbing and gripping novel, which had me distrusting several of the main protagonists and wondering what on earth was going on! I had several theories but couldn’t put my finger on what was really happening. It’s a creepy and atmospheric story and I enjoyed the descriptions of the cottage and its grounds with the rather dangerous herb gardens and water feature!

The book is well paced and cleverly plotted and kept me intrigued throughout with its spooky goings on and Allie’s rather erratic behaviour. At times, there were tense moments and I was really worried for Mina and Leo’s safety as Allie was distracted and the ghostly happenings ramped up. An unsettling read with some good elements of misdirection and perfect Halloween reading!

I’ve read several of Lisa Hall’s books and this was another entertaining and compelling read. I look forward to her next novel and catching up on the two I haven’t read yet.

Buy the book

The Woman in the Woods by Lisa Hall can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle (currently 99p) and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Lisa Hall loves words, reading and everything there is to love about books. She has dreamed of being a writer since she was a little girl – either that or a librarian – and after years of talking about it, was finally brave enough to put pen to paper (and let people actually read it).

Lisa lives in a small village in Kent, surrounded by her towering TBR pile, a rather large brood of children, dogs, chickens and ponies and her long-suffering husband. She is also rather partial to eating cheese and drinking wine.

Twitter: @LisaHallAuthor
Facebook: @lisahallauthor
Instagram: @lisahallauthor
Website: https://www.lisahallauthor.co.uk

Blog tour

Thanks to Sian Baldwin at HQ Stories for my digital copy of The Woman in the Woods and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 12 to 19 October 2021

Synopsis

‘Your secret didn’t die with me.’

The mysterious note tucked inside the pages of a recently returned book leaves librarian, Morag McLaughlin, chilled to the bone. She knows it was meant for her.

Someone out there knows her darkest secrets and they could destroy everything.

Torn apart from her own family, she will stop at nothing to create a perfect new one.

Why are they all so ungrateful? She’s only looking after them …

Isn’t she?

My review

Set in a small town in the north east of Glasgow called Lennoxhill, You Need Me centres around the lives of five people and the story is told from their viewpoints. They are 55-year-old librarian, Morag McLaughlin; Ronnie Whiteside (26), who lives with his mum; Susan Bonner (25) and her daughter Lily, 4; Jess Wishart (24), who works at a café on the high street, and Alan Aitken, a thief and drug addict.

Each chapter is from a different character and we gradually build up a picture of their lives as we learn more about them. It makes for tough reading as we find out about the main protagonists and what they’ve experienced at the hands of their relatives, particularly their parents.

Right from the start, the book makes for chilling and uncomfortable reading. There’s something bubbling under the surface, something we’re not being told, and it’s all rather creepy and disturbing, rather like the characters themselves, who have strange ideas about friendships, relationships and family.

On the face of it, Morag, Susan and Jess seem nice but they’re all rather two faced, are hiding secrets and have specific agendas. I didn’t trust any of them and was worried about how things were going to play out in the story.

Morag runs a special group at the library and she encourages misfits to join her Tuesday morning session so that she can keep an eye on them. With her big handbag of memories, she’s clearly a complicated woman with ‘secrets nobody must ever find out’. I’m glad I don’t go to that library!

Jess works in the popular local Café Marianna’s, which is owned by her boss, Marion. She keeps an eye on the various goings on and befriends Ronnie and looks out for him. She’s similar to Morag in that she tries to be friendly to people who are less fortunate than her and who others shun. She even talks to Radio Joe, who can always be found sitting on a park bench with an old transistor radio pressed to his ear. He’s probably the happiest person in town!

As I was reading, I was wondering what the connection was between the characters and how the story was all going to be resolved. I had several theories but I couldn’t put it all together and was surprised by the ending!

Overall, I was gripped by this rather dark, chilling and twisted novel and couldn’t put it down as events raced along and things got more and more out of control. It was a fascinating read and very intense and the small town setting, with its unsavoury housing estates, felt claustrophobic and unsettling.

I felt so sorry for the main characters, who’d all had a tough life and been let down by their families and partners. Most seemed to have mental health issues and several of them were hearing voices and struggling to ignore their inner thoughts. They were all rather untrustworthy and secretive, with ulterior motives, and all up to something!

