#Blogtour Kill Creatures by Rory Power

'From the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls comes a gripping dark thriller – perfect to read in a single sitting that unravels friendship, jealousy, desire, rage and revenge, with a shocking twist that will leave you breathless.' 

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Kill Creatures by Rory Power - published 5th June 2025 by Scholastic UK.

About the Author

Rory Power grew up in New England, where she lives and works as a story consultant for TV adaptation. She received a Masters in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia, and is the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls, Burn Our Bodies Down, and In a Garden Burning Gold. Visit itsrorypower.com or instagram.com/itsrorypower

About the book

Last summer, Nan's three best friends disappeared into Saltcedar Canyon.

She's spent the year since grieving their loss and avoiding questions about what happened that night. Now, on the anniversary, she's ready to say goodbye, and so are the girls' families, who have reconvened to hold a memorial. But their vigil is interrupted by the shocking return of one of the missing girls alive. Everybody is overjoyed. Everybody, that is, except Nan, who was pretty sure they were dead. After all, she's the one who killed them.

Review

Colour me surprised, this was a really good read. I'll definitely be reading more by this author going forward.

This is a tense dark domestic psychological thriller. Four girls go on a secret midnight escapade and only one of them returns. Nan is dreading the vigil for her best friends, but perhaps not because of the loss and the painful reminder of their disappearance. Instead she finds the entire dramatic exercise a tad boring and time-consuming. The last thing she expects is the unexpected reappearance of someone she knows is dead - she knows because she was there when it happened, in fact she is the killer.

What follows is an extremely complicated cat and mouse game, I would hazard a guess that neither the reader, Nan nor the undead girl know exactly who is the cat in this scenario or indeed the mouse. Is Nan going to have to fix her mistake, that's if she actually did it, right? If she killed her friend why is she alive? Or is there something bigger going on - is it really more than just teenage rage, perhaps an overactive imagination, but that doesn't explain the other missing girls does it?

I would love to see this developed into a small screen series, it has the right kind of pithy characters and plot to captivate a large audience. Power is an author with a depth of understanding when it comes to the often complex intricacies of the teenage mind, especially that of the female variety. Friends, enemies, frenemies - from besties to willing to kill in the blink of an eye, such is the irrational and dangerous world of the teenage mind and hive.

Buy Kill Creatures at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Scholastic Uk, pub date 5th June 2025. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour One of The Good Guys by Araminta Hall

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour for One Of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall - it's an incredible read.

About the Author

Araminta Hall is a journalist and teacher. She is the author of five previous novels, including her first novel, Everything & Nothing, which was published in 2011 and became a Richard & Judy read that year. She is the great niece of Dodie Smith and the great granddaughter of Lawrence Beesley, who survived the Titanic and wrote a bestselling account of the tragedy in the book, The Loss of the SS Titanic. 

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

About the book

If most men claim to be one of the good guys, then why do so many women live in fear? This is what happens when two such women have had enough...

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

So when his wife leaves him, he's floored. She was lucky to be with a man like him. Craving solitude, he accepts a job on the coast and quickly settles into his new life. Then he meets reclusive artist Lennie. And though she is quite different from the woman he’d expected, he believes he has finally found a soulmate. But as their relationship develops, two young women go missing while on a walk protesting gendered violence, right by where Cole and Lennie live. 

Finding themselves at the heart of a police investigation and media frenzy, Cole soon realises they don’t know each other very well at all . . .

Review

First - always trust your gut instinct. Women, and I would add children to that list, but especially women and girls are taught to ignore the basic survival instincts. That nagging feeling they might be in danger, the slither of doubt, which becomes a fleeting and forgotten thought. Society, history and for many centuries entire cultures, have focused on teaching obedience and compliance.

This is good for you, they say. It's all in your head, you're overreacting, what will other people think, you wanted it, you asked for it, what did you say and what were you wearing to make him/them do it? Sound familiar? Sad isn't it. The majority of women will recognise some element of the above. 

The systemic oppression, violence and abuse of women, and I include girls in that category, hasn't become a thing of the past in the 21st century. No, it's actually on the rise. Much like fascism, populists and right wing mantras in the guise of sensible conservative views. We are seeing a steady incline in the voices braying for women's rights to be stripped, their voices to be silenced, and for them to return to their proper place in society. Correlation much between patriarchy, supremacy and the aforementioned.

Trust your gut instinct - it will guide you with a steady and reliable hand in this story. From the very beginning if you listen closely you can hear the alarm bells ringing away.

Cole is going through a difficult break-up. His wife Mel is a workaholic with little time for their marriage or future family. He enjoys the isolation, but doesn't like feeling lonely, which is how he forms a connection with Lennie - a woman who appears to be just as isolated and lonely. Appearances can be deceiving and as the story evolves it seems as if there is more to the story than meets the eye, especially when two young women go missing close to where he lives.

