#BlogTour Never Ever Tell by Kirsty Ferguson

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Never Ever Tell by Kirsty Ferguson.

About the Author
Kirsty Ferguson is a born and bred Australian. She writes crimes and mystery novels. Her stories center around strong women and dark themes that are topical and relevant to today. Kirsty chooses to deconstruct and enthrall her readers with the secrets of any everyday person behind closed doors. She has long been a lover or writing and reading, creating stories from a young age.

Follow @kfergusonauthor on Twitter, Visit kirstyferguson.com, on Instagram, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Buy Never Ever Tell

About the book
She’d do anything for her boy…

Vanessa Sawyer knows all about pain. She’s felt it every day since marrying the boy who fathered her baby in high school. All he’s meant are broken bones, broken heart and broken dreams.  But he also brought her the love of her life. When her son Wren was born, her baby boy was her salvation.

Vanessa watches Wren grow and become a young man she can be proud of. Until one night everything changes, including Wren. One night that her son refuses to speak of. Now Vanessa can’t rest, not until she uncovers the secret that her son has been hiding from her.

Will she find the answers she’s searching for or will her quest for the truth take her to a dark place where all hope is lost? One evil act. One tragedy. Lives destroyed forever.

Review
Vanessa doesn't think giving in to desire will set her life in a direction that changes both her perception of herself and the way others perceive her. The man in her life blames her for choices they both made. He is violent, has no remorse and reluctant to acknowledge his part in their dysfunctional relationship.

The only thing keeping Vanessa going is her young son Wren who learns to protect and lookout for his mother. He becomes her rock and her protector. Vanessa realises that changing her life is the only way to protect them all.

Whilst the part of the plot mentioned in the blurb is the most poignant part of the book it doesn't take up much of it.Those events happen in the last quarter or so of the story. It is undoubtedly the straw that breaks the camels back, a complete eye-opener and it saves the story.

More character depth, differentiation between sub and main plot, and tighter storylines - Ferguson has great ideas, kudos for the twist at the end.

It's a dark story that gets much darker and doesn't really come up for much light to be honest, but then that's sometimes the stark reality of life. Not everyone has a life filled with rainbows, unicorns and happiness in general. Ferguson captures the long term repercussions of living with an abuser - for the victim and any children involved. The waves of abuse cause a ripple effect often only seen many decades later.

Buy Never Ever Tell at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Boldwood Books; pub date 18 Jun. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Cut to the Bone by Roz Watkins

It's my turn on the BlogTour Cut to the Bone by Roz Watkins - it's the third book in the DI Meg Dalton series.

About the Author
Roz Watkins is the author of three novels in the DI Meg Dalton series: The Devil’s Dice, which was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger Award and was The Times Crime Book of the Month, Dead Man’s Daughter, and Cut to the Bone. In her spare time, Roz likes to walk in the Peak District, scouting out murder locations.

Follow @RozWatkins on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads,Visit rozwatkins.co.uk, Buy Cut to the Bone

About the book
A disturbing disappearance - When beautiful young social-media star Violet Armstrong goes missing in the middle of a scorching Peak District summer, the case sparks a media frenzy.

A Chilling Murder - The clock is ticking for DI Meg Dalton and her team to find Violet before online threats explode into real-life violence. And then the blood and hair of a young woman are found in an empty pig trough at the local abattoir…

An impossible crime - The more Meg finds out about this unnerving case, the more she becomes convinced that something very, very bad has happened to Violet. With temperatures rising and the press demanding answers, the case is about to take a terrifying turn…

Review
This is the third book in the DI Meg Dalton series and can be read as a standalone novel.

Violet has to put up with a lot of vicious trolling. Not everyone is a fan of her social media posts. They put a target right in the middle of her back, which is why DI Dalton takes a long hard look at those who send online threats without thinking twice about it when she goes missing.

The social media starlet had her own private agenda in real life though. Why was she working at the abattoir at all? Dalton is convinced the girl has become the victim of some crazed fan or someone who disapproves of her online videos. Then something gruesome is found in the abattoir, which proves she has a right to be concerned about Violet.

It's a police procedural with a ghostly vibe.