I’ve had the author’s debut novel, Sins of our Fathers, on my wanted list for a while and it sounds equally disturbing so I must buy a copy soon!

Buy the book

You Need Me by Sharon Bairden can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback and paperback. Or purchase a copy directly from the Red Dog Press online shop. There’s also a limited edition hardback. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

By day, Sharon Bairden is the services manager in a small, local independent advocacy service and has a passion for human rights; by night, she has a passion for all things criminal. She blogs about books at Chapterinmylife and is delighted to be crossing over to the other side of the fence to become a writer.

Sharon lives on the outskirts of Glasgow, has two grown up children, a grandson, a Golden Labrador and a cat. She spends most of her spare time doing all things bookish, from reading to attending as many book festivals and launches as she can. She has been known to step out of her comfort zone on the odd occasion and has walked over burning coals and broken glass – but not at the same time!

Twitter: @sbairden

Blog tour

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

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

Blog tour: 7 to 10 October 2021

Synopsis

A small town in outback Australia wakes to a crime of medieval savagery.

A local schoolteacher is found taped to a tree and stoned to death. Suspicion instantly falls on the refugees at the new detention centre on Cobb’s northern outskirts. Tensions are high, between whites and Aboriginals, between immigrants and the townies.

Still mourning the recent death of his father, Detective Sergeant Giorgios ‘George’ Manolis returns to his childhood hometown to investigate. Within minutes of his arrival, it’s clear that Cobb is not the same place he left. Once it thrived, but now it’s a poor and derelict dusthole, with the local police chief it deserves. And as Manolis negotiates his new colleagues’ antagonism, and the simmering anger of a community destroyed by alcohol and drugs, the ghosts of his past begin to flicker to life.

Vivid, pacy and almost dangerously atmospheric, The Stoning is the first in a new series of outback noir featuring DS Manolis, himself an outsider, and a good man in a world gone to hell.

My review

Set in the small northern town of Cobb in outback Australia, The Stoning tells the story of the horrendous murder of local primary schoolteacher and widow, Molly Abbott, and the subsequent investigation by city cop, Detective Sergeant Giorgios ‘George’ Manolis, who has been sent to his former hometown to try and unravel this difficult, tension-rising case.

The victim was tied to a gum tree in the copse behind the local football/cricket oval scoreboard and stoned to death and her body was discovered by old Ida Jones, who was on her way to acquire her morning newspaper.

On arrival in Cobb, DS Manolis discovers a town very different from the one he left as an eight year old with his parents. It used to be home to 5000 people but now the permanent residents number around half that. It’s a place that has been in decline for years and there are lots of racial tensions within the town, especially after the new immigration detention centre (called the brown house by locals) was opened. There’s also an Aboriginal settlement on Cobb’s southern outskirts.

Manolis’ new colleagues are Sergeant Bill Fyfe, Constable Andrew Smith (Sparrow) and Constable Kate Kerr. Fyfe spends most of his time drunk and propping up the bar in the top pub (for ‘whitefellas’), rather than the bottom pub (for ‘blackfellas’). It seems like he’s already checked out and is just waiting to either retire or drop dead.

The local police officers were supposed to have contained the crime scene, collected evidence, analysed samples and made some progress in solving the murder but, much to Manolis’ dismay, they seem to have followed none of the expected and required protocol!

Manolis stays with a couple called Rex and Vera Boyd, in their spare cabin, and they remember George’s dad, Con. He recently died and Manolis is mourning his loss. Several other characters in the town are also grieving after the deaths of close family members in recent years.

Lots of the locals spend their time drinking, taking drugs and being aggressive towards each other and the Aborigines, and there are big tensions and reprisals against anyone connected with the immigration detention centre, which is run by a man called Frank Onions.

It all makes for a rather depressing and resigned feeling to the town. The men are prejudiced and misogynistic and the women aren’t much better. People spend their time fighting each other and everyone has given up hope.