The author shows the hypocrisy of tables turned. How actions, words and responses are viewed through a different lens depending on whether you are a man or a woman. Also how eager society is to bury a bad or evil woman, but in the same breathe rehabilitate, save and reinvent a bad man. The irony of whole industries relying on women infatuated by the stereotypical bad man who can only be redeemed by the love of a 'good' woman, who of course justifies the violence, abuse and overall controlling nature of the male. - Same people who will happily burn a witch, also known as a woman who does not know her place, on Sunday in the back garden and then get annoyed that the freshly laundered clothes are covered in the stench of their subconscious guilt.

Side note -  the chapters with the social media comments and the news or opinion pieces are a tough pill to swallow, because they are the reality of living in our tech advanced lives. The toughest kick to the heart of womanhood are the blows delivered by other women. Those who are so embedded in the misogyny of the patriarchy that they believe they must look down upon, sneer at, belittle, oppress, injure and destroy other women.

It's a powerful domestic thriller, dark and compelling. The truth of justice in the midst of daily injustice is often just a bitter aftertaste in the back of your throat. Highly recommend it.

Buy One Of The Good Guys at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Macmillan | Hardback £16.99| pub date 4th January 2024. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Someone You Know by Erin Kinsley

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Someone You Know by Erin Kinsley.

About the Author

Erin Kingsley is a pseudonym of Anne Zouroudi, author of an award-winning series of mysteries featuring enigmatic Greek detective Hermes Diaktoros. Someone You Know is her fourth novel under the Erin Kingsley name. She lives between East Anglia and the Greek Islands. Follow @KinsleyErin on X (the artist formerly known as Twitter)

About the book

When Dee Cutter discovers her daughter Natalie dying in the cellar of her remote Norfolk home, she never imagines anyone could have meant Natalie harm. But Natalie's death leads to the unravelling of the dark secrets she's been keeping, secrets which impact on everyone around her, especially those who loved her most.

Some people are born bad, and some grow rotten from the core. If Someone You Know is doing terrible things, how far should you go to try and stop them?

Review

This is one of those books that make it hard to discuss the content in the review, because it automatically leads to the solution. I'll tread carefully, however the core of the premise is too good not to discuss.

The question is whether the punishment fits the crime and if sometimes the wrong thing to do is exactly the right thing to do. Do certain circumstances warrant breaking all the rules? Is saving a loved one always enough of reason to excuse any action?

When Dee starts to wonder why her daughter Natalie hasn't been in touch and isn't responding to any contact, she goes looking for her. The last thing she thinks she will find is her daughter hurt and dying on the floor of her cellar.

In the search for an explanation Dee starts to see a picture emerge of  the daughter of a woman she hardly knew, who perhaps wasn't the wonderful mother everyone thought she was. 

It's a captivating premise, perhaps more so because the author takes the reader on a road of grey area, which wanders off into the dark side now and again. In the end the majority will probably understand that sometimes you have to take a stance, make a choice and protect the most vulnerable in that situation.

Buy Someone You Know at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Headline, pub date 1 Jun. 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Kill For It by Lizzie Fry

 It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Kill For It by Lizzie Fry. 'A gripping feminist thriller, Dexter with a twist - how far would you go for the thing you want most?'

About the Author

Lizzie Fry is a debut author of high concept thriller The Coven (published by Sphere books), but you might know her better as LV Hay. LV’s books previous books were crime fiction: The Other Twin, Do No Harm (Orenda Books) and Never Have I Ever (Hodder). The Other Twin is currently being adapted for the screen by Agatha Raisin producers Free@Last TV. Follow @LizzieFryAuthor on Twitter

About the book

Would You Kill For It? The story pits young and upcoming journalist Cat against veteran reporter Erin. Cat is sick of not getting ahead at work so comes up with a sickening plan to literally grab the headlines ... and the only one who can stop her is Erin, but to do so she must put her own life at risk.

In the game of cat and mouse, there can only be one winner in the book advance readers are calling 'Killing Eve meets Nightcrawler.'

Review

Erin has made a choice, albeit allegedly a difficult one, career comes first and family somewhere at the end of the list. Her ambition has cost her an arm and a leg already, and now she has to make sure she maintains her slot at the top.

You would think that Erin would be able to understand the way Cat wants to succeed and get ahead. Stepping over others and being ruthless, perhaps more importantly teaching her that the most obvious path isn't necessarily the one you should take, but it will be the one others expect you to stay on. Both women want to succeed, but at what cost to either of them?

At the end of the day is it a case of two sides of the same coin. Does same recognise same? Is it ambition or a frustration about having to swim upstream against the sexism and misogyny, wouldn't that make someone do something extreme? In fact isn't that the real difference between Erin, Cat and you and I.