Sometimes the story seemed to be a little bogged down by all the pigs, muck and farming. It takes a while to get to the grit beneath the whole first layer of the plot, although it does form the basis for a lesson on ethical animal farming.

I would really like to delve into the ending and core of the story, alas it would give the whole thing away. What I will say is that Watkins gives this quite a dark tone and unfortunately also one that has roots in reality. What is done really well is a subtle feeling of menace that flows through the story, but is almost imperceptible. Watkins draws eyes away from what is really going on - a bit like making a lot of noise so you look in the other direction.

Buy Cut to the Bone (DI Meg Dalton Thriller #3) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ pub date 25 June 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Waterstones.

Read my review The Devil's Dice by Roz Watkins

#BlogTour #Audiobook Little Whispers by K.L. Slater

Today it's my turn on the Blogtour Little Whispers by K.L. Slater.

Released in audio on 21st May 2020, Little Whispers will be narrated by prolific audio narrator, Lucy Price-Lewis, who has narrated ten of Slater’s previous novels on Audible, in addition to voicing over 100 audiobooks, including thrillers by Lynda La Plante, Leigh Russell and Malorie Blackman. Little Whispers is published in print on the same date by Bookouture, and the audiobook is available to order on Audible here: Little Whispers at Audible Uk

Little Whispers follows the release of Slater’s audio-first novel, The Apartment, on Audible in 2019.

About the Author
For many years, Kim sent her work out to literary agents and collected an impressive stack of rejection slips. At the age of 40 she went back to Nottingham Trent University and now has an MA in Creative Writing.

Before graduating in 2012, she gained literary agent representation and a book deal. As Kim says, ‘it was a fairytale … at the end of a very long road!’ Kim is a full-time writer and lives in Nottinghamshire with her husband.

Follow @KimLSlater on Twitter, on Goodreads,  Visit klslaterauthor.com, Buy Little Whispers

About the book
When Janey Markham moves to the smartest address in a suburban town, full of gossipy local mothers, she’s delighted when she meets Tanya, the kind of woman Janey has always looked up to. As Janey and Tanya grow closer, Janey feels she can finally leave her troubled past behind. But then everything changes…

In a weak moment over a bottle of wine, Janey finds herself telling Tanya her most shocking secret. And when Janey witnesses something that makes her suspect Tanya’s daughter, Angel, of being involved in a murder, Tanya threatens to make sure that her Janey’s dark secret gets out. Janey faces an impossible choice. Stay quiet about what she saw. Or speak up, and destroy the family she has worked so hard to protect…

Review
Janey is two sheets to the wind when she tells Tanya her secret. She doesn't expect to end up in a situation where she uses it as an effective way to silence her. She might have been more careful, but hey the booze and the fact she feels vulnerable and in over her head in her new neighbourhood. She feels like the poor relative in a community full of rich people.

It's a nice little moral dilemma. You tell someone your darkest secret in a vulnerable moment, perhaps in an attempt to bond with that person. Then you see the daughter of your friend potentially take part in a crime, but can't say anything, because your secret has made you a target for blackmail. What do you do? Risk your secret coming out or keep stumm about the potential criminal? What say you?

It's a domestic thriller with an intriguing premise. Questioning the loyalty of people in general and whether you ever really should trust anyone with your most treasured secrets. There will always be a possibility that someone will reveal it. As sad as it is I always tell my kids to only ever tell people things they would be happy to hear about themselves through the grapevine of the gossip mill, because people who keep secrets forever is a bit like finding a unicorn. Someone always tells and deathbed confessions are very popular.

Slater takes a common scenario of anxiety and trying to fit in, and turns it into the kind of read you can both relate to and find yourself shaking your head at whilst reading.

Buy Little Whispers at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Bookouture; pub date 21 May 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

Listening Length - 9 hours and 18 minutes, Author - K. L. Slater, Narrator - Lucy Price-Lewis, Whispersync for Voice - Ready, Audible.co.uk Release Date - 21 May 2020, Publisher -Audible Studios, Program Type - Audiobook, Version - Unabridged, Language - English,

#BlogTour The Old Girls Network by Judy Leigh

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Old Girls Network by Judy Leigh.

