#BlogTour Where the What If Roams and the Moon is Louis Armstrong by Esther Krivda

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour for Where the What if Roams and the Moon is Louis Armstrong. It's quirky, bold and imaginative yellow brick road through the creative mind of a young child.

About the Author
Esther Krivda has acted; studied ballet; worked as an admin in the movie studios in LA and in a talent
agency in NYC; and loves to sing and draw faces. But she didn't discover writing til she took a course in Stop Motion Animation and soon found out her movie would need a script. And that’s when she got the idea of a little girl who cries out but only the man-in-the-moon hears her. She never turned the idea into a Stop Motion Animation movie but she did turn it into this novel, her first.

Follow @advirk777
Visit estherkrivda.com
Buy Where the What If Roams and the Moon is Louis Armstrong

About the book
A writer, a girl and her parents’ heads are filled to their tippy tops with voices that order them about; tell them one thing one day, the opposite thing the next and sometimes are not even kind to them. ‘Is there more than just me in me?' they fret, til finally they confront their voices,
‘Who are you and why are you haunting me?’ But when the voices answer, can that writer, the girl and her parents live with what they’ve learned?

Pre-Review Comment
Before I get to my review I want to get a something off my chest. I pick books to read based on blurbs, recommendations and if some element of the book draws me to it. I never read a review of a book I am going to read. I do not want my experience to be influenced by the opinions and experiences of others. Tabula rasa.

At the beginning of many books you get soundbites or few words from a review - quotes by bloggers, authors, media ect. That's fine, sometimes I read them and other times I jump straight to the story. I was annoyed by the fact I read a few pages, of what I presumed to be an introduction, foreword or explanation of the book, but was in fact an entire Kirkus review.

Okay thank you, no need to read the darn book now, because somebody else has just told me all about it, what to think about the characters and how they interpreted the story. My immediate reaction was to rethink whether I wanted to read it. Full reviews don't belong in a book, just my opinion. A paragraph, a sentence, a few words, but not a few pages.
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Review
Aside from the epic title this is also a big read at over 650 pages. It's also a read for both younger and older readers. I think the underlying complexity of this story may fly over a very young readers head. They are less likely to relate the fairies or voices in Sophia's head to anything other than something mystical or magical. Or experiencing the movie star school Sophia attends as the escapism it really is.

If you look beyond the babbling fairies, and they certainly do talk a lot, and the slightly eccentric author, the narrator, then what remains is the lonely little girl. The overlooked child, the second thought and the small intimidated person with two overbearing parents.

The concept of the fairies reminded me a little bit of the movie Inside Out, where each cartoon character represented an emotion. Each of the fairies represents a different part of Sophia. Her inner dialogue is sad and entertaining in equal measures, but it also speaks of great creativity. Oh to live in the mind of an innocent.

You have to really read this, which may sound like a strange thing to write, but you can't just fly over the content. You have to enter Sophia's head, sit with her and listen to her inner voices. Sorry, listen to her fairies. Sit in the audience and partake in her movie school extravaganza.

If we take a moment to remember what it was like to go through different coming-of-age thresholds, it is easier to place ourselves in her situation. Do you remember when you found your voice? This entire book leads up to Sophia being able find, develop and use her voice, and what a journey it is.
It's quirky, bold and an imaginative yellow brick road through the creative mind of a young child.

Buy Where the What If Roams and the Moon is Louis Armstrong at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Wobble Hill Press (3 Oct. 2018)
Buy at Smashwords

#BlogTour Think Yourself Lucky by Ramsey Campbell

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Think Yourself  Lucky by Ramsey Campbell. An unsettling piece of horror fiction, which comes perilously close to truths we all try to keep hidden.

About the Author
Ramsey Campbell is a British writer considered by a number of critics to be one of the great masters of horror fiction. T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today," while S. T. Joshi has said that "future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood."

Follow @ramseycampbell1 @flametreepress
Visit ramseycampbell.com
Buy Think Yourself Lucky

About the book
David Botham just wants a quiet ordinary life―his job at the travel agency, his relationship with his girlfriend Stephanie. The online blog that uses a title he once thought up has nothing to do with him. He has no idea who is writing it or where they get their information about a series of violent deaths in Liverpool. If they’re murders, how can the killer go unseen even by security cameras? Perhaps David won’t know until they come too close to him―until he can’t ignore the figure from his past that is catching up with him…

Review
If you imagine the world wide web as a humongous one-way mirror with every internet user on one side, and on the other side, behind the dark impenetrable screen sit the unspoken desires, words and subconscious impulses. What we do on the translucent side can be seen by everyone, and yet it's the moments in the darkness, the minutes of anonymity the other side of the mirror craves.

