Blog tour: 17 to 25 June 2021

Synopsis

‘What happens to those girls who go missing? What happens to the Zoe Nolans of the world?’

In the early hours of Saturday 17 December 2011, Zoe Nolan, a 19-year-old Manchester University student, walked out of a party taking place in the shared accommodation where she had been living for three months.

She was never seen again.

Seven years after her disappearance, struggling writer Evelyn Mitchell finds herself drawn into the mystery. Through interviews with Zoe’s closest friends and family, she begins piecing together what really happened in 2011. But where some versions of events overlap, aligning perfectly with one another, others stand in stark contrast, giving rise to troubling inconsistencies.

Shaken by revelations of Zoe’s secret life, and stalked by a figure from the shadows, Evelyn turns to crime writer Joseph Knox to help make sense of a case where everyone has something to hide.

Blending fact and fiction, this is a thrilling true crime story like no other. Weaving together a collection of fictional interviews, Joseph Knox creates a compulsively readable, dark and pacey thriller with a twist. This is the first stand-alone novel from the critically acclaimed author of the Aidan Waits series.

My review

True Crime Story is about the disappearance of Zoe Nolan, a 19-year-old Manchester University student who went missing during a party at her student accommodation block in the early hours of Saturday 17 December 2011. The book tells the account of the events leading up to her disappearance as put together by a woman called Evelyn Mitchell who spent a year interviewing Zoe’s twin sister and parents, as well as her boyfriend, friends and acquaintances from that time.

Evelyn communicated with the author of the book, Joseph Knox, after meeting with him at the book signing event for his debut novel, Sirens, and she emailed him her interview transcripts and observations, which she’d compiled into chapters of key events. Joseph was busy and didn’t always respond promptly and it was only after something tragic happened that he put the rest of the material together and produced this second edition of the book, which includes some clarifications and apologies.

Zoe was only at the university for three months but it seems that a lot happened in that time, some of it quite disturbing and concerning. She was due to go to another university but didn’t get in and so ended up in Manchester with her twin sister, Kimberly. The women had a rather strange relationship. They weren’t very close and they had a difficult childhood with their dad, Robert, focusing his attention on singer Zoe. He’s rather controlling and dominated his daughters and wife, Sally.

Zoe and Kim were put in a tower block called Owens Park and it’s there that they met their flatmate Liu Wai. Zoe’s boyfriend was called Andrew Flowers and other friends were Jai Mahmood and Fintan Murphy (Zoe’s course mate).

As the story progresses, we learn more about the characters – they all seem to have lots of secrets and they don’t really know each other very well after only three months. There are some shocking revelations, which are carefully revealed in chapter format, and some curious and surprising links between various people! 

The novel is fictional but it seems real, especially with the way everything is set up initially with Evelyn discussing various elements of the case, which she assembles by piecing together the interview transcripts and pulling out common themes. The book also contains newspaper cutting and photos. And then there are emails and phone calls between Evelyn and Joseph in which they sum up and discuss specific findings and share their thoughts. Everything seems to spiral out of control and strange things start happening as Evelyn gets closer to finding out some truths.

The story was intense and gripping. It seemed true to life and I could really imagine the horrible tower block where the students live and it reminded me of one on my university campus! Most of the characters are horrible, with some awful behaviour, and they’re all rather unreliable witnesses. There are contradictory statements and everyone interprets and sees things differently, especially when trying to recount events seven years later.

It’s a fascinating and enthralling concept and reminds me a little of The Appeal by Janice Hallett, which is also set up as a series of communications between various people and you have to try and work out what on earth is going on!

I was rather rubbish at guessing what was happening in True Crime Story and feel like I need to read the book again and make notes! I’m sure there are various clues scattered throughout but I probably missed most of them. A friend said she would use sticky tabs to highlight key points!

Overall, it’s an innovative and intriguing read, definitely something a bit different! I found it absorbing and immersive and disturbing in parts. It’s dark and tense, with a great sense of foreboding, and it feels like we’re not being told everything and there are sinister undercurrents to the story. It makes for very uncomfortable reading.

It’s the first book of the author’s that I’ve read but I’ll definitely be checking out his Aidan Waits series soon!

Buy the book

True Crime Story by Joseph Knox can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Joseph Knox was born and raised in and around Stoke and Manchester, where he worked in bars and bookshops before moving to London. He runs, writes and reads compulsively. His debut novel Sirens was a bestseller and has been translated into 18 languages. The Smiling Man and The Sleepwalker are the second and third books in his bestselling and highly praised Aidan Waits series.

Twitter: @josephknox__
Facebook: @JosephKnoxAuthor
Instagram: @knobbth
Website: https://www.josephknox.co.uk/

Blog tour

Thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my copy of True Crime Story and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 10 to 25 June 2021

Synopsis

You just boarded a flight to New York.

There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard.

What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped.

For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die.

The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane.

Enjoy the flight.

My review

Falling tells the story of Coastal Airways Flight 416, from Los Angeles to New York, and the plane’s experienced pilot, Captain Bill Hoffman.

