Say You're Sorry by Karen Rose Blog Tour

Today I am closing the blog tour for "Say You're Sorry" by author Karen Rose, tour arranged by Anne at Random Things Tours, thank you for having me on.





A wee bit about the author:




Karen lives in Florida with her family, their cat, Bella, and two dogs, Loki and Freya. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, and her new hobby - knitting.

QUICKFIRE ROUND WITH KAREN ROSE

Give us three adjectives to best describe your new novel?
Fast-paced, Satisfying, Bittersweet

What are the three most important character traits of your protagonist?
• Daisy – Feisty, Smart, Compassionate
• Gideon – Loyal, Tenacious Able to accept and build on his partner’s strengths

Where is the novel set?
Sacramento, CA and Mount Shasta, CA

What were the last three things you Googled in the name of “research”?
• Tree of Life
• Abandoned mines in California
• Coroner’s office: morgue tour policy

Who is your biggest influence as a writer?
Probably Carolyn Keene (all of them!), authors of the Nancy Drew stories. They were my favorite detective stories and I cut my mystery-writing teeth reading and trying to figure out whodunit.

What is your most socially unacceptable writing habit?
LOL, this isn’t a fair question! Okay, the most socially unacceptable habit that I’m willing to admit to: I choose a song and play it on infinite loop until it becomes background sound. In past books it was Barry Manilow’s When October Comes or Josh Groban’s Evermore or Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. For SAY YOU’RE SORRY, it was a medley of Hallelujah, including versions by K.D. Lang, Lindsey Stirling, and Jeff Buckley. I apologize to my husband, my dog, and any neighbors who were adversely affected. (My husband still gets a twitch at certain songs, LOL.)

Have you ever killed anyone off from real life in one of your novels?
Hmmmm. Well, the right answer is that “any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental.” But the truth is: Yes. There are a few old bosses, the kid who spit on me when I was seven years old, and a doctor or two who ticked me off. I look at it as therapy I don’t have to pay for.

What was your favourite book as a child?
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.

What is your favourite writing snack?
M&Ms. But I have attempted to limit this to an every-100-pages reward. Somehow veggies and hummus just aren’t the same. Boo.

You can find Karen on Twitter and Facebook

About the book:




Special Agent Gideon Reynolds has tried hard to put his past behind him. He escaped the violence of his cult upbringing when he was just thirteen, and since then routine and discipline have been his way of making sense of the world. But when a petite blonde woman crashes into his life, he begins to realize that a little bit of chaos might not be so bad. Daisy Dawson has had more than her fair share of pain too - but she's done being a victim. Daisy's determined to explore every new experience she can - including getting to know the dark and serious FBI investigator she meets when she fights off a masked attacker one night. It soon becomes clear that Daisy's attack was just the beginning. Now the bloodied bodies of young women are showing up all over California, and, as Gideon tries to find the killer, it's clear that Daisy is in more danger than they ever realised...

Praise for KAREN ROSE:
'Intense, complex and unforgettable' - James Patterson 'A high-octane thrill ride' - Lisa Jackson 'Fast and furious' - Sun

KAREN ROSE was introduced to suspense and horror at the tender age of eight when she accidentally read Poe's The Pit and The Pendulum and was afraid to go to sleep for years. She now enjoys writing books that make other people afraid to go to sleep.

Say You're Sorry by Karen Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - when able over 2 days

Pages - 544

Publisher - Headline

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Special Agent Gideon Reynolds has tried hard to put his past behind him. He escaped the violence of his cult upbringing when he was just thirteen, and since then routine and discipline have been his way of making sense of the world. But when a petite blonde woman crashes into his life, he begins to realize that a little bit of chaos might not be so bad.

Daisy Dawson has had more than her fair share of pain too—but she's done being a victim. Daisy's determined to explore every new experience she can—including getting to know the dark and serious FBI investigator she meets when she fights off a masked attacker one night.

It soon becomes clear that Daisy's attack was just the beginning. Now the bloodied bodies of young women are showing up all over California, and, as Gideon tries to find the killer, it's clear that Daisy is in more danger than they ever realised..


My review


Special Agent Gideon Reynolds is a professional, he keeps himself to himself, never having quite got over his past he finds relationships hard. When a woman is attacked and it links back to his past he is forced to face things he thought long buried in the past. Daisy Dawson is the lady Reynolds finds himself having to protect, after a maniac trys to abduct her they soon realise this isn't a random attack and Daisy may not be out of the woods just yet!

Ooooh if you have read Rose before you KNOW what to expect, a bad guy who is usually terrifying this one if many steps ahead of the law. He is well versed in his craft and knows how to capture them, hold them, kill them and dispose of them. He has never had any trouble until he encounters Daisy, what follows is a game of cat and mouse putting everyone at risk, can Daisy stay safe?

We hear from the killer as well as following Daisy, agent Reynolds and some of the police force involved in the investigation. The killer makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, he is smart, organised, ruthless., brutal and shows no mercy for those at the hands of his predilections. In among this Daisy and Reynolds are being ushered together by circumstances and family who would rather both took an involvement in the other sex. Neither are focused on that with so much at stake however they cannot deny a pull toward each other....

The book is fast paced and you would think at 500 plus pages you may taper off but the action keeps going and I found myself picking up the book every chance I got. I have read Rose plenty of times and whilst some crime books try and fail at a romance angle Rose pulls it off, in my opinion, every time. It doesn't detract from the story and sometimes when you are least likely looking for love you can't help but fall into it!

The book explores some really dark themed, violence, murder, abuse, cults, romance, relationships, love,sex, police procedural, investigation and that is just for starters. Rose is an author who has honed her craft and manages to keep it fresh despite having written so many books now. I always look forward to a new release and this one was no different , a start to a new series although I am sure I recognized some characters from previous books. I really need to look back at the books I have missed and try read them in order, great books, 4.5/5 for me this time!

View all my reviews

The Mum Who Got Her Life Back by Fiona Gibson Blog Tour

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Mum Who Got Her Life Back by Fiona Gibson. I have a review for my stop.

We had a fab time reading this, I love when you come across a book that is just right to lift you when certain things are going on in your life. I also was so happy to have a tub of quality street in the house lmao!




The Mum Who Got Her Life Back by Fiona Gibson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - just over a day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Avon Books

Source - ARC Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

The laugh-out-loud Sunday Times bestseller is back and funnier than ever! Perfect for fans of WHY MUMMY DRINKS.

When her 18-year-old twins leave for university, single mum Nadia’s life changes in ways she never expected: her Glasgow flat feels suddenly huge, laundry doesn’t take up half her week, and she no longer has to buy ‘the Big Milk’. After almost two decades of putting everyone else first, Nadia is finally taking care of herself. And with a budding romance with new boyfriend Jack, She’s never felt more alive.