As DS George Manolis calmly trawls through the evidence and makes pertinent enquiries, we learn more about the forty-something murder victim and discover that the locals are keeping things from him. Everyone assumes that one of the residents of the immigration centre is responsible for the murder but Manolis isn’t so sure. He’s frustrated that he can’t work out the pieces of the puzzle – there’s something not right about this whole case and various people aren’t being honest.

Overall, I really enjoyed this atmospheric and gritty outback noir novel, with its intense and claustrophobic setting in sweltering heat in a hellish small town. I was gripped as the unconventional investigation unfolded and we learned more about the secrets that the locals and others were hiding. It’s a compelling read and I couldn’t put it down!

This dark and disturbing book makes uncomfortable reading at times, with its descriptions of violence and racial tension, but it’s well written, intriguing and very thought provoking – I was still mulling things over after I’d finished it.

I especially liked the eye-catching and striking cover, which really sums up the story and location and shows the harsh and arid conditions.

I was pleased to see that this is the first in new series and will definitely be checking out the next book to read more about DS George Manolis and see where he ends up next.

Buy the book

The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Peter Papathanasiou was born in northern Greece and adopted as a baby to an Australian family. His writing has been published internationally by The New York Times, Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times, Daily Telegraph, The ABC, SBS, Huffington Post. He also holds an MA in Creative Writing from City University, London, and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Australian National University. His first book, a memoir, Son of Mine, was published in 2019 by Salt.

Twitter: @peteplastic
Facebook: @PeterPapathanasiouWriter
Instagram: @petepapathanasiou
Website: https://fromtheplasticpen.wordpress.com/about/

Blog tour

Thanks to Katya Ellis at Quercus Books for my copy of The Stoning and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 9 to 24 September 2021

Synopsis

What if you left your child alone, and something terrible happened?

Anna James is an anxious mother. So when she has to leave eleven-year-old Harrie home alone one evening, she can’t stop worrying about her daughter. But nothing bad ever happens in the sleepy village of Barton St Martin.

Except something goes wrong that night, and Anna returns to find Harrie with bruises she won’t explain. The next morning a local businessman is reported missing and the village is sparking with gossip.

Anna is convinced there’s a connection and that Harrie is in trouble. But how can she protect her daughter if she doesn’t know where the danger is coming from?

My review

Anna James is mum to 11-year-old twins, Harriet and Elise, and seven-year-old Molly. She has her own business developing websites. Her husband, Rob, an engineer, works at an oil rig off the coast of Nigeria and is away for three months at a time then home for two weeks. The family live in the small village of Barton St Martin.

Life for Anna is hectic and the girls regularly have activities to attend – football for Harrie and gymnastics classes for Elise. One evening, after strong persuasion from the twins and Rob during his weekly call, Anna decides to leave Harrie home alone for 20 minutes while her and Molly pick up Elise from gymnastics. Unfortunately, there’s an accident on the A12 and they end up being stuck in traffic for hours and Anna, panicking, phones but can’t get through to Harrie, their neighbour, June, or friend, Kat.

When they finally get home four hours later, just before midnight, Harrie is fine and fast asleep in bed but her behaviour in the weeks following is very erratic and it’s clear that something bad happened that night. She won’t open up to her mum or twin sister and she is very emotional and has problems at school too.

Told from the viewpoints of Anna and Harrie, it’s obvious that there’s lots going on with them and they’re both hiding secrets from each other. It made for compelling reading as I was desperate to find out what they were involved in.

There’s an intriguing range of characters in the village and they all seemed rather suspicious at times! The school mums were all a bit bitchy about each other and the secret group chat is really mean! They pretend they’re all friends then make sly digs at each other. The women are realistically written and so are the couples, who Anna makes rhymes up about so that she can remember who they are. This helps the reader to learn who everyone is too.

I wasn’t too keen on Rob either – he had form for lying to his wife and family and just doesn’t seem very trustworthy or particularly supportive of Anna, who is rather anxious and a bit of a worrier and still struggling after their difficulties of four years ago.

Overall, I really enjoyed this tense and twisty thriller. It’s well written and cleverly plotted and the entertaining story unfolded really well and I hadn’t guessed most of what was revealed! There are lots of twists and turns and I imagined all kinds of scenarios to explain Harrie’s role in events.