Bill wasn’t due to be on the Airbus A320 – he was supposed to be at his 10-year-old son, Scott’s Little League season opener – but when the chief pilot, Walt O’Malley, phones to ask him to fly the route, he can’t really say no. Bill’s 42-year-old wife, Carrie, is annoyed with her husband and, as he heads to the airport, the couple don’t part on the best of terms, especially as she’s distracted by the internet repairman. Bill promises to talk to her later, before take-off.

Onboard the plane are 144 passengers and five crew, consisting of Captain Bill and First Officer Ben Miro plus flight attendants Jo Watkins (46), Michael ‘Big Daddy’ Rodenburg and newbie Kellie. Bill has worked with Jo for over two decades and considers her a friend and part of his family.

Bill tries to phone his wife before the five-and-a-half hour flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport but she doesn’t pick up so he carries on with all his pre-flight checks.

Shortly after take-off, he receives an email from his wife. At first he thinks it’s blank, then he realises, to his horror, that it contains a photo of Carrie and Scott and they are obviously in danger and being held captive by someone. Bill receives instructions via a FaceTime call and is told he must crash the plane or his family will be killed. What an awful dilemma! He also learns that provisions have been put in place in the cockpit to ensure that he complies with the terrorist.

The story is told from the points of view of Bill in the cockpit and flight attendant, Jo, in the cabin of the plane. On the ground, we follow FBI agent, Theo Baldwin, who is related to one of the aircrew, and Carrie, son Scott and 10-month-old baby daughter, Elise, as they are held captive by another terrorist.

I love books set on planes and this was definitely an excellent story, full of suspense, peril and drama! I was really rooting for Bill and star of the show, Jo, and hoping that Theo would be able to solve things on the ground, despite the other FBI agents trying to hamper his earnest efforts.

Overall, I really enjoyed this dramatic, gripping and tense read! I felt like I was up in the air, experiencing all the terror and fear that the passengers and crew were enduring. It seems a hopeless situation from all angles and one from which there’s no escape.

The novel was fast paced and entertaining and the action and twists and turns came fast and furious as Bill and his flight crew battled to foil the terrorists’ plot. I was a bit unsure about the terrorists’ motives but they were certainly menacing and seemed to have thought of everything. They appear to be one step ahead all the time but Bill is determined to save his family and all the passengers and he has a few surprises up his sleeve too. It makes for disturbing and exciting reading!

The author is a former flight attendant and this book was written on cross-country red-eye flights while the passengers were asleep! Her professional experience really showed in the authenticity of the procedures and protocol on the plane.

I understand this is due to be made into a film and it would definitely be an intense and terrifying movie and I can’t wait to watch it! I’m also looking forward to seeing what the author writes next.

Buy the book

Falling by T.J. Newman can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

T.J. Newman, a former bookseller turned flight attendant, worked for Virgin America and Alaska Airlines from 2011 to 2021. She wrote much of Falling on cross-country red-eye flights while her passengers were asleep. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Falling is her first novel.

Twitter: @T_J_Newman
Facebook: @TJNewmanBooks
Instagram: @tj_author

Blog tour

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

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

Blog tour: 27 May to 30 June 2021

Synopsis

Meet Ellen, Alexa and Jack. They’re broke. They’re lonely. They’re hungover. And things are about to go from bad to worse …

After Ellen stumbles downstairs to discover their kitchen is flooded, the housemates find themselves in the attic, desperate to cut the water supply. But when Ben, Alexa’s date from the night before, accidentally breaks the door handle, all four are trapped.

Cue the worst ever Morning After The Night Before, especially when Ellen becomes convinced she knows Ben from somewhere …

Will the housemates ever get out of the attic? Will they survive the wrath of Elias The Evil Landlord? And will Jack please stop live-tweeting this whole fiasco?

My review

Twenty-somethings Alexa Ingram, Ellen Fisher and Jack Barnes are housemates and live together at 49 Rokeby Close in North Cross, south-east London. The house is owned by their rather horrible landlord, Elias, who is rude and abrasive and always complaining about something they’ve done or, more likely, haven’t done to the property!

One Saturday morning in April, Ellen wakes with a hangover after a heavy night of work drinks. She works in communications for a CBD tampon company called The Flowdown. Heading to the kitchen for a glass of water, she’s horrified to discover water pouring out of the cupboard under the sink. She panics and starts hunting for a stopcock but can’t locate one. She suddenly has a brainwave and decides to head up to the attic, where the fuse box is located, in the hopes of finding the mains tap up there!

When she has no luck, Ellen asks Jack to help her search. He’s no use either so Ellen knocks on Alexa’s door and discovers she’s not alone after taking her Hinge date, Ben, home! Alexa knows where the stopcock is downstairs but can’t get it to turn off. She goes back up to the attic to ask Jack to help then Ben appears while they’re all up there and a gust of wind from the skylight blows the door shut. When he tries to open the door, the handle comes off in Ben’s hand and the foursome are trapped!