That is, until her son Alfie drops out of university, and Nadia finds her empty nest is empty no more. With a heartbroken teenager to contend with, Nadia has to ask herself: is it ever possible for a mother to get her own life back? And can Jack and Nadia’s relationship survive having a sulky teenager around?

A gloriously funny and uplifting new book perfect for fans of Gill Sims and Jill Mansell.



My Review

Meet Nadia, mother to twins who are up out finally out the house, Alfie is finally off to uni and the nest is finally empty. Nadia comes across the fabulous Jack and sparks up a romance, finding the joys and freedom of an empty house and dating again. When Alfie drops out of uni and comes home Nadia has to juggle her role as girlfriend, mother and find her place between her ex and his partner whom Alfie seems to have no issue opening up to. Molly is the other twin but doesn't play a huge part at all, our main characters are Nadia, Jack, Alfie and flashes of her ex partner and his misses Kiki.

Nadia is embracing the HEN - Happy Empty Nester, I am sure many a parent can relate to this and as a non parent even I could appreciate it. Going from full on parenting to actually being about you again was a nice change of pace for me, also some fab comedic moments and social awkwardness that a think we can all appreciate or relate to.

The book goes between Nadia and Jack, each having their own chapters, thoughts and moments. Jack has an ex and a teenage daughter with some genuine issues that tackle real life struggles without going too far in depth. It keep the book grounded and real, jocular, emotive, relationships, working life, every day issues and some of the obstacles facing a couple starting off together mid life with all the baggage getting to that age brings.

Nadia in one hand is brilliant, early 50s, does nude modelling for an art class and the response that brings from her kids. Her job, her family woes especially dealing with the partner of her ex who of course is younger, a skin specialist and loved by her kids, ha rage! Jack works in a charity shop and is a sweet chap looking out for his colleagues, totally oblivious to unwanted attentions, trying to be a good dad and deal with an old emotive wound from his past. It is a great wee cast of characters and much as I liked Nadia when it came to Alfie I wanted to shake her although she admits herself she maybe coddles him a bit too much.

The book made me want to visit a charity shop, skelp into quality street at ridiculous o'clock. Try out that with a butternut squash to see if it is a real thing (you have to read yourself to find out, no spoilers here). Hug a dog and visit Lush to buy a ridic amount of stuff I don't need (I do love Lush to be fair but we all know what it is like buying excess crap we don't need!). I really needed a wee book like this, funny, serious, different, relationships, family, humour - just a wee something different. I have read this author once before and I will need to nosey and see what else she has that I have missed. 4/5 for me this time, despite it being a mum I reckon everyone can appreciate this wee book for what it is, had work not got in the way I likely would have sunk it in one sitting.

View all my reviews

Death Before Coffee by Desmond P Ryan Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for Death Before Coffee by Desmond P Ryan, today I share my spot with Susan from Books From Dusk Til Dawn.




The Blurb
By 2:27 on a Thursday afternoon, the one-legged man from Room 8 at 147 Loxitor Avenue has been beaten to death with a lead pipe. Twenty-eight minutes later, Detective Mike O’Shea is testifying in a stuffy courtroom, unaware that, within an hour, he will be standing in an alleyway littered with beer cans and condoms while his new partner—the man who saved his life thirteen years ago—flicks bugs off of a battered corpse with a ballpoint pen. When a rogue undercover copper prematurely hauls in the prime suspect, Mike blows a fuse, resulting in an unlikely rapport developing between him and the lead homicide detective sergeant, a woman known for her stilettos and razor sharp investigative skills. At the end of his seventy-two-hour shift, three men are dead and Mike O’Shea is floating in and out of consciousness in an emergency room hallway, two women by his side. Death Before Coffee, the second book in the Mike O’Shea Crime Fiction Series, weaves a homicide investigation through the life of an inner-city police detective intent on balancing his responsibilities as a son, brother, and newly single father with his sworn oath of duty. When faced with death, Mike is forced to make decisions that stir up old memories, compelling him to confront his demons while fighting the good fight.




Author Bio
For almost thirty years, Desmond P. Ryan began every day of his working life with either a victim waiting in a hospital emergency room, or a call to a street corner or a blood-soaked room where someone had been left for dead. Murder, assaults on a level that defied humanity, sexual violations intended to demean, shame, and haunt the individuals who were no more than objects to the offenders: all in a day's work.

It was exhilarating, exhausting, and often heartbreaking.

As a Detective with the Toronto Police Service, Desmond P. Ryan wrote thousands of reports detailing the people, places, and events that led up to the moment he came along. He investigated the crimes and wrote synopses for guilty pleas detailing the circumstances that brought the accused individuals before the Courts. He also wrote a number of files to have individuals deemed either Not Criminally Responsible due to mental incapacity, or Dangerous Offenders to be held in custody indefinitely.

Now, as a retired investigator with three decades of research opportunities under his belt, Desmond P. Ryan writes crime fiction.

Real Detective. Real Crime. Fiction.

Buy the book HERE
I have a we guest post for my stop today, enjoy xxx
A Day In the Life of Demond P. Ryan

You may think that writers lead romantic lives, filled with intellectual discussions amongst like-minded people over late-morning lattes in cafes all over the world followed by a couple of hours of writing and then numerous pints in pubs in equally exotic and/or cool locations.

Maybe it’s just me, but that’s not how it goes.

Most mornings/all mornings begin with our toddler welcoming the day as only toddlers can: with a scream that is either ear- or nerve-shattering in both volume and intensity.

My wife (said toddler’s mother) is a saint. I may say that a few times throughout this post and, if I don’t, I should.

And, while I am a retired police detective, I am hardly living the life of leisure. I teach criminal and court procedure courses at one of the colleges here in Toronto a couple of days a week and write/eat/life/sleep/be the rest of the time.

All that is to say: I am often stealing time away from any one of my other responsibilities to run up to the glorious office/writing space on the third floor.

Once there, the magic begins.

Writing a series is like visiting old friends. Regardless of where I am in the manuscript, or which book I’m working on, all I have to do is open the file, and there the characters are, their lives unfolding before me. It’s that simple. Sort of.

For each book, I start by writing a (very) brief outline on cue-cards and then shuffle them into place to make everything make sense, adding bits and pieces of thoughts and dialogue to the cards as I go. Once the cards are in place, I weave them together with dialogue first, and then go back over the manuscript and add the narrative. From there, I go over the manuscript another time to fill in the details and make sure everyone’s movements make sense (oddly enough, those Sunday night dinner scenes at Mary Margaret’s are often the most challenging!).

And then I type ‘the end’. For a day or so, I’m usually pretty convinced that I’ve absolutely nailed it. After that, I’m pretty convinced that I’ve just written the crappiest piece of garbage ever and should delete the whole thing.

After another read-through, I send it off to my editor. And wait. She knows I sit and wait, so she is quite vigilant about getting it back to me sooner than later. And then the real work begins.

I spend the next few days/weeks going over all of the comments, making additions and deletions as required, and then send the manuscript back to my editor for another round or two.