And where does that ending leave us? It's a bit like opening a door a few inches with the knowledge that just an inch of a slit could mean the return of something very dangerous indeed.

It's the kind of read I absolutely expect from the author - under either name. She loves to pit the worst of human behaviour, traits and reactions, against each other. This dark domestic read is also a psychological thriller with important themes driving the characters and the plot. Women as second class citizens in the workplace, especially when it comes to leadership level. Having to fight dirty to sit at the place they have earned at the table, what's worse is having to become one of guys to do just that or perhaps even become the victim of  someone abusing their power.

It's a riveting read with imperfect characters who make split second ruthless choices to get ahead and doing so move the obstacles in their way.

Buy Kill For It at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Sphere pub date 18 Aug. 2022. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Tell Me Lies by Teresa Driscoll

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Tell Me lies by Teresa Driscoll. From the two-million copy bestselling author of Her Perfect Family and I Will Make You Pay.

About the Author

Teresa Driscoll is a former BBC TV news presenter whose psychological thrillers have sold nearly two million copies across the world. Her first thriller I Am Watching You hit Kindle Number 1 in the UK, USA and Australia and has sold more than a million copies in English alone. 

Teresa writes women’s fiction as well as thrillers and her work has been optioned for film and sold for translation in more than 20 territories. For decades Teresa was a journalist working across newspapers, magazines and television. Covering crime for so long, she was deeply moved by the haunting impact on the relatives, the friends and the witnesses and it is those ripples she explores now in her darker fiction. Teresa lives in glorious Devon with her family and blogs regularly about her ‘writing life’ on her website, www.teresadriscoll.com. Follow @TeresaDriscoll on Twitter

About the book

From bestselling author Teresa Driscoll comes a chilling thriller of past secrets and present terror. Deep in a rural hideaway, it’s only the owls watching them … right?

After a betrayal that sent their marriage into freefall, Hannah and Sam are desperate for a fresh start with their eight-year-old daughter Lily—and where better than picture-perfect Owl Cottage in beautiful Cornwall. But something about the holiday home stirs dark memories for Hannah …

When she finds dead creatures on the doorstep and hears mysterious knocks at the door, Hannah can’t help wondering whether someone is messing with her—or whether the past she’s been running from has finally claimed her sanity.

As the disturbing events at Owl Cottage seep out into the local community and the police become involved, Hannah turns to Sam for help. But he dismisses her worries, and she begins to wonder if she was wrong to ever trust him. Are the memories making her paranoid, or is this something more sinister than she dares imagine?

Review

I think Hannah is a curious character in the sense that she can appear to tick boxes and perhaps even irritate readers to the point of manoeuvring herself into the position of prime suspect or guilty party.  At the very least she then emerges as the hypersensitive cuckolded wife leaning towards sightly unhinged.

It's easy to believe she is merely manifesting fear in a certain way, because there has been massive betrayal and upheaval in her recent life. Playing into that is the unresolved trauma she is unaware of or rather of the magnitude of her unresolved subconscious issues.

I thought the author did a great job of not only highlighting the skewing of boundaries when it comes to lived trauma, generational trauma being projected on to the next person in line and perhaps not being able to comprehend where one stops and the reality of a situation happening now ends. How women are gaslit on a daily basis when it comes to mental health, medical issues and just life in general.

It's a dark domestic psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing for quite a while. It has that creepy isolated atmosphere fuelled by what appears to be paranoia and a healthy dose of mistrust. You know what they say though - it isn't paranoia when they are really out to get you, right?

Buy Tell Me Lies at Amazon uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Thomas & Mercer pub date 18 April 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Assistant by Amanda Reynolds

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Assistant by Amanda Reynolds.

About the Author

Amanda Reynolds is the bestselling psychological suspense author whose debut novel, Close To Me, was adapted as a major six-part TV series for Channel 4 in 2021. Previously published by Headline, her books have been translated into multiple languages. Amanda lives near Cheltenham. Follow @amandareynoldsj on Twitter, /@ajreynolds2/ on Instagram,

About the book

I know many things about Larissa. I know what she eats, which must-have brands she applies to her face, and the price of each carefully selected ‘piece’ in her multi-million-pound home in Belgravia. Because Ris, as she is known to her many followers, likes to share. And now I’m here, in her home, watching her every move.

Entrusted with her secrets and running her diary from the bijou basement flat, I’m on hand to fulfil Ris’ every need. Her right-hand woman. But what she doesn’t know is why I’m really here. I’ve put a lot on the line to get this job, and now my plan can begin. I’ve waited long enough.