With water gushing out of the kitchen pipes, no way to open the broken attic door and a lack of powered/wifi-connected phones, there seems to be no way out for the group! It’s fairly early in the morning and, from their small attic skylight window, there’s no sign of any life on the streets below! How are they going to escape this one?

Told from the points of view of Alexa, Ellen and Jack, we learn more about the housemates and their pasts. Alexa and Ellen met 10 years ago at university in York and have been friends ever since and shared houses in York and London together. Jack has lived in their shared house for five months after moving down to London from Manchester. Alexa is a civil servant and Jack is a customer service rep for a vegetable delivery box start-up called Green Genie.

There are some intriguing revelations as the group alternate between panicking, talking about random things, trying to attract the attention of someone outside and crossing their legs (or not in the case of Ellen!)! Weirdly, Ellen is also convinced that she knows Alexa’s date, Ben, from somewhere too!

Overall, this was an amusing and light-hearted tale and, despite being nearly 400 pages long, I raced through it in a couple of days. It’s engaging, very readable and well written and I enjoyed learning more about the main protagonists in flashbacks to their pasts. They were all rather daft in their actions and should have handled things a lot better but it was all part of the fun in this entertaining locked-room romcom!

This heart-warming novel was relatable and I could picture the scene really well and imagine all the trials and tribulations up in the attic! The mention of MSN was a blast from the past as I remember spending hours chatting to random people on there while at uni! This was a fun summer read and great escapism in these locked-in times!

Buy the book

The Lock In by Phoebe Luckhurst can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle now and in hardback on 22 July, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Phoebe Luckhurst was born in London and brought up in Glasgow. She is the Features Editor of the Evening Standard and appears regularly on their podcast, The Leader. She has written for The Guardian, Sunday Times Style, ELLE, ES Magazine, Grazia, The Telegraph and Vogue. She has had the theme tune to The OC stuck in her head since 2003 and once almost spent her student loan on a micro-pig. She no longer shops online when drunk.

Twitter: @phoebeluckhurst
Instagram: @phoebeluckhurst
Website: https://www.phoebeluckhurst.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Sriya Varadharajan at Michael Joseph for my proof copy of The Lock In and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 8 to 21 June 2021

Synopsis

McNulty’s Meats, one of Stonebridge’s oldest businesses, is about to be taken over in a lucrative deal that would make brothers Ron and Kevin very rich men indeed. Unfortunately for them, local activist Tyler Love has other ideas. Convinced that the deal would be bad for the town, he burns the place to the ground and inadvertently kills himself in the process.

At least, that’s what the police think.

Tyler’s mum disagrees and pleads with amateur sleuths Adam and Colin to investigate. Although, going up against the psychopathic McNulty brothers, a rival businessman, a group of hippies, and a girlfriend with secrets of her own might not be such a good idea … Someone has something to hide, and will go to great lengths to keep that secret buried.

Meat is Murder is the third book in The Stonebridge Mysteries series of cosy crime novellas.

About the series

Stonebridge is a small town on the north coast of Northern Ireland. Most of its inhabitants are friendly, happy people. Most of them … Because bad things happen even in the happiest of places. It’s a good thing, then, that Adam Whyte and Colin McLaughlin call Stonebridge home.

Armed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of detective shows, a misplaced sense of confidence and a keen desire to see justice done, these two are the closest thing the town has to saviours. Which isn’t that reassuring …

My review

When I heard there was going to be a third novella in The Stonebridge Mysteries series, I couldn’t wait to read it! I love these short but perfectly formed cosy crime stories.

Set in the small Northern Irish town of Stonebridge, Meat is Murder introduces us to the rival local meat businesses, McNulty’s Meats and Tanner’s Meats! The owners of McNulty’s Meats, brothers Kevin and Ron McNulty, are planning to sell their business to a large English company, much to the disgust of a group of protestors called The History Makers and their leader, Tyler Love, who chain themselves to the gate at the abattoir.

In the last six months, Adam Whyte and his best friend for over 20 years, Colin McLaughlin, have become amateur sleuths and solved two murder cases, both of which the police had assumed were accidents. Adam has matured in several ways – he now has his own gardening business with a van and lock up for storage and he’s recently moved out of his mum’s house into his own flat. Colin is still working at the local retirement home and has just bought a house.

When the abattoir at McNulty’s Meats is set ablaze after the protest and a body is discovered in the wrecked building, the police assume that the victim, Tyler Love, set fire to the place and then became trapped and couldn’t escape. Tyler’s mum, Jennifer, contacts Adam to ask if he’ll investigate her son’s death as she insists that he was a peaceful protestor and doesn’t believe he would have set fire to the abattoir.

Adam and Colin decide they will help out and the next morning they head to the headquarters of The History Makers to attend a memorial service for Tyler, in the hopes of uncovering some key information. The pair work undercover again, often going their separate ways so that they can speak to various people connected to the case, putting themselves in danger when they meet up with some rather unsavoury characters.

There were some good twists and turns and several potential suspects. I had fun trying to guess how the story was going to unfold and work out who was responsible for Tyler’s death.