Campbell speaks to this dangerous element of the web, and of the hidden dangers that lurk there, and the parts of our personalities we keep hidden from others.

In general people are regarded or described in relation to their worst attributes in this story and women tend to, more often than not, be described as see you next Tuesdays or as portraying an annoying amount of see you next Tuesdayness.

The story has this feel of dirt you can't seem to rid yourself of. Like a layer of invisible darkness over the entire story. This is really apparent towards the last scenes at the end, where you can almost feel the presence looming over you.

The fact the main character David is most definitely not a writer is repeated ad nauseam. In reaction perhaps to the blog some mysterious person is posting, which seems to have some weird connection to David. For me it is also a cheeky nod by Campbell to his many critics. A bit of a Marmite man, he waves the words 'I am not a writer' in front of everyone, whilst writing a story.That's irony for you.

An unsettling piece of horror fiction, which comes perilously close to truths we all try to keep hidden. I found it a wee bit all over the place and perhaps not on par with other work by Campbell.

Buy Think Yourself Lucky at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Flame Tree Press; New edition  (1 Nov. 2018)
(About the publisher: Flame Tree Press is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.)

#BlogTour The Twisted Web by Rebecca Bradley

It's my turn on the BlogTour The Twisted Web by Rebecca Bradley. A crime based on the way our society reacts to social media and news, and how it changes their values and morality.

About the Author
Rebecca is the author of four novels in the DI Hannah Robbins series, Shallow Waters, Made to be Broken, Fighting Monsters and The Twisted Web as well as a standalone thriller, Dead Blind.

She lives with her family in the UK with their two Cockapoos Alfie and Lola, who keep Rebecca company while she writes. Rebecca needs to drink copious amounts of tea to function throughout the day and if she could, she would survive on a diet of tea and cake while committing murder on a regular basis.

After 16 years service, Rebecca was medically retired from the police where she finished as a detective constable on a specialist unit.

Rebecca now runs a consulting service where she supports crime writers in making sure their fiction is authentic so they can get on with telling a great story. You can find details of that HERE.

Follow @RebeccaJBradley on Twitter
On Facebook on Instagram Amazon Author page
Visit rebeccabradleycrime.com
Buy The Twisted Web

About the book
A social media shaming. A killer with a message. A deadly combination.

When the body of a man is left in the city centre set up as a realistic police crime scene, DI Hannah Robbins is forced to enter a world that can break a person, a case and a reputation.

Social media platforms light up and Hannah is pitted against the raging online monster and a killer who has already lost everything.

Can she catch the killer and put him behind bars or will she become part of his sadistic game?

Review
I think the premise of social media shaming is quite an interesting one. The ability to communicate, share info and connect within a moments notice has changed the way our society relays, processes information and how we communicate. It is especially interesting to note the lack of impulse control and morality when it comes to sharing info online.

It certain countries accidents and tragic events are plagued by people hungry to take pics and footage of the darkest moments in humanity, so they can be the first to share gory pics online. They crave the attention, the hit of the like and the rush of the mega-shares. Being a famous online persona is more important than the dignity of the person captured in the shot.

In a sense it is quite ironic that the villain in this piece wants revenge for his life being destroyed by a social media campaign after an incident he is involved in is misconstrued, and in response to that he uses the same hunger for exposure to get revenge on society.

DI Hannah Robbins is pitted against a hungry steadily growing information engine, a machine that feeds itself and has a never-ending supply of supporters. It's a huge needle in a haystack to find a killer in.

It's a crime based on the way our society reacts to social media and news, and how it changes their values and view on morality. Bradley makes an intriguing point with this story that eats its own tail.

Buy The Twisted Web at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Published in paperback and eBook on 17th September 2018.
Buy The Twisted Web at Amazon com

#BlogTour The Good, The Bad and the Rugby by Mark Farrer

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Good The Bad and The Rugby by Mark Farrer. It's dark humour meets dysfunctional family dynamics and a hidden crime.

Don't forget to enter the Giveaway below to win 2 bookmarks featuring the covers of all four of Mark Farrer’s books. (UK Only)

About the Author
Mark was born in Liverpool, studied Computer Science at Hull University, then had a successful career in IT management in London and the South-East for twenty years before moving to Edinburgh in 2001. He continued working in IT until 2015 when he decided to retire from the rat race and focus on becoming a writer. He now spends half his time writing and the other half worrying why he is not yet making money from writing.

