Sober and Pissed Off by Jane Zarse

Sober and Pissed Off discusses: The difference between physical and emotional sobriety, the misconception that after one quits drinking the work is over and they are immediately cured, the importance of addressing alcoholism as a mental disorder, the constant work required to maintain sobriety, how addiction and relapse are two forms of self-sabotage and the correlations between anxiety, depression and addiction.

About the Author
Jane Zarse was born and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois. She graduated from Boston University on the Dean's List before acting in New York City and trading in Chicago. She spiraled into alcoholism before joining Alcoholics Anonymous and finding her way back. Sober and Pissed Off is the second book for Zarse. Her first book, Love and Compassion is My Religion (A Beginner's Book Into Spirituality) is a guide for finding one's spiritual self.

Zarse's first book received excellent reviews and gained worldwide attention. She has built an impressive author platform with tens of thousands of people who are in recovery following her on social media and is a top 2% Twitter influencer.

Follow @zarsejane on Twitter, On Instagram On Facebook On Goodreads Amazon Author page
Buy Sober and Pissed Off

About the book
Sober and Pissed Off is a book for recovering alcoholics who are struggling with emotional wellbeing. In Sober and Pissed Off, Zarse describes how she regained her emotional sobriety after becoming a dry, miserable alcoholic. She took her newfound freedom for granted and paid dearly for it. Sober and Pissed Off illustrates why sobriety is so much more than not drinking. This book is for the countless people in recovery who are physically sober and emotionally struggling.

Review
Zarse writes with a lot of passion, conviction and vigour. I can imagine her words will and have already resonated with plenty of people in similar situations, and also friends and family members of said people. Kudos to her for opening up and for taking apart her own struggle bit by bit. Examining her own emotions and thought processes to try and comprehend what makes her disease tick, in an effort to find a path to recovery.

For the author her personal path to success is connected to her spirituality and faith. It is also anchored in the teachings and support of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is based in faith and belief instead of logic, science or medical explanations. Which begs the question, whether this is part of the reason many alcoholics find it hard to maintain sobriety, because the go-to treatment for alcoholism is an antiquated and ineffective method for a large number of alcoholics.

On the flip-side there are many, who like Jane, have found inner strength and support in the teachings of religion. The strength to face the daily battle of addiction, and for whom AA and religion is the foundation of their sobriety.

I think Zarse is someone who not only wants to help herself, but also help others. More importantly I believe as an author she wants to start a discussion about recovery and sobriety both emotionally and physically, so alcoholics, recovering alcoholics and non-alcoholics can better understand the internal and external struggle.

The author is brutally honest about her own journey, which is the most helpful kind of read when it comes to addiction. She tries not to gloss over her mistakes and acknowledge her failings, as she perceives them and experienced them. She is aware that all of that is subjective, and that hindsight isn't always an objective observer.

I admire the strength of her conviction and the acknowledgement of her own battle. It's what makes this an eye-opener of a read.

Buy Sober and Pissed Off at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Buy Love and Compassion Is My Religion: A Beginner's Book into Spirituality by Jane Zarse

#BlogTour The Murder Pit by Mick Finlay

Today it is my turn on the BlogTour The Murder Pit by Mick Finlay, the second book in the Arrowood series. It's a captivating, and yet an equally amusing and tragic read. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this murder mystery series set in the Victorian era.

About the Author
Mick Finlay was born in Glasgow but left as a young boy, living in Canada and then England. Before becoming an academic, he ran a market stall on Portobello Road, and has worked as a tent-hand in a travelling circus, a butcher's boy, a hotel porter, and in various jobs in the NHS and social services. He teaches in a Psychology Department, and has published research on political violence and persuasion, verbal nd non-verbal communication, and disability. He now lives in Brighton with his family.