In the meantime, I send the unpolished manuscript to my cover artists so that she can get a sense of what the book will be about and start her process.

After numerous emails back and forth with my editor and cover artist, a book is born.

And then it gets published and I put it out to you, hoping you like it because, yes, I do write for you, my reader. Without you, there would be no Mike O’Shea or Julia Vendramini or Ron Roberts or Amanda Black or…beyond the screen on my computer.

So thank you for completing the writing cycle. I hope you enjoy Death Before Coffee. And now, perhaps, we’ll have that latte or pint together, shall we?

The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for "The Nightmare Girl" by Jonathan Janz, I am closing the tour and if you missed the previous stops please check them out, we all offer different content.



About the author:


Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels and numerous short stories. His work has been championed by authors like Joe R. Lansdale, Jack Ketchum, and Brian Keene; he has also been lauded by Publishers Weekly, the Library Journal, and the School Library Journal. His novel Children of the Dark was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Horror Book of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children.
You can sign up for his newsletter and you can follow him on
Twitter @JonathanJanz
Instagram @jonathan.janz



The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: FLAME TREE PRESS; New edition (14 Feb. 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1787581292
ISBN-13: 978-1787581296
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nightmare-Girl-Fiction-Without-Frontiers/dp/1787581292/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1548443635&sr=1-1

BLURB: When family man Joe Crawford confronts a young mother abusing her toddler, he has no idea of the chain reaction he’s setting in motion. How could he suspect the young mother is part of an ancient fire cult, a sinister group of killers that will destroy anyone who threatens one of its members? When the little boy is placed in a foster home, the fanatics begin their mission of terror. 

Soon the cult leaders will summon their deadliest hunters―and a ferocious supernatural evil―to make Joe pay for what he’s done. They want Joe’s blood and the blood of his family. And they want their child back.

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.
http://www.flametreepublishing.com/


For my stop I have a wee bit from the author, enjoy.
Do your book ideas come from real life horrors? Any real cults that sparked ideas for The Nightmare Girl?

Well, the generic answer would be that I've read about numerous cults, and that I did do a ton of reading about cults.

The less generic answer, but one that's sort of challenging to talk about, is that my biological father was in a cult and tried to convert me when I was eighteen. I hadn't seen him in a long time and wanted to start some sort of relationship with him, so I flew to California in an attempt to establish a connection. He proceeded to take me on a drug deal in a back alley in Westwood, and then he drove the money up to a compound on a mountain in Malibu, where he left me in the truck staring at an armed guard. This was all a few hours after he'd shown me a video trying to persuade me to follow his religion. His whole rationale for believing in this particular cult leader was that the leader was alive "now" and why couldn't a messiah be alive during his (my father's) life? For my biological father, the fact that Christ and other holy figures had lived long ago disqualified them from being worshiped. But because this cult leader was alive now (at that time), he was worthy of being deified and venerated.

Anyway, the weird fervor I experienced that day, in addition to the funding of the cult through the drug trade, most likely played a role in the creation of THE NIGHTMARE GIRL. How's that for oversharing? :-)

Sea Babies by Tracey Scott-Townsend Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Sea Babies by Tracey Scott-Townsend, this is a #LOVEBOOKSGROUPTOUR.





About the Author:
Tracey is the author of The Last Time We Saw Marion, Of His Bones, The Eliza Doll and Another Rebecca. Her fifth novel, Sea Babies is out now. Tracey is also a visual artist. All her work is inspired by the emotions of her own experiences and perceptions.

Tracey is the mother of four grown-up children and now spends a lot of time travelling in a small camper van with husband Phil and their rescue dogs, Pixie and Luna, gathering her thoughts and writing them down.

You can find Tracey on Twitter
Facebook
Tracey's website




Blurb
Short Description:
Lauren Wilson is travelling by ferry to the Outer Hebrides, about to begin a new job as a social worker. When somebody sits opposite her at the cafeteria table, she refuses to look up, annoyed at having her privacy disturbed. But a hand is pushing a mug of tea towards her, and a livid scar on the back of the hand releases a flood of memories.

Some people believe in the existence of a parallel universe. Does Lauren have a retrospective choice about the outcome of a terrible recent accident, or is it the bearer of that much older scar who has the power to decide what happens to her now?




The book is available to buy now, click HERE to go to Amazon.

For my stop I have a wee content spot, enjoy.

Themes and Inspiration: Sea Babies by Tracey Scott-Townsend

I was surprised to discover that one of the themes at the heart of my new novel Sea Babies is actually Quantum Theory. My son put a name to it when I described to him that at the beginning of the novel we find Lauren in the cafeteria of a ferry to the Outer Hebrides, where she’s about to take up a position as a social worker, and, quite by accident, she comes face to face with a former lover, Neil, who she hasn’t seen for thirty years. By the end of the book, we discover that the reality Lauren believes she’s in is completely turned on its head by Neil’s alternative perception of their situation at that moment – at the same time altering several other minor storylines. This turns out to be the parallel universe, or multi-world branch of Quantum Theory. I was quite chuffed, to be honest.

Another inspiration behind the novel is a short story called The Sea-Baby by Eleanor Farjeon. I found it in Stories by Firelight, selected and illustrated by Shirley Hughes. A drowned village is exposed by an exceptionally low tide after a night of storms, and a child rescues a baby from one of the houses. She runs home with the baby in her arms, chased by the returning tide which has sealed itself back over the lost village. The sea baby stays awake for a whole week until the night of another storm, when its mother swims though the darkness and reclaims her baby from the child’s bedroom. The baby, who has remained awake for the week she stays with the child, finally settles into sleep in her mother’s arms.

This made me think of Old Kilnsea on the East coast of Yorkshire, which was taken by the sea in the 19th Century, and of the enduring connection I have with the area because of the year I spent living at Blackmore House in (new) Kilnsea in 1984, when I lost the baby I was carrying at six months. I imagine the possibility of being reunited with her if the cliffs I walked along then, much depleted in the decades since, were to be exposed again as in the story. In my novel, Lauren’s granny tells the story of the sea-baby to Lauren and her siblings and she relives a version of it in her parallel universe.

Another theme behind Sea Babies is displacement. I began writing Sea Babies in 2015, the year the heartbreaking image of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, washed up on a beach and appearing as though only sleeping, hit the headlines. For a while it felt as though the world might open its heart to refugees. In my book Lauren and Neil discover that they’ve both spent time working in refugee camps and each tells of a particular refugee friend who has claimed a special place in their heart.

I drew inspiration from my mother’s extinct care work files for an understanding of Lauren’s job as a social worker, and from word-of-mouth accounts of family situations from children I’ve worked with in the past.