Meat is Murder is another well-plotted and entertaining novella from the author and I’m a big fan of this fab series! Adam and Colin make a great amateur sleuthing duo and work well together to solve some puzzling murders. They get rather a lot of luck along the way but that’s all part of the fun!

The book is a quick read, at just under 100 pages, but it’s engaging, action packed and full of intrigue and suspense. The story is well paced and cleverly developed and there are some witty lines. I love the amusing chapter titles – they’re a great device to give the reader a little insight into what’s to come!

I’m really enjoying this engaging, well-written crime mystery series and spending time with Adam and Colin and I’m hoping there’s going to be another instalment soon!

Buy the book

Meat is Murder by Chris McDonald can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle, in hardback and paperback, or from Kobo or Google Books. Purchase the hardback, paperback and eBook directly from the Red Dog Press online shop.

About the author

Originally hailing from the north coast of Northern Ireland and now residing in south Manchester, Chris McDonald has always been a reader. At primary school, the Hardy Boys inspired his love of adventure before his reading world was opened up by Chuck Palahniuk and the gritty world of crime.

A Wash of Black was his first attempt at writing a book. He came up with the initial idea whilst feeding his baby in the middle of the night, which may not be the best thing to admit, considering the content. Whispers in the Dark and Roses for the Dead are the other two books in the DI Erika Piper series. The Curious Dispatch of Daniel Costello and Dead in the Water are the first two books in The Stonebridge Mysteries series of cosy crime novellas.

He is a fan of 5-a-side football, heavy metal and dogs.

Twitter: @cmacwritescrime
Facebook: @cmacwritescrime
Website: https://macsbookreview.wordpress.com
Instagram: @cmacwritescrime

Blog tour

Thanks to Meggy Roussel at Red Dog Press for my digital copy of Meat is Murder and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 29 April to 9 June 2021

Synopsis

Noah and Kate were meant to be together forever.

Married with two gorgeous sons, it looked like they’d got their happy ever after.

But marriage isn’t easy. And one day, Kate left, taking their two boys with her.

These days, Noah is a weekend dad – and it breaks his heart. He misses the chaotic mealtimes, the bedtime stories, the early mornings and the late homework.

Suddenly, he decides enough is enough – he has to win his family back. Starting with Kate.

The only problem?

In six weeks’ time, Kate is getting married to someone else …

My review

I read and really enjoyed the author’s debut, Saturdays at Noon, for the blog tour last year and was keen to get my hands on this one!

Noah Carlton (30) is a primary school teacher and dad to eight-year-old Gabriel and four-year-old Finn. He’s divorced from their mum, Kate (28). Noah and Kate met as teenagers and were married at aged 20 and 18 respectively and together for 11 years in total. They’ve now been split up for nearly two years after Noah let Kate and the boys down one too many times. She’s now living with her partner of a year, Jerry Sedgeway, in his three-storey mansion.

Noah still has feelings for Kate and doesn’t like boring and sensible Jerry. He can’t resist regularly making little jibes and comments about the situation and Jerry. He hates being Weekend Dad and only seeing the boys every other weekend, and misses the mundane elements of family life like meals, bath time and putting the boys to bed.

While knocking back the drinks most nights, Noah chats to the new barmaid, Amelia (Mimi) Thomas, at his local pub and she gives him advice about his situation and plots to help him win Kate back before her wedding to Jerry takes place.

As the story progresses, we learn more about Noah and his family history and we discover why he’s acting the way he is.

At first, I found myself rather frustrated with Noah as he spent most of his spare time in the local pub, where he drank himself into oblivion regularly and often took random women home. He lets his sons down by not being there and not looking after them when he should have done. He’s obviously still hurting after the break up with Kate but he’s unreliable, immature and selfish. He seems to be self-destructing and feeling sorry for himself rather than thinking about Gabe and Finn. He also lets the children at school down by turning up to work with hangovers.

Despite their various flaws, the characters are all relatable and likeable, even Noah and Jerry, and I liked Noah’s brother, Ben, and his wife, as well as Kate and Mimi. Noah has a good rapport with the children at school and there’s one in particular who he ends up helping after difficulties at home.

Overall, I really enjoyed Until Next Weekend – it was well written and engaging and, despite being 400 pages long, I flew through it and was really captivated by the characters and storyline. The story was hard hitting in places and some rather serious and sensitive topics were discussed but it was also amusing and heart warming. I had tears in my eyes at a few emotional and touching moments.

The novel was cleverly plotted and I was never quite sure how things were going to pan out. There were a few twists and turns, and I was surprised by certain elements of the story. It was a fascinating look at a difficult family situation.

This was another excellent, thought-provoking read from the author and I’m already looking forward to her next book!

Buy the book

Until Next Weekend by Rachel Marks can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Rachel Marks studied English at Exeter University before becoming a primary school teacher. Despite always loving to write, it wasn’t until she gained a place on the 2016 Curtis Brown Creative online novel writing course that she started to believe it could be anything more than a much-loved hobby.

Her inspiration for her first book, Saturdays at Noon, came from the challenges she faced with her eldest son – testing and fascinating in equal measure – and the research she did to try to understand him better.

