#BlogTour The Secret Sister by K.A. Clarke and A.J. Brittany

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Secret Sister by K.A. Clarke and A.J. Brittany. These are pseudonyms for the successful writers Karen Clarke and Amanda Brittany.

About the Author/s
Amanda Brittany lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two dogs. She loves spending time with family, travelling, walking, reading & sunny days. Amanda has also written 3 psychological thrillers: Traces of Her, Tell the Truth and Her Last Lie. Published by HQ Digital/HarperCollins.

Karen Clarke lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband and three grown-up children where she writes romantic comedy novels published by Bookouture and psychological suspense for HQDigital/HarperCollins.

The Secret Sister is a psychological suspense co-written by K.A. Clarke and A.J. Brittany and is out in January 2020.

Follow @amandajbrittany on Twitter, A.J. Brittany on Goodreads, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit amandabrittany.co.uk
Follow @karenclarke123 on Twitter, K.A. Clarke on Goodreads, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit karenclarkewriter.com,
Buy The Secret Sister 

About the book
Can you trust a sister who is a stranger?

Ella Matthews has it all. A beautiful house, a charming husband and a precious baby daughter – her life has pretty much turned out exactly as she planned.

But when Ella’s mother tragically dies, her perfect life starts to crack. Her mother had been harbouring a life-long secret. Ella has a sister – an older sister – called Colleen. Excited by the thought of no-longer being an only child, Ella can’t wait to find her.

But Colleen has a whirlwind past of her own. Desperate to escape her troubles, she is ready to go to any length to start afresh.

As their paths collide, someone is keeping secrets… and when Colleen mysteriously disappears without notice, Ella can’t help but question if she should have started looking for her at all…

Review
Imagine life as you know it being turned completely upside down by the revelation that your mother had another child. A child she chose to give away and keep secret for the entirety of her lifetime. Ella is thrown for a loop, and yet part of her feels drawn to find this stranger, who is part of her mother and part of her.

Colleen has had a turbulent and painful life, which hasn't been made easier by a partner who appears to be a loving person to the outside world. The truth is that Gabriel has another face completely - a persona that only Colleen gets to experience.

In a way Colleen has made similar choices to Anna without being aware of it. The need to be loved overshadows the negative aspects of the relationships they have with men. They both have or had a tendency to pick men with possessive, jealous streaks, which ultimately ends up defining the lives they lead.

The difference is where one gave in and subjected herself to the wishes of her man and thereby ignoring her needs and those of her loved ones - can the other woman break the cycle and be free to determine her own path in life?

It's a moving tension filled psychological thriller which draws from the complex relationship structures of mothers and daughters. If this collaboration is anything to go by the writing duo Clarke and Brittany is off to a fantastic start and I hope this is the first of many more.

Buy The Secret Sister at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Traces of Her by Amanda Brittany

Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Traces of Her by Amanda Brittany.

About the Author
Amanda Brittany lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two dogs. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with family, travelling, walking, reading & sunny days. She loves travelling, and visiting Abisko in Sweden inspired her to write ‘Her Last Lie’.

She began writing fiction nine years ago, and has since gained a BA in Literature, a Diploma in Creative Writing, and has had 200 stories and articles published in magazines globally.

When her younger sister became terminally ill, Amanda’s hope was to write a novel where her royalties went to Cancer Research. ‘Her Last Lie’ was that book and her debut novel, it reached the Kindle top 100 in the US and Australia and was a #1 Bestseller in the UK. All her eBook royalties for HER LAST LIE are being donated to Cancer Research UK, in memory of her sister who lost her battle with cancer in July 2017. It has so far raised almost £7,000.

Her third novel Traces of Her is due to be published on the 25th October 2019.

Follow @amandajbrittany @HQDigitalUK on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon,
Visit amandabrittany.co.uk or writingallsorts.blogspot.co.uk follow amandabrittany2 on Facebook
Buy Traces of Her

About the book
An unsolved murder.

Rose isn’t surprised anymore when her free-spirited step-sister, Willow, decides to disappear off somewhere without notice. But something feels different this time. When Willow sends her a mysterious package containing photographs of suspects in a cold case she is obsessed with solving, Rose realises she needs to find her sister before things get out of hand.