Finally, an idea for a specific structure for the first part of this novel came from a viral YouTube video of a 2010 art-performance by Marina Abrovomich. It caught my attention and deeply moved me around the same time that I was planning the book. In the MOMA in New York she sits at a table with her eyes closed, while strangers sit down opposite her. She opens her eyes and they stare into each other’s faces for sixty seconds. At one point she opens her eyes and discovers it’s her ex-lover sitting there. They’ve been reunited after thirty years apart. The camera shows intense emotions playing over their faces as they gaze at each other without speaking. This is what I wanted to convey in the first part of my novel, only I reversed the situation and decided not to allow Lauren to look at Neil’s face until she had relived their past in her mind.

Those are just a few of the things that helped me build a framework for Sea Babies. A massive influence was the landscape of the Outer Hebrides, particularly the wonderful, unspoilt district of Uig and the township of Ardroil, and the cottage I settled on as Lauren’s fictional home. I have many happy memories of camping there. I also enjoyed my research stays in Edinburgh, and Glasgow – my paternal grandfather’s birthplace.

Thank you very much for having me on your blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the inspiration behind Sea Babies.

Tracey

Please check out the other stops on the blog tour, we all offer different content and you will find some epic book bloggers!

Dead Memories by Angela Marsons

Dead Memories by Angela Marsons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 459

Publisher - Bookouture

Source - Netgalley (Review Copy)

Blurb from Goodreads

She ruined their lives. Now they’re going to destroy hers.

‘Someone is recreating every traumatic point in your life. They are doing this to make you suffer, to make you hurt and the only possible end game can be death. Your death.’

On the fourth floor of Chaucer House, two teenagers are found chained to a radiator. The boy is dead but the girl is alive. For Detective Kim Stone every detail of the scene mirrors her own terrifying experience with her brother Mikey, when they lived in the same tower block thirty years ago.

When the bodies of a middle-aged couple are discovered in a burnt-out car, Kim can’t ignore the chilling similarity to the deaths of Erica and Keith – the only loving parents Kim had ever known.

Faced with a killer who is recreating traumatic events from her past, Kim must face the brutal truth that someone wants to hurt her in the worst way possible. Desperate to stay on the case, she is forced to work with profiler Alison Lowe who has been called in to observe and monitor Kim’s behaviour.

Kim has spent years catching dangerous criminals and protecting the innocent. But with a killer firmly fixed on destroying Kim, can she solve this complex case and save her own life or will she become the final victim?


My Review

Kim Stone has put away many a dangerous criminal, now someone is out to get her but where to start looking at potential culprits with so many to choose from. Stone is notoriously private, her personal life, her past, her emotions she keeps close to her chest. Someone is creating the worst moments of Stone's life, murdering people to recreate them but how, why and most importantly what is the end game? The team are on it but Stone isn't willing to give up her personal secrets and finds herself in a cat and mouse situation, holding out on her team, monitored all whilst trying to outrun her personal demons.

Ooft what a stooshie! We know and love her, she is strong, harsh, honest, brutal, brave, loyal and very private. The reader gets more than her colleagues but still we don't know anywhere near as much as we would like, this book lets us in to Kim's past - her worst memories. The killer seems to know everything and putting on a horrific and brutal display each time. It is hard to go into it without spoiling and I don't do spoilers but I think this book really pushes Stone's boundaries. The team are their delightful selves, banter, ribbing and we see the introduction of Betty! If you follow me anywhere online or know me you KNOW I love a Betty, I use it as a term on endearment for everyone and everything so to see her pop up in the book and in such a fab way, utterly delighted. The team dynamics are always fab and Marson's is giving us a fresh angle, a better understanding of what shaped Stone to being who she is. An investigation where the bodies are piling up, a cop is the target and no one knows what is coming next.

I love a series that keeps you hooked, invested in the characters and manages to surprise you and give you more, this series does just that despite being on book ten. 5/5 for me this time, I cannot wait to see what is in store for Kim and the team, hurry up book 11 we are waiting oh so impatiently!

View all my reviews

The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech

The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 2 days

Pages - 350

Publisher - Orenda

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Long ago Andrew made a childhood wish. One he has always kept in a silver box with a too-big lid that falls off. When it finally comes true, he wishes it hadn't...

Long ago Ben dreamed of going to Africa to volunteer at a lion reserve. When he finally goes there, it isn't for the reasons he imagined...

Ben and Andrew keep meeting where they least expect. Some collisions are by design, but are they for a reason? Ben's father would disown him for his relationship with Andrew, so they must hide their love. Andrew is determined to make it work, but secrets from his past threaten to ruin everything.

Ben escapes to Zimbabwe to finally fulfil his lifelong ambition. But will he ever return to England? To Andrew? To the truth?

A dark and poignant drama, The Lion Tamer Who Lost is also a mesmerisingly beautiful love story, with a tragic heart.


My Review

We open with Ben in Zimbabwe, in a lion reserve doing what most of us would love to, being close to and helping save lions from the mess humans have created. Whilst Ben is over there, his heart and thoughts are in England with another. As the chapters roll on we get to not only experience the privileged of being so close to such magnificent beasts and travel via book location to a country I likely will never see.

We know Ben has ran from something or rather left something behind but it isn't until the book opens up do we get to know its secrets. The location and book goes between Ben and Andrew, their relationship, how they met and how they impacted on each other. Andrew is older, a writer struggling to get published and both he and Ben share their love of lions and it isn't until you get deeper into the story you get a bit more understanding of it all.

The Lion Tamer Who Lost is a love story that covers so much, families, relationships, homosexuality, love, secrets, a lion sanctuary, duo location. The scenes set in Zimbabwe are so vivid you can almost taste the air. The personal struggles Ben faces you can't help but get drawn into and it evokes emotion. A wee book with a big roar (see what I did there!), emotive, moving and it just makes me want to snap up all of Beech's other offerings. I think this is my first dance with this author, it won't be my last. I need to check my TBRM and bump up any others of hers I have on it and buy up those that I don't. 4.5/5 for me this time, I kept hearing about this book from other book worms, now I have read it I know why, grab a copy guys you won't regret it.

View all my reviews

Twisted by Steve Cavanagh

Twisted by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 320

Publisher - Orion

Source - Netgalley (Review Copy)

Blurb from Goodreads

BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THREE THINGS:

1. The police are looking to charge me with murder.
2. No one knows who I am. Or how I did it.
3. If you think you've found me. I'm coming for you next.

After you've read this book, you'll know: the truth is far more twisted...


My Review

Sometimes you read a book and wonder why the title is chosen, sometimes you get it at the end of the book - the title is apparent pretty quickly, this book is twisted! J.T Lebeau is an author who is super popular, his books fly off the shelf and no one knows who he is. The book opens at a funeral, only four people know the authors identity and "one of them is about to eat a bullet" and then we go back four months to where it all kicks off!