She lives in Gloucestershire with her husband and two young sons. When not writing, she loves travelling, snowboarding and photography.

Twitter: @Rache1Marks
Instagram: @rachelmarksauthor

Blog tour

Thanks to Chrissie Antoniou at Michael Joseph Books for my proof copy of Until Next Weekend and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 25 to 29 May 2021

Synopsis

Leigh Fletcher: happily married stepmum to two gorgeous boys goes missing on Monday. Her husband Mark says he knows nothing of her whereabouts. She simply went to work and just never came home. Their family is shattered.

Kai Janssen: married to wealthy Dutch businessman, Daan, vanishes the same week. Kai left their luxurious penthouse and glamorous world without a backward glance. She seemingly evaporated into thin air. Daan is distraught.

DC Clements knows that people disappear all the time – far too frequently. Most run away from things, some run towards, others are taken but find their way back. A sad few never return. These two women are from very different worlds, their disappearances are unlikely to be connected. And yet, at a gut level, the DC believes they might be.

How could these women walk away from their families, husbands and homes willingly? Clements is determined to unearth the truth, no matter how shocking and devastating it may be.

The Sunday Times Number One bestseller Adele Parks returns with her most provocative, compelling book to date: Both Of You.

My review

Both of You is Adele Parks’ 21st book in 21 years! Set in London in the present day, just as the first Covid lockdown was starting in March 2020, it tells the intriguing and unsettling story of two 40-something women and their families.

Leigh Fletcher is 43 years old and wife to Mark (49). She is stepmum to his two children, Oliver (nearly 16) and Sebastian (12). Mark’s first wife, Frances, died of cancer 11 years ago. Mark is a landscape gardener and Leigh is a management consultant. She currently works for a wind energy company and is away from home in Edinburgh from Monday morning to Thursday morning. Leigh has a best friend called Fiona who she’s known for over 20 years and they used to share a flat.

Kai Janssen is 43 years old and married to Dutchman, Daan (39) who works in the city. The couple live in a stunning penthouse apartment with views of the Thames and the Tower of London. Kai’s mum, Pamela, suffers from Alzheimer’s and is in a care home in Newcastle. Kai regularly goes to visit her.

When Leigh and Kai both go missing, the police are called into investigate. Their families are devastated and can’t explain why either woman would have disappeared. Despite rather difficult childhoods – and a tricky start to Leigh’s relationship with Mark – both women seem to be extremely happy and lead fulfilling lives. The police are distracted by the growing and concerning situation with the pandemic but eventually discover more than they bargained for about both women.

The story is told from several perspectives and it’s interesting to see things from the points of view of different people and how they interpret events.

Overall, this was a tense and entertaining read with lots of twists and turns! The beginning of the novel set the scene and gave us an in-depth introduction to all the characters (some of whom are rather selfish and unlikeable) and their family dynamics, and then the action started and we learnt that both women were missing from their family homes.

At times, it was a shocking and disturbing read and there were certainly some clever elements of misdirection and big revelations! One, in particular, was a complete surprise and made me do a double take when it was matter-of-factly stated!

I read this domestic thriller over a couple of days and it was a very engaging and gripping story and I zipped through it, frantically turning the pages. I had several theories as I was reading and was imagining all kinds of big reveals at the end! I was actually partially right but still surprised by lots of what happened!

Another bestselling book by the author, I’m sure, and I can’t wait to read her next one! I must dig out my old paperbacks and start reading them from the beginning.

Buy the book

Both of You by Adele Parks can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Adele Parks was born in Teesside in the north east of England. After studying English language and literature at Leicester University, she worked in advertising and as a management consultant.

Her first novel, Playing Away, was published in 2000. Four million copies of her UK editions have been sold and her books are translated into 30 different languages. Adele has published 20 novels in 20 years, and they’ve all hit the bestseller lists. She’s written 19 contemporary novels and two historical ones, Spare Brides and If You Go Away, which are set during and after World War One.

During her career, Adele has lived in Italy, Botswana and London. She now lives in Guildford, Surrey with her husband, teenage son and cat.

Twitter: @adeleparks
Facebook: @OfficialAdeleParks
Instagram: @adele_parks
Website: https://www.adeleparks.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Sian Baldwin at HQ Stories for my proof copy of Both of You and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 27 April to 28 May 2021

Synopsis

She has everything at stake; he has everything to lose. But one of them is lying, all the same.

When an Oxford student accuses one of the university’s professors of sexual assault, DI Adam Fawley’s team think they’ve heard it all before. But they couldn’t be more wrong.

Because this time, the predator is a woman and the shining star of the department, and the student a six-foot male rugby player.

Soon DI Fawley and his team are up against the clock to figure out the truth. What they don’t realise is that someone is watching.

And they have a plan to put Fawley out of action for good …

My review

The Whole Truth is the fifth book in the DI Adam Fawley series and is set in Oxford. Until now, I’d only read the first book, Close to Home, but this series can be read as standalone stories so I was really looking forward to reading this one.