Review

The picture of the assistant is an incomplete picture and a blank canvas that we fill in as bits of information are presented to the reader. Are we talking a psycho determined to get revenge for some obscure reason, is it just someone with mad ambition or is it just a comedy of misunderstanding and errors.

As Gail inserts herself into the life and times of Ris, who is more concerned about her image than the reality of her lived experience, the cracks begin to show for both of them. At the end of the day is there really a winner in this situation?

I think it's fair to say that this book has a good chance of being picked up for a tv adaptation too - it is an excellent cat and mouse dark domestic thriller. Written in a similar style to Hallett's Appeal - the audience or the reader becomes part of structure, suspicion and plot development. 

The story is written in a variety of diary entries, communication between interviewer and interviewee, and a retelling of the past by one of the main characters. It's done well, the story runs without a disjointed feel, despite the rapid quick fire changes in the way the story is communicated.

I enjoyed it and it is definitely a read I would recommend. I especially liked the way the reader is kept in a constant state of imbalance - is there any person in this situation who is innocent or free from guilt or blame?

Buy The Assistant at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : ‎Boldwood Books, pub date 5 April 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour No More Lies by Rachel Abbott

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour No More Lies by Rachel Abbott.

About the Author

Rachel Abbott is a British author of psychological thrillers. As a self-published author, her first ten novels (and one novella) in the DCI Tom Douglas series have combined to sell over four million copies. All have been bestsellers on Amazon's Kindle store, and her books have been translated into over 20 languages. 

In 2015, Rachel was named the number one bestselling self-published author in the UK and the 14th bestselling author (both published and self-published) over the previous five years on Amazon's Kindle in the UK. 

In 2017, following a five-way auction, Rachel signed a two-book deal with Headline Publishing Group. The first book, And So It Begins, was published in 2018 and features Sergeant Stephanie King. The second book in this series, The Murder Game was released in April 2020. Books three and four in the series are to be published by Headline in late 2023 and 2024.

Rachel’s writing career began in 2009, when she decided to write a book about a woman facing a situation which gave her no option but to commit murder. In November 2011, she published the story - Only the Innocent - on Amazon. It rose to number one in the charts and remained there for four weeks.

Rachel followed up Only the Innocent with The Back Road, Sleep Tight, Stranger Child, Kill Me Again, The Sixth Window, Come A Little Closer, The Shape of Lies, Right Behind You and Close Your Eyes. All the thrillers in this series focus on the victims and perpetrators of the crimes, and the complex relationships that exist between protagonist and antagonist. This series features Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas.

Rachel grew up near Manchester, England. She worked as a systems analyst, and then founded an interactive media company, developing software and websites for the education market. When she sold the company in 2000, she moved to Italy where she restored a 15th-century Italian monastery. For a time she and her husband operated the property as a venue for weddings and holidays. She now lives on the Channel Island of Alderney in a Victorian Fort where she spends her days writing in her office - a former gunpowder shelter. Follow @RachelAbbott on Twitter, @rachelabbottwriter on Instagram, Visit rachel-abbott.com

About the book

It would be unfair to blame the woman I met tonight for turning my life upside down. She didn’t. It was already upside down. I just didn’t know it. 

Recently life has been good for Mallory Hansen: a great job, a lovely home, and a wonderful man, Nathan, to share it with. But now she must ask herself: is it all built on lies?

A shocking accusation has been made against Nathan, and Mallory doesn’t know who to believe. He denies everything, but all the signs point to his guilt. She has learned to trust Nathan, but she also remembers the boy he used to be.

As teenagers, Mallory and Nathan were part of a close-knit group of six friends until a vicious argument drove them apart. Now, fifteen years later, they are back in touch - only to find themselves drawn into a web of mutual distrust, one by one…

The attacks on their lives are skilfully targeted, designed to hit them where they hurt the most, and when a young woman disappears and a baby is abducted, DCI Tom Douglas must try to unravel the past and discover who is the architect of their misery.

Review

Interesting premise, one that serves as a stark reminder of how hard it is to be heard as a victim by the world when someone in a position of power uses their position to commit a crime. Simultaneously what happens when someone points makes an accusation that leaves a trail of destruction in the wake of said accusation, especially if it is a false one.

Coming at the story in a way that presents a perfect example of the minefield an accusation of assault creates is an excellent way of mirroring reality. When you throw something like that out into the universe and it is echoed back by a million voices in a variety of ways it often becomes irrelevant whether it is in fact the truth or not. 

From that day forward there will always be an element of doubt attached to the way people think about the accused, paradoxically this also applies to the victim. Because of the nature of the accusation and the way society perceives the core structure of guilt, responsibility and victimhood, the question of guilt and punishment becomes marred in rumours and suspicion.