The ending came together with a bang and lots was revealed in the final pages. There were little clues littered throughout the book and it was fascinating to think back and relate those to what had happened. Some brilliant revelations and such an intense and gripping read.

This is the first book by the author that I’ve read but I’ll definitely be checking out her other books, The Perfect Betrayal and One Step Behind, which I already have on my Kindle!

Buy the book

Safe at Home by Lauren North can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle now and in paperback on 30 September, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also Ethical Book Search.

About the author

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

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

Twitter: @Lauren_C_North
Facebook: @LaurenNorthAuthor
Instagram: @lauren_c_north
Website: https://www.lauren-north.com

Blog tour

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

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

Blog tour: 2 to 6 September 2021

Synopsis

On an ordinary working day …

Leila Syed receives a call that cleaves her life in two. Her brother-in-law’s voice is filled with panic. His son’s nursery has called to ask where little Max is.

Your worst nightmare …

Leila was supposed to drop Max off that morning. But she forgot.

Racing to the carpark, she grasps the horror of what she has done.

Is about to come true …

What follows is an explosive, high-profile trial that will tear the family apart. But as the case progresses it becomes clear there’s more to this incident than meets the eye …

A gripping, brave and tense courtroom drama, Next of Kin will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final, heart-stopping page.

My review

After reading and enjoying Kia Abdullah’s previous two books, Take It Back and Truth Be Told, I knew I wanted to read Next of Kin and I wasn’t disappointed with this excellent courtroom drama.

Leila and Yasmin Syed are sisters. Their parents died when the women were young so they are extremely close and, being nearly eight years older than Yasmin, Leila brought up her sister single handedly and did her best to provide for them both.

Yasmin is an executive personal assistant and married to Andrew Hansson and they have a three-year-old son, Max, and Leila runs her own architecture firm and is separated from her husband, Will Carmichael, and they don’t have any children. Over the years, the couples have been too close at times, living near each other, and the sisters have an intense if rather volatile and emotional relationship.

One Monday morning in July, Yasmin has already left for work when Andrew receives a page to say his company server has gone down, which he needs to attend to immediately. Panicking, he phones sister-in-law, Leila, to ask if she’ll drop off his son, Max, at nursery. She’s a bit annoyed, as the couple regularly ask her to look after her nephew, but she agrees and heads straight round.

After picking up Max, Leila receives a phone call from her assistant. There’s an emergency at her work too and she races to the office to solve the problem, completely forgetting that a sleeping Max is in the car.

It’s only when Leila gets a frantic call at half 11 from Andrew, who has been contacted by nursery, that she realises that Max has been in her car all morning. In shocking scenes, we experience the harrowing aftermath of Leila’s tragic mistake and the subsequent court case that follows as she is accused of deliberately leaving her nephew in the car while attending to her work issue.

Next of Kin was an emotional and thought-provoking read and my allegiance and sympathy for various characters changed as the story progressed and we learnt more about the main protagonists. Such a heart-breaking and traumatic scenario and I felt so sorry for all involved. It was such an intense and dramatic read and I was intrigued to see how everything would be resolved in this painful nightmare.

In his pursuit of a case, the police officer, Detective Sergeant Christopher Shepherd, was really horrible to Leila and I was frustrated and annoyed with him on her behalf. And during the court scenes, I felt so sorry for Leila as she was grilled by the prosecution and her words and actions were twisted to make her seem guilty and it felt like she didn’t have the chance to defend herself properly.

Overall, I really enjoyed this tense, disturbing and emotive novel. It was well written and cleverly plotted and had me gripped from beginning to end – an explosive start, a tense middle and a shocking finish! There were lots of twists and turns and, just when I thought I had everything figured out, the story produced some startling revelations.

Another powerful, compelling and sensitively written legal/courtroom thriller from the author. I’m definitely a big Kia Abdullah fan and looking forward to her next book already!

Buy the book

Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah 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

Kia Abdullah is an author and travel writer from London. Her novel, Take It Back, was named one of the best thrillers of the year by The Guardian and The Telegraph and was selected for an industry-first audio serialisation by HarperCollins and The Pigeonhole.