It’s July 2018 and the novel begins with the disturbing accusation of a sexual assault at Edith Launceleve College in Oxford. What makes it even more shocking is that the victim is a 22-year-old male mathematics student called Caleb Morgan and the accused is a 42-year-old female academic, and his supervisor, Professor Marina Fisher, an expert in artificial intelligence. The incident took place at Professor Fisher’s Georgian town house after a university fundraising dinner at which she was a keynote speaker.

DI Adam Fawley’s 44-year-old wife, Alex, is 35 weeks pregnant and exhausted – she’s struggling with the heat and her emotions. The last thing Fawley needs is a complicated case involving gender and university politics, with familial links to key figures in various fields.

Fawley was involved in an investigation in which a man called Gavin Parrie was convicted of the rape and attempted rape of seven young women in Oxford in 1998. As he was led away to serve a minimum of 15 years in prison, Parrie made death threats against Fawley and now, 10 years later and out on licence with a tag, Alex is concerned that Parrie will seek out the family and carry out his threats.

While embroiled in the ‘he said, she said’ Morgan and Fisher case, the team are asked to look into the disappearance of a woman and, before long, both investigations are stretching police resources and having far-reaching and shocking repercussions for certain members of the team! I certainly didn’t see that coming!

The story is cleverly told using text messages, emails, social media posts, newspaper articles, podcast and phone call transcripts, handwritten notes, official police interviews and paperwork, as well as from the points of view of various characters. This works very well and enables the reader to follow the story and all the evidence for themselves and gain a bird’s eye view of the investigations as they unfold.

I loved the way the author kindly included a useful table at the beginning of the novel as an aide-mémoire for those who’d read previous books and also for those who hadn’t! It was very handy and gave me a quick summary of the key members of the team and some background information.

Overall, I really enjoyed this cleverly plotted and well-written police procedural. There were some startling revelations in the novel and some great twists and turns, as well as a few red herrings, which I totally fell for! The book had a great pace and tension to it and it kept my attention throughout, with never a dull moment. Just when you thought things were calming down, something else dramatic would happen!

It’s a gripping and compelling read and I raced through it in a couple of days, frantically turning the pages as things got worse and worse for various characters! The story is action packed and engaging – I became fully immersed in the cases myself and nearly started making notes!

This is an excellent series and I’m looking forward to going back and reading the earlier books in the series: In the Dark, No Way Out and All the Rage.

Buy the book

The Whole Truth by Cara Hunter can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Cara Hunter is the author of The Sunday Times bestselling crime novels Close to Home, In the Dark, No Way Out and All the Rage, all featuring DI Adam Fawley and his Oxford-based police team. Close to Home was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and was shortlisted for Crime Book of the Year in the British Book Awards 2019. No Way Out was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 best crime novels since 1945.

Cara’s novels have sold more than a million copies worldwide, and the TV rights to the series have now been acquired by the Fremantle group. She lives in Oxford, on a street not unlike those featured in her books.

Twitter: @CaraHunterBooks
Instagram: @carahunterauthor

Blog tour

Thanks to Ellie Hudson and Georgia Taylor at Penguin Books for my copy of The Whole Truth and for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour: 19 to 25 May 2021

Synopsis

A missing girl. A race against time.

Ten-year-old Elodie Fry vanishes overnight, along with a rucksack filled with her meagre belongings. Acting DI Gaby Darin and her team are fighting the clock to reunite Elodie with her distraught mother – but was Elodie kidnapped or did she run?

Later that day, a local undertaker uncovers a nasty surprise: the remains of an unidentified second adult among a late pensioner’s ashes. Torn between the two investigations, Gaby decides the gruesome discovery at the crematorium must wait – the team are desperate to find Elodie before they lose her trail.

But as she follows the evidence, Gaby realises the two cases have a sinister connection … and there’s a killer on the loose.

Can Gaby find the missing girl alive… or is she already too late?

My review

Lost Souls is the fourth book in the Detective Gaby Darin series and after enjoying the first two books (I haven’t go to the third one yet!), I was really keen to read it for the blog tour!

The story begins in Colwyn Bay, one Friday lunchtime at the end of July, with 10-year-old Elodie (Ellie) Fry making a shocking discovery in the shed while her mum is cleaning the house. A few days after this nasty experience, Elodie decides to run away from home, taking a rucksack of supplies with her.

Acting Detective Inspector (DI) Gabrielle (Gaby) Darin is part of the North Wales Major Incident Team and gets the call about the missing girl and arranges to meet DC Jax Williams and family liaison officer, DS Amy Potter, at the family home to speak to Ellie’s mum, Anita. Ellie is an only child and doesn’t know her father but Anita, who works as a cleaner, has done her best to provide for her daughter. She’s shocked by Ellie’s disappearance and can’t understand why she would have run away from home.

Meanwhile, DC Owen Bates, who is just returning from paternity leave and has a week-old baby daughter, speaks to a man called Martin Penrose from the Welsh Hills Memorial Gardens in Colwyn Bay who has come to the police station at St Asaph to report a crime. Penrose works at the crematorium and, while cleaning out the furnace, he found three prosthetic hip joints, a rather surprising discovery because, as he says, ‘How many people do you know with three legs?’!

