#BlogTour Cause of Death by Anna Legat

It's my turn on the BlogTour Cause of Death by Anna Legat, the third book in The Shires Mysteries.

About the Author

Anna Legat is a Wiltshire-based author, best known for her DI Gillian Marsh murder mystery series. Murder isn't the only thing on her mind. She dabbles in a wide variety of genres, ranging from dark humorous comedy, through magi realism to dystopian. A globe-trotter and Jack-of-all-trades, Anna has been an attorney, legal adviser, a silver-service waitress, a school teacher and a librarian. 

She has lived in far-flung places all over the world where she delighted in people-watching and collecting precious life experiences for her stories. Anna writes, reads, lives and breathes books and can no longer tell the difference between fact and fiction. Follow @LegatWriter on Twitter, Visit annalegat.com

About the book

All is not well in the village. The local meadows have been the pride of Bishops Well for hundreds of years, but now they are facing the sharp blades of developers. The landowner is a rich and reclusive author who is happy to see them destroyed, but the villagers - including Sam Dee and Maggie Kaye - are fighting back.

As Maggie and Sam soon discover, there is more than a quick buck to be  made in the developer's plans. There are age-old secrets and personal vendettas that could have deadly repercussions in Bishops Well today.

With Sam's legal expertise and Maggie's... well, Maggie-ness, they delve into the past, determined to unearth the truth. And, as sparks begin to fly, could there finally be something more between this sleuthing duo?

Review

This is the third book in The Shires Mysteries series - murder most wicked comes to rural life and creates havoc, shakes up the daily lives of villagers and our amateur sleuths Maggie and Sam. 

Sidenote - I kinda loved the whole horse, donkey, mule escapade - it's definitely something I would participate in.

The relationship between Maggie and Sam becomes closer and moves in a slightly different direction, and the reader gets to know more about Sam's back-story. This happens while they are in the middle of solving a bizarre ritualistic killing. I mean it's just your every day village stuff, right.

It's a solid cosy mystery, and I admit I would love to know who would be top choice if it was ever casted. The characters of Maggie and Sam are both comfortable and at times eccentric enough to become reader favourites. Saying that I think it's important to keep an element of surprise and space for growth. With a mystery series everything tends to change and revolve around the constant - the main characters - they have to be able to draw the audience in over and over again.

Looking forward to the next in the series, and to where the author takes this sleuthing duo and their very deadly rural adventures.

Buy Cause of Death at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Headline Accent pub date 14 April 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Waterstones. Barnes & Noble.

#BlogTour The Children of Pisces: The Two Pendants by R.E. Lewin

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Children of Pisces: The Two Pendants by R.E. Lewin.

About the Author

Rachael has loved writing since she finished her first book at thirteen. Since then she has broadened her experiences by becoming a project manager, energy healer and helping animals with applied zoopharmacognosy, as well as helping to nurture creativity in others, including her twins, who are the primary age group for this, her debut.

About the book

It’s 2070 and our post-apocalyptic world is different. Aliens secretly invaded with a lethal biological weapon: a terrifying virus that annihilated almost every living creature in its path. People still believe it was a natural virus, oblivious to aliens and the truth. Humanity’s survival is in the hands of the alliance, a team of humans and aliens who stand against the evil arch-enemy alien leader. Orphaned children are raised in army-style schools. But from this barren wasteland, a few shall rise…

Tammy and Mikie are half-human and half-alien siblings, with immense metaphysical powers and a crystal weapon. Their powers are extraordinary alone, but together they are unstoppable. Their father promises to return for them when they reach thirteen – combat age. But at twelve, these two are already too powerful to ignore.

Tammy has been raised in an orphan camp, under the thumb of a bitter woman who rules with an iron fist. Now she has been adopted and taken to a new kind of safari park. Here, the scales shift and the animals help her to unlock her gifts with animals and nature. Can Tammy rise above her animal instincts and maintain her humanity?

Mikie, a strong telepath, can control people’s minds and is a martial arts expert like his uncle. Forced to live a lonely, home-schooled life to avoid detection, he often gets into trouble and battles with the responsibility of his powers. Can Mikie overcome his inner conflict? Will his compulsion to protect put those closest to him in even more danger?

This adventure will take them across the world and maybe into the stars beyond. They must reunite their family and decide where their loyalties lie. The seekers are coming…

Review

Going into the story the readers is given part of an origin story, which becomes important over a decade later. The characters move parallel in time, but at all times on a path towards each other.