Kia has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Times, and is the founder of Asian Booklist, a non-profit organisation that advocates for diversity in publishing.

Born in Tower Hamlets in East London, Kia was raised in a family of eight children and has five sisters. She has a degree in computer science from the University of London.

In 2007, Kia left her job in tech to pursue a career as a writer and worked as sub-editor and later features editor at Asian Woman Magazine. She then went on to join global publisher Penguin Random House working on the digital Rough Guides. In 2014, she quit her day job to found Atlas & Boots, an outdoor travel blog.

Today, she splits her time between London and the Yorkshire Dales town of Richmond, and spends her time writing, hiking, mentoring pupils from Tower Hamlets and visiting far-flung destinations for Atlas & Boots.

Kia loves to travel, hates to cook and is a Star Trek fan.

Twitter: @KiaAbdullah
Facebook: @kiawriter
Instagram: @kiaabdullah
Website: https://kiaabdullah.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Sian Baldwin at HarperCollins UK for my digital copy of Next of Kin and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 17 to 21 August 2021

Synopsis

Ten years of marriage.
Ten years of secrets.
An anniversary they’ll never forget.

Adam and Amelia are spending the weekend in the Scottish Highlands. The remote location is perfect for what they have planned.

But when their romantic trip takes a dark turn, they both start to wonder – can they trust the one they’re with?

Because every couple tells little white lies. Only for Adam and Amelia, the truth is far more dangerous.

My review

Adam and Amelia Wright are spending their wedding anniversary in a remote chapel in the Scottish Highlands. They’ve driven up from London and the journey has been rather scary as it’s snowing and Amelia’s Morris Minor Traveller is struggling to cope with the wintry conditions! Their giant black Labrador, Bob, is also with them.

The couple are both in their forties. Adam is a workaholic screenwriter and Amelia works for Battersea Dogs Home and she won the weekend away in the staff Christmas raffle. Their marriage is faltering and they’re hoping that some time away together will help them reconnect.

Adam suffers from a rare neurological condition called prosopagnosia (face blindness), which means that he doesn’t recognise faces, including his own or his wife’s, and can’t see their distinguishing features or facial expressions. He uses other strategies to recognise people like their smell, the sound of their voice or their touch.

When they arrive at the chapel after their long and arduous journey, the whole weekend already seems a disaster, especially when they see their accommodation for the next few days! As strange and dark things begin to happen, I felt very afraid for both of them and their dog, especially as we learn more about their pasts and what has been happening in their lives.

The story is told from the viewpoints of married couple, Adam and Amelia, with sections about a mysterious character called Robin, all interspersed with unsent letters to Adam, written on their anniversary each year, from his wife. I liked the little images at the beginning of each chapter, especially the ones for the anniversary milestones – paper, cotton, leather, linen, etc.

Both Adam and Amelia seem to be hiding some serious lies and secrets from each other and, as the story unfolds, it’s clear that there’s lots they haven’t been honest about during their marriage. We’re given a few hints but I still wasn’t sure how everything was going to reach its climax!

None of the main protagonists seemed very likeable and I wasn’t really sure who to trust, if any of them! We’re introduced to other characters and I was suspicious of several of them and their motives. Looking back, there are lots of clever little hints throughout the novel about what is to come.

The book has gothic vibes and is very creepy at times – the chapel appears haunted and it’s in an isolated setting with all but one of the surrounding houses/buildings being derelict and boarded up, with no signs of life. There’s a good sense of tension and the story builds well and I felt uneasy from the start.

Overall, I really enjoyed Rock Paper Scissors – it initially took me a little while to get into the book but, once I had, it was intriguing, gripping and entertaining. This twisty thriller is well written and cleverly plotted, with several red herrings and elements of misdirection. I had various theories but wasn’t sure how it was all going to be resolved and I found the ending fascinating and I didn’t see all that coming!

I’ve already read I Know Who You Are and His & Hers so I must get round to the author’s debut, Sometimes I Lie, which also sounds an intriguing novel!

Buy the book

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney 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

Alice Feeney is a writer and journalist. She spent 15 years at the BBC, where she worked as a reporter, news editor, arts and entertainment producer and One O’clock News producer.