The Good, The Bad & The Rugby is Mark’s third comic novel featuring a morally righteous loner called Cullen. He also has a perma-free novella on Amazon, called Dirty Barry, which tells how Cullen and Big Paul first met. He is currently at work on a second novella, called Bronchial Billy.

Mark has three children, one at University, one on a gap year in Ghana, and one still at High School. He lives with his partner Claire, a photographer, near West Linton, in the Scottish Borders.

He likes: his Mini Cooper, songwriting, playing piano, vanilla panna cotta, The Beatles, woodburning stoves, wittertainment, Bill Bailey, #sadmanonatrain, fruit gums, Carl Hiaasen, The Wire, spicy food, Van Gogh, Lindsey Buckingham, oaked chardonnay, House MD, long walks, cinema, reading in bed, florentines, Only Connect, board games, Otis Lee Crenshaw, Budweiser, GBBO, India, cheese, David Armand’s mimes, bookshops, Scandi Noir, Diet Coke, The Economist, Blackadder, good sausages, Dickens, Helena Bonham-Carter (secret crush), the Times crossword, the song mmmbop, and pies.
And lists.

He dislikes: ITV, pinot grigio, tattoos, ballet, ready meals, rap, religion, clutter, artificial raspberry flavouring, marmite, jazz, under-powered showers, people who don’t look after their stuff, opera, sprouts, and waste.
And mashed potato.
He really doesn’t like mashed potato.

Follow @mark_farrer
Amazon Author page
Visit markfarrer.com
Buy The Good, The Bad and the Rugby 

About the book
Getting to the truth. By trial… and eror error.

Cullen is on jury duty, and the sleepy Scottish town of Melrose is experiencing a rare crime wave: the famous Rugby Sevens trophy is stolen, a dead body is unearthed, there is a spate of petty arson, and someone drives a van into Gloria’s front room.
Why? And what is her husband doing every night up on Eildon hill?

In this hilarious crime romp, misguided loyalties, thwarted love, and unbelievable gullibility reach crisis point on the one day in the year when the world pays a visit to Melrose.

At the final whistle, Cullen will ensure that justice is done. Because sometimes twelve good men just isn’t enough.

Review
It's dark humour, pub talk and locker room dialogue meets dysfunctional family dynamics, arson and a hidden crime. When I say dark, it leans more towards the crude side than sarcastic or ironic. The crudeness is often voiced in sexual explicitness. In particular when it comes to scenes involving Gloria, especially the whole Banana Girl thing.

The banana show is way more in your face, literally in your face at times, than the infamous ping pong ball extravaganza. People in the know will understand the reference.

The whole Derek, Gloria and Duffy triangle was tragic and a creepy level of misogynistic. Oh hey my swimming soldiers aren't working so I need you to have sex with my wife indefinitely until one of your swimmers passes the finish line. No asking Gloria if she agrees with this arrangement mind you. She is expected to spread her legs and take it like a good little woman, which is why she feels as if her present has become her past again. The two men pretend to care, but in the end it is all about male ego.

Farrer spins together multiple storylines, which he brings together towards the end of the book. He also lets his readers know what happens to each of the characters afterwards. A little bit like a recap at the end of a reality show that shows what happened next.

For me it felt disjointed at times, but ultimately I think that may be the Farrer style, in out and shake it all about kind of thing. Whilst it wasn't my cup of tea I am sure it will appeal to plenty of other readers.

Buy The Good, The Bad and the Rugby at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Published in eBook on 18th October 2018.
Buy The Good, the Bad and the Rugby at Amazon com

UK Only Giveaway:
For your chance to win 2 bookmarks featuring the covers of all four of Mark Farrer’s books, please click the following Rafflecopter link.  Please note this a UK only giveaway.  The 14 winners will be selected at random and your postal address will be passed onto Mark Farrer.  There is no cash alternative.  The giveaway ends of midnight (GMT) on 16th November 2018.  Any personal information stored by the Rafflecopter giveway will be deleted after the winners have been drawn. Good luck!

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Download Dirty Barry by Mark Farrer for FREE on Amazon Uk

#BlogTour No Time to Cry by James Oswald

Today it's an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour No Time to Cry by James Oswald. It's the first part in a brand new crime series featuring tougher than old boot nails DC Constance Fairchild.

