#BlogBlitz One: Rage Vengeance Murder by K.J. McGillick

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour One: Rage Vengeance Murder by K.J. McGillick.

About the Author
K. J. McGillick was born in New York and once she started to walk she never stopped running. But that's what New Yorker's do. Right? A Registered Nurse, a lawyer now author.

As she evolved so did her career choices. After completing her graduate degree in nursing, she spent many years in the university setting sharing the dreams of the enthusiastic nursing students she taught. After twenty rewarding years in the medical field she attended law school and has spent the last twenty-four years as an attorney helping people navigate the turbulent waters of the legal system. Not an easy feat. And now? Now she is sharing the characters she loves with readers hoping they are intrigued by her twisting and turning plots and entertained by her writing.

Follow @KJMcGillickAuth on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Facebook, on Amazon, Visit kjmcgillick.com, Buy One: Rage Vengeance Murder

About the book
A stolen life. A Faustian bargain. Prey becomes predator.

Azar Abed is out for revenge for the life Dr. Adrian Armond stole from her. No matter what the cost. Adrien Armond will stop at nothing to recover the massive fortune Azar Abed embezzled from him. Neither will walk away until the other is dead. Someone’s going to die, that is for certain.

Personal revenge gets caught up in a bio-terror plot to crash the world’s economy as darkness spirals into darkness and terror is the order of the day. Azar Abed and Adrien Armond are on a collision course that could have catastrophic consequences on a global scale.

Who will kill who first? Will it be enough? Can anyone stop the bio-terror plot to destroy the world’s economy that is already in motion? Does anyone have enough humanity left even to try?

Set against a backdrop of Washington, DC, ONE is a heart pounding-psychological thriller pitting greed against greed in a cat-and-mouse game where vengeance is the only prize. It can be read as a standalone, or as the conclusion to events begun in its predecessor, TWO. It concludes the Path of Deception and Betrayal series.

Review

This book brings the Path of Deception and Betrayal series to a conclusion. Each book can be read as a standalone novel.

This one reverts back to the more charming, playful and amusing atmosphere, and dialogue, of Three, whereas Two is brutal and vicious. One brings previous plots and characters together to culminate in a cleverly constructed crescendo.

Azar is plotting the downfall of Armond, who quite frankly deserves some kind of punishment at this point. He always seems to slither past any retribution or legal intervention with the ease of a snake in thick foliage.

Simultaneously Azar and Armond are intent on destroying each other, but are less interested in the ramifications for anyone else. An insidious plot to take down the economy on a global scale and throw the world into chaos, thereby causing mass destruction - is the result of ambitious planning. The kind that can only be born of a mind seething with anger.

The wild card in this setting is Mary, the private eye with plenty of smarts and information, who is always underestimated because she is probably the least likely to be thought any kind of threat. That's a grave mistake to make of course.

It's a crime thriller with ruthless criminals, who begin to eat their own tails.

McKillick has created an interesting trilogy in a sense that although the books are connected by plot and characters, they are also individual experiences from a reading perspective. The fact each one has different type of style and approach definitely speaks to that.

Buy One: Rage Vengeance Murder ( A Path of Deception and Betrayal #3) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.  Publisher: KJRM Publishing LLC; pub date 25 April 2018. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my reviews of Two: Mind Games and Murder and Three: Deception Love Murder by K.J. McGillick.

#BlogTour Audiobook: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Audiobook The Wives by Tarryn Fisher. Narrated by Lauren Fortgang.

About the Author
Tarryn is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.  She lives in Seattle with her children and husband.  Her heart is dark but she loves you with it anyway. Tarryn is the founder of Guise of the Villain, a fashion blog, and has written twelve published novels. Tarryn is a Slytherin.

Follow @DarkMarkTarryn on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, on Facebook, on Instagram,Visit tarrynfisher.com,
Buy The Wives - Audiobook

About the book
Imagine that your husband has two other wives.

You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, and because of this unconventional arrangement, you can see your husband only one day a week. But you love him so much you don’t care. Or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself.

But one day, while you’re doing laundry, you find a scrap of paper in his pocket—an appointment reminder for a woman named Hannah, and you just know it’s another of the wives.