Built around that core of the accusation - the ripple of destruction and doubt is a sledgehammer of destruction, although often one that pounds in silence. It's a great read. You just never know where the malice springs from and whether innocence is truly a recognisable feature in certain characters, and of course a little bit of DCI Tom never did anyone any harm.

Buy No More Lies at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Black Dot, Publication date: pub date 16th February 2023.Paperback, eBook & Audio. Buy at Amazon com.

#Review Exiles by Jane Harper

 

Yet another fantastic read and great story by Jane Harper!

About the Author

Jane Harper is the author of four internationally bestselling Australian mysteries, including The Dry. Her books are published in 40 territories and have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.

Jane has won numerous top awards including the CWA Gold Dagger, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year and the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year. The 2021 movie adaptation of The Dry, starring Eric Bana, is one of the highest grossing Australian films of all time.

Jane worked as a print journalist for 13 years in both Australia and the UK, and now lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter and son. Follow @janeharperautho on Twitter

About the book

A mother disappears from a busy festival on a warm spring night. Her baby lies alone in a pram, her mother's possessions surrounding her, waiting for a return which never comes. A year later, Kim Gillespie's absence still casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather to welcome a new addition to the family.

Joining the celebrations on a rare break from work is federal investigator Aaron Falk, who begins to suspect that all is not as it seems.

As he looks into Kim's case, long-held secrets and resentments begin to come to the fore, secrets that show that her community is not as close as it appears. Falk will have to tread carefully if he is to expose the dark fractures at its heart, but sometimes it takes an outsider to get to the truth...

Review

A young baby abandoned in a pram in full view of everyone at a festival - mother gone and there are no clues to her whereabouts. Aaron Falk just happens to be one of the few witnesses to the events of that evening, and unfortunately the missing woman is connected to the family of good friends of his. 

When he returns a year later and the family jogs memories in the hope of an explanation he realises that there are a few things niggling him, he just can't quite figure out what they are.

Very much a Holmesian fallacy at play here - I couldn't think of a better scenario when the solution is absolutely directly linked to eliminating the impossible. The solution and truth is evident from the very beginning, and I couldn't decide whether that was intentional. It was the only clear possibility no matter which way everyone turned and searched. Was the story really about creating the frame for Falk to view his life in a different way?

The author creates an epi-centre, but the actual story is the surrounding area. Waves of emotions, complex relationship structures, memories and moments of energy and self that Kim has left in the wake of her mysterious disappearance.

I loved it, but then I do enjoy the way Harper writes and plots - I still think about The Lost Man a lot. It's the very specific way the author draws in the environment, the characters and the plot in equal measures. Simultaneously the way the story is fiction and reality - the kind of plot that you recognise in the people and world around you.

Buy Exiles at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Macmillan; pub date 2nd Feb. 2023. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via MacMillan.

#Blogtour The People Before by Charlotte Northedge

 It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The People Before by Charlotte Northedge.

About the Author

Charlotte Northedge is the joint Head of Books for the Guardian. Charlotte has previously written for a range of newspapers and magazines, including the Guardian, Psychologies and Cosmopolitan. A journalist, she has an MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature from Birkbeck and is an alumni of the Curtis Brown Creative writing course. The House Guest was Charlotte’s greatly acclaimed debut novel, published in 2021 by Harper Collins. Follow @charnorth on Twitter

About the book

What if your dream house became your worst nightmare? Jess and her husband need a new start. So when the chance to buy a rambling old house in the Suffolk countryside comes up, they leap at it.

But not everyone in Suffolk is welcoming. The locals know a secret about the Maple House, and soon, Jess realises they’ve made a huge mistake. Something bad happened in that house. Something nobody wants to talk about. Something to do with the people before…

Review

When paranoia is deep in your bones and fear is a constant companion, then I wonder if the advantages of moving into an isolated house with little or no ability to get help when you need it, are really worth all the added anxiety?

I think Jess knows that subconsciously, although she does a great job of trying to convince herself and her family of the positive side of a new start in life. A start that is a little bumpy and uncomfortable at times as she gets to know the locals, and her children attempt to fit in too. Her husband isn't much help - spending more hours than usual at work, which means Jess and her young children are alone a lot.

That probably makes the odd atmosphere, the mysterious feeling that there is someone watching her, trying to scare her family, all the more intense and frightening.

It's a psychological domestic thriller that starts with an ominous feeling and ends with quite a few surprises. Even in the first few chapters I found myself telling Jess not to leave her daughter in a room that scared her - to listen more closely to her fears.

It's a story that is a lot like a knitted blanket someone is slowly unstitching before our eyes, as this psychological mystery and dark domestic thriller takes the reader down rabbit holes they might not have expected in this smooth image of a perfect family.

Buy The People Before at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Collins; pub date 10th November 2022 Hardback | Ebook | Audio | £14.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Harper Collins.