About the Author
James Oswald is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Inspector McLean series of detective mysteries. The first two of these, Natural Causes and The Book of Souls were both shortlisted for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award. No Time To Cry is the first book in James's new Constance Fairchild series.
James farms Highland cows and Romney sheep by day, writes disturbing fiction by night.

Follow @SirBenFro @Wildfirebks
Visit jamesoswald.co.uk
Buy No Time to Cry

About the book
Undercover cops are always dangerous, but DC Constance Fairchild never expected things to go this wrong.
Returning to their base of operations, an anonymous office in a shabby neighbourhood, she finds the bloodied body of her boss, and friend, DI Pete Copperthwaite. He's been executed - a single shot to the head.
In the aftermath, it seems someone in the Met is determined to make sure that blame for the wrecked operation falls squarely on Con's shoulders. She is cut loose and cast out, angry and alone with her grief... right until the moment someone also tries to put a bullet through her head.
There's no place to hide, and no time to cry.

Quickfire Questions with James Oswald (supplied by the publisher) 
Give us three adjectives to best describe your new novel?
Thrilling, breathless, short
What are the three most important character traits of your protagonist?
Dogged determination, ability to think on her feet, she doesn’t much care what others think of her
Where is the novel set?
London, Northamptonshire, Perthshire and Angus
Who is your biggest influence as a writer?
Without a doubt, Terry Pratchett
Have you ever killed anyone off from real life in one of your novels?
Frequently. One friend even asked if he could be the villain. He dies naked in his bath.
What was your favourite ‘terrible’ review?
The Hangman’s Song, book three in the Inspector McLean series, has a one star Amazon review that ends
“Incidentally, even the title is misleading - there's no singing in the book.”
What is your favourite writing snack?
Chocolate. It’s the perfect brain food.
Which of your characters would you most like to have dinner with?
Madame Rose. Or maybe Mrs McCutcheon’s Cat.

Review
DC Constance Fairchild certainly doesn't have time to cry or take a breather. It is non-stop action from the get go, from the very moment she finds her mentor, superior, colleague and friend murdered. Instead of the police trying to widen the net and look for possible suspects they zoom in on Connie, so she finds herself suspended and without back-up in a very precarious situation.

Simultaneously an old school friend asks her to look for her missing teen sister, which leaves Connie in the strange position of wanting to find the girl, but being unable to use the usual resources to do so. She soon finds herself in the middle of deeply buried family secrets and running for her life at the same time.

I loved her bolshy attitude. She is the rich kid, who dislikes her family and yet gets treated like a posh kid with connections, despite working hard to get where she is in her career. She is also a woman, which means having to deal daily with misogyny, sexism and harassment. Not exactly a raving endorsement for the police force. Her frustration and anger are understandable, so kudos to her for not whacking them all around the head with a baseball bat.

My second favourite element of the story was Pete. The fact the 'two' of them engage in dialogue brings an aura of the paranormal to the story, despite Connie telling herself that he isn't really there. Her conscience speaks to her in the most informative way. Sort of like the Watson to her Sherlock or the alarm signal in her gut.

Let's not forget the cat, the hardened fuzzy criminal who becomes a steadfast feature in Connie's life, albeit inadvertently. In fact overall all the characters came together so perfectly it's almost as if they were meant to be together from the start.

What Oswald does brilliantly and with such panache, is to deliver the tragic and serious with an almost indiscernible layer of wit. It's always there just hovering in the background waiting to spring forward into the scenes. This is the start of fantastic new series and I can't wait to read more.

Buy No Time to Cry at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Wildfire (1 Nov. 2018)

#BlogTour Fishing for Maui by Isa Pearl Ritchie

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Fishing in Maui by Isa Pearl Ritchie. It's a story about family and the way we can be sat next to each other, and yet a thousand miles away from each other at the same time.

About the Author
Isa Ritchie is a Wellington-based writer. She grew up as a Pākehā child in a bicultural family and Māori was her first written language. She has completed a PhD on food sovereignty in Aotearoa. She is passionate about food, wellbeing and social justice.
Follow @IsaPearlRitchie on Twitter, on Facebook on Instagram
Visit isaritchie.com
Buy Fishing for Maui

About the book
A novel about food, whānau, and mental illness.
Valerie reads George Eliot to get to sleep – just to take her mind off worries over her patients, her children, their father and the next family dinner. Elena is so obsessed with health, traditional food, her pregnancy and her blog she doesn’t notice that her partner, Malcolm the ethicist, is getting himself into a moral dilemma of his own making. Evie wants to save the world one chicken at a time. Meanwhile her boyfriend, Michael is on a quest to reconnect with his Māori heritage and discover his own identity. Rosa is eight years old and lost in her own fantasy world, but she’s the only one who can tell something’s not right. Crisis has the power to bring this family together, but will it be too late?