You thought you were fine with your arrangement, but you can’t help yourself: you track her down, and, under false pretences, you strike up a friendship. Hannah has no idea who you really are. Then, Hannah starts showing up to your coffee dates with telltale bruises, and you realise she’s being abused by her husband. Who, of course, is also your husband. But you’ve never known him to be violent, ever.

Who exactly is your husband, and how far would you go to find the truth? Would you risk your own life?

Review
Referring to the women as days is a really interesting way to debase them. It suggests a bizarre type of equality, anonymity and lack of importance at the same time. Thursday is my day and the others are Monday and Tuesday, until we realise Thursday is actually also her name.

The polygamy plays a huge role in the premise. The suggestion that women should somehow be pleased with their lot as one of many, as opposed to being important enough to be viewed as an individual. The man is omnipotent and worthy of being served by many. Polygamists lie to themselves when they tell themselves a woman is happy in a situation like that, as do the women.

It makes Thursday insecure and paranoid. She thinks about the other wives all the time. Do they satisfy him the way she does? Are they prettier than she is? Does he love them more? When Thursday finds a scrap of paper with the name of a woman in his pocket the ever mounting hill of questions gets the better of her, so she begins to look for them.

I do enjoy it when a read doesn't evolve as expected. Fisher leads the readers along on the path paved with red herrings - lets us look out of a few windows and open one or two doors and then lets us watch the carefully constructed building of lies crumble all around us.

The narrator, Lauren Fortgang, adds that necessary level of doubt, suspicion, paranoia and almost manic frenzy that's needed to accurately portray the emotional depth and confusion Fisher creates in her story.

This was my first read by this particular author, but it certainly won't be my last.

Buy The Wives - Audiobook at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. Also available in ebook Paperback.

The Wives
Listening Length - 8 hours 59 minutes, Author - Tarryn Fisher, Narrator - Lauren Fortgang, Whispersync for Voice - Ready, Audible.co.uk Release Date - 30 December 2019, Publisher - HQ, Program Type- Audiobook, Version - Unabridged, Language - English, ASIN- B0817239L3

#BlogTour The Vault by Mark Dawson

Today it's a pleasure to take art in the BlogTour The Vault by Mark Dawson.

The Berlin Wall - 9 November 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the 20th Century’s most notorious structures. Built in 1961 to divide East and West Germany, by the late 80s it was 156 km long with a 15m ‘death strip’ guarded by 11,500 border guards under shoot-to-kill orders. At least 140 people lost their lives at the Wall. The last in 1989 just months before it fell.

About the Author
Mark Dawson is an award-nominated, USA Today bestseller, with more than 20 books published and over 2 million books downloaded in multiple countries and languages. Mark was born in Lowestoft, in the UK. He has worked as a DJ, a door-to-door ice cream seller, factory hand and club promoter.

He eventually trained as a lawyer and worked for ten years in the City of London and Soho, firstly pursuing money launderers and then acting for A-list celebrities suing newspapers for libel.

Follow @pbackwriter on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit markjdawson.com, Buy The Vault

About the book
In the dying days of the Soviet Union, the Berlin Wall still casts a long and deadly shadow in 1989.

MI6 agent Harry Mackintosh embarks on an audacious plan to exfiltrate a valuable asset through a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. But things go badly wrong and what could have been a brilliant coup  ends in a bloody failure, with Mackintosh only just escaping with his life. Now he wants revenge.

Mackintosh returns to London for help. He asks for seasoned professionals but gets Jimmy Walker, a bank robber blackmailed into working with British intelligence. Walker has been given a stark choice: a long stretch in prison or a trip behind the Iron Curtain. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the resourceful robber - desperate to keep his liberty and lured by tales of Stasi gold - might just be the right man for the job after all.

Review
There's nothing quite like a good old Cold War spy thriller. It's exactly the right amount of subterfuge, politics, history and action. Dawson manages to accurately capture the atmosphere of the silent war.

I got about three quarters in and wondered how many readers would see Mackintosh as the villain of the piece and not just the protagonist - the British intelligence officer with an axe to grind. There is no doubt about the fact that he uses and treats Walker with contempt.

Mackintosh is ruthless, reckless and not particularly interested in keeping Walker alive, despite the fact he is actually the key to his entire scheme. Again I would make the point that he perhaps isn't so different than the man he wants to bring to his knees.