Follow @mickfinlay2 @HQStories @HQDigitalUK on Twitter,Visit mickfinlay.com, Buy The Murder Pit

About the book
1896: Sherlock Holmes has once again hit the headlines, solving mysteries for the cream of aristocracy. But among the workhouses and pudding shops of South London, private detective William Arrowood is presented with far grittier, more violent and considerably less well-paid cases. Arrowood has no doubt who is the better detective, and when Mr. and Mrs. Barclay engage him to find their estranged daughter, Birdie, he’s sure it won’t be long before he and his assistant, Barnett, have tracked her down.

But this seemingly simple missing-person case soon turns into a murder investigation. Far from the comfort of Baker Street, Arrowood’s London is a city of unrelenting cruelty, where evil is waiting to be uncovered…

Review
This is the second book in the Arrowood series. When I read the first book I can remember thinking what an excellent premise this is. Presenting a disgruntled, a down to earth and a more working class persona as the nemesis to Sherlock Holmes, albeit one he is more or less unaware of, is an amusing and intriguing read.

Although considered politically incorrect in our era; the definitions, medical theories and treatment of people with mental health issues and deficiencies during the Victorian era, are an important part of history. It is pertinent to shed a light on advances in thought processes and advancements, and just as important to understand the tragedy of misunderstanding mental health in this historical and fictional context.

The injustice and maltreatment, especially in the cases of women in particular, is shocking at the very least. The author takes the opportunity to highlight a few infamous cases of how to get rid of someone via the overall descriptor of mania, insanity or hysteria with some of the most ridiculous and dangerous theories of that era.

Which brings us to the case of Birdie, a young woman with diminished mental capacities, who has not been seen by her parents since she was married off to an equally mentally challenged young man. The family she married into is reluctant to let Birdie interact with anyone outside of her new family. In fact Arrowood thinks this case is more than just a family disagreement.

Barnett finally admits the truth about his personal situation and takes a small uncertain step towards allowing himself a break and trying to enter the inner circle. At the heart of his reluctance lies a feeling of inadequacy. In comparison to Arrowood he still feels like a second class citizen. The fact his curmudgeonly boss and partner in crime-solving has a hair-trigger temper and a penchant for unpredictable bouts of violence and throwing objects at him, only serves to ingrain these emotions in him.

Part of the charm of Arrowood and Co. is the genuine need to help the innocent and vulnerable, regardless of the danger, obstruction and lack of payment they often face. Unlike the best detective in the world, Sherlock Holmes, who as Arrowood often points out, is only in it for the fame and money.

Finlay has certainly honed his craft and given due diligence to the research on mental illness during the Victorian era, which makes this an exceptional murder mystery read. I would enjoy seeing this as a television version - the imperfection and rough exterior would be a more realistic representation of a Victorian detective and even more amusing considering how disgruntled Arrowood is when it comes to Holmes and Watson.

I sincerely hope this second book is one of many to come. Finlay is most definitely an author to watch. The second book in the Arrowood series is a captivating, and yet an equally amusing and tragic read. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this murder mystery series set in the Victorian era.

Buy The Murder Pit (Arrowood Mystery #2) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: HQ Digital pub date 10 Jan. 2019

Read my review of Arrowood (book #1) by Mick Finlay

#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 Changeling by Matt Wesolowski

Today it is my absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Changeling by Matt Wesolowski. It is the third book or episode in the brilliant Six Stories series. If you haven't read a book in this series then I can only suggest you do so, because it is a fascinating premise.

About the Author
Matt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. He is an English tutor for young people in care. Matt started his writing career in horror, and his short horror fiction has been published in numerous UK- and US-based anthologies such as Midnight Movie Creature, Selfies from the End of the World, Cold Iron and many more. His novella, The Black Land, a horror story set on the Northumberland coast, was published in 2013. Matt was a winner of the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland Crime WritingFestival in 2015. His debut thriller, Six Stories, was an Amazon bestseller in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia, and a WH Smith Fresh Talent pick, and TV rights were sold to a major Hollywood studio. A prequel, Hydra, was published in 2018 and became an international bestseller.