Tammy, who has caught the interest of a couple after many years of waiting to be adopted, has an affinity for animals. It is more than just liking them - they see her and she sees them. A collective communication appears to take place, one that others aren't privy to.

Then there is Mikie, a young boy who can read minds and control them. The two of them have something in common, something elemental that is full of possibilities. They are an enhanced version of those around them, which means they are valuable asset or are they a dangerous weapon, depending on the path they choose?

It's an ambitious series with plenty of potential - a crossover and melding of genres. A futuristic, speculative tale, a dystopian world with elements of sci-fi. The author has drawn a tentative thread of humanity throughout, and only time will tell if they will be able to sustain it in themselves, each other - or whether it will be submerged by natural instincts.

I like the fact it is story that is suitable for younger readers too. What a way to experience creativity and expand horizons, and a multi-genre world. It will be interesting to see where the next part in the series takes the Children of Pisces.

Buy The Children of Pisces: The Two Pendants at Amazon Uk. Publisher ‏: ‎Matador pub date 28 Mar. 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Troubador.

#BlogTour The Burning Question by Linda Regan

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Burning Question by Linda Regan.

About the Author

Linda Regan is the prolific writer of eight crime novels, as well as a celebrated actress of stage and screen. After winning a worldwide writing competition with her novel Behind You! (2006), Linda published seven more novels, including Passion Killers (2007) which was selected as a Sunday Observer pick of the year. Since then, she has written the immensely popular DI Johnson series (2015) and the DCI Banham series (2019).

In addition to her writing, Linda is a much-loved actress, known for her recurring role in the hit BBC sitcom Hi-De-Hi, and guest appearances in popular shows The Bill, Birds of a Feather, Doctors, and Holby City. Before joining the cast of Hi-De-Hi, Linda started out in a comedy dance troupe in her youth before going on to a lead role in the West End production of Tom Stoppard’s Dirty Linen. Playing such vivid and iconic characters throughout her career, has helped Linda to develop character focused stories that bring a uniquely immersive filmic quality to the page.

In addition to her acting, Linda uses her personal experiences to write her signature brand of “strong crime”. All of Linda’s novels are set in South London, where Linda writes with meticulous knowledge of the landscape where she grew up and currently lives with her husband, actor Brian Murphy. Follow @Linda_Regan on Twitter

About the book

DCI Paul Banham and DI Alison Grainger are back. This time they’re investigating the tragic death of a young woman, burnt in her home. When another identical arson attack is reported, Grainger and Banham are on the hunt for a link, unaware that the new trainee DC, Hannah Kemp, already knows the connection. She also knows that if she comes forward with the information, her own past will come to light, and she’ll potentially lose her job. But, if she doesn’t, more women will lose their lives. 

Hannah knows who they are, and she knows their attacker will stop at nothing to keep his ring of illegal prostitutes earning. Once he realises Hannah is now a police detective, she, too, will be in mortal danger. 

As the clock ticks against her own life, she must decide whether to stay quiet for the sake of her career, or risk everything she’s worked for to stop a ruthless killer once and for all.

Review

It's a mid-series book, however it is absolutely readable as a standalone novel. DCI Paul Banham and DI Alison Grainger are investigating a fatal arson attack with multiple victims. It soon becomes evident that there was an intended victim and some collateral damage. Unfortunately the victim has a link to someone in the team, one she wants to keep buried for very good reasons.

It's a balance between police procedural and cosy crime, the focus and the soft layer gives it a more comfortable feel. Despite the subject matter, which is a bit seedy and dark at times, it doesn't have a brutal hardcore crime vibe. Nothing wrong with that, the author definitely puts an emphasis on the interpersonal scenes and situations.

Perhaps sometimes to the point of making the police procedural side less convincing, because the interpersonal relationships and interactions take precedence over procedure. Again, this is merely a matter of what kind of crime read you are looking for. 

The author definitely likes to muddy the waters when it comes to the rule of law and the areas in between black and white, but perhaps the whole intention is to present a set of flawed characters, because the reality is even the people upholding the law are just mere humans. 

Buy The Burning Question at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Headline Accent, pub date 12th May 2022 | Paperback Original - £9.99. Buy at Amazon com. Via Headline.

#BlogTour Land of the Dead by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

It's my turn on the Blogtour Land of the Dead by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi, the third book in the Stoker's Wilde series.