About the Author
Judy Leigh is the bestselling author of Five French Hens, A Grand Old Time and The Age of Misadventure and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset. Click here to sign up to Judy's newsletter

Follow @judyleighwriter on Twitter,  on Amazon, on Facebook, on Bookbub, on Goodreads, Visit judyleigh.com, Buy The Old Girls Network

About the book
Is it ever too late to change…
After a health scare, 77 year-old spinster Barbara goes to convalesce in the sleepy Somerset village of Winsleigh Green with her sister Pauline, who is now a widow. The sisters are like chalk and cheese - Barbara, outspoken and aloof and Pauline, good natured and homely – so it’s not long before the tension starts to rise.

But when Pauline accidentally knocks down a vagrant who goes by the name of Bisto Mulligan, the ladies find themselves with another houseguest. As he recovers, it becomes apparent that Bisto is not who he first seemed, and as the sisters get to know the kind and courageous man he really is, it’s clear Bisto has the potential to change both of their lives.

As the spring turns to summer, and Winsleigh Green comes to life, can the three friends make the changes they need to, to embrace fresh starts, new loves, new lives and new horizons. Or do old habits die too hard?

Review
When Barbara goes to stay with her widowed sister Pauline to recover from some medical issues, it isn't exactly what either of them want. Well one expects it and the other accepts it reluctantly. It doesn't take very long for the differences between the two to create tension.

Everything changes when Pauline accidentally knocks over a man called Bisto. She invites him to stay until he is better and it is fair to say that his presence changes all three lives.

It's a cosy read with mature characters. A feel good have a chuckle and comfortable read.

I do believe Leigh has found a bit of a niche when it comes to writing about women of a certain mature age bracket and relationships, love and life. I think everyone assumes life grinds to a halt for women above sixty - I want to say fifty really because I am convinced the majority believes it is all downhill from that point.

Of course nobody thinks of men in the same way. They become grey foxes and mature wise gurus of the less youthful stage of life. Those who aren't trying to desperately recapture their youth with a cabriolet, a daughter-wife and a new outlook on life. Women however just become old.

It's refreshing to read characters that blow away all of these presumptions and misconceptions. I also enjoyed the way Leigh created the chalk and cheese sisters - oh my gosh, tell me about it. The way each of their lives has been completely different and how the relationship between the two has a imbalance when it comes to power. Old habits die hard and often follow us into adulthood.

Buy The Old Girls Network at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Boldwood Books; pub date 16 Jun. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Audiobook: Unbroken by Madeleine Black

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Unbroken: One Woman's Journey to Rebuild a Life Shattered by Violence. A True Story of Survival and Hope by Madeleine Black. I reviewed the Audiobook version of Unbroken.

About the Author
The sharing of her story on The Forgiveness Project's website in September 2014, opened many doors for Madeleine in ways she never imagined and the invitations started to pour in.
She has taken part in both TV and radio interviews and has been invited to share her story at conferences, events and schools.

She recognises that she was a victim of a crime that left her silent for many years, but has now found her voice and intends to use it. Not just for her, but for so many who can't find theirs yet.
She is married and lives in Glasgow with her husband, three daughters, her cat, Suki, and dog, Alfie.

Follow @madblack65 on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit madeleineblack.co.uk, Buy Unbroken

About the book
For many years after that night, my memories of what happened after he held the blade to my throat and threatened my life were fragmented... difficult to piece together. It was too extreme, too violent for me to understand.

Violently gang-raped when she was thirteen years old, and raped three more times before the age of eighteen, Madeleine has experienced more trauma in her life than most ever will.

Living in a state of shock and self-loathing, it took her years of struggle to confront the buried memories of that first attack and begin to undo the damage it wrought, as men continued to take advantage of her fragility in the worst possible way.

Yet, after growing up with a burden no teenager should ever have to shoulder, she found the heart to carry out the best revenge plan of all: leading a fulfilling and happy life. But the road to piecing her life back together was long and painful. For Madeleine, forgiveness was the key. True forgiveness takes genuine effort. It takes a real desire to understand those who have done us so much harm. It is the ultimate act of courage.