Follow @ConcreteKraken or @Orendabooks on Twitter, Matt-Wesolowski on Facebook or visit him at mjwesolowskiauthor.wordpress.com

About the book
On Christmas Eve in 1988, seven-year-old Alfie Marsden vanished in the dark Wentshire Forest Pass, when his father, Sorrel, stopped the car to investigate a mysterious knocking sound. No trace of
the child, nor his remains, have ever been found. Alfie Marsden was declared officially dead in 1995.

Elusive online journalist, Scott King, whose ‘Six Stories’ podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the disappearance, interviewing six witnesses, including Sorrel and his ex partner, to try to find out what really happened that fateful night. Journeying through the trees of the Wentshire Forest – a place synonymous with strange sightings, and tales of hidden folk who dwell there, he talks to a company that tried and failed to build a development in the forest, and a psychic who claims to know what happened to the little boy…

Intensely dark, deeply chilling and searingly thought-provoking, Changeling is the latest in the
critically acclaimed, international bestselling Six Stories series, written as six Serial-style podcasts,
and which are being adapted for TV by a major US studio.

Review
Changeling is the third part of the Six Stories series, an innovative fresh idea in a sea full of stories.

This episode of Six Stories is different in a sense that Scott King immerses himself in a completely different way this time. In the other episodes there was always an element of distance to the people, the crimes, the myths and the folklore. In this episode the reader gets a deeper look into the main characters soul, and also into that of the author.

The disappearance of a seven-year-old boy over three decades ago is still a story that gets tongues wagging. He vanished into the darkness in the middle of the night near a forest. A wooded area connected to a lot of disturbing tales and a lifetime of folklore. The fairie folk have taken him, the monsters in the woods have eaten him or maybe the trees have made the little boy become one with them. All of that and plenty more is fodder for the curious, the gossips, the amateur sleuths and even the family members of the child.

I often think it is easier for society to believe the unbelievable than to accept the possibility that humans are worse than the monsters we imagine in our minds. The inability to acknowledge the inhumanity in some of us leaves us weakened and unprotected against the evil living among us.

Kudos to the author for giving a platform to the abuse featured in this particular mystery. Sometimes you don't know what you're experiencing or seeing when you encounter this kind of subtle, hidden systemic abuse. The problem is people are happy to pass on a malicious rumour or assume something they have been told is the truth without knowing whether it is or not.

Been there, done that, met the monster and got the t-shirt..

If you haven't read a book in this series then I can only suggest you do so, because it is a fascinating premise. I can't wait to see what the TV adaptation looks like. It is a dark menacing premise that Wesolowski has given a 21st century vibe to. He delves into the darkest depths of human nature, and plays with fractured memories, hidden fears and the ancient folklore and myths embedded in our culture. Podcasts meet rumours, theories and facts to create a fascinating murder mystery with a thriller come horror vibe. You don't want to miss this series or the author.

Buy Changeling (Six Stories #3) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Orenda Books; pub date 24 Jan. 2019
Read my review of Six Stories #1
Read my review of Hydra (Six Stories #2)

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

I sometimes I think groups of friends, especially ones who have known each other for many years, believe they have to uphold the pretence of staying friends even when they grow apart. Then you are forced to spend time pretending you are actually interested in their lives, when the reality is you couldn't give two hoots.

That is exactly the way this group of friends appears to the reader. Meeting in an isolated place to celebrate themselves and their friendships. To try and impress each other with their success and relationships. By the way, who brings a young baby to the middle of nowhere in the midst of snow storms and freezing conditions?

What starts as pleasant idea to celebrate and welcome the New Year in, quickly becomes a nightmare. The beauty of the isolation and the surroundings becomes threatening and suffocating when one of the party goes missing. Everyone starts to look suspicious and menacing, and for the veteran Doug in particular it means having a spotlight on you at all times.

Even if the actual victim perhaps isn't clear at first then a potential victim does become clear quite early on. A certain person likes to wind everyone up and poke sharp sticks straight into the bears cage. After a short while everyone appears to have a valid motive to harm someone, just because they are so privileged and annoying. Yeh, being annoying has just been upgraded to a murder motive.