About the Author/s

Steven Hopstaken was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he spent his formative years watching and reading science fiction and horror. He has a degree in journalism from Northern Michigan University and spends his free time traveling; writing screenplays, short stories and novels;and practicing photography.

Melissa Prusi was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She’s been a video editor, a semi-professional film reviewer, a three-time champion on the quiz show Jeopardy!, and a Guinness world record holder (1990 edition, for directing the longest live television show).

They met in a college screenwriting class and married three years later. They spent a brief time in Los Angeles, where they both worked for Warner Bros. television, and sold two screenplays. They eventually ended up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they love the arts scene but dread the winters.

They’ve indulged their fascination with Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde through trips to Dublin and London to research their lives and visit sites mentioned in Stoker’s Wilde.

They live in St. Louis Park, Minnesota with their two cats. If they’re not writing, you can usually find them at a movie, local theater production, improv show or pub quiz. Follow @StokersWilde on Twitter

About the book

Science and the supernatural collide in this terrifying tale of witches, reanimated corpses and spirits invading our world from beyond the grave.

Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde have returned to their lives in London after their adventures in the American West. Bram is managing a theatre and Oscar is rising to fame and planning his upcoming wedding when they are once again called upon to battle supernatural evil.

Grief-crazed scientist Victor Mueller needs Bram’s unusual blood for his mad quest to bring his dead wife back to life, and he’ll resort to kidnapping to get it. Meanwhile, a young medium named Lorna Bow runs fake séances in London under the thumb of an abusive uncle. When her mother Endora returns, Lorna learns the truth: they come from a long line of witches, and soon Endora has awakened Lorna’s dormant powers.

When the scientist and the witches combine forces, all Hell breaks loose. Long-dead souls find themselves back in the land of the living, and some of them have scores to settle with our heroes. But as Mueller’s ambition and her mother’s desire for vengeance against the men who imprisoned her become clear, Lorna soon finds herself questioning the morality of their work. Bram and Oscar must team up with American secret agent Cora Chase to protect all they hold dear. Only a mission into the Land of the Dead can stop Mueller and Endora from bringing back more souls.

Bram’s wife Florence must call on the monster-fighting skills she honed in America, and even Oscar’s bride Constance has to face new challenges as she learns how the supernatural has shaped her own history.

Review

This is the third book in the Stoker's Wilde series, featuring Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker as they battle the supernatural and those who wish to use it for evil.

We have a bit of a longing to understand the secret of vampirism and in doing so to gain power, kind of crazy going on in this story. Unfortunately Stoker becomes the target of a scientist, who is willing to do anything to find out the secrets he carries. The beginning, a break in the sphere of the norm, an opening to evil.

It's an interesting journey that takes the reader through known connections to historical events, literature and figures, who are reinvented through the eyes of the supernatural aspects of this series. Perception is everything - imagine if what you know to be true of the past was only a quarter of the truth. What if the world of secret unimaginable threats has been hidden away in an attempt to keep the world safe, and perhaps even sane.

It certainly makes you ponder certain things and people, whilst enjoying the adventures of this merry band of warriors against evil, and the power in the darkness. The power we like to deny, to ignore and to explain away.

The writing and dialogue could be a bit tighter, but overall it's a series with a lot of potential. Very Poe meets demon hunters. I enjoyed the way the book ended, the way each entry leads into the concept of the diary and simultaneously gives an inkling of where the characters are and could potentially be going.

Buy Land of the Dead at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Flame Tree Press pub date 26 April 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Flame Tree Press.

#BlogTour The Wildwater Women by Ellie Wood

 It's my turn on the Blogtour The Wildwater Women by Ellie Wood.

About the Author

Ellie Wood was born and raised in the Lake District where she still lives. Passionate about the benefits of getting out into the wild, she’s swum and walked the landscape that inspires her writing since she was small. Follow @EllieWoodAuthor on Twitter

About the book

Sometimes the best things in life happen when you dare to get out of your depth. - Abby lives and works in the heart of the Lake District. She splits her time between bringing up her daughter, working in the Plum Pie Bakery – and dreaming of the time before her husband, Ben, left.

Lori is on holiday from the States, hoping to find her way to the lake that she’s looked at for years in a picture on her wall back home.

Rebecca is contemplating taking the plunge too. Despite her immaculate appearance Rebecca is keeping quiet about a childhood trauma which has left her scared of the water.

