#Blogtour Sister Olive Wouldn't Hurt a Fly by Gill Calvin Thomas

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Sister Olive Wouldn't Hurt a Fly by Gill Calvin Thomas.

About the Author

Gill Calvin Thomas has retired from academic life and lives with her husband in Swanage, Dorset. She finds inspiration while walking in the Isle of Purbeck. Here, she is able to escape into a world of her own making, getting to know her characters, whilst she plans the next twist and turn of the plot. 

As writing has become a major part of Gill’s life, she has withdrawn from taking a leading role in many community volunteer activities, although she has retained her interest in local and national politics. A lifelong feminist, Gill likes nothing better than a spirited debate on the issues of the day with family and friends. As her writing career develops, she hopes to explore those issues in her stories. Visit gillthomas.co.uk

About the book

If this whole saga was a fight between good and evil, then who had won? As far as Miriam could work out, neither good nor evil had triumphed yet. Now she was having to confront the grim consequences of Will’s behaviour, and she was mortally afraid. Maybe he and his darkness would win after all. 

The tragic suicide of a young student starts a shocking chain of events for William Marshall, his wife Miriam and their son, Ollie. As Will descends into madness, a ghostly presence appears in their old house to protect Ollie. However, when two strangers threaten Miriam and an attempt is made to snatch Ollie, mother and son are forced to flee. 

Amidst ever-present danger, they shake off pursuers to seek sanctuary in Rock House in Dorset, where they meet Caitlin and her friends. Twenty years have passed since Charlie Bond helped Caitlin solve the mystery of her mother’s death. Now, it is the turn of Charlie’s sidekick, Sam Haskell, to investigate a mysterious cult and unmask a killer.

Review

I think it's fair to say that Miriam doesn't quite grasp the seriousness of the situation at first. Doesn't really comprehend how severe the differences are between her and Will. The damage his obsession with his new friends has done to their relationship and their family. That he has become a danger to them, especially to his young son.

Ollie feels as if he is being watched over by good forces, perhaps because evil is trying to gain a foothold in his life. He can feel the darkness creeping towards him, and yet simultaneously also the good trying to keep him safe.

What they are both unaware of is the fact Will is in over his head and other people have their own agenda, which may put him in danger and probably not because he is a dangerous pseudo leader of a cult.

The story could do with a once over with an eye on clarity, plot threads and better dialogue. Aside from that it's a story that has potential for more in the series. It would be better if the core aspect becomes more centric to the tale, and also deciding which thread is going to take centre stage. Is it Will, is it Olive or is it evil?

Buy Sister Olive Wouldn't Hurt a Fly at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher:  Blossom Spring Publishing; pub date 18 November 2025. Buy via Amazon com.

#Blogtour I Am You by Victoria Redel

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour I Am You by Victoria Redel. Published by Firefinch Books, pub date 26th of March 2026. Tour courtesy of Random Things Tours.

About the Author

Victoria Redel is a first-generation American poet and novelist. Her work has been widely anthologized, awarded, and translated in ten languages. Her debut novel, Loverboy (2001) was adapted for feature film directed by Kevin Bacon. 

Redel’s short stories, poetry and essays have appeared in Granta, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Bomb, One Story, Salmagundi, O and NOON. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Fine Arts Work Center. Victoria is a professor in the graduate and undergraduate Creative Writing programs at Sarah Lawrence College. Visit  www.victoriaredel.com

About the book

A mesmerising historical novel, I Am You is a meditation on gender, an ode to artistic creation, and an unforgettable love story that reimagines the life of renowned painter Maria van Oosterwijck during the Dutch Golden Age. 

At eight years old, Gerta Pieters is forced to disguise herself as a boy and sent to work for a genteel family. When their daughter Maria sees through Gerta’s ruse, she insists Gerta accompany her to Amsterdam and help her enter the elite, male dominated art world. 

While Maria rises in the ranks of society as a painting prodigy, Gerta makes herself invaluable in every way: confidante, muse, lover. But as Gerta steps into her own talents, their relationship fractures into a complex web of obsession and rivalry, until the secrets they keep threaten to unravel everything.

Review

I think Maria is intrigued by Pieter because her instincts tell her what she sees, experiences and draws are not exactly the same. Captivated by the young boy, the shape, the story within the story. The forbidden enabling the exploration of her talents. 

Gender, societal class structures and the imbalance of power throughout the aforementioned is one of the core drivers of the story. The other would be art and the skill, science and exploration of it. The way Pieter becomes skilled at the creation of paint, which Gerta then develops to a fine art. Simultaneously it is also about Gerta realising that by being the constant companion and support network there has been a budding artist inside the entire time.

This discovery inches its way slowly into the relationship between Maria and Gerta, and whilst at first happy to accept the accolades for creating an apprentice from a mere servant, a sense of competitiveness slowly seeps in.

It's a fascinating door to the artistry and history of both Maria von Oosterwijck and Geertje Pieters Wyntges. A smooth melding of societal pressures and oppression, and the determined path forged to make a mark and explore with impunity the freedoms others grasp with such ease. However, life always requests payment in some way or the other, often a painful one.

It's a well written intriguing read.

Buy I Am You at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Firefinch Books, pub date 26 Mar. 2026 - Hardback: 26th March 2026 Price: £16.99. Buy at Amazon com. Bookshop org. Buy via Firefinch.