A missing girl. - With no sign of Willow to be found, Rose takes up the search for answers about the deaths that shook a small Cornish village eighteen years before. But what is the connection between Willow and the two sisters marked by tragedy?

Time is running out. - Someone knows where Willow is and what happened all those years ago. And they will do anything to stop the truth from coming out.

Can Rose find Willow and the answers she needs, before it’s too late?

Review
Willow is hot on the trail of her mother's murderer. A young woman who was taken from her child in the most vicious way. Now her child is a grown woman and determined to get justice for herself and her poor mother. She calls her stepsister Rose to ask for her help and then mysteriously disappears. That leaves Rose with the job of finding a killer and her sister.

The story is written in the past and the present and from the perspective of multiple characters. The deaths in the past and the disappearance in the present go hand in hand and culminate with a shocking conclusion.

I thought the structure was a little convoluted at times, especially during the first half of the book. I found it a wee bit hard to follow the various characters, despite each chapter stating clearly which character was featured. It took a while to get the gist and where everybody belonged in the plot, perhaps too long. A complex plot doesn't have to outsmart the reader, it just has to keep them hooked.

Saying that, it is certainly a captivating mystery and thriller, however the execution could have been better.

Brittany is certainly someone to keep an eye on when it comes to crime and psychological thrillers. Having read her other two books I know she has an eye for some wicked twists and intriguing storylines.

Buy Traces of Her at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ Digital; pub date 25 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of Tell the Truth by Amanda Brittany.
Read my review of Her Last Lie by Amanda Brittany.

#BlogTour Tell the Truth by Amanda Brittany

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Tell the Truth by Amanda Brittany. It's a fast-paced psychological thriller with enough twists and turns to leave you doubting the characters and the truth.

About the Author
Amanda Brittany lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two dogs. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with family, travelling, walking, reading & sunny days. She loves travelling, and visiting Abisko in Sweden inspired her to write ‘Her Last Lie’.

She began writing fiction nine years ago, and has since gained a BA in Literature, a Diploma in Creative Writing, and has had 200 stories and articles published in magazines globally.

When her younger sister became terminally ill, Amanda’s hope was to write a novel where her royalties went to Cancer Research. ‘Her Last Lie’ was that book and her debut novel, it reached the Kindle top 100 in the US and Australia and was a #1 Bestseller in the UK. All her eBook royalties for HER LAST LIE are being donated to Cancer Research UK, in memory of her sister who lost her battle with cancer in July 2017. It has so far raised almost £7,000.

Her second psychological thriller TELL THE TRUTH is out now! She is presently writing her third novel.

Follow @amandajbrittany @HQDigitalUK
Visit amandabrittany.co.uk or writingallsorts.blogspot.co.uk follow amandabrittany2 on Facebook
Buy Tell the Truth

About the book
TELL THE TRUTH
Or they’ll tell it for you…
Rachel’s childhood is a mess of fragmented memories, and her adult life is no less chaotic.

Her mother and daughter were her only concrete links to the past and now they are slipping through her fingers. Fuelled by the fear of losing them both, she delves into her mother’s past, fast becoming entangled in her own tragic history.

With eerie friend requests filling Rachel’s phone and shocking flashbacks filling her mind, she is plagued by her mother’s past, and soon realises that her entire life might just be a lie.

Will she ever discover the truth?

Review
You're going to have to stay on your toes with this book. Not only does the author take the reader in and out of multiple time-frames and decades during the story, there is also a few huge twists towards the end of the tale. Just when you think you have it all figured out Brittany rips the rug right out from under you.

Aside from being in the midst of a bitter break-up, having to deal with an obnoxious ex with no regard for her feelings, and the fact her mother can no longer remember her own daughter, Rachel is living a good life. At least she is until she starts being stalked online, followed in the streets and tormented at work. Suddenly her simple life is full of strange messages, threatening poems and odd events.

It makes her paranoid to the point of looking unstable, which isn't a good look when your ex is trying to make a whole new life for their daughter without Rachel. She realises everything is somehow linked to her mother and the past she doesn't quite remember. When Rachel goes looking for answers she discovers more than she bargained for and plenty she can't explain.