Ooft what an opening to a book, well that and the whole threat from Lebeau in the authors note. It is a book that has you knocked off from the opening. Maria is married to Paul and it is disclosed pretty quickly there is an affair with Daryl. Pretty but a bit dim he makes Maria happy and Paul is so distant, cold and often working away she doesn't feel bad. When a simple action breaks open a secret held by Maria's husband everything chances, this is what Maria needs to get everything she wants. Sometimes one action can kick off a chain of events no one could have predicted, Maria has no idea what she is about to unleash and no one could forsee the consequences the need for a wee smoke could kick off.

Sheesh! you know you read a book and folk say it pulls the rug right out from under you? Well this book does it multiple times throughout. The title is apt because the book just throws/twists/shocks/ pretty much throughout. The author Lbeau wants his identity kept a secret and stops at nothing to keep it that way, nothing! Maria has a secret, her husband Paul has a secret, Daryl is Maria's secret and nothing is what is seems. It is a hard book to review because I don't do spoilers and one thing leads to another, to another, to another. It is fast paced, something is always going on, threat is looming and you just don't know what is coming.

I think it is very cleverly written, it keeps up the pace throughout the whole book - I just wanted to know what was happening and what was coming next. Sometimes you can predict where something is going and when I thought ah ha I know where this is going, no, no I didn't. Hats off to anyone who say they worked it out, any of it, as I was surprised pretty much throughout. A few times I found myself saying no waaaaaaaay - it is certainly an entertaining book and I just was just left wondering what on earth is coming next. Themes of murder, infidelity, love, lies, relationships, secrets and very much cat and mouse, 4.5/5 for me. This is only my second read by this author, it won't be my last!

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Hard Pushed by Leah Hazard

Hard Pushed: A Midwife’s Story by Leah Hazard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 304

Publisher - Cornerstone digital

Source - ARC (Netgalley)

Blurb from Goodreads

No sleep for twenty hours. No food for ten. And a ward full of soon-to-be mothers… Welcome to the life of a midwife.

Life on the NHS front line, working within a system at breaking point, is more extreme than you could ever imagine. From the bloody to the beautiful, from moments of utter vulnerability to remarkable displays of strength, from camaraderie to raw desperation, from heart-wrenching grief to the pure, perfect joy of a new-born baby, midwife Leah Hazard has seen it all.

Through her eyes, we meet Eleanor, whose wife is a walking miracle of modern medicine, their baby a feat of reproductive science; Crystal, pregnant at just fifteen, the precarious, flickering life within her threatening to come far too soon; Star, birthing in a room heady with essential oils and love until an enemy intrudes and Pei Hsuan, who has carried her tale of exploitation and endurance thousands of miles to somehow find herself at the open door of Leah’s ward.

Moving, compassionate and intensely candid, Hard Pushed is a love letter to new mothers and to Leah’s fellow midwives – there for us at some of the most challenging, empowering and defining moments of our lives.



My Review

I generally love reading these true account type books from workers within health settings. I think it gives us, members of the public and professionals working in care to see the other side of the coin. Hazzard takes us through her career both as a student starting out and as a qualified midwife, working with people from all walks of life, different colleagues and the joys and horrors encountered helping bring babies into the world.

I read the kindle version of this, there is a list of words/terms used within the book that readers will find helpful especially if not familiar with midwifery. If reading on the kindle it may be worth checking them out before starting the book so you don't have to flip back and forth. Hazzard gives an honest look into her day to day duties and how different one birth can be to another. Different aspects of her job, the joy, the fears, the sheer volume and crises midwives of today have to face.

I loved reading her passion for what she does, it comes across pretty much throughout every encounter. I learned a few things too and whilst I have always respected midwives for what they do I didn't realise how much their job entailed and if possible have an even greater respect now. Being with and assisting another person bring a child into the world is an amazing thing and sometimes we forget or ignore all the potentials that can go wrong. The book gives insight into it all and I have always said women who gave birth should have a gold star, I am thinking two or more now! The human body is an amazing thing and stories like this bring home just how fantastic and wonderful it can be. An emotive read and an eye opener of yet another service that is working under the strain of cuts from the government, more demands than often they can cope with and yet the staff continue to give 100 percent because what else can you do when working with people. 4.5/5 for me this time, the book is out to buy from May 2nd, ebook and tree book format.

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The Sting by Kimberley Chambers

The Sting by Kimberley Chambers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 448

Publisher - Harper Collins

Source - Pre ordered from Amazon

Blurb from Goodreads

TWO CHILDHOOD FRIENDS



Best friends Tommy Boyle and Scratch always had each other’s backs. Dragged up in care, and cruelly betrayed by everyone they trusted, they made a pact to fight their way out of the gutter – together.



TWO SIDES OF THE LAW



Old loyalties die hard on the streets of London. Tommy throws his lot in with the notorious Darling family – even if it means leaving Scratch to the wolves. She’s destined for a different path, reinventing herself as copper Kim Regan.



ONE DEADLY SHOWDOWN



Now they’re on opposite sides of the law. Running Operation Sting, Kim will rip the heart out of the Darling’s empire – and only her old pal Tommy stands in her way.



As gritty and dangerous as the London streets in which it’s set, this is No.1 bestseller Kimberley Chambers at her best. Get ready for a shocking read with a STING in the tail . . .



My Review

The prologue opens in 1972 and we hear from Tommy Boyle, first person narrative before we head into third person narrative. The book does this for each part of the story, each new part we hear from Tommy and then straight into the tale. Tommy has a rough upbringing, a house with violence, alcohol and abuse. When something happens to shake Tommy's world his home and family are taken from him and when things seem they can't get any worse Tommy is betrayed in the worst possible way. Ending up in care he meets Scratch another kid who has been abused, passed from pillar to post - the two bond becoming friends for life. We skip to them being adults, Tommy is a big name in the crime world and Kim aka Scratch is now a cop. Bad blood from the past and a chance at getting even who will come out on top?

I always pick up a Chambers book with trepidation, I LOVE her books, not read one I didn't like and always wait impatiently for the next. BUT when the author smashes it each time you can't help but worry if this will be the one that isn't as great.......totally unfounded AGAIN. Chambers has a knack for bringing alive characters that draw you in, creating settings that have you living and breathing the time period with an authentic feel.

Always gritty crime, violence, family and gangsters but this book gives us something else, new, and touches on some hard hitting subjects. Domestic abuse, infidelity, child abuse and there is some sexual abuse, nothing is in depth but enough is hinted at or briefly nodded at so the reader knows exactly what has happened without horrific details. I think sometimes in crime we can be saturated with every horrific gory detail, The Sting is not that type of book. The emphasis is very much on relationships and the struggles these two kids have and how they end up how they are as adults, actions and consequences. You know what you are getting with these type of books but The Sting caught me unawares and hit me with the emotionals. I think it is an absolute testament to the authors writing skills that after so many books she can still keep it fresh and surprise the reader. It isn't too often I read a crime book and get the feels, I did with this book. As with the others, I started it and wanted to sink it in one sitting, I got vested in the characters so quickly and gasped out loud a few times. 5/5 for me, it isn't many times you can say you feel for the "bad guy" but I think reading these books you do get to glimpse the other side of the coin and how they get to be the people they become and in The Sting how we can never really outrun our past or decisions! An absolute belter of a read, emotional roller coaster, action packed and for me hooked from the opening chapters!