Her debut novel, Sometimes I Lie, was a New York Times and international bestseller. It has been translated into over 20 languages and is being made into a TV series by Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros., starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. His & Hers is also being adapted for screen by Jessica Chastain’s Freckle Films. Her fourth novel, Rock Paper Scissors, is also being made into a TV series for Netflix by the producer of The Crown.

Alice has lived in London and Sydney and has now settled in the Surrey countryside. She writes in her shed with her dog; a giant black Labrador who is scared of feathers.

Twitter: @alicewriterland
Facebook: @AliceFeeneyAuthor
Instagram: @alicewriterland
Website: https://www.alicefeeney.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Sian Baldwin at HQ Stories for my proof and digital copies of Rock Paper Scissors and for my place on the blogger day.

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

Blog tour: 9 to 20 August 2021

Synopsis

Shirley Steadman, a 70 year old living in a small town in the North East of England, loves her volunteer work at the local hospital radio. But she is still haunted by the death of her son.

One day, she finds a frequency that was never there before. It’s a pirate radio station reporting the news.

But there is one problem – the news being reported is a daily early.

Shirley first thinks it is a mere misunderstanding – a wrong date. But as everything reported comes true, she’s in shock.

Then the presenter starts reporting murders – murders that happen just the way they said.

And Shirley is the only one who can stop them.

My review

Half-Past Tomorrow tells the story of Shirley Steadman, 70, who is a volunteer for the radio station at the local hospital in Chester-Le-Street. She enjoys chatting to patients and taking their music requests for the radio show.

Shirley lives in a small bungalow, a mile from the hospital, with her cat, Moggins. She’s a widow after the death of her husband, Bob, and has a daughter called Deena, 32. Her son, Gabe, was in the Royal Navy but died nearly 10 years ago and she still misses and mourns him, and makes his favourite bacon and banana sandwiches.

Shirley has an active social life – as well as the hospital radio, she does embroidery with a group of friends, volunteers at the local RSPCA shop and looks after her grandchildren, Maisie (10) and Kenneth (6) – but is also a bit lonely and tired of life.

One evening, while playing with the ancient radio equipment at the hospital before her request show, Shirley tunes into a pirate radio station called Mallet AM. At first, she just hears music then the presenter reads the news but, strangely, it’s for the following day. The new bulletin usually contains three items: two general bits of news and then the third one tells of an accident. Shirley decides to follow this up the next day and see if the predictions come true. She’s shocked to discover that they do!

She keeps listening to the pirate broadcast when she can and is concerned to hear that a murder is going to take place next! Shirley decides she must try to stop the murder from happening but it’s not as easy as that and things escalate in this twisted and gripping tale!

Shirley was a great protagonist – she’s fearless and brave and, despite her failing body, her mind is sharp and she’s not afraid to get involved in things to try and stop the events predicted by the Mallet AM presenter. She has a good rapport with her younger friend, Callie, who tries to help her solve the puzzling murders.

Shirley has a rather strained relationship with her daughter, Deena, who is protective and worried about her mum and her various escapades! We learn that Shirley had an abusive marriage and her husband was very harsh on their son, Gabe.

Overall, I really enjoyed Half-Past Tomorrow – it was entertaining, cleverly plotted and had an intriguing storyline. It was unique, surprising and went in several directions that I wasn’t expecting! I was never really sure if some events were real or imagined!

This was a fascinating read and very unpredictable. I had suspicions about several characters but was completely wrong about most of them and didn’t see the ending coming at all! This quirky story was something a bit different and I liked the way it was written – it was action packed and kept me gripped throughout and was also humorous and shocking as well.

I’ve already got the author’s other books, Guess Who and Now You See Me, on my Kindle so I must read those soon.

Buy the book

Half-Past Tomorrow by Chris McGeorge 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

Chris McGeorge studied MA Creative Writing (crime/thriller) at City University London where he wrote debut thriller, Guess Who, as his thesis.

His interests are broad, spanning film, books, theatre and video games. He is a member of the Northern Crime Syndicate, a supergroup of writers from Northern England.

He lives in County Durham with his partner and many, many animals.