It's a spy thriller - a combination of Kelly's Heroes meets The Lives of Others. You get the audacity of a man fuelled by greed, and perhaps by the thrill of the impossible task, which is balanced by the lack of compassion and heavy atmosphere of the Cold War scenario.

The Stasi is a chapter in history that is often overshadowed by the events of Nazi Germany and World War II and the uplifting event of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Those oppressive years of Stasi rule tend to rear their head in books and movies - it's easy to forget how many lives were controlled and destroyed during those decades.

I can't decide whether I was more intrigued by the spy storyline or the fact Walker was all gung-ho and I'll deal with the consequences later. Either way as a reader I definitely want more.

Buy The Vault at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Unputdownable eBook - 31 Jan. 2020. Paperback Ind pub 31 Jan 2020 - Audio available 31 October 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Payback by R.C. Bridgestock

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Payback by R.C. Bridgestock - the brand new series from the writers of DI Fylan and script advisers to TV's Happy Valley and Scott and Bailey.

About the Author
R.C. Bridgestock is the pen name of writing duo Carol and Bob Bridgestock. Between them they have nearly 50 years of high level experience in West Yorkshire Police. The couple are storyline consultants on Happy Valley and Scott and Bailey and appear regularly on TV, radio and in the press.

Follow @RCBridgestock @TheDomePress on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit rcbridgestock.com, Buy Payback

About the book
Charley Mann left Yorkshire for the Met and a fast-track career - but now she's back and she's in charge and the area's first young female DI. Her hometown, the Yorkshire countryside, and her old friends all seem unchanged, but appearances can be deceptive.

When a brutal murder is discovered, Charley is forced to question everything, and the interest of her ex- reporter Danny Ray - doesn't make it easier.

Review
There is no mistaking the experience this author duo brings to the table both in policing and script-writing. You can easily lift the dialogue and plot, and imagine the series it could become.

DI Charley Mann returns home after a promotion places her back in an environment full of memories and nightmares. This time she is in charge and she isn't about to let anyone forget it, especially those who let her down in the past.

Of course there is nothing that shows the strength and weaknesses of an ambitious SOI more than a brutal murder the top brass want solving asap.

With her own secrets kept closely guarded, she finds herself confronted with friends and foes of the past - sometimes there is a fine line between the two.

Charley is an intriguing combination of straight-laced professional and a good ol' born and bred country lass. A stickler for the rules, a superior to look up to, and yet also a firm believer of local folklore.

It gives the character a real sense of authenticity. Readers can relate to the strength, the fears and the almost nonchalant way Charley also adheres to certain rituals, which are said to keep certain elements at bay.

Whether or not Bridgestock explores that element of superstition further in the future, well I certainly hope so - it adds an extra layer of uncertainty to the plot.

It's a police procedural with a strong and yet often conflicted main character.

I think it's fair to say that Bridgestock ends this book in a way that suggests Charley has only just begun to scratch at and peel away the levels of evil and corruption around her, which hopefully means this is the first of many.

Buy Payback at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Dome Press; pub date 9 January 2020. Available in Paperback - 8.99 and Ebook. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Dome Press.  Buy at Waterstones.

#BlogTour Tales of the What the F*ck by D.A. Watson

It's my turn on the BlogTour Tale of the What the F*ck by D.A. Watson.

About the Author
D.A. Watson was halfway through a music and media degree at the University of Glasgow and planning on being a teacher when he discovered he was actually a better writer than musician. He unleashed his debut novel In the Devil's Name on an unsuspecting public in the summer of 2012, and plans of a stable career in education left firmly in the dust, later gained his masters in Creative Writing from the University of Stirling.

He has since published two more novels; The Wolves of Langabhat and Cuttin' Heads, a collection of short fiction and poetry, Tales of the What the F*ck, and several acclaimed articles, poems and stories, including Durty Diana, which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in the US in 2016, and the Burns parody Tam O' Shatner, prizewinner at the Falkirk Storytelling Festival and Dunedin Burns Poetry Competition, and nominated for the People's Book Prize in 2018.

Watson's writing has appeared in several anthologies and collections including 404 Ink, Dark Eclipse, Speculative Books, Haunted Voices and The Flexible Persona, and he is also a regular spoken word performer, with past gigs at Bloody Scotland, Tamfest, Sonnet Youth, Express Yourself, Clusterf*ck Circus, and the Burnsfest festival in 2018, where he appeared on the main stage as the warm up act for the one and only Chesney Hawkes, a personal milestone and career highlight.