Foley more or less hands the plot to the reader within the first few chapters and then starts to throw spanners into the spinning wheel. It's an intriguing way to go about it. You think you know it all, but in fact you only know what the author wants you to know.

Buy The Hunting Party at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: HarperCollins (Kindle pub date 3 Dec 2018, Hardcover pub date 24 Jan 2018)
Follow @lucyfoleytweets

My Name is Anna by Lizzy Barber

Every one of us has probably experienced déjà vu at one time or the other, the feeling of having seen, heard or experienced something before. When Anna defies her mother and spends the day at a popular theme park she isn't sure whether she is having a flashback or a feeling of déjà vu.

Just one problem with that, there is no way she could be having a flashback, because according to her very strict and religious mother, Anna has never been anywhere near the theme park. Anna starts to question whether what she knows is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Meanwhile a young girl called Rosie decides to look into the disappearance of her sister. The loss, grief and confusion has left her family broken. She believes that solving the mystery could be what finally brings her family back together. The not knowing, the unanswered questions and the imagined scenarios make a unexplained disappearance worse than a disappearance with a bad ending.

I really appreciated the realistic and honest approach to the ending of this book. Barber didn't feel the need to romanticise it for her readers, and to be completely frank it's exactly what it would be like for families in such a traumatic situation. So kudos to the author for that.

This may appear to be a simple premise but Barber takes it a step further and puts readers in a situation where the worst possible crime a family can deal with could be completely understandable given the traumatic and extraordinary circumstances. The predictable takes a sharp left turn and leads the reader on a merry chase up the garden path.

Buy My Name is Anna at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Cornerstone Digital (1 Nov. 2018) - ebook
Publisher: Arrow (25 July 2019) - Paperback
Follow @ByLizzyBarber @arrowpublishing
Visit lizzybarber.com

My Best Reads of 2018!

The thing about Best Book lists is that it is difficult to limit the number of books to ten or twenty. In fact I think I would probably find it hard to pick just one hundred. The majority of books will contain some element I have enjoyed enough to recommend it to others. Then you also have to factor in the books I haven't had a chance to read yet or haven't discovered yet.

At this point many thanks to all the bloggers, reviewers, authors and social media users who helped to empty my wallet during 2018 by recommending so many fantastic books!

I have to admit this was really hard and so many more deserve a mention. I think I need a 100 books of 2018 list. In no particular order here are a few of my Best Reads of 2018 with buy links, Twitter handles and links to my reviews:

The Woman in the Window by A J Finn
Publisher: HarperCollins - pub date 25 Jan. 2018, Follow @AJFinnBooks @HarperCollinsUK, read my review of The Woman in the Window

The Chalk Man by C J Tudor
Publisher: Penguin - pub date 11 Jan. 2018, Follow @cjtudor @MichaelJBooks, read my review of The Chalk Man

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Publisher: Del Rey - pub date 25 Jan. 2018, This is the second part of the Winternight Trilogy, Follow @arden_katherine @EburyPublishing, read my review of The Girl in the Tower

Exhibit Alexandra by Natasha Bell
Publisher: Michael Joseph - pub date 8 Mar. 2018, Follow @byTashB @MichaelJBooks, read my review of Exhibit Alexandra

The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco
Publisher: Sourcebooks - pub date 1 April 2018, Follow @RinChupeco @SourcebooksFire, read my review of The Heart Forger

We Were the Salt of the Sea by Roxanne Bouchard
Publisher: Orenda Books - pub date 30 Mar. 2018, Follow @RBouchard72 @OrendaBooks, read my review of We Were the Salt of the Sea

The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton
Publisher: Wildfire - pub date 22 Mar. 2018, Follow @KJHAuthor @Wildfirebks, read my review of The Perfect Girlfriend

Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin
Publisher: Michael Joseph - pub date 19 April 2018, Follow @juliathrillers @MichaelJBooks, read my review of Paper Ghosts

Carnivore by Jonathan Lyon
Publisher: HQ - paperback edition pub date 5 April 2018, Follow @jonathan_lyon @HQStories, read my review of Carnivore