#Blogtour Still Water by Rebecca Pert

 A little late, and just catching the tail end of this fabulous Blogtour - it's my turn to talk about  Still Water by Rebecca Pert.

About the Author

Rebecca Pert was born in 1990, the youngest of four siblings. She grew up in a small town in Devon before attending Cardiff University, where she received an MA in Creative Writing. Rebecca was the winner of the first Cheltenham Festival First Novel Competition in 2018. She now lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, son and dog. Still Water is Rebecca’s first novel. Follow @Rebecca_Pert, Visit linktr.ee/rebeccapert

About the book

When Jane Douglas returns to the Shetland Islands, she thinks she has escaped the dark shadows of her childhood. She carves out a simple life on the bleak, windswept island, working at the salmon fishery and spending quiet evenings at home. And for the first time in her life, she’s happy.

Then the body of Jane’s long-missing mother is found in a flooded quarry. Her mother disappeared when Jane was a teenager, following the death of Jane’s baby brother. Jane has spent her life running from her past, living in fear that she has inherited her mother’s demons. Now, Jane must face what actually happened on that fateful, tragic day twenty years ago…

Review

I think it's safe to say Jane lives in a bubble of self-motivated confinement, due to her past trauma. She carefully navigates the world by engaging at the bare minimum with her surroundings. Her work, her lover and her neighbour. Never too close.

The bubble starts to deteriorates when a cold blast from the past brings all the trauma back to the present, and Jane finds it increasingly hard to cope. The body of her missing mother brings everything to the point of teetering on the edge.

For me the core of this premise is the way women are perceived, judged and ultimately treated according to certain misconceptions. The go-to language and judgement always veers towards the negative and the dark side. It's important to keep that in mind, especially when it comes to Jane's mother.

Also, even after so many decades and more understanding surrounding women, childbirth, and the subsequent experience of motherhood - there are still plenty of misunderstood areas when it comes to the aforementioned and women's health in general. Still very much second class citizens, who are fobbed off as hysterical, weak, emotional and misdiagnosed. 

This is a poignant reminder of all of the above, whilst simultaneously speaking truth and why it is always a matter of individual subjective perception when it comes to the often difficult relationships between mothers and daughters. It's a remarkable read.

Buy Still Water at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: The Borough Press pub date 23rd June 2022 | Hardback, eBook and audio £14.99. Buy at Amazon com.  

#BlogTour The Safe Place by Louise Mumford

 

It's my turn on the Blogtour The Safe Place by Louise Mumford.

About the Author

Louise was born and lives in South Wales. From a young age she loved books and dancing, but hated having to go to sleep, convinced that she might miss out on something interesting happening in the world whilst she dozed – much to her mother’s frustration! Insomnia has been a part of her life ever since.

She studied English Literature at university and graduated with first class honours. As a teacher she tried to pass on her love of reading to her students (and discovered that the secret to successful teaching is… stickers! She is aware that that is, essentially, bribery.) 

In the summer of 2019 Louise experienced a once-in-a-lifetime moment: she was discovered as a new writer by her publisher at the Primadonna Festival. Everything has been a bit of a whirlwind since then. 

Louise lives in Cardiff with her husband and spends her time trying to get down on paper all the marvellous and frightening things that happen in her head. Follow @louise_mumford on Twitter

About the book

She told you the house would keep you safe. She lied. - Esther is safe in the house. For sixteen years, she and her mother have lived off the grid, protected from the dangers of the outside world. For sixteen years, Esther has never seen another single soul.

Until today. - Today there’s a man outside the house. A man who knows Esther’s name, and who proves that her mother’s claims about the outside world are false. A man who is telling Esther that she’s been living a lie. Is her mother keeping Esther safe – or keeping her prisoner?

Review

Esther can barely remember a time before the isolation, the bubble and the extreme fear. A fear of the world around her and especially of the outside - the air that can and will kill her given half the chance. Luckily she has a mother who fights ferociously for her daughter's safety, health and life.

The innate trust she has in her mother, the woman who puts her safety above all else, slowly starts to crumble. Living in a bubble in isolation for the majority of her living years, well it means she can only judge and make decisions based on the information she has at this moment in time. It's the difference between life and death for Esther, right?

It is until Esther starts to question the world around her, and her eyes are opened to some inconsistencies. Perhaps it's time to face up to her fears and take small steps in the right direction or straight in the direction of death.

It's an interesting doomsday scenario, which isn't that farfetched in our day and age. There are plenty of people living off-grid and keeping loved ones isolation in the hopes of keeping them safe. The question is whether they are right to do so or in this case have the right to make those decisions for the more vulnerable.

Buy The Safe House at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: HQ Digital pub date 12 May 2022. Buy at Amazon com. 