#Blogtour Son by Johana Gustawsson & Thomas Enger

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Son by Johana Gustawsson & Thomas Enger, a Kari Voss Mystery. Tour courtesy of Random Things Tours. 

Johana Gustawsson & Thomas Enger - Two international bestselling crime writers from two different countries, writing in two different languages join forces to write a captivating new Nordic Noir series.

About the Author/s

Known as the Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson is one of France's most highly regarded, award-winning crime writers, recipient of the prestigious Cultura Ligue de l`Imaginaire Award for her gothic mystery Yule Island. Number-one bestselling books include Block 46, Keeper, Blood Song and her historical thriller, The Bleeding. Johana lives in Sweden with her family. A former journalist, Thomas Enger is the number-one bestselling author of the Henning Juul series and, with co-author Jørn Lier Horst, the international bestselling Blix & Ramm series, and one of the biggest proponents of the Nordic Noir genre. He lives in Oslo.

Rights to Johana and Thomas’ books have been sold to a combined fifty countries and, for the first time, two crime writers, from two different countries, writing in two different languages, have joined forces to create an original series together. Find out more about Johana Gustawsson at HOME | JOHANA GUSTAWSSON and Thomas Enger

About the book

Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.

Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.

When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well...

With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari's own life, too...

Review

Unsurprisingly Kari is driven, albeit often subconsciously, by her grief and the disappearance of her young son. It does a multitude of things, it interferes with her physical health, her decision-making and her instincts. All the aforementioned can be positive and/or negative. It can and does make the people around her doubt her instincts, training and professional experience.

When a teenage boy is suspected of a brutal murder his confession rings alarm bells for Kari. She feels as if the police have not asked the right questions and are too eager to accept the perfect solution for the hideous crime. Kari expands the net of suspects, timelines and possible motives, which puts her in direct opposition to the police and the traumatised families.

It's an intriguing well-paced read with the distinct flow of two different voices that weave a perfectly captivating story. It's not an easy feat to fit multiple creative voices into one space without one unintentionally sounding stronger than the other. This collaboration is smooth, respectful and memorable. It also leaves the reader not on a cliff-hanger per se, but rather takes us back to previous crossroads in the story, which results in a possible path to travel going forward. That means we will definitely be hearing from Kari Voss again.

Buy Son at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books, Publication date 26th March 2026 - Paperback | £9.99 | ORENDA BOOKS. Buy at Amazon com. Bookshop org. Buy via Orenda Books.

#Blogtour Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise, courtesy of #RandomThingsTours. Publishing 26th February 2026 - HB | Eriu | £16.99 - Available in Audio & eBook.

About the Author

Charleen Hurtubise has lived in Dublin, Ireland for over 25 years, having moved from Michigan, USA. She is a teacher and artist as well as a writer, and her short fiction, essays and poetry have appeared in various publications. She holds an MFA Creative Writing from University College Dublin (UCD) where she has also facilitated creative writing modules.

About the book

Can a great love survive a great deception?

In the wilds of Donegal, Ireland, 1999, Saoirse is an artist living an outwardly idyllic life. Her tender husband Daithí and two beloved daughters are regular subjects for her work, and in them she has found the safe home that she has always longed for. She tends not to talk about her past, and those that love her have learned to accept that the full story is too painful for her to disclose.

When her Dublin exhibition unexpectedly wins a prestigious award that invites a swarm of publicity, Saoirse is left panic stricken. The unanticipated recognition threatens to expose a decade's worth of buried memories and past crimes. Because what her family and friends don't know is that Saoirse has been on the run since she was seventeen, she has stolen an identity to survive, and whilst Ireland might now be her home, it wasn't her first - and now her past life is poised to reclaim her. Follow @charleen_hurtubise on Instagram

Review

If this author isn't already on your radar, then she should be and I am happy to see her get more of the recognition she deserves for her excellent writing and exemplary storytelling. Although this has less of a literary fiction feel than her Polite Act of Drowning, it is equally as gripping and memorable.

The exploration of emotional layers built like a pyramid brick by brick gives the story an imperceptible instability within the outside appearance of control and an almost nonchalant-like stability. Saoirse is a product and victim of her childhood, which also accounts for the majority of her choices. Risk taking, ignoring gut instincts and succumbing to her fate, even when that leads her on paths that are filled with fear, oppression and violence.

I enjoyed the way the last few chapters gave a more non-fictional view of attitudes and opinions about Sarah, instead of bending to a more frivolous fictional ending. It's also quite timely given the current dismissive attitude towards crimes against children at the moment. Internalised misogyny, victim-blaming, the blind support of men who rule the world and treat women with violence and cruelty. There is no such thing as an underage woman (or man), they are called children. Sarah the child. Saoirse the woman who is still Sarah the child.

Saoirse makes decisions in the moment, often with the best interest of others in mind. To an outsider it may appear calculated, but there is a tendency to save others before self. She is hypervigilant and vulnerable in equal measures, ergo recognising why Paul is a threat and falling prey to his abusive nature, despite it seeming to be a contradiction. Not unusual for a personality and instinct forged in fear, survival and emotional turmoil.

I really enjoyed the read. It has the making of a story told on-screen, the type of book and story that stays with you.

Buy Saoirse at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Eriu - Bonnier Books Uk, pub date 26th February 2026. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Bookshop org.