We also meet a character from a previous novel, the reclusive 18-year-old Ronan Stevens, who is currently sleeping rough in a cave on the headland of the Great Orme in Llandudno and he ends up playing a key part in this story.

The novel is set over the course of a week as Gaby Darin frantically juggles several investigations, instructing her colleagues to follow many different lines of enquiries and tries to solve the curious cases. Poor PC Diane Carbone ends up reviewing hours of CCTV footage in the hopes of spotting Ellie. She comes up with some intelligent suggestions/observations so I hope she’ll feature more in future books.

The story can be read as a standalone but there are a few passing mentions of previous cases and events so it’s probably best to read the series in order to get the full experience and learn more about Gaby Darin and her life. She has a good working relationship with her colleagues and manages to support and encourage them while getting the best out of her team and successfully solving cases. I also enjoyed seeing Gaby’s tentative relationship with resident pathologist, Rusty Mulholland, continuing to develop, despite a few obstacles and uncertainties.

This was another excellent, compelling read from Jenny O’Brien, with some astute police work, and I really enjoyed this cleverly plotted and gripping police procedural. The puzzling storyline was well written with some good twists and turns and it had me frantically turning the pages, curious to see how all was going to be resolved. I had a few theories but couldn’t put all the pieces of the jigsaw together and was rather surprised by the conclusion!

The Detective Gaby Darin series is very engaging and entertaining, with a good pace, as well as a fascinating team dynamic and intriguing character development, and it makes for satisfying reading. I can’t wait for the next book!

Buy the book

Lost Souls by Jenny O’Brien can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle now and in paperback on 22 July, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Born in Dublin, Jenny O’Brien moved to Wales and then Guernsey, where she tries to find time to write in between working as a nurse and ferrying around three teenagers.

She’s an avid reader and book blogger, in addition to being a previous Romantic Novel Awards (RoNA) judge.

In her spare time, she can be found frowning at her wonky cakes and even wonkier breads. You’ll be pleased to note she won’t be entering The Great British Bake Off. She’s also an all-year-round sea swimmer.

Twitter: @ScribblerJB
Facebook: @JennyOBrienWriter
Instagram: @scribblerjb
Website: https://jennyobrienwriter.wordpress.com

Blog tour

Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for my place on the blog tour.

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

Blog tour blast: 11 May 2021

Synopsis

He jumped to his death in front of witnesses. Now his wife is charged with murder.

Five years ago, Erin Kennedy moved to New York following a family tragedy. She now lives happily with her detective husband in the scenic seaside town of Newport, Long Island. When Erin answers the door to Danny’s police colleagues one morning, it’s the start of an ordinary day. But behind her, Danny walks to the window of their fourth-floor apartment and jumps to his death.

Eighteen months later, Erin is in court, charged with her husband’s murder. Over that year and a half, Erin has learned things about Danny she could never have imagined. She thought he was perfect. She thought their life was perfect.

But it was all built on the perfect lie.

My review

Erin Kennedy, 32, an editor in a publishing house, lives in Newport, Suffolk County on Long Island with her detective husband of less than two years, Daniel (Danny) Ryan, 33. Erin is from Ireland originally but moved to New York five years ago after a family tragedy.

It’s nearly 7.15 on a Tuesday morning in July and there’s a firm knock on the door of their fourth-floor apartment and, straightaway, Erin knows that it’s her husband’s police colleagues. She’s a bit confused but lets the three officers in and that’s when Danny takes one look at his partner, Ben Mitchell, walks to the French windows and jumps to his death from their balcony.

It’s a disturbing beginning and really had me wondering what had made Danny do that! Poor Erin is very shocked and horrified and can’t believe that she didn’t realise Danny was feeling so distraught. She feels very alone – she has a few friends in New York but her family are back home in Ireland and the police don’t seem to be looking out for Erin like you’d expect after the death of one of their own.

Erin is determined to uncover the truth about Danny and what he was involved in and she slowly discovers some shocking facts and the story takes some very intriguing turns!

The book is set in three parts: The Lie, The Truth and The Whole Truth, and there are three time periods: Then (July 2019), Now (December 2020) and Harvard (December 2016). The strands of the story all combine well to create a fiendishly puzzling crime thriller!

At first, I was a bit confused by the Harvard sections and how they related to the rest of the story and also couldn’t believe that Erin was being charged with the murder of her husband. It all seemed rather baffling! All sorts of thoughts were running through my mind and I was considering several different theories but the author had me bewildered until right near the end, when I eventually worked most of it out!

Overall, I really enjoyed The Perfect Lie – it was a gripping and entertaining read, which moved along at a great pace, and I raced through it in less than a day, desperate to uncover all the lies and truths! The characters were well drawn with some intriguing personalities, and also some rather unpleasant protagonists, and it was fascinating to learn about the pasts of various people and how they all fitted into the story.