Review
I'm not sure whether the point of this story was to present each character, to give them a voice and opinion on a multitude of topics, in an attempt to show the reader how different we can be, even in the confines of our own family structure or just to have the opportunity to voice an opinion.

An opinion on everything you can think of, from religion, faith, abortion, abnormal cervical cell treatment, health systems in foreign countries, culture, myths, identity, mental health, veganism, mass animal farming, bullying, morality, sexuality, racism, colorism or shadeism, vegetarianism and many more. It's a lot, it eclipses any intention of a story, especially about Michael and his mental health issues.

I would like to have seen more depth when it came to Michael, the why, the tailspin and the recovery. There are primary causes of psychotic symptoms, but psychosis can also be secondary to other disorders and diseases (Psychiatric disorders, neurological illnesses and mental health disorders), including B12 deficiency. Everyone is still circling their own orbit, which is indicative of how the family members deal with each other, and the reason they miss it when other family members need support.

Elena's blog plays a huge role in her life and the story. It is her way of having a voice in the world and maintaining independence, whereas her husband believes it is the way the little wife escapes the real world. Among her blog-posts and reader commentary are topics such as prenatal healthcare and testing which are deemed 'invasive testing on the off-chance I'd abort an 'imperfect' child' and is part of the anti-abortion thought process of one character for instance. The same one who sees anti-stretch mark oils (petrochemicals) as bad news, so it's advantageous that the character has included a recipe and instructions on how to make homemade lavender skin balm.

Is it a story or is it a way to tell readers your opinion in an attempt to engage in a narrative or change they way the perceive certain situations? If it's the latter then there is no need for a fictional family.

Evie's story is about having to deal with the diagnosis of abnormal cervical cells (CIN3) and natural regression after lifestyle changes, such as diet and eliminating smoking. I think it is fair to say that adapting a healthier lifestyle will be beneficial to anyone who chooses to do so, and in doing so a person can strengthen their immune system and reduce the risk of many diseases. There is a growing voice for the more holistic approach in this area, but here is the thing, regardless of a wake-up call and lifestyle changes not all CIN2 or CIN3 lesions will progress to cervical cancer, which means there may be some misconception about what causes the regression or if the results remain the same after a period of waiting.

I would bear that in mind before recommending that women of all ages think about waiting for treatment, refusing standard health practices, because one of them might just be one of the percentage that falls into the 'evolves into cancer cell' categories. Do your own research, get advice from an medical expert and get a second, third or fourth opinion before making a decision based alternative methods. Saying that, living a more healthy and yet balanced lifestyle is never a bad choice for your body in the long run.

Lastly there is the home-birthing and Elena, the cuckolded wife and avid blogger. Let me just say that I think every woman should give birth in the way that makes them feel most comfortable and is safe for both baby and mother. In the book the opinion gives off an air of borderline birth-shaming, which is probably due to personal experiences and own frame of reference. Not every woman can deal with birth with just a hot wet towel on their back. Some women experience little or no pain, others experience unimaginable pain. Each woman has a different pain threshold and has a different body with individual health issues. Also, while there might be a correlation between mode of delivery and subsequent post-partum depression there are also things like the mother's age, number of delivery, acceptance, sex, education, maternal depression and previous medical history of depression which have to be taken into consideration.

Every day, approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth - 99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries. (WHO) Across the U.S., infant mortality rates for full-term babies were 50 percent to 200 percent higher than in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, the study found. Birth defects, or congenital malformations, accounted for 31 percent of U.S. infant deaths during the study. So-called perinatal complications, or medical problems babies developed shortly before or after birth, accounted for another 13 percent of fatalities. (Reuters)

Those are just a few statistics I would offer up as a reason to take all options into consideration, even giving birth at home if mother and baby are healthy. There are plenty of birthing houses that sway away from the sterile medical birth, and the majority of hospitals have birthing pools and special birthing rooms that try look and feel like a home environment.

I think Ritchie has a lot to say and so do her characters, in this case it's to the detriment of a storyline that never quite gets to unfold, because everyone is trying to tell the reader something. If you took all the characters out of Fishing for Maui and just let the person who wants to engage with the world have a dialogue with the reader throughout the book - you would have a completely different read. A non-fictional one, but a book readers would still want to engage with, regardless of whether it is to agree or disagree with the opinions and information Ritchie brings to the table.