#BlogTour Tell Me Your Lies by Kate Ruby

It's my turn on the Blogtour Tell Me Your Lies by Kate Ruby.

Inspiration for the novel

Tell Me Your Lies was partly inspired by the true story of practicing therapist Anne Craig who was accused of tearing a number of young women apart from their high profile families. Craig was reported to have set herself up as a ‘spiritual healer’ with no formalised qualifications or professional supervision. 

Using highly unconventional methods such as dream analysis, Craig encouraged her clients to recover memories of past traumas and cut contact with their parents. In one of her most notorious disputes, the family of heiress Victoria Cayzer had Craig arrested and investigated (no charges were brought). Their daughter remained under Craig’s thrall, giving up her trust fund and refusing to resume contact with her family.

Kate has extensively explored therapy herself – via both conventional and unconventional modalities – and weaves these experiences into Tell Me Your Lies.

(Author pic - credit Simon Annand)

About the Author

Kate Ruby is a producer and screenwriter, with a highflying career in television. Tell Me Your Lies, a psychological thriller, is her debut novel and is currently in development for a major TV show. As an executive producer for drama, she spent a decade at the BBC, working on shows including Spooks and Being Human. Currently Head of Television for a global production company, she has worked on major Netflix shows including Watership Down, Traitors and The English Game. She has recently worked on the BBC/HBO adaptation of JP Delaney’s bestselling thriller The Girl Before, starring Gugu Mbatha Raw and David Oyelowo. Follow @katerubybooks on Twitter

About the book

You think she wants to help. You're wrong. - Lily Appleby will do anything to protect the people she loves. She’s made ruthless choices to make sure their secrets stay buried, and she’s not going to stop now.

When her party-animal daughter, Rachel, spins out of control, Lily hires a renowned therapist and healer to help her. Amber is the skilled and intuitive confidante that Rachel desperately needs. But as Rachel falls increasingly under Amber’s spell, she begins to turn against her parents, and Lily grows suspicious.

Does Amber really have Rachel’s best interests at heart or is there something darker going on? Only one thing is clear: Rachel is being lied to. Never quite knowing who to believe, her search for the truth will reveal her picture-perfect family as anything but flawless.

Review

Trace the lie to its source - but what if the entire premise, ergo the source is based on a falsehood. What if you base your entire existence, traits, personality and actions on the words and memories of others. Specifically when the source is someone you trust implicitly. Why would someone entrusted with your care and wellbeing try to skew the way you and others perceive yourself.

What if the person you trust with your most intimate and inner feelings had something other than your health and sanity in mind. If they used their control, power and knowledge to steer you in a specific direction?

The inspiration, and indeed the reality of faux professionals, wellbeing and therapy gurus or fully certified professionals who aren't capable of leaving their bias and personal agendas out of their work life - what a deep well of abuse and manipulation to draw from.

I think for me the actual core of the plot was the relationship between Rachel and her mother. The way two people can have such differing views about the same experience, especially when it comes to childhood. There is the issue of subjective views and different frame of references, but in this case the differences cement the negative opinions of one and allow for a sliver of doubt for the other.

It's a dark domestic thriller, one that could have gone two ways - the twisted thriller it is, and the family relationship dynamics, which in itself is worthy of a solitary story. Nicely done.

Buy Tell Me Your Lies at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Simon & Schuster UK pub date 28 April 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Via Simon & Schuster.

#BlogTour The Coffin Club by Jacqueline Sutherland

 

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Coffin Club by Jacqueline Sutherland

About the Author

Jacqueline (Jack) Sutherland worked in corporate PR and marketing for over twenty years and now works part time as a copywriter. A few years ago, she bought her husband a beehive for his birthday, and she draws on her knowledge of beekeeping in her debut thriller, The Coffin Club. She began writing the novel on the 2020 Faber Academy course. Jack lives in Guildford with her husband and their four boys. Follow @writerjac on Twitter

About the book

Everyone deserves a second chance. Don’t they? - After losing her husband in a car accident, leaving her permanently scarred, wealthy widow Kat Alexander moves to the countryside to start a new life. Mourning not only her husband, but her last chance of motherhood, Kat is distraught.

Encouraged by her new and only friend Ginny, owner of the local animal sanctuary, Kat joins Young and Widowed, dubbed ‘The Coffin Club’ by its members.

There she meets young Spanish widower, Nico. Instantly drawn to each other, Nico seems like Kat’s perfect match. He is kind, caring, handsome, eager to settle in the UK, and most importantly, a father to five-year-old Magdalena, ‘Midge’.

This could be Kat’s shot at the one thing she has always wanted: to be a mother. But sometimes, be careful what you wish for…

Review

This is probably a less is more kind of review - to ensure the true nature of the twist and characters remain a bit of a mystery, although the blurb is a hint of what lies ahead.