Twitter: @crmcgeorge
Facebook: @chris.mcgeorge.1

Blog tour

Thanks to Alainna Hadjigeorgiou at Orion Publishing for my copy of Half-Past Tomorrow and to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 28 July to 29 August 2021

Synopsis

Have you ever wanted to be someone else?

Vanessa has always found it easy to pretend to be somebody different, somebody better. When things get tough in her real life, all she has to do is throw on some nicer clothes, adopt a new accent and she can escape.

That’s how it started: looking round houses she couldn’t possibly afford. Harmless fun really. Until it wasn’t.

Because a man who lived in one of those houses is dead.

And everyone thinks Vanessa killed him …

My review

After things start going wrong in her life, Vanessa Adams, 32, checks the listings at various high-end estate agents and becomes addicted to looking round beautiful, expensive houses that she can’t possibly afford. She likes pretending to be someone else and imagining living in a stunning house. She ends up moving in with her older sister, Georgie, 45, and brother-in-law, Jack, in Wimbledon after a relationship break up and the loss of her job.

One evening, the police knock on the door and accuse Vanessa of murdering the owner of one of the houses that she viewed. She denies everything but can’t remember what did happen that fateful day.

Told in two timelines, then (2017) and now (2018), we learn about the events that lead up to Vanessa being questioned for murder. She is a rather unreliable narrator and I wasn’t sure whether to believe her version of what happened or not, especially with some of the comments from her best friend, Lottie, her ex, Connor and her sister, Georgie. Interspersed between the two time periods are flashbacks (in italics) to Vanessa’s childhood and her various memories.

In 2017, Vanessa works in marketing for cosmetics company, Luna London, and she lives with her friend of 14 years, Lottie, a case manager at a children’s charity. They’re both single and get on well and have fun together and enjoy their girlie nights out. When Vanessa gets a new boyfriend and spends all her time with him, Lottie feels sidelined and, eventually, the two women fall out.

Things progress rather fast with Connor Dawkins, an art director, and the couple fall head over heels in love and, before long, Vanessa is moving into his flat. Life isn’t all rosy for the pair and the couple’s relationship is unhealthy and toxic. They’re both flawed in their own ways.

Vanessa’s behaviour becomes rather erratic and she gets carried away with her new relationship and forgets the important things in life like her family, friends and job. Connor is horrible and far too jealous and possessive and Vanessa is totally taken in by him and is blind to his bad points – the emotional abuse and manipulative and coercive behaviour.

By the time Vanessa is accused of murder, her life has descended into chaos and she’s not sure how she came to be in this position. Lots happens to her in the year after meeting Connor and she has to be strong to unravel the full story.

Overall, I enjoyed The Perfect Life – it was well paced, tense, gripping and even creepy in parts. Vanessa was a difficult character to suss out and there was certainly lots going on in her life. It was fascinating to discover more about her childhood and learn what happened to her mum. Her relationship with Connor was frustrating as he was very controlling and kept trying to gaslight Vanessa and convince her that she was doing things and behaving in certain ways. She couldn’t see what was happening most of the time or just ignored his behaviour and made excuses.

This was an engaging and absorbing book and rather dark and disturbing at times. It was an intriguing and easy read, with short chapters, and I flew through it in a few hours, desperate to learn more about how Vanessa came to be accused of murder. By the end, there certainly had been some shocking revelations and I was surprised by how it was all resolved. An entertaining read!

I’ve read the author’s third thriller, The House on the Lake, so will have to go back and read her first two books, which I’ve got on my shelves already!

Buy the book

The Perfect Life by Nuala Ellwood can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks. See also the Ethical Book Search.

About the author

Nuala Ellwood is the author of three bestselling novels: My Sister’s Bones, for which she was selected as one of The Observer’s ‘New Faces of Fiction 2017’, Day of the Accident and The House on the Lake. The Perfect Life is her latest novel.

Nuala lives in York with her young son.

Twitter: @NualaWrites
Facebook: @NualaEllwoodAuthor
Instagram: @nualawrites

Blog tour

Thanks to Ellie Hudson at Penguin and Viking Books for my proof copy of The Perfect Life and for my place on the blog tour.

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