If a book creates a reaction in a reader then the author has done their job. Mine may be different to others, but it is a reaction nonetheless. It's a story about family and the way we can be sat next to each other, and yet a thousand miles away from each other at the same time.

Buy Fishing for Maui at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Te Rā Aroha Press (4 July 2018)
Buy Fishing for Maui at Amazon com
Buy at Smashwords

#BlogBlitz The Cuckoo Wood by M. Sean Coleman

Today it's the Blog Blitz for The Cuckoo Wood by M. Sean Coleman. I can honestly say, after reading this book,  I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of his books. The Cuckoo Wood is a very well-written crime story with an element of paranormal and the unknown.

Don't forget to enter the Giveaway below to win a paperback copy of The Cuckoo Wood, a cool tote bag with book quote from the publisher, a branded bookmark and some chocolates (Open Internationally)

About the Author
Born in the UK and raised in South Africa, M. Sean Coleman developed a love for reading and writing novels in his early teens, thanks to two incredibly passionate English teachers who infected him with their love of words and stories. Over the intervening years, he has written film and television drama, cross-platform series, an interactive children’s storybook and a graphic novel series.

He finally found his niche as a thriller writer when he was asked to write a novel as part of the cross-platform project, Netwars. His first book, The Code, was published six months later, with the sequel, Down Time, hot on its heels. There was no going back.

He is obsessed with crime, mystery and thriller stories, especially those with a fresh or surprising angle. He writes novels from his home in The Cotswolds, where he lives with his husband and their three red dogs.

Follow @mseancoleman  @RedDogTweets on Twitter, on Facebook

Buy The Cuckoo Wood

About the book
A THRILLING, MELODICALLY CREEPY MYSTERY.
Samantha Jaynes took her life in the cold lake. Now Rosie Trimble has done the same. Both claimed they had seen an angel. And they're not the only ones.
A spate of teenage suicides rattles the rural community of Kirkdale, in England's Lake District. Before they died, each of the girls talked about seeing an angel. Is this collective hallucination, or is something more sinister leading these young girls to their deaths?

That’s a question for Dr Alex Ripley, the so-called Miracle Detective. Brought in to help the police, she finds a community rooted in fear and suspicion, bound by their strange faith, unwilling to help, unable to forgive. Because the people of Kirkdale have buried their dark past once, and they’re not about to let Ripley dig it up again.

The Cuckoo Wood is the first Alex Ripley Mystery

Review
Dr Alex Ripley explains away the unexplainable with scientific rationale, which includes miracles, miraculous healing and religious stigmata. She wants to save vulnerable, innocent and naive people from frauds. The kind of con-people who are able to convince masses of people of the existence of faith healing, miracles and angels.

Alex is determined to reveal the reality to people willing to hand over their last penny and the shirts off their back to someone with a fast-track to the world behind the invisible veil. It's easy to understand how people are lured into these schemes. Human beings are always looking for an explanation beyond what they have learnt and their own understanding, which is probably why it is easy to hoodwink people.

Saying that, we don't know everything, and despite there being a scientific explanation for the majority of the unexplained and so-called mysteries in life, there is always room for knowledge to be expanded and learning to take place.

Situations like young girls being obsessed with and seeing beautiful winged angels. Angels leading them to their dark, cold and wet deaths in a secluded lake in Cuckoo Wood. Aren't angels supposed to protect the innocent? Keep them safe from harm? This particular angel seems to be luring young girls to their deaths.

I can honestly say, after reading this book,  I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of his books. The Cuckoo Wood is a very well-written crime story with an element of paranormal and the unknown. The plot is paced exactly right and the main characters are memorable without eclipsing the rest of the characters or the plot.

Buy The Cuckoo Wood at Amazon Uk or go Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Red Dog (25 July 2018)
Buy The Cuckoo Wood at Amazon com
Buy at Red Dog Press
Read my review of A Hollow Sky (Alex Ripley Mystery book #2)

Enter the Giveaway below to win a paperback copy of The Cuckoo Wood, a cool tote bag with book quote from the publisher, a branded bookmark and some chocolates (Open INTERNATIONALLY)

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Come back on the 24th of November 2018 for my turn on the BlogTour A Hollow Sky (Alex Ripley Mystery #2) by M. Sean Coleman.

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box above. 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 I reserve 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 I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.*