Clarissa is the founder of The Wildwater Women. An all-year-round open-water swimming veteran, and with a fearsome manner, she knows the lakes like no one else and her boundless energy defies her years.

Four women, all from very different lives, all with reason to step into the water and wash away their past. But will the friendship they build be enough to keep them afloat when they each must face their fears? 

Review

I read a story a few years ago that featured Wildwater swimming in it. I can remember thinking what a wonderfully adventurous thing to take part in. It's that element of excitement and overcoming of obstacles that leads the way in this story, which is one about sisterhood, women and the way they support each other.

Regardless of whether it is single mother Abby, Lori the tourist, Rebecca with the flawless exterior and crumbling interior, or the leader of the Waterwomen herself - Clarissa. Together they brave the weather, the environment, and of course the individual stressors of each woman to become one with nature - and a force of nature at the same time.

In this story the Wildwater swimming is symbolic in a sense that it becomes the tool, experience, event that gives each one of the women something very specific. It might be different depending on the person or the same and just open to interpretation, depending on the frame of reference.

Freedom, forgiveness, peace, acceptance of self, and learning to grip life by the hypothetical horns, but most importantly it's about learning to love themselves. I loved the way the author spun a delicate web of relationships and connections between the women.  Each one of them consciously or subconsciously supporting the other. Helping each other to confront fears, shame, embarrassment to ultimately be able to embrace the small moments of happiness and the beauty of life, and of course the environment.

I look forward to the next story Wood brings to the table. The way people, surroundings and emotions are woven to together to create a story with a strong heartbeat - well I think there is much more to come.

Buy The Wildwater Women at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperNorth pub date 28 April 2022. Buy at Amazon com. At Harper Collins.

#BlogTour Tell Me Your Lies by Kate Ruby

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

Inspiration for the novel

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

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

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

(Author pic - credit Simon Annand)

About the Author

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

About the book

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

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

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

Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Blogtour Playing with Fire by Mary Burton

 

It's my turn on the BlogTour Playing with Fire by Mary Burton.

About the Author

Mary Burton loves writing suspense, researching law enforcement and forensic procedures, morning walks, baking, books, and tiny dachshunds. She also enjoys hunting down serial killers, which she does in her New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels of suspense and romance. 

A Richmond native, Mary has lived there for most of her life. She is a graduate of Virginia’s Hollins University and worked in marketing before she began writing full time. Her first book was published in 2000 and she’s now the author of thirty-four published novels, five novellas and four works of contemporary women’s fiction written as Mary Ellen Taylor.

A member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Novelists, Inc., and Romance Writers of America, Mary is known for creating multiple suspense stories connected by characters, such as her The Forgotten Files novels. 

When not traveling for research or visiting with readers at bookstores, book festivals and conferences, Mary remains very much a homebody. She and her husband spend time alternately enjoying and lamenting their empty nest and spoiling their four-legged babies Buddy, Bella and Tiki. Visit maryburton.com

About the book

A year after the infamous arsonist Nero was found dead in one of his latest fires, journalist Darcy Sampson receives a tip that the body found at the scene wasn't Nero at all. Determined to solve the case, Darcy heads to her small hometown in Virginia to track Michael Gannon, an arsonist investigator who refuses to believe that Nero is dead.

But when a new series of fires in the area have a remarkable resemblance to the arsonist's previous work, Darcy and Gannon are in a race against time to put a stop to Nero once and for all.

But Nero is ready and waiting for them, and he intends on teaching both Gannon and Darcy one last, fatal lesson. (previously published as The Arsonist)

Review

If you have read books by Mary Burton before, then you might have read this when it was first published under the title The Arsonist. This is a reissue with a spiffy cover, and you might want to catch some of the other ones too.

It's what I would call a fast-paced romance thriller. The relationship between the ex-arson investigator Gannon and the reporter Darcy is a slow burner - pun totally intended - and in a way the attraction builds in intensity. Like a ember emerging into an all consuming flame. The emotional parallels of desire and destruction move alongside each other, which is actually quite accurate for the portrayal of one intent on igniting the world around him.

The arsonist plays a game of chess and is willing to do anything to get Gannon off his heels after a long twisted game of fire, destruction and even death. His death is a convenient closure, is it not? But the pull of the flame is powerful and soon it becomes evident that Nero is back from the dead.

You get crime, thriller and a bit of mutual attraction - all for the price of one with this read.

Buy Playing with Fire at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: ‎HQ Digital pub date 6 May 2022. Buy at Harper Collins.