Hydra by Matt Wesolowski
Publisher: Orenda Books - 15 Jan. 2018, Second part of the Six Stories series, Follow
@ConcreteKraken or @Orendabooks, read my review of Hydra

Dead Girls by Graeme Cameron
Publisher: HQ, pub date 31 May 2018, Follow @GNCameron @HQStories read my review of Dead Girls

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
Publisher: Harlequin Teen - pub date 10 April 2018, Follow @AmandaFoody @HQStories read my review of Ace of Shades

Lancelot by Giles Kristian
Publisher: Bantam Press - pub date 31 May 2018, Follow @GilesKristian @TransworldBooks, read my review of Lancelot

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, Follow @jesmimi @BloomsburyBooks, read my review of Sing, Unburied, Sing

Needle Song by Russell Day
Publisher: Fahrenheit Press - pub date 29 April 2018, Follow @rfdaze @fahrenheitpress, read my review of Needle Song

No Further Questions by Gillian McAllister
Publisher: Penguin, pub date 4 Oct. 2018, Follow @GillianMAuthor @MichaelJBooks, read my review of No Further Questions

The Language of Secrets by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Publisher: No Exit Press, pub date 26 Oct. 2017, Follow @AusmaZehanat @noexitpress read my review of The Language of Secrets

I Invited Her In by Adele Parks
Publisher: HQ, pub date 20 Sept. 2018, Follow @adeleparks @HQStories, read my review of I Invited Her In

The Secret Legacy by Sara Alexander
Publisher: HQ - pub date 9 Aug. 2018, Follow @AuthorSaraAlex @HQStories, read my review of The Secret Legacy

The Emperor of Shoes by Spencer Wise
Publisher: No Exit Press -  pub date 26 July 2018, Follow @SpencerWise10 @noexitpress read my review of The Emperor of Shoes

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
Publisher: Serpent's Tail - paperback edition pub date 29 Mar. 2018, Follow @atticalocke @serpentstail, read my review of Bluebird, Bluebird

Someone I used to Know by Patty Blount
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire - pub date 1 Sept. 2018, Follow @PattyBlount @SourcebooksFire, read my review of Someone I Used to Know

Vox by Christina Dalcher
Publisher: HQ - pub date 23 Aug. 2018, Follow @CVDalcher @HQStories, read my review of Vox

The Map of Us by Jules Preston
Publisher: HarperImpulse - pub date 12 July 2018, Follow @jules_preston_ @HarperImpulse, read my review of The Map of Us

Bone Lines by Stephanie Bretherton
Publisher: Unbound Digital - pub date 19 Sept. 2018, Follow @BrethertonWords @unbounders, read my review of Bone Lines

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, pub date 30 Oct. 2018, Follow @jodipicoult @HodderBooks, read my review of A Spark of Light

Miss Marley by Vanessa Lafaye with Rebecca Mascull
Publisher: HQ - pub date 1 Nov. 2018, Follow @rebeccamascull @HQStories read my review of Miss Marley

Attend by West Camel
Publisher: Orenda Books - 13 Dec. 2018, Follow @west_camel @OrendaBooks, read my review of Attend

And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott
Publisher: Wildfire - 15 Nov. 2018, Follow @RachelAbbott @Wildfirebks, read my revew of And So It Begins

Bitter by Francesca Jakobi 
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson - 8 Mar. 2018, Follow @fjakobi @wnbooks, read my review of Bitter

Already on my Best Reads of 2019 list
The Binding by Bridget Collins
Publisher: The Borough Press - pub date 10 Jan 2019, Follow @Br1dgetCollins @BoroughPress, read my review of The Binding

When All is Said by Anne Griffin
Publisher: Sceptre - pub date 24 Jan 2019, Follow @AnneGriffin_ @SceptreBooks, read my
 review of When All is Said

Going through all these books, there are quite a few not on the list that deserve a mention and some I still have to review - I can say without a doubt that I have read a lot of excellent books this year!