In Unbroken, Madeleine tells her deeply moving and empowering story, as she discovers that life is about how a person chooses to recover from adversity. We are not defined by what knocks us down - we are defined by how we get back up.

Review
This is an autobiographical account of Madeleine Black's path to reveal a secret so traumatic it determined the way she acted and felt about herself, which in turn made others react differently to her. That's not counting the many who were influenced by the malicious rumour mill started in an attempt to discredit a victim who  could potentially come forward and tell everyone the truth.

Gang rape becomes a consensual rough sexual experience with a girl who has no moral compass. See how that works when the perpetrator is given a voice.

Although it's at the very beginning of the audiobook for me one of the most poignant parts of this story is the way Madeleine has given a voice to so many by being courageous enough to break those heavy walls of silence she built around herself. The elderly woman in her eighties who heard her story and finally found the strength to tell her own daughter what had happened to her. That is the true power of this story.

By opening a door and starting a dialogue, despite the possible negative reactions she could have received, unfortunately the world of social media can be a jaded and cruel minefield, she opens doors for others too.

Given the era of #MeToo many victims have come forward to tell their tales of sexual abuse, assault, molestation, harassment and rape, because they feel it's safer to do so and that it is time for change. Imagine all the stories that remain untold. The secrets that will go to the grave with many who are unable to penetrate the wall built with shame, guilt and fear. This is exactly why stories like this are so important and women like Madeleine are too - they pave the way for others.

I think it's also important to note her involvement in the Forgiveness Project - a charity that helps victims and perpetrators explore forgiveness in relation to crime and violence. If it helps people to move beyond their trauma and be at peace with themselves or others then it's a positive thing. It won't be the path everyone chooses though.

It's a brutally honest account. Black doesn't pull any punches or make it warm and fluffy for the more sensitive, and that's a good thing. Some things need to be presented and told exactly they way they are and they way they were experienced.

Buy Unbroken at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: John Blake Publishing Ltd; pub date 4 April 2017. Buy at Amazon com.

Listening Length - 7 hours and 13 minutes, Author - Madeleine Black, Narrator - Madeleine Black, Henrietta Meire, Whispersync for Voice - Ready, Audible.co.uk Release Date - 17 April 2020, Publisher - Dreamscape Media LLC, Program Type - Audiobook, Version - Unabridged,  Language - English.

#BlogTour Daughters of Cornwall by Fern Britton

Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Daughters of Cornwall by Fern Britton.

About the Author
Fern Britton is the highly acclaimed author of eight Sunday Times bestselling novels.

Born in London, into a theatrical family, Fern started her professional life as a stage manager. Theatre life was great fun but within three years, in 1980, she graduated to television and became a presenter on Westward Television. Here she achieved her ambition of living in Cornwall. Since then television has been her home. She spent 14 years as a journalist before presenting Ready, Steady, Cook for the BBC. This Morning for ITV came next where she won several awards and became a household name.

Her interview programme Fern Britton Meets had guests including Tony Blair, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dolly Parton and Cliff Richard. Fern presented The Big Allotment Challenge (BBC2), For What It’s Worth (BBC1), Culinary Genius with Gordon Ramsay (ITV)

Fern’s novels are all set in her beloved Cornwall. Her books are cherished for their warmth, wit and wisdom, and have won her legions of loyal readers. Fern was a judge for the Costa Book of the Year Award and a supporter of the Reading Agency, promoting literacy and reading.

Fern turned her talents to acting last year when she starred as Marie in Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s award-winning musical Calendar Girls.

Fern has twin sons, two daughters and lives in Cornwall in a house full of good food, wine, family, friends and gardening books. She has a motor cycle licence, an honorary doctorate for services to broadcasting and charity, and is a member of Mensa!

Follow @Fern_Britton on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit fern-britton.com, Buy Daughters of Cornwall

About the book
1918.
The Great War is over, and Clara Carter has boarded a train bound for Cornwall – to meet a family that would once have been hers. But they must never discover her secret…

1939.
Hannah has always been curious about her mother’s mysterious past, but the outbreak of the Second World War casts everything in a new light. As the bombs begin to fall, Hannah and her brothers are determined to do their bit for the war effort – whatever the cost.