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The Haunting of Henderson Close by Catherine Cavendish Blog Tour

Today I am opening the blog tour for "The Haunting of Henderson Close" by Catherine Cavendish, published by Flame Tree Press.


About the book




BLURB: Ghosts have always walked there. Now they’re not alone…  

In the depths of Edinburgh, an evil presence is released. Hannah and her colleagues are tour guides who lead their visitors along the spooky, derelict Henderson Close, thrilling them with tales of spectres and murder. For Hannah it is her dream job, but not for long. Who is the mysterious figure that disappears around a corner? What is happening in the old print shop? And who is the little girl with no face? 

The legends of Henderson Close are becoming all too real. The Auld De’il is out – and even the spirits are afraid.

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.

http://www.flametreepublishing.com/

You can buy the book HERE

About the author:



Catherine's website www.catherinecavendish.com

Hello, my name's Catherine Cavendish and I write horror fiction - frequently with ghostly, supernatural, Gothic and haunted house themes.

Out now - from Flame Tree Press - THE HAUNTING OF HENDERSON CLOSE. Ghostly horror set in Edinburgh's Old Town.

Available now from Kensington-Lyrical - the NEMESIS OF THE GODS trilogy: mWRATH OF THE ANCIENTS, WAKING THE ANCIENTS and DAMNED BY THE ANCIENTS - set in Egypt and Vienna and featuring the sinister Dr. Emeryk Quintillus whose obsession has stayed with him past the grave. 

My novellas COLD REVENGE, MISS ABIGAIL'S ROOM, THE DEMONS OF CAMBIAN STREET, THE DEVIL INSIDE HER and THE SECOND WIFE have now been released in new editions by Crossroad Press.

My novels THE DEVIL'S SERENADE and SAVING GRACE DEVINE have also been released in new editions by Crossroad Press, as have my novel of the Lancashire Witches - THE PENDLE CURSE - and my novellas, LINDEN MANOR and DARK AVENGING ANGEL.

I live with a long-suffering husband and a delightful black cat who has never forgotten that her species used to be worshipped in ancient Egypt. She sees no reason why that practice should not continue. Who am I to argue?

When not slaving over a hot computer, I enjoy wandering around Neolithic stone circles and visiting old haunted houses.

Twitter : @Cat_Cavendish

For my stop I have my review:

The Haunting of Henderson Close by Catherine Cavendish
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - as able over 2 days

Pages - 288

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Ghosts have always walked there. Now they’re not alone…

In the depths of Edinburgh, an evil presence is released.

Hannah and her colleagues are tour guides who lead their visitors along the spooky, derelict Henderson Close, thrilling them with tales of spectres and murder. For Hannah it is her dream job, but not for long. Who is the mysterious figure that disappears around a corner? What is happening in the old print shop? And who is the little girl with no face?

The legends of Henderson Close are becoming all too real. The Auld De’il is out – and even the spirits are afraid.


My Review

We open in Edinburgh, 1891 with a murder and skip to present day, well Edinburgh 2018 and meet Hannah. Starting her new job as a tour guide, dressed for the time and regaling stories of the past and ghosts things are grand. But when renovations start in Henderson Close strange things start happening, evil is unleashed and ghosts suddenly seem to be very real. Hannah and her colleague have to find out what is causing this and most importantly - how to stop it. Where do you turn when you are up against a ghost, the clock is ticking and danger is close - can Hannah do what needs to be done?

Oh you guys I bloody love a ghost story, I have done Mary King's Close in Edinburgh a few times and I totally love it. You go under the town and get to see small bits of history that actually still stand from years gone by. Henderson Close is just that, but when work is done something is unleashed and Hannah, initially, seems to be the only one to voice it. Shut down, threatened with her job but when things take a violent turn Hannah knows she can't ignore it. Ghosts, freaky happenings, a duo timeline, the past mixing with the present ah it is just too good. I think everyone should read this, then go do the Mary King's Close tour and freak themselves out. You have tour parties in the story and how many times have you visited somewhere haunted and felt something or seen something, this happens in the book and the hair on your neck prickles!

I loved ghost stories growing up and even as an adult that love has continued, naff movies I love them too and would be delighted to see this on the screen. Hannah is a sweet enough character but for me I wanted more about what was happening, Cavendish made good on that. We don't get massive droves of back stories on the tour guides and nor should we. The focus is on the happenings or those from the past and when you get a modern day pull into the past AHHHHHHH I friggin love it. Master King did that same thing in 11.22.63 and I think most folk who like supernatural books love that. If you had the chance to go back in the past, like before our time, would you? And imagine not only that but actual interaction with folk of that time. I have read a few books that have done this and I think there should be so so much more, it is a great idea and one many are captivated by.

We start off with a character from the past and throughout the book we get wee flashes of past characters that make you want to plough through the book to find out the who, what and why. A book that builds up a creepy atmosphere pretty much from the beginning and hooks you in one spooky happening after another. Definitely a book for lights off, candle on, and wrapped in a duvet or blanket. This was my first dance with this author, it won't be my last, 4/5 for me. I feel I have to highlight this is now a few books I have reviewed for Flame Tree Press, all new authors to me and I grew up reading King and point horror. They seem to find authors who give a new spin on the genre or recapture the loved voices of old that I grew up with that hooked me into both horror and reading. Certainly going to be checking out their other authors and works!

View all my reviews

Senseless by Anna Lickley Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for Senseless by Anna Lickley, please check out the other stops as we all offer something different, today I will be sharing content.





About the book

K E Y N O T E

Senseless is at heart an illustration of the messy unpredictability of love and life and the resilience of the human spirit.

D E S C R I P T I O N

Beth’s partner, Dan, inexplicably vanishes from her life and nine years later she is still struggling. In the intervening years, she has learnt British Sign Language (BSL) and got what she thought would be her dream job, supporting deaf students in college. However, she finds she still feels dissatisfied with just about everything: from working life to sex life, domestic life to social life, it’s as if the traumas of her past will forever mar her future. Through her work, Beth meets a group of strong-minded, pragmatists who show her how they’ve adapted to challenges of having a disability. Is Dan’s disappearance the primary source of Beth’s sadness? Can her new friends help to shift her perspective on dealing with life? Will learning BSL prove to be significant after all? And what really happened to Dan? The answers may be quite unexpected. The themes and characters of Senseless are moulded by the challenges of deafness and disability but the book is not ‘about’ disability per se. More succinctly, it’s about ordinary people bumping through the ups and downs of life like we all are.





About the author

Anna’s adult life has been moulded a great deal by challenges on her physical health and needing to adapt to them. She was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) in the 1980s when she was 16. NF2 is a complex genetic illness involving benign tumours developing on nerves throughout the body, usually in the brain or spine. As a result, she went deaf whilst at University and began to learn British Sign Language to help with communication. She loved the language immediately and went on to became fluent enough to teach it.