Kat is still fully present in her trauma. Losing her husband and also the chance of fulfilling a dream she has had forever - it has changed her and made life difficult to cope with. A friend introduces her to a group of people who are trying to cope with similar trauma, and another door opens in her very closed door life.

I think Kat is the kind of character readers will be on the fence about - what's wrong with having a bit of direction in life. Okay, here and there we may have a bit of collateral damage, but it might all come together in the end, and that's the most important thing - right?

Kudos to the author for the ending - it was just right. Nice and prickly, satisfying and left open to the vast realms of further plans, err accidents. It works as a standalone, but wouldn't it be fun to hear from Kat again in the future.

It's a deliciously dark read with a main character who knows no boundaries when it comes to her expectations and her agenda, she plans long-term and has no regrets. What's not to like?

Buy The Coffin Club at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Point Blank; pub date 7 April 2022 - Hardback £14.99. Buy at Amazon com. At Point Blank One World Publications.

#BlogTour The Replacement by Melanie Golding

 It's a pleasure to review this unexpected little gem and take part in the BlogTour The Replacement by Melanie Golding.

'Weaving together the trademark folklore inspiration that readers loved in Little Darlings, with the procedural narrative force of a brilliant mystery, this is the excellent and unnerving new novel from Melanie Golding.'

About the Author

Melanie Golding has a master’s in creative writing from Bath Spa University. She has taught writing in prisons and institutions for young offenders, as well as music in a school for boys with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Her novel Little Darlings has been optioned for film. A full-time, registered childminder, Golding splits her time between her childminding duties and her writing. 

Follow @mk_golding on Twitter and @melaniegoldingauthor on Instagram

About the book

When a small child is found wandering alone, the local shopkeepers call the authorities immediately. Twenty minutes later, the girl’s mother turns up, panicked and distraught. It doesn't take long to clear things up, and mother and daughter are soon reunited and sent on their way.

Miles away, the body of a man is discovered, floating in a bathtub, but the most surprising discovery of all is that he isn't dead. Despite his injuries, he is very much alive.

Two seemingly unrelated events. But as DS Harper begins to investigate, disturbing truths start to come to light that connect the man to the mother and child, and suddenly it’s not clear where the danger truly lies. Harper must find out, and quickly. Because someone, or something, is closing in and she needs to uncover the truth before it’s too late…

Review

This wasn't at all what I was expecting. It hooked me, reeled me in, and I loved it.

What kind of mother just leaves her toddler? A desperate one or one that changes her mind and comes back ten minutes later, by which time the police and social are involved. It takes some convincing, but eventually mother and daughter are reunited and allowed to leave.

Elsewhere DS Harper is investigating another crime, which at first glance is completely unrelated, until a connection is made between mother, child and man. A simple mystery and possible crime, becomes a taut psychological read with added element, which absolutely makes the story.

I think this is definitely becoming a trademark style of Golding, the way crime and human nature is merged with folklore and myths to create the kind of read that never quite lets you go. Merging the emotional fragility, the underlying violence, the unconditional love and the instinct for survival with the shimmer of belief we carry in our core - the result is a great story.

This is an author to watch, there is natural knack for creating tension, weaving threads and compelling storytelling.

Buy The Replacement at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎HQ pub date 11 Nov. 2021. Buy at Amazon com. At Harper Collins.

#BlogTour The Woman in the Woods by Lisa Hall

 It's my turn on the BlogTour The Woman in the Woods by Lisa Hall.

About the Author

Lisa 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. Readers can follow @LisaHallAuthor on Twitter, Visit lisahallauthor.co.uk

About the book

She’s out there. Waiting for you. - 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 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…

Review

Allie has moved into a old place with a dire history she is as yet unaware of. She has a husband who is a bit of a workaholic and two young children - one of which is a new baby. She is tired, stressed and a little fed-up with people interfering with her life in general. Out of every corner the question of how she is coping is being forced upon her. 

Popping Co-codamol while you're breastfeeding  also isn't the done thing and certainly wouldn't be prescribed by health professionals to a nursing mother due to the codeine, but perhaps that is indicative of the downwards spiral Allie is heading towards. The question is whether she is being pushed in that direction by malevolent forces or is there something in the world around her with nefarious intentions?

I thought this was a cracking read, especially because Hall takes you in multiple directions and as a reader you quite willingly follow where she leads you, only to be confronted with something else entirely. I have to say this story made me angry - a lot. Angry for Allie and the way she was treated. Angry at Allie for not telling people to get stuffed. 

The author delivers a great plot with an important message, and yet in the end the reader is also left with questions. Is the solution really that simple or is it just a temporary plaster? 

Buy The Woman in the Woods at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎HQ; pub date 30 Sept. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.