His fourth novel Adonias Low will be released by Stirling Pubishing in 2021. He lives with his family in a witch infested village on the west coast of Scotland, and continues to write some seriously weird sh*t.

Follow @davewatsonbooks on Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Buy Tales of the What the F*ck

About the book
Billionaire terminal cancer patient John Longmire's going to die today, and he's going out in style in the classiest euthanasia clinic in the world. But the strange nurse with the clipboard and the look of a goddess is spoiling the mood, with all her irksome questions about how he's lived his life.

Recent retiree Gerald loves his wife Barbara and he loves his garden, but Barbara hates the garden. Because the garden's taking Gerald over, and Barbara says he has to stop before he has another 'incident'.

Bullied, ridiculed and unloved, moustachioed schoolgirl "Hairy" Mhairi Barry has never had any friends but the ones she finds on the shelves of the library where she's spent most of her lonely childhood. But tonight, she's going to a party with all the cool kids, to show them what she's learned in all those books.

A suspicious smelling smorgasbord of lovelorn psychopaths, vengeful mugging victims, pawn shop philosophers and rhyming Glaswegian alien abduction, Tales of the What the Fuck is a dark, touching, horrific and hilarious collection of short stories, flash fiction and epic poetry from People's Book Prize nominated author D.A. Watson. Things are about to get weird.

Review
This is a collection of short stories, flash fiction and poetry. What they all have in common is murder, mayhem, revenge and fear - not necessarily in that order of course.

Included in the book: Durty Diana, Coming Home, Mhairi, Wasted, Succubus, Catharsis, The Wee man, John, Coasters Music, Tales of a Scorched earth: Afterburn, The Cravin, Sex Tape, Lisa and Me, The Night Afore Xmas, Deep red, Tech Support, The Ones You Love, John Longmire's Last Day, Tam O'Shatner, Rusalka, Love and Cabbage and AaaHHH! Zombies.
I'm just going to pick out two to talk about in my review:

The Wee Man - I enjoyed this one in particular, perhaps because the roots are buried in fairytales and childhood. The essence of original fairytales wasn't to calm or make the reader happy. Instead the tales were grounded in myth and folklore, known as harbingers of threats and death. The adult in this story becomes the child again, as his own childhood fears rise up and threaten to swallow him whole.

Tales of a Scorched Earth: Afterburn - The general assumption, especially when it comes to those who believe in divine intervention and that sinners will eventually get their just desserts, is that true evil will be punished by an eternity in hell. What if that eternity were merely a continuation of their pleasure?

It's a collection of murder, vengeance and hidden desires in the form of short stories, flash fiction and poetry. Watson spins a good tale no matter in which form.

Expect no comfortable tale to embrace you or cotton candy, unicorns and happy endings. Well, then again they might be considered happy endings if you enjoy your stories gory, scary and slightly horrific or score highly on the psychopathic traits test.

Buy Tales of the What the F*ck at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Wild Wolf Publishing; pub date 7 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogBlitz His Wife's Secret by Susan Willis

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour His Wife's Secret: Why is she punishing me? by Susan Willis.

About the Author
Susan Willis is a published author of four novels and five novellas. She lives in Co-Durham surrounded by a big family and dear friends. Susan works as a food technologist developing new recipes and weaves the different aspects of her job into stories.

Her last two novels are psychological suspense. Readers who have left reviews on amazon love the books because they are realistic with everyday people in situations that can happen.
She has a collection of Fun-Size Tales of Love & Family which are available in Ebook and paperback.

Susan is now writing Cozy Crime Short Reads and incorporating up to date issues of poor mental health in a kidnap scene, the perils of social media, and an intruder on Skype. Nest year she hopes to publish these stories into a collection.

Follow @SusanWillis69, on Instagram, on Facebook, on Goodreads, Visit susanwillis.co.uk

Buy His Wife's Secret

About the book
When David meets old school-friend, Erin again he falls head over heels in love. He leaves his wife and their sixteen-year-old daughter to marry Erin. But, in a small village people have long memories and they move south for a fresh beginning. Erin’s behaviour starts to change in a very strange way and David wonders if she is punishing him for something he’s done?