In the last 5 years, Anna’s vision has deteriorated and she is now registered deafblind. That and other health complications led her to stop working. Although sad to leave a job she loved, she is now relishing having more time to write and much of her writing is greatly influenced by her desire to share the realities of living with disability.

Anna wrote and self-published a semi-autobiographical novel called Catch it Anytime You Can in 2012 and has in mind a title and plot outline for a further novel. She is in-house writer for Can You Hear Us CIC, a social enterprise dedicated to the needs of people with NF2 and also loves writing poetry, short stories and articles. Senseless is her first full-length work of fiction.

Outside of writing, she loves horse riding and competes at dressage with the RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association)





You can read more about Anna at Unbound's website and on Twitter

And now for my content, enjoy


Chapter 4

Sam,2007

Sam Owens was sitting at his kitchen table, trying to talk to Kim while feeding Ollie. Unfortunately, Ollie had other ideas and seemed intent on making as much noise as possible by banging his flat hands on the table of his highchair. ‘Oh, stop it, Ollie!’ Kim turned to face her son, ‘Just shut up for once and eat your food!’ She bent to lift his hands away from the table and Ollie seized the opportunity to grab a strand of her long dark hair. Sam knew that Kim had just spent at least half an hour washing, straightening and styling it. ‘Ollie, get off! Sam, can’t you control him for one second?’ ‘What?!’ Sam tried not to shout; he was fed up with Kim’s seeming inability to understand that a baby is a baby. Babies puke, shit and wail in equal measures. Ofcourse, Ollie started to wail now as Kim prised his hands from her hair and ran to the tap to wash out the baby food mush he’d left there. Sam lifted Ollie from his seat and sat him on his lap, bouncing him up and down and letting him play with the straps of his hoodie. When Ollie grew quieter, Sam gave him a rattle from the table to play with. He took advantage of the lull and said: ‘I’m getting the results of my tests today. The GP wants me to go in and see him.’ ‘What tests?’ ‘The ones I told you about.’ She looked at him blankly. ‘Kim! The tests I had after I’d seen the doctor about the tingly feelings in my hands and feet.’ ‘Oh that!’ she said dismissively, ‘Couldn’t he just give you some pills?’

‘He said he could but he wanted to give me some tests first. We talked about this, Kim!’ She didn’t seem to register or react, still focused on combing out her hair with her fingers. ‘I’m getting really tired and it’s affecting my job,’ Sam pushed. ‘We all get tired!’ ‘Yeah well, you have to be completely on top of your game to fight fires.’ ‘I bet it’s because Ollie is keeping you awake.’ ‘It’s more than that, it’s like I’m not functioning properly.’ ‘Right.’ ‘Are you even listening, Kim?’

‘Ofcourse I am,’ she said, rooting in her handbag for her lipstick. ‘You go to the GP and get some pills and you’ll be right as rain. Don’t forget to pick up my dress from the dry-cleaners, will you? I’ve got Pilates after I drop Ollie with his childminder.’ ‘Kim! There’s more to life than picking up dresses from dry–cleaners.’ ‘Of course there is,but why do you need to become so dull?’ ‘Dull?! Are we even speaking the same language?’ ‘Ever since Ollie, you’ve been getting so dull, Sam. We never go out.’ ‘It’s called being a parent! One day we all have to grow up.’ Kim scoffed and picked up Ollie. Sam went silent and just looked at her in disbelief. Everything had been so different before Ollie came along. She was 22 and gorgeous when they got together and as a tall, strong, 28–year–old firefighter, he had been exactly the action-hero sidekick she’d wanted. If they made it out of bed, he’d notice how many people turned to look at them anywhere they went together. But now? Well, he didn’t know what was happening now.

He was left to wait thirty-five minutes before Dr Longford was ready to see him. It gave him time to wonder if he should be more worried thanhewas.Intruth, hecouldn’t getKim,andthestateof their relationship, out of his head.

When his name was called, he had a sudden panic; was there a reason he’d been called in or was it just routine? He went along the corridor to clinic room number eight to find Dr Longford standing in the doorway to welcome him, his face giving nothing away. ‘Ah, Sam, hello. Sit down, sit down.’ Sam waited while the doctor got his notes up on his computer and turned back to face him. ‘Look, sorry, Sam, but I’m going to have to rush. I’m also sorry I kept you waiting. There’s a meeting I need to get to by twelve so currently I have six minutes per patient if I’m going to make it.’ Sam shifted in his seat, wishing this to be over already. He felt unbalanced by the doctor’s flustered spiel. ‘Okay, so, as you know, the results of your tests have come back.’ Dr Longford was starting to look uneasy and turned back to his computer screen, reluctant to meet Sam’s eye. Sam braced himself for the revelation that he was dying of cancer, with months left to live. ‘Go on,’ he forced out when the pause became too long.

Inborn by Thomas Enger Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for "Inborn" by Thomas Enger, a Random Things Tour, please check out the other stops as we all offer different content.




When a murder takes place in a village high school a teenager finds himself subject to trial by social media … and in the dock. A taut, moving and chilling thriller by one of Nordic Noir’s most exceptional writers.





THE AUTHOR Thomas Enger is a former journalist. He made his debut with the crime novel Burned in 2010, which became an international sensation before publication, and marked the first in the bestselling Henning Juul series. Rights to the series have been sold to 28 countries to date. In 2013 Enger published his first book for young adults, a dark fantasy thriller called The Evil Legacy, for which he won the U-prize (best book Young Adult). Killer Instinct, upon which Inborn is based, and another Young Adult suspense novel, was published in Norway in 2017 and won the same prestigious prize. Most recently, Thomas has cowritten a thriller with Jørn Lier Horst. Enger also composes music, and he lives in Oslo.
You can find Thomas on Twitter
And on Facebook, give his wee page a like for follow for author updates, click here


SALES & MARKETING NOTES • STANDALONE THRILLER … won all major awards in Norway • Bound proofs in November • YA crossover with relevant, emotive themes • Author will appear at multiple festivals and a two-week tour of the UK in Feb/March • Part of Creative Europe translation grant package ‘A gripping narrative that begs comparison to Stieg Larsson’ Bookpage • ‘One of the most unusual and intense writers in the field’ Independent • ‘An intriguing new voice in crime’ NJ Cooper • ‘Spine-chilling and utterly unputdownable. Thomas Enger has created a masterpiece of intrigue, fastpaced action and suspense that is destined to become Nordic Noir classic’ Yrsa Sigurðardóttir • ‘Satisfyingly tense and dark … a deep and complex book’ Sunday Times Crime Club




THE BOOK

When the high school in the small Norwegian village of Fredheim becomes a murder scene, the finger is soon pointed at seventeen-year-old Even. As the investigation closes in, social media is ablaze with accusations, rumours and even threats, and Even finds himself the subject of an online trial as well as being in the dock … for murder? Even pores over his memories of the months leading up to the crime, and it becomes clear that more than one villager was acting suspiciously … and secrets are simmering beneath the calm surface of this close-knit community. As events from the past play tag with the present, he’s forced to question everything he thought he knew. Was the death of his father in a car crash a decade earlier really accidental? Has his relationship stirred up something that someone is prepared to kill to protect? It seems that there may be no one that Even can trust. But can we trust him? A taut, moving and chilling thriller, Inborn examines the very nature of evil, and asks the questions: How well do we really know our families? How well do we know ourselves?