It's a fast-paced ride through a quagmire of self-doubt, paranoia, suspicion and repressed memories. Nobody is who they appear to be and the person you most suspect is probably the least guilty in this disturbing psychological thriller.

I think Brittany is starting to make a mark in the genre, perhaps because she isn't afraid to let the emotional chaos and disturbed mind of her characters rule the outcome of her plots. It doesn't have to be a happy fluffy ending when you can just as easily leave your reader looking over their shoulders. I guess that is what gives her stories an edge - the fact you don't trust the outcome even when it has been presented to you on a golden platter.

Buy Tell the Truth at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: HQ Digital; pub date 21 Feb. 2019
Read my review of  Her Last Lie by Amanda Brittany

#BlogTour Her Last Lie by Amanda Brittany

Today I am pleased to take part in the BlogTour for Her Last Lie by Amanda Brittany. It is a psychological thriller filled with trauma, suspicion and an erratic main character, who is just waiting for her 'killer' to strike again.

About the Author
Amanda Brittany lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two dogs. She loves travelling, and visiting Abisko in Sweden inspired her to write ‘Her Last Lie’.

She began writing fiction nine years ago, and has since gained a BA in Literature, a Diploma in Creative Writing, and has had 200 stories and articles published in magazines globally.

When her younger sister became terminally ill, Amanda’s hope was to write a novel where her royalties went to Cancer Research. ‘Her Last Lie’ is that book, and all of Amanda’s royalties for downloads will go to that charity. ‘Her Last Lie’ is her debut novel.

Follow @amandajbrittany @HQDigitalUK
Visit amandabrittany.co.uk or writingallsorts.blogspot.co.uk follow amandabrittany2 on Facebook
Buy Her Last Lie

About the book
She thought she was free of the past. She was wrong.

Six years ago Isla was the only victim to walk free from Carl Jeffery’s vicious murder spree. Now, Isla vows to live her life to the fullest and from the outside it appears perfect.

Determined to finish her book Isla plans her final trip to Sweden, but after returning from Canada and meeting a man she never thought she would, her life begins to derail.
Suddenly Isla is plagued by memories of the man who tried to murder her, and the threat that he could be back causes her to question everything, and everyone around her.

This debut psychological thriller will have you closing down social media accounts, looking over your shoulder, and hooked until the very last line. Perfect for fans of Sweet Little Lies, Friend Request and Louise Jensen.

Review
Isla has never really dealt with the trauma of nearly being killed. To her family and friends she appears to be fine, but they are unaware of the turmoil beneath her cool exterior. When her would-be killer gets the chance to be released her anxiety and fear resurfaces, which is when she starts to question her relationships and her life in general.

Suddenly the love of her life doesn't seem to be the perfect partner, and her eyes start to wander. She feels as if it is impossible to confide in anyone around her, because keeping up the pretence is much more important than relieving herself of her worries.

There seems to be a certain level of victim-blaming going on, aside from the obvious people who believe in the innocence of the perpetrator of course, it's subtle but it's there. Questioning her need to conquer her fears by travelling the world again, thereby in their minds putting herself in the direct path of danger again.

I can understand Isla wanting to take back control of her life again, however I didn't really understand her reluctance to discover the result of the appeal. Correction, I comprehend the denial and the fact that it isn't happening if she doesn't acknowledge it, but it is in direct contradiction to her taking back control of her life.

Towards the end of the book the author presents an interesting conundrum. Has Isla escaped a killer to return to a killer? Her blog appears to tell a completely different story about her personality. Who is the real Isla? The woman who fears the return of a killer and is supposedly content with her life and relationships or is it the risk-taker, the passion-seeker and the liar?

Brittany delivers a master class in red herrings and subterfuge to deliver a gripping story of recovery and survival. She highlights the dangers of social media and how laissez-faire our attitude is towards it. Adding names without faces and often complete strangers. Do we really know what or who is lurking behind every profile?

Her Last Lie is a lesson in secrets, lies and people who live double lives, especially the people who aren't the person they appear to be. It's an attempt to peer behind the masks we hide behind to keep ourselves safe.

Buy Her Last Lie at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.