The book contained some great twists and turns, along with some fantastic elements of misdirection – I was shocked by numerous revelations throughout! This was a great story, which was well plotted and cleverly written.

I must read some of the author’s other books soon – I already have Dirty Little Secrets and The Confession waiting to be read, as well as the first in the Inspector Tom Reynolds series, With Our Blessing.

Buy the book

The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain is published on Thursday 13 May and can be preordered from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Jo Spain is a full-time writer and screenwriter. Her first novel, With Our Blessing, was one of seven books shortlisted in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition and her first psychological thriller, The Confession, was a number one bestseller in Ireland. Jo co-wrote the ground-breaking television series Taken Down, which first broadcast in Ireland in 2018. She’s now working on multiple European television projects.

A politics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Jo formerly worked as a parliamentary advisor on the economy and as vice chair of the business body, Intertrade Ireland.

She lives in Dublin with her husband and their four young children.

Twitter: @SpainJoanne
Facebook: @JoSpainAuthor
Instagram: @jospainauthor
Website: https://www.independenttalent.com/writers/jo-spain

Blog tour

Thanks to Milly Reid at Quercus Books for my copy of The Perfect Lie and for my place on the blog blast.

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

Blog tour: 26 April to 8 May 2021

Synopsis

The landline rings as Agneta is waving off her grandchildren. Just one word comes out of the receiver: ‘Geiger’.

For decades, Agneta has always known that this moment would come, but she is shaken. She knows what it means.

Retrieving her weapon from its hiding place, she attaches the silencer and creeps up behind her husband before pressing the barrel to his temple.

Then she squeezes the trigger and disappears – leaving behind her wallet and keys.

The extraordinary murder is not Sara Nowak’s case. But she was once close to those affected and, defying regulations, she joins the investigation. What Sara doesn’t know is that the mysterious codeword is just the first piece in the puzzle of an intricate and devastating plot fifty years in the making …

My review

Set in a hot summer in Bromma, Sweden, Geiger begins with a pleasant family scene as sisters, Malin and Lotta, and their husbands, Christian and Petter, return from a holiday in France to collect their children from the grandparents, Stellan (85) and Agneta Broman (69), who have been looking after them for a week in the family home.

As the two families head home and Agneta waves them off, she receives a phone call on the landline and hears a codeword: ‘Geiger’. Things take a dramatic and shocking turn as she takes her gun from its hiding place and shoots her husband in the head. She takes a few items then quickly heads off, taking care not to be seen by anyone. Agneta has been waiting 50 years for this moment. What has caused this horrific act? Is this the event that starts a chain reaction and ends in more deaths?

A police officer called Sara Nowak (44) receives a phone call from Detective Inspector Anna Torhall, her old friend at the police academy, who now works in homicide, telling her about Stellan’s murder. Sara works in street prostitution but, when she was growing up, she was friends with Malin and Lotta and used to spend lots of time at the Broman home, in the days when ‘Uncle Stellan’ was a famous Swedish TV personality who loved entertaining important people at his regular parties. Sara’s mother, Jane, was also a cook and cleaner at the house.

Although it’s not her case, Sara feels compelled to investigate and uncovers information about Stellan from various sources. Sara tries to tell Anna about her suspicions of Stellan’s involvement as a Cold War spy but Anna is dismissive as the police are concentrating their efforts on finding the missing Agneta, who is feared abducted or injured.

Operatives in the intelligence service are also aware Geiger has been activated and that things are starting to kick off after years of inactivity. Something big is happening.

There were some disturbing revelations and the action-packed story zipped along at a fair pace, although I did get a bit confused about some of the Cold War details and the history behind the current events. There’s lots of interesting historical background information and I enjoyed searching online about that and the various Swedish locations mentioned.

I preferred the scenes with Agneta on the run to the more personal and slower scenes with Sara, where we learnt more about her family: husband, Martin, 19-year-old daughter, Ebba, and 14-year-old son, Olle. Sara was a rather volatile character at times and used aggression and violence to get her point across, especially when she confronts the abusive clients of the city’s prostitutes while doing her best to try and protect the women.

The book contains some shocking scenes – violence, torture, rape and sexual imagery – so won’t be for everyone but I felt it was all relevant to the story, if a bit too graphic at times.

Overall, I enjoyed Geiger – the well-plotted story is rather meaty and entertaining and there’s lots of information to get your head around. It’s a fascinating read, full of intrigue and mystery, and lots of secrets, lies and classified information. The characters are well drawn but most of them were rather unlikeable!

I haven’t read a spy thriller for years but I’m not sure why. This was a tense and gripping read, with lots of twists and turns, and I would love to see it on the big screen! I’ve read that it may be the first in a series too so I will eagerly await another book.

Buy the book

Geiger by Gustaf Skördeman can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in hardback, and as an eBook from Kobo and iBooks.

About the author

Gustaf Skördeman was born in 1965 in Sweden and is a screenwriter, director and producer. Geiger, his thriller debut, is published in 24 countries, and film rights have been optioned by Monumental Pictures.

Blog tour

Thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for my place on the blog tour.

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