Review
Willis doesn't get to the core of the plot until a fair way into the story, so initially it just apears to be a case of a broken family readjusting to the new structure and status quo. The new wife is jealous of the ex-wife and his daughter, and the daughter dislikes the new wife. The new wife Erin hatches a plan to put distance between old and new.

Erin is obsessed with an old diary, which reveals secrets her mother and others kept hidden from her. What she learns doesn't just unsettle her, it sets off a sequence of events that leads to a change in behaviour and the way David views her.

She is already exhibiting certain patterns of behaviour before she starts obsessing about her mother. Jealousy, possessive traits and the need to isolate her husband from everything and everyone he loves and knows.

It's a domestic thriller - the violence creeps into the story slowly and escalates.

There is an element to this story that lifts it slightly into the genre of psychological crime, however the violence and abuse aspect of the story was enough to carry the tale in its entirety. The woman on man premise is a poignant point to make, especially in a society when abuse is still misunderstood and ridiculed, even more so when men are the victims.

The author describes the escalation and lack of comprehension quite well. When does a playful  accepted slap become a slap that is no longer playful. If you've given consent for the first does it automatically mean there is consent for the latter. Why is it still so difficult for society to comprehend that men can be victims and women can be the perpetrators of domestic violence?

Buy His Wife's Secret at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Beyond the Margin by Jo Jackson

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Beyond the Margin by Jo Jackson.

Enter the Giveaway below to Win signed copies of Beyond the Margin and Too Loud a Silence by Jo Jackson. (UK only)

About the Author
Jo Jackson reads books and writes them too.
Having worked with some of the most vulnerable people in society she has a unique voice apparent in her second novel Beyond the Margin.

She was a nurse, midwife and family psychotherapist and now lives in rural Shropshire with her husband. She loves travelling and walking as well as gardening, philosophy and art.
Her first novel Too Loud a Silence is set in Egypt where Jo lived for a few years with her husband and three children. Events there were the inspiration for her book which she describes as ‘a story she had to write’.

Follow on @JoJackson589 on Twitter, JoJacksonauthor on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit jojacksonwriter.com, Buy Beyond the Margin

About the book
Is living on the edge of society a choice? Or is choice a luxury of the fortunate?
Joe, fighting drug addiction, runs until the sea halts his progress. His is a faltering search for meaningful relationships.

‘Let luck be a friend’, Nuala is told but it had never felt that way. Abandoned at five years old survival means learning not to care. Her only hope is to take control of her own destiny. The intertwining of their lives makes a compelling story of darkness and light, trauma, loss and second chances.

Review
Nuala is abandoned to starve and die as a five-year-old. Her experiences as a child and in care define her character and choices, which aren't always the right ones. Both Nuala and her choices are driven by her fear of abandonment, the fury about being powerless and the confusion she feels about her father. Love is mixed in equal measures with anger and longing.

Joe is a drug addict running away from his past and his life in general. He stumbles upon an elderly couple, who live an isolated life on an island. They recognise a young man in need of support. Joe struggles with inner demons - the call of the drugs that help him forget, and with his own difficult childhood.

Jackson has her finger on the pulse when it comes to the emotional depth and rawness of her characters. There is no sugar-coating of the truth or over-hyping of the same. It's just out there - to be accepted or not. It's uncomfortable, but the truth often is when it isn't being hidden or glossed over. Our care systems are inadequate and children fall through the huge cracks all the time, and yet colour us surprised when they grow up to become the criminals, addicts and vulnerable adults of our societies. Children in care are jobs to over-worked, understaffed, and desensitised social workers who also lack the resources to help them when they need it the most.

It's an emotional hard-hitting contemporary read. To some it might highlight the fact that we shouldn't give up so easily on those who struggle or are difficult and don't fit into the norm society dictates. Second chances can be given, but are often rejected because it's hard to believe someone could actually care enough when those who are supposed to didn't or weren't capable of doing so.

This book will be going on my stand-outs of the year list. Jackson writes with such compassion and brutal honesty - the result is a breathtakingly down-to-earth and compelling read.

Buy Beyond the Margin at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Apedale Press; pub date 23 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

Enter the Giveaway to Win signed copies of Beyond the Margin and Too Loud a Silence by Jo Jackson. (UK only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.