You can buy your own copy from the 21st on February from Amazon

For my stop on the tour I have my review of the book:
Inborn by Thomas Enger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Pages - 276

Publisher - Orenda Books

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

When the high school in the small Norwegian village of Fredheim becomes a murder scene, the finger is soon pointed at seventeen-year-old Even. As the investigation closes in, social media is ablaze with accusations, rumours and even threats, and Even finds himself the subject of an online trial as well as being in the dock… for murder? Even pores over his memories of the months leading up to the crime, and it becomes clear that more than one villager was acting suspiciously… and secrets are simmering beneath the calm surface of this close-knit community. As events from the past play tag with the present, he's forced to question everything he thought he knew. Was the death of his father in a car crash a decade earlier really accidental? Has his relationship stirred up something that someone is prepared to kill to protect? It seems that there may be no one that Even can trust. But can we trust him? A taut, moving and chilling thriller, Inborn examines the very nature of evil, and asks the questions: How well do we really know our families? How well do we know ourselves?


My Review

We open at the night of the murder, the prologue and what kicks everything off, a brutal slaying. We then go to "NOW" Even is seventeen and this is his first time in court. The chapters alternate between "THEN" the night of the murder and what follows sequentially and "NOW" with Even in court. As we flip between the two timelines we see the story start to unfold, can we trust the narrator, can we trust anyone? Who has reason to kill and how can you find your killer when everyone is a suspect.

This is another translated book and again another I have really enjoyed, either the books I have read before just didn't work for me, I have grown as a reader or these are just really really good. Even is seventeen and the perfect suspect for the crime, of course he is when so many things point to him. He is tried by social media, suspected by those close to him and being seventeen his actions lead the reader to suspect him too. To be fair I suspected everyone and flip flopped back and forth on so many characters and didn't have a clue to be honest. A book that keeps you on your toes with many red herrings, I felt like the good auld days watching Murder She Wrote everyone was a suspect!

The chapters are pretty short which as you know by now I love as it allows me to dip in and out when working and only get a chance to read after work. It also hinders sleep as you are up half the night with the old chestnut "just one more chapter". This was my first dance with this author it won't be my last. Murder, police procedural, investigation, family, love, teen angst, relationships and whilst duo timelines don't always work it did in this tale. Before and after the events bringing us to an epic finale that will drop your wee jaw, even the readers who work out the motives/killers I think will be hard pushed to solve this bad boy! 4/5 for me this time, I will be checking out the other offerings by this author.

View all my reviews

Stalker by Lars Kepler Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour and the final stop, I am sharing today with fellow blogger Karen Twitter who blogs over at Hair Past A Freckle, we are closing the tour.

I did a bookstagram piccy with the book, you can find my Instagram HERE if you like book accounts.




I am sharing my review as part of the tour.

This is the book cover and you can buy your own copy now, available as ebook and treebook format, here is the link to Amazon!


Stalker by Lars Kepler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out 2 days

Pages - 560

Publisher - Knopf Publishing Group

Source - Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads

The internationally bestselling authors of The Sandman and The Hypnotist return with a terrifying new thriller: Detective Joona Linna--recently returned from compassionate leave--reunites with hypnotist Erik Maria Bark in a search for a seemingly unassailable sadistic killer.

The Swedish National Crime Unit receives a video of a young woman in her home, clearly unaware that she's being watched. Soon after the tape is received, the woman's body is found horrifically mutilated. With the arrival of the next, similar video, the police understand that the killer is toying with them, warning of a new victim, knowing there's nothing they can do. Detective Margot Silverman is put in charge of the investigation, and soon asks Detective Joona Linna for help. Linna, in turn, recruits Erik Maria Bark, the hypnotist and expert in trauma, with whom Linna's worked before. Bark is leery of forcing people to give up their secrets. But this time, Bark is the one hiding things.
Years before, he had put a man away for an eerily similar crime, and now he's beginning to think that an innocent man may be behind bars--and a serial killer still on the loose. . .




My Review

Welcome to the team seeking a brutal voyeuristic killer who videos the unsuspecting victim, sends it to the cops and then goes in for the kill. Hot on their tail is psychiatrist and hypnotist Erik Maria Bark brought in by detective Margot Silverman, heavily pregnant and against the clock before the killer strikes again.

This is my first time reading this author and although this is book five I still managed to keep up with the story, characters and didn't feel particularly lost not knowing all their back story. The book gives an intimate look at the characters, we get an insight into the victims right before they meet their killer. The book has a lot of focus on police procedure, the investigation and the victims immediately before the brutal murder and during.

The chapters are relatively short which I love, if you work long shifts but still like to read everyday or are struggling to keep switched on it offers you the option to dip in and out without causing much distraction.

It is pacey, dark, hair raising, riveting and down right creepy at points. There is so much going on I don't think we will ever see the word boring associated with this book! From questionable practices, unreliable characters we get to follow the professionals in a game of cat and mouse before another is killed.

This isn't a book for the faint hearted, if you like to be creeped out and enjoy multiple characters/plot lines with a killer you will struggle to figure out then this is absolutely for you. I am not a huge fan of translated books but I really enjoyed this one and will be checking out the previous books in the series. I cannot wait to hear more about these guys and what is still to come for them, 4/5 for me this time. Thanks to the publishers for giving me a chance to try a new author, it may be my first dance with this author it certainly won't be my last.

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February's Giveaway is now live

Happy February!




Hi you guys and finally I have February's giveaway ready, I have had this planned for ages. I knew it was going to be a romancey type giveaway and as author Tracey Sinclair sent me a signed copy of her book "The Bridesmaid Blues" I knew it was perfect for my giveaway.





Whether you are into Valentines or not I think everyone appreciates a wee giveaway, I know I do. So what is up for grabs? As pictured: X1 preloved signed paperback of "The Bridesmaid Blues" by Tracey Sinclair", X1 bookmark, X1 chuppachup tealight candle and X1 marquise cut silver coloured ring, size L UK. I bought the ring specifically for the competition and think the book is a perfect wee match for it.





If this is your first giveaway with us you enter by using Rafflecopter below, the more entries you complete the more times your name goes into the draw. Entries are always checked so please only mark those you have done. I think we will open this worldwide, good luck all.



a Rafflecopter giveaway