2020.
Caroline has long been the keeper of her family’s secrets. But now, with her own daughter needing her more than ever, it’s time to tell the truth – to show Natalie that she comes from a long line of women who have weathered the storms of life, as hardy and proud as the rugged Cornish coastline…

Review
This story has multiple narrators and takes place over various timelines. Clara just after the Great War - the war to end all wars. Hannah just before the start of the Second World War and Caroline in this era. Clara, Hannah and Caroline all have something in common. They are either keepers of secrets or women who suffer the repercussions of them.

I enjoyed the whole Caroline and the trunk part of the story. It's very much like finding hidden treasures and secrets when someone you know really well passes away. It just shows you how little we really know about each other when all is said and done.

What Britton does brilliantly is weave her own emotional burdens from her secret keepers into her characters. It gives the characters and the story an air of authenticity, but perhaps it wouldn't be remiss to think of it in a different way entirely. Her own story is like a dramatic fictional setting for a novel and this book gives both the forgotten and the silent voices an opportunity to be heard and finally acknowledged.

I think it's important to remember the stigma attached to Clara's predicament in 1918. There wouldn't really have been much choice, whereas nowadays it is the norm. Many women have moved forward with that kind of secret. I think it's fair to say it changes the person in question, perhaps not everyone in the same way though. For me the other side of the equation is the one left behind in all of this secret keeping. It's a moving story about family and secrets that have been passed on or simply forgotten over the years.

Buy Daughters of Cornwall at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher:  HarperCollins pub date 11th June 2020| £12.99 | Hardback. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Waterstones.

#BlogTour To Tell You the Truth by Gilly Macmillan

Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour To Tell You the Truth by Gilly Macmillan.

About the Author
Gilly Macmillan is the New York Times bestselling and Edgar-nominated author of What She Knew (also published as Burnt Paper Sky), The Perfect Girl and Odd Child Out. Gilly grew up in Swindon, Wiltshire and lived in Northern California in her late teens. She studied history and worked at The Burlington Magazine and the Hayward Gallery in London before starting a family. Gilly has since worked as a photography teacher and she now writes full time. She lives in Bristol with her family.

Follow @GillyMacmillan and @arrowpublishing on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, on Facebook, Visit gillymacmillan.com, Buy To Tell You the Truth

About the book
Lucy Harper has a talent for invention…

She is an exceptionally successful writer whose obsessive readers hound her for every book. But the pressure is extreme. And it’s not just the pressure of finishing her next novel. Years ago when she was a child, Lucy’s little brother went missing and he has never been found. Many people think Lucy was responsible for his disappearance. Lucy herself can’t bear to think about it.

Writing a thriller a year is demanding and Lucy depends on her husband Dan to take care of everything in her life. But Lucy finds herself in a real police drama when Dan goes missing. The evidence points to her. And it isn’t the first time someone’s vanished in Lucy’s orbit.

Did she kill her husband? Would she remember if she did? Is she even capable of telling the truth?

Review
Lucy has decided to do the unthinkable when it comes to having a book character who generates both income and lots of interest. She has written what she wants, as opposed to what everyone else demands, including her personal assistant and husband. Both the same person by the way.

It doesn't take too long for Dan to become the husband everyone thinks is a privileged tosspot living off the money his best-selling author wife brings in. The sympathy vote swings towards Lucy, well I say that but in reality her past is so dark it's a case of glass houses. Dan springs an unpleasant surprise on her and she ends up back where all her nightmares began.

I really enjoyed Lucy and Eliza. Forget about the irritating husband - these two know how to steal a scene. I can't decide whether I really need to know the truth or just admire the author for leaving the status quo as it is. Black hole with plenty of unpleasant possibilities - both cruel and brilliant at the same time.

Macmillan really knocks it out of the ballpark with this read. The way the two are connected via storylines, memories and in real time. The crime is secondary to the often insidious and manipulative nature of the relationship between Lucy and Eliza. Absolutely fascinating, which I would love to go into more detail about, but I think readers should discover this duo for themselves.

It's a riveting psychological thriller - Macmillan at her best.

Buy To Tell You the Truth at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Century: pub date 25 June 2020. Buy at Amazon com.